In this, the 50th anniversary year of the E-Type Jaguar, I invited two directors of a Classic Car dealership to view my 3.8 Roadster. On the phone I had described this beautiful car accurately and we agreed on the price: £77,500 dependent upon the 'viewing'. As soon as they arrived, they started a campaign of criticising the car (which was expected) and the visit culminated in a 20 minute drive. During this drive, the lead 'negotiator' announced that the car required a new steering rack and was “dangerous” and “should not have passed the MOT” (carried out days before). In discussion later I was told that they would need to spend £5,000 on the car and I agreed to sell for £75,000.

The next day the car was on their website, described in very glowing terms (of course). To my surprise, two days after the sale it was priced at £99,995 and described as “simply sensational”. Is this just two professionals going around the country buying bargains and telling 'white lies' to achieve that - or is it something more sinister? I appreciate that I did agree on the price and should not have listened to their criticisms. At the very least - a warning to others.