Buying and Importing II

[AGT]

I have just completed the purchase and import of a 230SL and as Nichola Colley's detailed post on buying her 280 was so much help to me in the process, I thought it worth a post of my own experience to encourage would be owners to buy across continents.

1. Decision to Purchase - My decision to purchase was perfectly illogical. I had bought a 1969 280SL in early 2005 and it turned out to be a bit of a dog. With a lot of expert care from the Mazzoni brothers and quite a bit of cash my 280 was transformed into a decent runner and the joy of Pagoda ownership beckoned. Then comes the hard decision - whether to keep restoring or to sell up and buy a better car? After a lot of thought I decided to keep restoring so off the 280 went for its "winter project" and I turned my attention to buying a Citroen DS. Investment Committee approval for the purchase of a Citroen DS was obtained, the market researched, the experts spoken to - and then I bought a 230SL. The Investment Commitee was perplexed but accepted my explanation that this manual 230SL and my automatic 280SL were the ying and yang of Pagoda ownership.

2. The Vendor - Like Nichola I bought my car from a member of this Group and it was a pleasure to deal with such an open and knowledgeable vendor. To anyone on the look out for a Pagoda, I would thoroughly recommend waiting on the opportunity to buy fom a member of this Group. Genuine reasons for the sale of good cars emerge from time to time amongst this Group and the contrast from dealing with most of the trade resellers or participating in an e-bay auction could not be greater.

3. The Appraisal - The car which I bought was located close to Wolfgang Ritter's garage in Tenafly NJ and I was very fortunate to be directed to "Wolfgang's". He is a great guy, with a brilliant sense of humour who seemed genuinely to enjoy brokering a deal across the Atlantic Ocean. Wolfgang appraised the car and the purchase was concluded. The work identified by Wolfgang was then carried out (all within his original estimate) and the car was ready to ship.

4. Shipping - I used Nichola's contacts to ship and insure the car and it arrived in the UK last week untroubled by its voyage. The car started on the button out of the container (thank you Wolfgang)and I drove it 450 miles from London to Edinburgh last Friday afternoon and evening at a steady 70mph. The only worrying aspect of the shipping process is that the fuel tank is drained and I could not get the horror stories of the gunk at the bottom of the tank getting drawn into the fuel system out of my head. The fuel filter has now been changed!

5. The Car - The car is fantastic. It is in even better condition than the vendor represented and it is wonderful to drive.It passed its UK ministry of transport test today without any work being required.

Lessons learned:
 - we live in a global market; be willing to buy a car on the other side of the world;
 - buy from one of the wonderful people who make up this Group; they own the best looked after Pagodas in the world;
 - have your prospective purchase inspected by an expert recommended and trusted by a member of this Group.

Now, does anyone know of a good Citroen DS for sale?

Regards
Andrew

[enochbell]

Glad you had such a positive experience.  Now, tell us, is a certain member of your Investment Committee available for an outside Board Seat?  I have an opening for someone who exhibits the courage, wisdom and...gullibility?...of your Committee member.  The Board Seat is for a Director of my fine wine, cigars, small airplanes and sports car investment concern.

Thanks,

g

'64 230sl, fully sorted out...ooops, spoke too soon

[mdsalemi]

Andrew,

Glad your experiences were positive.

The Citroen DS has quite a following as you know--a car many years ahead of its time.  My Austin/BMC/Mini mechanic in the 1970's was a Frenchman who drove an SM.  Goodness knows after working on British cars all day he'd never drive them!   Sadly, French cars never really caught on in the USA, which might be good news for you as I think you'll find some in Europe--much closer and easier to deal with.  Some info:

http://www.citroen-ca.com/DSguide.html
http://www.channel4.com/4car/100-greatest/classics/citroen-ds.html
http://aroundcny.com/Technofile/texts/cit85.html
http://info.detnews.com/joyrides/mywheels.cfm?id=58

I'm certain if you do some poking around you'll find the right people for Citroen (as we are for Pagoda, eh?) and you might find just what you are looking for.

PS.  Go for the Cabriolet!

Michael Salemi
1969 280SL
Signal Red w/Black Leather
Restored

[JamesL]

Not sure I'd get Investment Committee approval for an SM although I'd love one. And a 240z. And a.....