Dale:
I can't imagine any advantage to buying a car from a dealer or from eBay.
Find the individual within a reasonable distance to your home and go drive
the car.
I think -- presuming you live in a larger metro area -- the best bet is your
local newspaper classifieds. However, there are some other viable forums.
For example, there are a large number of Triumphs that cycle through the
online classifieds at http://www.vtr.org. There are probably some cars near
you. Also, if there are some LBC shops near you, check out their in-store
bulletin boards. Hemmings is also a good source.
As per the kind of car you might like, a later TR6 or Spit is not
necessarily a better candidate for the kind of car you're after. Once a car
gets over 20 years old, as they all are now, you have to assess each on a
case-by-case basis. Most people seek out the 71-73 TR6's and Spitfires, but
there are lots of great cars not made in those years. Off the top of my
head, I'd say you could find a reasonably finished TR6 for $5-7k, and a
similar Spit for $2-4k. Also, speaking personally, with regard to Spits,
if I could find a Mk1 or 2 that didn't need major bodywork, and had all or
most of its parts, I'd snatch it up in a minute.
Good luck in your search.
--
Martin Secrest
72 TR6
73 GT6
-----
>
> Good Afternoon, All,
> After spending several weeks looking around, I have come up with a
question
> concerning the purchase of an older Triumph. I wanted to try to take
> advantage of the collective wisdom of this list.
> From what I can see there are basically three venues for purchasing and
> older Triumph (or any "collectible" for that matter.) These are:
> 1. From a private owner - this is generally someone in
> the "local area."
> 2. From a private owner - can be from Hemmings, eBay, or
> other similar venues
> 3. From established dealers
>
> My question is, which way to go. I am looking for a car that is basically
> "restored". I am not looking for hi scoring concours car... just a car
that
> may need some minimal work to complete. This is due to time constraints
on
> my part. Between family and work, I do not have a great deal of free
time.
> However, I am looking for car that can be a daily driver (makes a later
> model TR6 or Spitfire likely.) It looks like the dealers get some clean
> cars, but the price sure seems higher. I am nervous about anything off of
> eBay. Hemmings I do not have enough info to make a fair assessment.
Local
> area, at least I can go touch, feel, smell, drive the car.
///
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