This Guy Bought A Problematic BMW M3, Then Saw His Car Had Been Abused By Top Gear

After buying a BMW M3, 27-year-old Rob Willis had nothing but trouble with his car. Then, one day while watching a Top Gear rerun, he realised his car had been abused on the Top Gear test track
This Guy Bought A Problematic BMW M3, Then Saw His Car Had Been Abused By Top Gear

No matter how careful you are when checking a used car’s history, it’s impossible to know exactly how difficult its life has been. For example, just because your car has been regularly serviced, it doesn’t mean it was never drifted around an airfield by a bloke who had literally no interest in being careful since he got to give the keys back at the end of the day. At least, that would be impossible to know, unless, say, it was drifted around an airfield by the bloke who hosts the world’s most watched television show.

Rob Willis, 27, encountered exactly this problem recently, after buying himself a lovely looking Yas Marina Blue BMW M3. The IT operations manager told The Sun:

“When I bought it, I was told it was an ex-demo which one of the managers had been driving. The brakes were constantly squeaking and the steering wheel made a clunking noise every time I came off the motorway.”

Then, about a month after picking up the car, Rob was watching an old episode of Top Gear, when his girlfriend spotted that the M3 being hooned by Clarkson was wearing the same number plate as the car he’d just bought. Obviously unimpressed by the fact he’d been sold a car that had been abused in such a way without disclosure of that fact, Willis took his M3 back to his local dealership: “The dealers told me it was a mistake and the car should never have been sold as it was unfit for the road.”

This Guy Bought A Problematic BMW M3, Then Saw His Car Had Been Abused By Top Gear

The life of a press car is a rough one. The cars are handed around from publication to publication, and driven by people who grow no sense of attachment to the car. Most of us are careful to treat cars properly, but there will always be those who use and abuse their privilege. Furthermore, making cool content often involves driving these cars hard, repeatedly for the camera; no matter how careful you are, that’ll take its toll - and occasionally these cars come with delivery mileage, and we simply don’t have time to get the engines run in before enjoying them. So when these cars exit service and are sold off, it’s no surprise that occasionally they might seem a little rough around the edges.

Fortunately the cars are looked after and serviced by dedicated teams, so there’s very little chance of people encountering an issue like Rob has. Still, I’m not entirely sure I’d want to drop big money on a car the likes of Chris Harris or Jeremy Clarkson have had on camera, no matter how carefully it’s been serviced in the meantime.

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Comments

Igor Konuhov

“When I bought it, I was told it was an ex-demo” - then you have no place to complain you daft ejit.

12/10/2015 - 14:41 |
6 | 4

Exactly what I thought.

12/10/2015 - 15:09 |
0 | 0

Well, there’s a difference between “ex-demo which one of the managers had been driving” and ex-demo one of the hosts was throwing around on a racetrack in a car show.

12/10/2015 - 15:10 |
2 | 0

Willis took his M3 back to his local dealership: “The dealers told me it was a mistake and the car should never have been sold as it was unfit for the road.

12/10/2015 - 15:19 |
4 | 0

demo car is not the same as press car, demo is to people see the car cruising around town by a manager or other employ of the dealer, press car his trashed around by every journalist whit out any type of care…

12/10/2015 - 15:22 |
14 | 0
Nik Mohd Firdhaus

easy fix

12/10/2015 - 14:50 |
268 | 2
Anonymous

As a Canadian I’m confused about this whole number plate thing. Do UK cars have their number plates installed at the factory and keep them for the life of the car? Here every owner gets their own plates when they register the car, but if the sell it they take them off and the new owner gets their own plates.

12/10/2015 - 15:01 |
12 | 2
Ben Conover

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

As an American, I’m also confused. But as far as I can tell, it’s similar to a VIN.

12/10/2015 - 15:07 |
2 | 0
Anonymous

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

Yes, in the UK, unless a personalised plate is put on, the car wears a plate showing when it was registered

12/10/2015 - 15:08 |
4 | 0
Thierry Theuns

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

Here in most of Europe the car gets a plate once it is first registered with the country’s DMV equivalent, the license plate is registered to the car and the owner of the car. Then when the car is sold to someone else, the registration is carried over to the new owner, so the license plate is then tied to the same car with a new owner.

12/10/2015 - 15:08 |
0 | 0
Ryan Ellington

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

Yep, the numberplate gets put on when the car is registered and then belongs to the car as opposed to the driver (unless you invest in a private number plate).

12/10/2015 - 15:10 |
0 | 0
Anonymous

“the steering wheel made a clunking noise every time I came off the motorway”

12/10/2015 - 15:05 |
0 | 0
James Bainbridge

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

Just read it in Jeremys negative overtone he has when talking about what he doesn’t like about the car and it sounds good.

12/10/2015 - 15:18 |
0 | 0
Thierry Theuns

Wait, this car is proven to be on track in a Top Gear episode, driven by Jeremy Clarkson? The profit that this guy could have made would be enough to buy two normals ones, even with all the trouble…

12/10/2015 - 15:13 |
0 | 0
Will Bigham

So… he accidentally bought a car that was used on screen in Top Gear… and then complained about it? There’s sure to be loads of people willing to give up their first born to buy a car driven on Top Gear, yet this guy’s upset he got just that?

12/10/2015 - 15:14 |
2 | 2

If you’re going to fork over the big bucks you’d want something that runs well. Even if it was driven on Top Gear if it’s your only car the issues are the last thing you’d want to deal with.

12/10/2015 - 15:27 |
0 | 0
Anonymous

Should have put it on ebay, “driven by Jeremy Clarkson” would have sold in no time

12/10/2015 - 15:23 |
0 | 0
Anonymous

Nothing would have happened if it was a Japanese car..😄

12/10/2015 - 15:25 |
2 | 2
Hershel

I didn’t know top gear was the worlds most watched television show.

12/10/2015 - 15:30 |
0 | 0

It actually is ;)

12/10/2015 - 16:12 |
0 | 0
Anonymous

If I knew Clarkson drove it is keep it.

12/10/2015 - 15:41 |
0 | 0