Another inexpensive one

Sir,
Having just read your article on “Buying (a 2 1/2-litre Riley) Casually”, I feel moved to put pen to paper and relate my experience of buying in such a way.

I first saw my present car, a Daimler Conquest, in a front garden whilst going to work one morning. Although there was no indication that the car was for sale, I couldn’t resist having a look, being a Daimler fanatic.

Accordingly, that evening, I called on the home, and found that the owner was thinking of getting rid of it, but had not bothered to advertise it. The body was very tatty, the exhaust blew, but the engine was sound and commenced on the starter immediately. It was also M.o.T. for 10 months and taxed for 2 months. So I bought it for £40 and “raspberried” my way home.

A second-hand exhaust system and two remould tyres later, I was on the road. That was seven months ago. The rear axle has a growl in it, but I have had 11,000 trouble-free miles in it to date, including trips to Goole in Yorkshire and to Haslemere in Surrey, during which I have had only one involuntary stop on the road, due to a battery terminal breaking.

The car will cruise at 70, does 20 m.p.g., is reasonably quiet and very comfortable. What else does one want from any car?

D. Edwin Stepney.
Solihull.