Wanted 696

Hello All, I've just joined....I dont have a Monster as my Avatar here....yet! can anyone here help me with that?

I’m looking for a used Monster 696. I realise that I’m NOT going to get a low mileage model for my budget which is £3500 but I AM a serious buyer. I live on the Devon Cornwall border near Gunnislake so I have to consider van fuel costs in terms of distance to and from a potential purchase on top of my budget. I’m bike-less at the moment after it got smashed up by a junction-jumping pizza delivery van-man. I’ve fallen in love with the 696 and can’t find anything within £100-ish of fuel distance of a van drive, it’s the first time I’ve been bike-less for 12 years and it’s really getting me down!

I’ve previously owned a KTM Duke II 640 (great fun), Kawasaki Ninja 636 (rocket ship), Honda Hornet (I met my husband on the Hornets Nest forum!) and a Honda CRF230 (for Hare & Hounds, could climb anything). The bike I just had was a Kawasaki ER6f. I’ve also ridden loads of other bikes, done a few track days, used to ride H&H and enduros and once….a long time ago, I had a go on a mates yellow Ducati Monster 600. I've been looking on ebay but I always get outbid in the last millisecond. I'm signed up to BikeTrader, Ebay, Gumtree and Preloved alerts (can't figure out how to get an alert from MCN). I'm watching 2 on ebay right now, but they're only 6 thousand-ish miles so I'm sure they'll go for more than I have to spend.

If anyone is about to sell, or knows of one shortly to be sold then would you please let me know? I’d be very grateful.

Thanks,
Maria.