Impulse Car Buying.

I'm not very good at buying cars. I have gone to the car yards to buy a nice and thrifty diesel stationwagon and come home in a Jaguar Xj6. I never regretted it, it was a fantastic car to drive, hugged the road and ate miles and gas. It was amazingly reliable. Then I went into town to buy a 4x4. I came home with a mazda MX5 miata. I haven't regretted that either. It is fun, cheap to run, and liberating. It also makes a change from driving a truck.
In my time I have had heaps of cars, just about all of them if they were alive today would be worth a lot of money. None more so than an AC I bought in London. I was working for an car dealer in Kensington in the late sixties, as a delivery driver. I shifted cars about the depots all over England. I got paid bugger all but I tooled around in sports cars and limo's and had unbelievable street cred. One day a couple traded in an AC sports saloon of 1939 vintage. It had a knock in the engine. I bought it for 40 pounds. It had 4 on the floor, a 6 cylinder overhead cam engine with 3 carburettors, wire wheels, and all the fruit. I hacked around in it for a while, the knock was obviously a big end. One day a guy knocked on the door of my hovel and asked if I wanted to sell it. I got 50 pounds for it and was well pleased with myself. I went to Spain & other warmer climes for a while. A year later while sitting in a waiting room somewhere, I picked up a magazine of the Country Life variety, and there, in an ad by a "purveyor of fine automobiles" was the AC.
It was being sold "with a damaged engine". It said it was one of only 6 made and was exhibited at the London Motor Show. It was a snip at 2500 pounds. I felt sick. Suddenly I understood why the guy was so careful about a receipt. I'm still pissed off about it.
I haven't been able to find a photo of the saloon on the net, but only the sports car. It was for sale, not as rare, they made 42 of them. It was priced at US $ 115,000
Rest Area 300m