The search for a Twingo begins

Finding a Twingo should have been an easy process; the internet and a variety of car sales websites from auction sites to free-ads means that adverts can be found quite easily.

I’ve watched a few cars come along on eBay, Car & Classic and even on forums; but it never seemed to be the right time; or in some cases the right specification of car. The joy of the Twingo is the vivid selection of colours, interiors and even options such as the fold back roof. I also prefer the phase one cars with rubber bumpers and the original flat disc wheel trims and that was the specification I wanted; as close to original as possible.

I found a website called “The Parking” which searches out classified car adverts from a huge number of European selling sites. It has a very specific search function which allowed me to hone in on the 1993-1998 era Renault Twingo and also to search by Nation so I could fine tune. There was no point looking at cars in Scandinavia or Eastern Europe where a journey back would be more expensive and involve driving through more countries.

Initially my plan of 2019 was to identify cars in a reasonable area meeting around the borders of France/Germany and Holland/Belgium and then to travel out to view those by either plane or Eurostar and to drive the chosen car back to the UK. I read up on the various laws around exporting vehicles from each nation, and the legality of driving the car back to the UK. Generally cars listed in Holland and Germany it seemed were of a more consistent price and quality than those in France. French cars ranged from banger money to serious money and some looked extremely neglected and battered. I also heeded advice from the Garage of Luke blog to avoid certain Dutch dealers whose cars were certainly not as advertised.

Then 2020 arrived and with it the dreaded Corona Virus;  travel was suspended and the UK finally exited itself from the European Union. Suddenly the waters around my plan were very muddy and the idea was parked; although every Sunday The Parking sent me an email of the newly listed cars. The reduction in activity during 2020 allowed me to stash away a lot more money than I normally would and into 2021 I had put away a reasonable amount of savings and the Twingo itch still remained. My 40^th birthday occurs in mid 2021 I wanted a classic to be able to use during the summer. I have a friend willing to do the resto work on the Fiesta XR2 I own; but he admitted it was unlikely to be done within the timescale of my birthday. That promoted the Twingo to the top of my list of projects.

The Parking frequently brought up a site called AutoScout24 and a couple of interesting cars appeared. The first was a yellow car with folding roof; which looked in good condition but it sold before I had chance to discuss with the dealer. Another three identical cars were for sale in Holland and all of a similar price range. All were priced around the same price of €550 (roughly £475). A close up look at one car revealed that it was pretty battle scarred; but one at a dealer in Teuge close to the German border was advertised with clear pictures and looked to be an original example.