"There is no time to explain - we are flying to Arkhangelsk!": The story of buying a dream car

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

An exciting story about the search for "Cheese".

We decided to buy a Volkswagen Scirocco in 2017. Why him? First, it's beautiful. And secondly, once upon a time, when we did not know each other, I (Dmitry) had exactly Scirocco, or "Cheese", as we call it. After that I changed more than one car, and the desire to have "Cheese" did not disappear anywhere: it belongs to a class of "hot hatchbacks", rare on the Russian market - small cars with a powerful engine. I've always liked them.

And I (Ekaterina) then had a Kia Rio - a very calm car, I wanted something more cheerful.

Monthly searches

We have been looking for our Scirocco for a long time and persistently for several months. We monitored sites with ads, but nothing came across. The problem is that there are not many of these models in general, and even fewer with a specific engine size (we were looking for a 2-liter one).

In the end, we were lucky - two ads appeared at once! The first is in Moscow, the second is in Arkhangelsk. It would seem that the choice is obvious, because we live in Moscow, but no. The capital "Cheese" had problems with the gearbox - it would have to be repaired in the near future. But in Arkhangelsk, the car was in the best condition, besides, the owner was a good one: he remotely provided a lot of photos, videos and documents. So we decided on this adventure and went on a journey for "Cheese"!

The seller was also glad that we were found: the car model is not the most popular, and it is difficult to find buyers for it - it seems that only Scirocco lovers choose it.

The guys were lucky - they had no competitors. More often than not, several potential owners hunt for a dream car at once. And if the car is located in another region, then you may not have time to buy it. You shouldn't worry about this with Avito Auto: the service has launched the "" function. Now, if you find an advertisement for the sale of the same car, you can ask the owner to assign it to you for five days - you just need to click on the "Book" button and pay a deposit of 5,000 rubles. The seller will not receive this amount: Avito will simply freeze it on your account and return it back after the transaction. If the purchase fails, the money will also be returned to you.

How we almost flew to Anapa

Ekaterina Mironycheva

The decision was made somewhat on emotions: there is no time to explain - we are flying to Arkhangelsk! We packed up quickly and drove off next weekend. By the way, a funny story happened to us at the airport: we were sitting not far from the exit, waiting for boarding. Everything is as it should be: gate 21, it says "Moscow - Arkhangelsk", our time, the flight too. But now things are going to take off, and we are still not invited. We decided to approach the employees of the airline and ask, they say, "how long." We were happily told that we should take off through the seventh gate. We grabbed our things, ran there: above the exit it says “Moscow - Anapa” - some kind of confusion. We still did not understand what it was, but we flew to Arkhangelsk. Hope the rest of the passengers figured it out too.

While flying, of course, constantly thinking about the car. We were afraid that in reality it would turn out to be not at all what we expected: we would go so far, look at it, and find flaws.

Purchase

Dmitry Medvedev

We arrived in Arkhangelsk early enough, it was still a few hours before the meeting with the seller. We spent time with benefit: wandered around the city, visited the museum. And then we went to the official Volkswagen service.

The seller turned out to be a very pleasant young man, somewhat like our friend. While the experts were conducting the examination, we told each other some stories, joked - in general, had fun.

During the diagnostics, one flaw was found: problems with the timing chain tensioner. I am a little familiar with the engines that are installed on this model, and I was aware that this happens. Even before the trip, we agreed with the seller that if the chain stretching is detected, he will make a discount on the cost of repairs. In the end, it turned out that way - everything is fine.

After the purchase, we tried to insure the car in Arkhangelsk, but could not - Russia! By law, this can be done in any region of the country, but in reality, insurance companies refuse if there is no registration. We could have made an electronic MTPL, but at that time I did not know about it. Yes, and with him, too, not everything is smooth: you can issue only on the date that comes three days after the application. And we were going to leave immediately: it was Saturday, and we had to return to the region on Sunday. We decided to go home without insurance - this does not violate the law.

Way home

Dmitry Medvedev

We got to Moscow by a new car: it took a day to go - a distance of 1,200 km. Of course, we were not going to spend so much time on the road without a break: it is unsafe and uncomfortable. The plan was as follows: we will pass part of the way in the evening, stop at a hotel, and in the morning we will calmly move on. But there were nuances. We are used to the fact that towns along the highways in Central Russia meet every 10-15 km, and in the North there are huge distances between them. And when we were already ready to stay for the night, it turned out that the nearest hotel was still 100 km away. I had to endure.

And another funny story: on the way, we listened to music on a cool audio system, which was installed by the former owner. True, we did not have our own media with the songs, we had to include what was on the flash drive in the car. And the repertoire on it turned out to be peculiar … But there was nowhere to go. No more adventures: the car behaved perfectly, and we got home without any problems.

Ekaterina Mironycheva

The car has been with us for four years, but I have always perceived it as "my young man's car." And then in February I sold my Kia. Morally, I parted with her back in the summer of 2020: then it became clear that we did not need two cars, and in 2019 each of them drove about 4,000 km, no more. If we had not sold Kia, it would have simply been dying in the parking lot - when the buyer arrived, there was a meter of snow on the car!

There was no choice - it was necessary to get used to it. At first I was a little worried, but in the end we became close. It partly helped that Mitya and I took an extreme driving course at Scirocco. There "Cheese" even overtook the Porsche!

There are more than half a million car ads on Avito Auto. Sellers indicate the mileage, year of manufacture, engine type, number of former owners, and if the author of the ad is the owner, a note about this will appear on the page. Also in the announcement you can see the report "". If the car fully meets your desires - hers. The seller will have to answer you within five days and invite you for an inspection.

What you need to remember before buying a car in another region

Ekaterina Mironycheva and Dmitry Medvedev

We think this whole operation was worth the candle, since it was impossible to find a car nearby in a similar condition and for such a price. A very decent audio system has become an added bonus. If you are also going to buy a car in another region, remember:

• Before you go, be sure to discuss all possible nuances with the seller: ask for a VIN-code, photos from all angles, video. If suddenly the owner refuses to send any documents, this is a reason to be wary.
• If the car is "not easy", make an appointment in advance about the inspection in a specialized service. It may be worth ordering a field check of the car from some reliable company before setting off on the road.
• Do not rush to take out insurance immediately after purchase: drive to your house and deal with this issue in your region. It’s much easier: you don’t have to adjust to the insurance or live in another city for several days.
• Be prepared for the fact that the car in reality may differ from what you saw in the photographs. Please restrain your emotions and bitterness from the long road. You shouldn't buy a car that requires serious investments in the heat of the moment. Better to look a little and wait a little longer.