When purchasing a vintage car, you need to consider that it isn’t like buying a modern car.
To begin with, there will be fewer cars available for selection when buying a classic car, not to mention that time will take its toll on older cars, including the Triumph Spitfire which is likely to rust and obtain structural problems.
Bear in mind that there is likely to be a need for repairs on such a vintage car, this can be fairly expensive. Cosmetic repairs can be the cheaper option but will only last long enough to sell a car.
Often, sellers will leave out details about the car that might need your attention: they may describe the vehicle to have good mechanics, however, this could suggest it has a bad body, and vice versa – so look between the lines of some the advertisements you may come across.
When you’re out to buy, don’t buy the first car you come across. It can be frustrating once you have fallen in love with the idea of Spitfire, however, you must resist the temptation to leap onto the first car you find unless you are confident in what you are looking for.
There are many Triumph’s out there for sale, each of them in different states of repair and roadworthiness. You may come across vehicles in pristine conditions and others a total mess. It is worthwhile to take spend the time viewing as many cars as possible to get a feel for what’s available and what a reasonable price would be.
The buyer’s guide
Similar to most cars, the Triumph has its own strengths and weaknesses – some of which will emerge over a period of time.
It is important to have a feel about for potential trouble areas when you go to look at a car. A place to focus your attention on are the sills beneath the doors of the vehicle; they are structurally vital to the over vehicle and are fairly costly to fix. The floorpans do have a tendency to rust through also, moreso on the driver’s side and can be expensive to replace. Another area that has the tendancy to crack and rust is around the headlamps.
This may sound strange but taking a magnet with you to test the vehicle. There may be areas of the car that are filled with a lot of filler thus why it is beneficial to test which areas are actually metal and which are fillers.