Well, as per my car listing (see the left panel) I should today have become the proud owner of a mint condition one lady owner, full skoda history, 2006 fabia vRS in black magic with black leather interior.

I had only seen the car in detailed photos and it looked as good as it sounded but did have a small scuff on the tailgate of which a picture was sent.

So I did as much as I could before agreeing to buy, I checked the history, I paid for an HPI report (clean) and I discussed the condition with the dealer, who sources cars especially classics for well to do customers (I assume you'd have to be!) and also has a business specialising in looking after and restoring Morgan's. So, really, as safe a buy as you can do from the other end of the country.

I bought my single train ticket (£95), sorted out my loan, got a bankers draft (£20), emailed him a copy for verification purposes, sorted out the insurance (£45 charge) and headed down today to collect the gleaming beauty I'd seen in the pictures.

When I got there, I was told there was a slight problem - he'd just filled it up and now the starter wasn't working, it was dead when you turned the key. Not the end of the world yet.

So I jumped in and we went to his restoration shop for his mechanic to have a look at the problem and I set about inspecting the car. This is where it gets nasty.

The unmarked bodywork I thought I was going to see was covered in scratches down the near side of the car, particularly the front and rear arches. I was gobsmacked. The scratches looked fairly recent too, raised edges and also fairly deep, maybe 3/4 of the way through the lacquer - I'm talking about 50 scratches per arch. There were also loads of scuffs round other parts of the car too and some burns in the leather base of the drivers seat.

I could not believe the car had been described as mint with the light boot scratch and I had also not noticed them on the photo's which were of high enough quality.

I did the sensible thing and walked away, or rather I got my deposit back and got a lift (rather awkward!) back to the train station and travelled home at a cost of £217 for the single in the opposite direction (peak time on a Saturday apparently).

Now, having reviewed the pictures again, the car WAS mint when the photos were taken last week. Since then, it appears to have been used and abused and by the look of it, into a hedge or two on the country lanes where the workshop is. The lift back was in a customers car (a VW EOS) and we came across a tractor coming the other way and he basically just pulled right over to get out of the way and I thought "we're in the bloody hedge here and it's not even your car!".

So, mint car last week, ruined in between by the dealer it seems.

Absolutely gutted and quite out of pocket. :(

I've also had to pull the advertising on the own car as I will now need it again until I find another.

Aaaaaaarrgh!!!!!

Not good, waste of day and money

Definitely, and as a result, my wife has banned me from entertaining ideas of buying cars at the other end of the country.

Name and shame.

You must feel gutted.

I will, but I want to make make sure I at least my deposit refund cheque doesn't bounce first!