Asking to buy your old car back from the new owner a year later?

Hi all...

I know you shouldn't live your life with regret, but I seriously regret selling my '05 330i ZHP back in Feb. '11. I bought a more expensive couple of Evos and now have a Hemi Charger, but I still miss that cars balance of handling and value and I'm thinking of searching for another one.

In the meantime, I still have the guy's email and I'm thinking of emailing him something along the lines of:

Hey there,

You bought my ZHP last year and I'm figured I'd check in to see if you still loved it and if you had thought of parting with it?

--Jay

Any better way to put this or do's and don't's of asking for your old car back?

Tell him BMW contacted you with a bunch of recalls. Offer to buy it back because you're a nice guy ;)

No input from me, but I am curious to see responses. I sold a fantastic condition slicktop Z32 last year, and saw it posted up for sale on CL recently. I've thought about buying it back.

Buying your old car back is like going back with the girl you broke up with. It's never the same.

Zomby Woof wrote: Buying your old car back is like going back with the girl you broke up with. It's never the same.

I don't know..... back in the mid 90's I dated a girl for a couple years but we were young and things happen... you know.... so I ended up breaking up with her. I always regretted it. fast forward 10+ years.... i had just split with my wife and heard through the grapevine that she had just divorced here husband. I hadn't talked to her in over 8 year. I thought about it for about a day and then just went to her work walked in looked her in the eye and and said " what were we thinking?" She said " I have no idea" we got back together that day and we are happily married going on 6 years.

You can always go back for the one you love.... go get the car

dabird wrote:

Zomby Woof wrote: Buying your old car back is like going back with the girl you broke up with. It's never the same.

I don't know..... back in the mid 90's I dated a girl for a couple years but we were young and things happen... you know.... so I ended up breaking up with her. I always regretted it. fast forward 10+ years.... i had just split with my wife and heard through the grapevine that she had just divorced here husband. I hadn't talked to her in over 8 year. I thought about it for about a day and then just went to her work walked in looked her in the eye and and said " what were we thinking?" She said " I have no idea" we got back together that day and we are happily married going on 6 years. You can always go back for the one you love.... go get the car

Best story ever, but it rarely works out the way you expect.....for everybody.

The guy who I bought my 911 from emailed me about two years later and asked that I contact him first if I ever decide to sell (Sorry, Bravenrace...). That just reaffirmed the idea that I had waited for the right car.

I got a similar email about a year after buying my s2000 (bought it July '10). I told him I'd keep his contact info, but it was pretty unlikely I'd be selling it anytime soon.

In reply to dabird:

I bought back my beloved Triumph TR8 fifteen years and three owners after I sold it.

I test-drove my '92 Mustang GT about a year and a half after I sold it to an 18 year old guy. I enjoyed driving the car, but he had hacked too much of the car for me to be interested in it. Looking back on it, I should have never sold that car in the first place...

I bought back my Gti months after selling to a co-worker after he went off the road and into a tree. I had just settled the suspension on that thing. Needless to say I got a great price on the wreck and was able to put the suspension onto the 81 Rocco I had just bought!

I tried to buy back my e28 a couple months after I sold it. The day I called about it was the day after he had sold it to someone else=/

I always leave my number in the glovebox of a car that I really don't want to sell. I would give almost anything for my 28' back.

Same here with both my 86 RX7 and my 75 Formula 400. However the Formula 400 literally split in half (rusted in half) about 2 years after I traded it for a 65 T bird that I then traded for something else a couple years later. Hell I want them all back!!!!

I just sent an email to the MARX7 list asking about my old 86 RX7. My wife will kill me. If I was to get it back I would want to do some weird motor swap I could not keep the motors in those cars.

Great stories of heartbreak, hah.

I haven't sent the email yet, so there is still time for input. I planned on doing it this afternoon but got busy so will probably send it out tomorrow.

I sold my 69 olds to pay for my wife's engagement ring. I pester the guy who bought it from time to time, he usually just ignores me.

My first car (that I drove) was a 74 Superbeetle with a 2.0 Type 4 shoved into the rear of it. I drove it for a year and sold it to an older gentleman so I could afford my then new (to me) Fiat spider.

He gave it to his nephew who then took that evil handling and overpowered beetle and promptly backed it into something at a high rate of speed.

I would love to have that car back

Welp,

I bit the bullet and sent the email just now... 3:00 ET on a Wednesday (method to this madness).

I decided to lead in gently just checking on the new owner. I figure if he responds, I can inquire more.

Hi Gary, I hope you are doing well.

My name is Jay and I'm sure you remember me as you bought my 2005 330i from me back in February of 2011.

I figured I'd check in to see if you still had the car and how it's going with it.

--Jay
...........................

Cross your fingers!

You should be able to get a really good deal too.

I just got a response from him.

He said that he has put 40K miles on it and it has been great, only needing a couple of maintenance items. He is really enjoying it still.

It's better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all... right?

right?

...

I mean, right?

I've gotten a a Volvo 745t back a year and a half later.

The kid who bought it stabbed his mom, fled to Chicago, and abandoned the Volvo at his apartment complex. He'd never transferred the title.

Luckily the friend that told the buyer about my car being for sale still lived there. He told me their was a sticker on the Volvo and it was about to be towed.

I dropped by, found the title and application for title still in the glove box, and had it towed to my house.

When the tow truck was there, the kids's mom came and mentioned out loud that she is glad it is being towed away, as it reminds her of the son.

Two owners and 12 years later, I know where my supercharged MR2 is located. I even know the guy and it's been garage-ridden for a number of years...

dabird wrote:

Zomby Woof wrote: Buying your old car back is like going back with the girl you broke up with. It's never the same.

I don't know..... back in the mid 90's I dated a girl for a couple years but we were young and things happen... you know.... so I ended up breaking up with her. I always regretted it. fast forward 10+ years.... i had just split with my wife and heard through the grapevine that she had just divorced here husband. I hadn't talked to her in over 8 year. I thought about it for about a day and then just went to her work walked in looked her in the eye and and said " what were we thinking?" She said " I have no idea" we got back together that day and we are happily married going on 6 years. You can always go back for the one you love.... go get the car

I love this.