Unmissible Opportunity

The start of 2009 was upon me. I had effectively ruled out the other car choices and so I was quietly deliberating what to do about finding a Teg. Comissioning a fresh import was no longer appealing. Afterall, the economy had just collapsed and the Pound to Yen exchange rate had fallen from 230 to around the 130 mark. Oh how I wish I had the foresight to buy all my parts before then, more on this later.

As fortune would have it, I was working for a client up in Newcastle where coincidentally, Andy from 200bhpcars is based. It was at this time that a former customer of his was trading in his Teg which appeared to be in immaculate condition with some added goodies. To give you an idea of why this car caught my eye:

• Late 2004 Facelift in Championship White
• C Pack - Tinted rear windscreen and side rear windows; Rear wiper, electric power folding assist mirrors
• Push starter button
• Auction grade 5/A which in layman's terms means it's practically brand new
• Imported with only 4k miles on the clock. Two years on it still had only done 10k miles!
• Mugen Assist Meters (around £800 at the time and I believe over £1k now!)
• And some other goodies which I didn't spot at the time. More shall be revealed later.

The car was up for £13k which was an absolute bargain. Andy had said that it was still in 5/A condition and anyone that knows Andy knows that he is one of the most helpful, capable and honest Traders around. Alas for Andy, there was no interest. Afterall this was the time where everyone was in fear for their jobs. This as it happens was a big advantage for me.

It took me a while to deliberate if I should take the plunge and go for the car. I was still undecided about the whole facelift/ pre-facelift route. What prompted me to eventually take a look in person was a price drop to £12,750; the fear of an opportunity missed. Surely someone would snap this car up, it was an absolute bargain.

One late, dark and cold evening in Newcastle, I went to visit Andy's premises after hours. In his garage he had a brand new white GTR, an RX7, a couple of DC2's, an FD2 and 'some' car underneath a cover surrounded by spotlights.
The moment Andy removed the cover I fell in love. The car was in stunning condition and even the hated rear bumper of a facelift looked good. This really was a case of pictures don't do this car justice and the Teg looks great in pictures!

Outside visual check! - Stunning and immaculate condition
Inside visiual - Wow! I will hold my hands up and say the Mugen Assist Meters never really done it for me in pictures even though they were stunning. The only way I can describe why is that they always looked a bit 'big'. Seeing them in real life, they were the perfect size and when lit up in the dark provided a real wow factor.

After wiping the drool off my face we eventually went for a test drive. Andy took me out first to warm the car up and the first thing I noticed was how snug the bucket seats were and how loud it was inside the cabin. There was a significant difference between this and the CTR that my bro used to own, not what I was expecting but was very pleasing.
After 10 minutes, Andy pulled over and I jumped into the driver's seat. The experience was exhilarating, and I was a quite a bit hesitant to hit vtec as it was an icy night! The gear changes felt crisp yet so short at the time that I wasn't sure I had completed the gear change!

Once back at the garage, I decided that this was the car for me. We agreed on a slightly lower price and put down a deposit to secure the car.

A few weeks later I had taken ownership and here is how she looked back then.

Mugen Assist Meters - Water Temp, Oil Temp, Oil Pressure