Home » Public Forums » GMCnet » Still alive - Dominik from Switzerland (What I've done in the meantime)
| Still alive - Dominik from Switzerland [message #271392] |
Sun, 08 February 2015 07:47  |
Dominik
Messages: 78
Registered: July 2014
Location: Zurich reg., Switzerland
Karma:
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Dear GMC Forum,
I've been to Canada, that is how far I believe I've posted on here.
And if I have promised to visit you but did not, please excuse me.
In Canada, I've been in touch with a few people, many of them are on this board - Hello again...
After not finding a descent unit for an acceptable price, I greyhounded all the way from Toronto to Vancouver Island to stay with a family member for a few days, or maybe a week or two.
But after one day, he told me that I have to be gone by Friday. That gave me four more days to get myself a car to travel, since I couldn't find the GMC I could handle on my own.
Especially mechanically, I didn't have the knowledge about those vehicles, and I knew, a Motorhome-shaped USB stick might not be enough for me to keep it running.
After two days, I have purchased a 1997 Grand Caravan for $1000 Canadian, and insured and licensed it for $780, I believe.
At that very moment at the insurance office, it grabbed me - I asked myself, what are you doing ?
I was just spending towards two grand just to get away from this family member, who I didn't know that well, but has invited me to come, but turned out to be a douchebag.
Even though, I've met many nice people in Canada, and had planned ahead to go to California, I decided to purchase a flight back home to Switzerland. I left two days later.
He sold the vehicle with lots of trouble, and around some corners, I got 500 Francs in return, about 550 canadian. So I lost most of it, but was back home.
For a time, I didn't want to think about it, but now I'm following a GMC Motorhome, I was following before coming to Canada. The one from Haynes Racing.
I've been to England 4 months before coming to Canada, trying to find out more about the Haynes Racing GMC Motorhome.
I was at the Haynes museum, which housed it - behind their main building. It was rotting in their back lot. Until they've sold it 2 years prior to my visit.
I had been in touch with the person who cared for it. He promised to send pictures of the interior, and would try to find out where it was now, because I wanted to see it in person.
I've never seen one before, and only saw one when I came to Canada. And Pictures of the interior, because it was a pit vehicle for a racing team, that was sponsored by Haynes Manuals.
If you google Haynes Racing GMC Motorhome, you see it has an extra window where most would have a toilet/shower combination. Like in layout 2, the one I favored.
So I decided to go to England, or Great Britain, which includes Scotland and Wales - and I really made it all the way up to Scotland in my 1990 Chrysler Minivan, I just got a month
before the trip, and passed safety two days before I set off - Even though the automatic transmission broke the second I drove off from the safety inspection place in Switzerland.
Yes, I got it fixed myself in that one single day before I left... Oh, that was a long night on the Allpar forum (It's what the GMC forum is, but for Chrysler/Plymouth/Dodge/Jeep People).
But the next day I drove off, with my minivan geared up, full with everything I thought I would need to travel in comfort, and be able to sleep in it.
In the end, I was hoping to find that GMC Motorhome, but when I made it to the Haynes Museum in Somerset, that gentleman who I was in touch with, was busy. All day. And the next.
I was at the front desk, and the lady called him on the phone. He said, he would be in an all-day meeting, and would have no time to see me - And that the person now owning and restoring
the vehicle would not want for his name to go out - Probably for tax reasons, he assumed. Well I was there for around 8 or 9 hours, from before 9 am and almost until 6 pm, and I found it weird,
that this guy would not want to see me. This is not how I would act, after somebody drove roughly a thousand miles just to see me. Well, I enjoyed England, Wales and Scotland, but my search
was obviously over.
But in fall, a few months after returning from Canada, I found out, that in that very week I was in England, and being told, that - in essence - the vehicle found a happy new owner, it was
actioned off for 300 British Pounds by an auction house that was not affiliated with Haynes. Thanks a lot !!! So this guy obviously didn't even take the time to call the new owner, and he must have
made everything up he told me. Otherwise, he could have told me that there would be an auction just a few hours drive away, and I could have purchased the vehicle.
A few months back, after finding it was sold in poor condition, to somebody who might not have the knowledge to repair it, I have asked a good friend of mine, that I visited during my stay in England,
but I see every other week since he works in Zurich - to call and ask for more information, regarding the buyer and what he would do with it - Now listen, it gets better !
My friend never really called this auction place, even though i asked and reminded him many times. I wanted somebody older and with the same nationality to call, since as a foreigner,
I don't believe I get as much support as I could if I were not 25 but older and from the same country. So last week I've sent an email to this auction place, asking these things...
Who owned it now, and what do you think that person is going to do with it - Just taking off spares, maybe ?
I was told, that the person who bought it wasn't able to pick it up so it was picked up by a scrapper.
After asking about who the scrapper was and when it was picked up, I was told by the auction house representative, that he couldn't help me any further.
After some more research I found an old eBay ad, selling the vehicle off of the auction house lot, starting at 99 pence, that's little under one british pound.
The eBay auction was ended early, but I got in touch with the person selling it. It was a friend of the person who bought it at this auction place, and I was told,
that the auction place offered to purchase it back, and he agreed to give it back, aka. leaving it where it sat.
So they DO know about the vehicle, because an employee wanted to have it... Or maybe the representative who answered my email ?
Anyways, I'm not giving up, trying to call tomorrow, maybe I find out some more. I just want the current owner to know I was interested, hope he would think of me before selling or scrapping it.
I know it is a long shot, and in my country, I would have to get a bus driving license, but I would do it just for this vehicle. I like it, and I'm sure traveling in it would be a blast...
I will keep you all up to date about this - "situation"...
Weird how I was lied to all the way regarding this very vehicle. Even my friend for whom I would have done everything to help him out while he was in Switzerland. Just shows you who your real friends are.
All the best,
Dominik
Link to a current picture:
http://angliacarauctions.co.uk/en/classic-auctions/results/results-5th-april-2014/1978-gmc-royal-motorhome/
- The good the bad and the ugly and its all me -
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