Very special Bristol Farina

[GREG]

Wow - this Farina Bristol looks stunning, and probably a bargain when you see how much is asked for Arnolt's and other not so rare cars.

http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C207759/

If I had the spare cash ........ I would buy ten.

But I would try and deal with the owner direct. In my mind , dealer = estate agent = possible distortion of facts and unnecessary commissions and higher price.

Although I am sure honest estate agents exist somewhere - the media can be harsh !

I have heard of some car dealers holding on to parts that were supposed to be sold with the cars they sell ! So always important to speak to the actual owner.

Never heard anything bad of a Bristol dealer yet.

[Claude]

Originally Posted by GREG

Bristol 401 Farina convertible. Very rare. ref B 138 For Sale (1949) on Car And Classic UK
But I would try and deal with the owner direct. In my mind , dealer = estate agent = possible distortion of facts and unnecessary commissions and higher price.

Thanks for spotting this lovely Bristol.

If I may comment without intending offence, in this particular case, I would recommend dealing with the dealer. Andrew Blow is a long-standing, loyal Bristol enthusiast; honest, upright and generous. I tend to think he does this more out of passion than profit and is worthy of support by fellow Bristol enthusiasts. While I have not bought a car through him, I have met him when he stayed with us on the NZ tour.

I would say he earns his commission fairly, and serves an important role in the small Bristol fraternity, both through his knowledge, and his serving as an intermediary between the lonely seller (it can take years to sell a Bristol) and the curiosity seeker who wants a test drive with no intention of buying.

[Hydroglen]

Andrew Blow is the best! If anything he plays the car down. Bought my 400 from him sight unseen...
Dorien Berteletti

[GREG]

I have not dealt with any Bristol dealers except for parts. People have told me good things about Bristol Cars and Brian May and a lot of bad stories about others, although I have not sought to verify these experiences.

The cars are the best - the right ones at the right price sell themselves.

I have nothing against this way of selling except I don't use it. To go back to the house sales analogy , I have bought and sold more than a dozen properties and never used an estate agent to sell and often agreed to deal with a seller direct for a discount with a benefit to sellar and buyer. I don't know enough about the process to suggest parasite, but I don't know where agents add value, unless you are agoraphobic and can't face meeting a buyer ! Or is it the archetypical car sales man technique that people want to employ ?

Maybe if the car is in one country and the owner is in another it makes good sense if no friends are available to help out.

[Janne]

I can testify that Mr Blow is a very honest person.
I have dealt with him before, and in fact I am dealing with him at the moment. It is my old 411 S5 (Bertie) that he still has listed (as Sold) that I have bought back.

No, he is a 100% trustworthy person, as it fits somebody that deals in Bristols!

[browning l]

From what the photos show, that is a beautiful automobile...very classic, very classy.

I do wonder why, though, one so often sees such light colo(u)rs of leather in cars in the UK and Europe...as, in my experience, they show soil so badly, and, eventually, age cracks are so much more apparent.

This is just my private feeling, and I do hope I don't hurt anyone's feelings; even now I wish I had speced a darker shade of leather in my car Kentucky Red, 603 - see Albums.

[browning l]

From what the photos show, that is a beautiful automobile...very classic, very classy.

I do wonder why, though, one so often sees such light colo(u)rs of leather in cars in the UK and Europe...as, in my experience, they show soil so badly, and, eventually, age cracks are so much more apparent.

This is just my private feeling, and I do hope I don't hurt anyone's feelings; even now I wish I had speced a darker shade of leather in my car Kentucky Red, 603 - see Albums, Bristols Seen, etc. If you look there, you'll see interior photos of KR after I had the armrests and sun visors re-covered in the same dark brown leather as used on the dash...leather from Bristol Cars, so as to make sure the colo(u)r was correct.

These photos show how my driver's seat is already showing soil after only a few years. Yes, it can be, and will be, cleaned up, but still...

Contrasting and complimentary colo(u)rs in the interior make a very appealing picture for me. I had done this first in an '03 Arnage - stunning.

Not to take the thread off topic, but seeing the very light colors in the Andrew Blow car set me off.

[Nick Challacombe]

Nothing estate agent like about Dr.Andrew Blow, Greg, he has been the only "proper" dealer/agent for Bristols for many years. A stout, in heart, member of the club and one time editor of the magazine. Long may he continue to trade along with now Bristol themselves who with Toby at the helm is pushing up the prices ( perceived anyway) of our prized possessions. He is as avid about Bristols as you. I have only known him for about 11 years since I joined BOC but would trust his know how and integrity above any house seller I know.

[GREG]

I did say that I had never heard anything bad about a Bristol dealer and that includes Andrew Blow.

I was just pointing out that I don't see benefits to the seller or buyer using this process.

Does the buyer get a warranty like dealers offer ?

Not an attack on the man, just questioning the benefits of the system.

[Claude]

Originally Posted by GREG

Not an attack on the man, just questioning the benefits of the system.

I'm a big fan of questioning the system, and like you Greg, I do it all the time. However, while you and I may be the archetypal hunter who enjoys the pursuit, not everyone is of such a mindset or skill.

For them, the intermediary provides a useful service, among other things making sure that time is not wasted or the seller offers a deal that is not what the buyer wants. I have friends who are wholly unsuited to buying. They proudly drive up with a shiny, bondo-filled, clapped out car that they paid twice what it was worth; their head filled with nonsense tales told by the sociopathic vendor who was looking to offload a piece of junk. A reputable dealer or agent will charge more to earn their premium, but know that to stay in business they must conduct fair dealing.

As a buyer, like you, I prefer to go it alone. But as a seller until auction sites came along, I would prefer to consign the car. I find when selling that I attract people who are not serious about buying, who want to tell me their life story, or who have this idea that they can beat me down on price and the way to do this is disparagement. When I put my well-kept 409 up for sale, I had a number of buyers trying to convince me to accept NZ$20,000 - they were very intense about it. Then I put it up on trademe.co.nz at $35,000 and instantly had two buyers vying. Instead of a bidding war, I said the first to wire a deposit into my account bought it. Unlike the bottom feeders, these were serious buyers who were ready to buy and were prepared to pay a fair price for the car. Thus, I am a big fan of auction sites and am prepping our 1979 Alfa Spider and our 1969 Uniflite Navy Motorwhaler for sale on them soon. This will give me the cash and the garage space to work on the 411 and the 69 Spider sitting in the hobby queue.

What it really comes down to is that you are as qualified as a reputable dealer or agent, so you don't need one.

[GREG]

Well put , now it makes more sense - for some.

I probably need to sell stuff as well but hate the thought of it. I guess mother traumatised me throwing my old favourite toys away, so I want to keep everything :-)

[Ferrington G]

I tend to agree, a commission sale will always work harder for the seller than buyer, it's natural. Not a fan really. However a nice car, good to see it back on the road along with the other 4 remaining examples.

[GREG]

I noticed the latest sales comment on a car for sale !!!

- Quote-

The 406 is the last of the Bristol-engined 6 cylinder cars, and has standard overdrive giving 5 gears, and disc brakes all round. Lots of unique features only fitted to the 406 model. Some consider it the best car Bristol built, myself included, -Quote-

For me the best Bristol ever made within my price range is the Bristol 411 S1
and that is why I own one.

It seems a bit strange that a Bristol dealer would state that the 406 is the best car ever built by Bristol but not own one according to the register !

I don't know if the register is complete. ?


Or is it me ! :-)

[Kevin H]

Originally Posted by GREG

It seems a bit strange that a Bristol dealer would state that the 406 is the best car ever built by Bristol but not own one according to the register !

The register could be out of date, or maybe it isn't. But I don't think it is strange at all if Andrew doesn't currently own a 406.

An individual private dealer who specialises in a particular marque ends up driving them almost every day, and Andrew has probably driven almost every type of Bristol ever made, including one-offs (I still regret not buying the Abbot 404 from him many years ago). So he probably sees no great need to own a particular type.

I know an individual dealer of classic cars in Melbourne who has bought and sold more Astons than anyone in Australia. I have bought three from him and sold two through him myself. I once wondered how he could possibly sell some of these cars, particularly the fine examples of rare models, and why he didn't have a stable of superb Astons for his personal use. But I realised that dealers have to detach themselves from the desires that drive enthusiasts like ourselves, otherwise it would impact on their business. The other thing is they know that they will keep on having opportunities to drive these cars again and again, sometimes the exact same cars.

[GREG]

Fair comment.

And I guess the other problem would be that if they don't get used often enough the mechanical condition will suffer.

Some of the big car collectors like Jay Leno on Simon Draper must have a permanent team of mechanics just to keep them all in running order !

What a great problem to have !

Jay Leno's Garage

[Kevin H]

We're getting a bit off topic so I started another thread here about car collections.