My Dolomite Grey 225
Posted: Sat Dec 13, 2014 4:49 pm
I thought it was about time I introduced my TT. I bought it on 30 August 2012 from a teacher in Horwich.
I'd never liked TTs, I thought they looked ugly - a bit like a Porsche from the back (I don't like Porsches!). My husband is an Auto Trader addict and was always glued to it, looking at cars he might like. He saw a red QS advertised at a garage in Preston and wanted to go and look at it. He was always tyre kicking at garages with no intentions of buying so I did a deal - we could look at it if we could pop into B & Q while we were over there.
We walked into the showroom and he was immediately smitten and I had to admit, it did look fantastic. The owner asked if he would like to see it outside in the daylight, which he did. Then, seeing as the engine was running, he might as well take it for a drive. He had a razz round in it, then I asked if I could have a go - wow! I told him that if he didn't buy it, I would. He bought it!
A few weeks later, I announced that I NEEDED one too. "You don't like TTs" he said. "'Erm, I do now" I replied! I gave my requirements to him - gun metal grey (I didn't know it was called Dolomite) with black leather so it would be practical for having my German Shepherd in the back. He said I hadn't a chance as that colour was as rare as hens teeth, but one Sunday morning one appeared on Auto Trader at a ridiculously cheap price. There was no reply from the telephone number so he left several messages, it was so frustrating. He finally got through to find out that the owners were on holiday in the Lakes in it and he'd put the advert on while he was bored, as he didn't expect much response. We said that if the car was as advertised, we'd pay the asking price so it was agreed, I would view it when they were back home.
Later that day, they rang to say that the price had gone up as they'd had so many enquires from people offering more than the asking price, but would still like to sell it to us. I told my husband to tell him where to stick his car. I couldn't believe that someone would be so greedy and go back on their word like that. Behind my back, my husband negotiated a price with him as I really wanted the car, even though I was prepared to lose it out of principal.
After being initially angry with my husband, we went to see it. It was immaculate apart from a small parking ding, which they had told us about, and the alloys, which looked like they had been used to stop the car against the kerb. It had a full service history but had never been pampered and rarely washed. She had a new qashqai on order so her partner had advertised it for her, but he said he'd had no idea of what price to advertise it at and was shocked at the response he'd had, hence the price increase. I was still pretty miffed about that, but the car was still a bargain so I bought it.
Anyway, here it is, the day I picked it up:
As you can see, totally standard and lacking a bit of TLC.
The first thing I did was have the cambelt and waterpump changed, then went for a drive to Settle in convoy with my husband and brother, who had also recently bought a 225.
Since then, I've changed the springs back to facelift, as it was on the wrong springs, and had the wheels refurbished, which has made a huge difference. I've fitted an LCR splitter, which I love, and added a touch of engine bay bling. Also, I had the small dent removed from the door which was only tiny but really annoyed me.
My car now gets washed and polished to within an inch of its life on a regular basis and looks a different car to when I bought it. We've been to the last two EvenTT's and a few local shows and have more planned for next year.
Here are a few more recent pics:
Thank you for reading.
I'd never liked TTs, I thought they looked ugly - a bit like a Porsche from the back (I don't like Porsches!). My husband is an Auto Trader addict and was always glued to it, looking at cars he might like. He saw a red QS advertised at a garage in Preston and wanted to go and look at it. He was always tyre kicking at garages with no intentions of buying so I did a deal - we could look at it if we could pop into B & Q while we were over there.
We walked into the showroom and he was immediately smitten and I had to admit, it did look fantastic. The owner asked if he would like to see it outside in the daylight, which he did. Then, seeing as the engine was running, he might as well take it for a drive. He had a razz round in it, then I asked if I could have a go - wow! I told him that if he didn't buy it, I would. He bought it!
A few weeks later, I announced that I NEEDED one too. "You don't like TTs" he said. "'Erm, I do now" I replied! I gave my requirements to him - gun metal grey (I didn't know it was called Dolomite) with black leather so it would be practical for having my German Shepherd in the back. He said I hadn't a chance as that colour was as rare as hens teeth, but one Sunday morning one appeared on Auto Trader at a ridiculously cheap price. There was no reply from the telephone number so he left several messages, it was so frustrating. He finally got through to find out that the owners were on holiday in the Lakes in it and he'd put the advert on while he was bored, as he didn't expect much response. We said that if the car was as advertised, we'd pay the asking price so it was agreed, I would view it when they were back home.
Later that day, they rang to say that the price had gone up as they'd had so many enquires from people offering more than the asking price, but would still like to sell it to us. I told my husband to tell him where to stick his car. I couldn't believe that someone would be so greedy and go back on their word like that. Behind my back, my husband negotiated a price with him as I really wanted the car, even though I was prepared to lose it out of principal.
After being initially angry with my husband, we went to see it. It was immaculate apart from a small parking ding, which they had told us about, and the alloys, which looked like they had been used to stop the car against the kerb. It had a full service history but had never been pampered and rarely washed. She had a new qashqai on order so her partner had advertised it for her, but he said he'd had no idea of what price to advertise it at and was shocked at the response he'd had, hence the price increase. I was still pretty miffed about that, but the car was still a bargain so I bought it.
Anyway, here it is, the day I picked it up:
As you can see, totally standard and lacking a bit of TLC.
The first thing I did was have the cambelt and waterpump changed, then went for a drive to Settle in convoy with my husband and brother, who had also recently bought a 225.
Since then, I've changed the springs back to facelift, as it was on the wrong springs, and had the wheels refurbished, which has made a huge difference. I've fitted an LCR splitter, which I love, and added a touch of engine bay bling. Also, I had the small dent removed from the door which was only tiny but really annoyed me.
My car now gets washed and polished to within an inch of its life on a regular basis and looks a different car to when I bought it. We've been to the last two EvenTT's and a few local shows and have more planned for next year.
Here are a few more recent pics:
Thank you for reading.
