It's not unusual to love a car so much that you don't want to part with it, but few people go so far as to track an old motor down and buy it again - almost 50 years later.
However, one Devon man has done just that; spending £10,500 to reunite himself with the very car his dad once gave him as a 21st birthday present - for a slightly more modest £20 outlay.
Seventy-two-year-old Martyn Jarman originally owned the roadster, a 1934 British Salmson S4C, for just three years before he reluctantly sold it to raise money for his wedding.
And while his marriage didn't last, Mr Jarman never forgot his car, which had passed between owners, remaining with its most recent keeper for more than 40 years.
But while the once-white car is now blue, it's highly recognisable - being one of only 230 or so that were made, and one of only two with the same rare coachwork.
Speaking of his joy at being reunited with his "old lady", Mr Jarman explained that he had waited patiently for the car to come up for sale, and could well understand the spell it had cast on its most recent minder.
"[The previous owner] died six or seven years ago, and at first his widow didn't want to part with her because it meant a lot to her as well and was full of good memories.
"It's just incredible that I've got her back."
And while Mr Jarman is wisely keeping the rare sportster - capable of a claimed 80mph - out of the winter weather, he's already looking forward to a change in the seasons.
"She's a truly beautiful car and I can't wait to get her out in the spring and summer and admire her back on the road," he said.
