Andrew Scott, 56, was forced to part ways with the 1997 532i back in 2005 after, with 250,000 miles on the clock, its engine finally packed up – but losing it hurt more than he thought
An entrepreneur has bought back the beloved BMW he got rid of nearly 20 years ago after randomly spotting it being driven near his home – and paid 10 times the value.
Andrew Scott, 56, was forced to part ways with the 1997 532i back in 2005 after, with 250,000 miles on the clock, its engine finally packed up.
The car had become symbolic to him as he used it during a rough period in his life – so losing it hurt much more than he expected.
But nearly two decades later, dad-of-two Andrew spotted someone driving the exact same car near his home in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset.
He flagged the driver down and asked if he could buy the car off him – but the new owner, who at this point had had the BMW for 15 years, refused.
Andrew however spent months persisting – calling every other week, making various offers, and even leaving notes on the car when he spotted it out and about.
Eventually, the owner agreed to sell and Andrew coughed up £3,000 for the car – which at the time was practically falling apart.
The car had been valued at just £300 online – but Andrew was more than happy to pay ten times what it was worth.
He said: “This wasn’t about the car itself. It was about what it stood for. When I first had it, at the age of 35, things were dire.
“I had bought a business that had failed, my marriage was falling apart, and I was facing £100,000 in credit card debt.
“But I knew I needed to change my life. I needed to look after my two little boys.
“And so I started again. I did everything I could to build a successful new company.”
A lot of the groundwork for Andrew’s new business involved driving around the UK meeting with potential customers – which meant his BMW became something of a second home.
“I was devastated when the engine blew up,” Andrew said. “I couldn’t even sell it on. I had to pay £50 for someone to come and take it away as scrap.”
Years later, things have completely changed for Andrew. He’s built multi-million pound marketing agency Purplex – and is generally enjoying life a lot more.
So all his memories of his years of struggling came flooding back when he spotted the BMW.
He said: “I was just dumbfounded when I saw the car so many years later.
“At the time that car was associated with the darkest time in my life. But when I saw it again, it just reminded me of how far I had come.
“I knew I had to have it.
“I must have seemed mad.
“Here I was, a now successful business leader, practically begging to buy back a car worth next to nothing.
“But to me, it was priceless.”
When Andrew got the car back, it was in poor condition – but he spent three months having it restored.
Now, it sits outside his office – and he takes it out once a week for a drive around.
He said: “Now it serves to me as a reminder of how no matter how dark it becomes, there’s always hope.
“Recently, at conferences, I’ve told entrepreneurs just starting out about the car and its story.
“And I hope it encourages them to just keep going.”
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