Morning Buggers,

I haven't yet joined the ranks but now my mind is made up that it's time to fulfil both a childhood ambition (could there be anyone who didn't think buggies were the dog's nadgers as a kid?) and a current craving (who said mid-life crisis?) so I am scouring numerous sites for the right buggy, hopefully in time for us to join you guys for some fun over the summer, assuming we get one (I have always been an optimist).

It's an entirely new world to me and the past few weeks of Googling and forum reading has taught me a lot about SVAs, different configurations and the massive variance in quality that's out there.

As it stands I don't yet have a lot that I can contribute to the forum but would be grateful for any advice on what to look for, potential pitfalls to avoid and lessons learned by members so that when I take the plunge I can do it with my eyes open.

Thanks

Hello and welcome to the nut house! We're a pretty tame bunch so don't be afraid to ask questions and I'm sure one of us will have come across whatever problems you've got.

Are you thinking of building from scratch, buying an existing buggy or a bit of both (I've never seen a car yet that I wouldn't want to change to suit my own tastes)?

Welcome aboard

As it stands I don't yet have a lot that I can contribute to the forum

Don`t ever underestimate the importance of fresh and enthusiastic members - its what keeps this place alive   

Good luck with your search, and as ManxDavid has said, any questions, all you need to do is ask

[My Youtube channel]

Welcome to the site and as the boys say, just ask away! 

Thanks for the warm welcome gents. It'll definitely need to be an existing buggy as I don't have the time or the skill to scratch build and as I say, we want something we can use this summer. Although I'm pretty handy when it comes to diy from a building & decorating point of view, I've been utterly spoiled for too many years with company cars so my mechanical knowledge is embarrassing!

I figure to buy something that needs a minimal amount of relatively simple work now or a fully completed buggy with a view to making it "mine" over time as I learn what's what.

Welcome Brizzle, I suppose it's all down to budget and getting the best for your money, if you let us know where you are, perhaps there could be a few around you who might even be able to guide you thru the process of finding the right one to suit you, check out the members map and see who's near you, good luck with the search. It's an aventure driving a buggy.

On here there's all ages, all abilities and pretty well all senses of humour. Plenty of pooh traps when avoid when buying but sounds like you've been eyeing up the market so you should start to see what sells and what doesn't and at what prices.

Do read the V5 debate on here wrt trying to ensure if you get a short wheel base (SWB v LWB) then get a V5 without Saloon on it and preferably without Beetle, and ideally with Beach Buggy or Convertible or similar.

The advantage of most buggies is you can easily look under and around them to see the general condition before buying.

If you're like me you won't be trying to achieve an immaculatly crafted and engineered, non scratched perfect buggy - in my case because I don't have the patience, skill or appropriate mental strength. Of course the more you spend and the more you care for your buggy the better it will probably behave (handling and reliability) but you'll see on here that even the 'top dogs' sometimes 'bite' their owners !

Oh and make sure you choose a yellow one !

[GREEN]

Oh and make sure you choose a GREEN one !

Fixed that for ya 

Welcome, the mechanicals are very simple the thing to do is buy something you like for it's body design and colour stance and fittings are easy to change if you do not like them. The golden rule is a buggy is never finished.

Welcome to the gang.
I'm also in the West Country, planning on attending local events in & around Bristol/Bath so if you see a blue metal flake sidewinder feel free to have a chat.

(BLUE is the colour....)

Cheers

Blue is some form of dirty yellow !

But I have to agree with the sentiment that buggies are never finished.....

Hmmmm... There could be a problem her then because the one I'm currently trying to get in touch with someone about is red... And anyway the right colour is of course purple, everyone knows that!

Red or Purple are just fine . . . . .

. . . . great undercoat colour for GREEN   

I had a green(ish) one once...I miss that car...

Gah... The more I see well-presented, correctly-proportioned (that may be a contentious statement) buggies the more I know it's the right thing to do...