Not too similar to my previous thread I hope, but after my Pug 104 fiasco (see Nightmare Car Buys). I was extremely diligent in deciding what car to get for my girlfriend.
The cars I looked at were offered to be by people who really thought I had come down in the last shower or by those who genuinely had no idea that they were parting with a death trap.
Exhibits include:-
Renault 5 Mk1 GTL 3 door, where the passenger door pillar had actually com away from the floorpan, making it possible to push the door open by half an inch without actually opening it! Scary or what. Fortunately it could not be driven as the cylinder head was in the boot! Huge sigh of relife there.
Fiat 126 where the boot (at the front) was found to have a flip top facility as the front of the car (on which it was hinged) all but came away from the wings.
A Mini that a daft (not dishonest) aqaintance offered to me. I later bought this for spares. I tried to salvage the front bumper so thought I would simply break the number plate away to make removal easier. The problem is that the front bumper and the valence behind it came away as well leaving a gaping hole under the grille. They must have made that number plate out of titanium!!
Another Renault 5 Mk1. Brand new MOT. Went to look at it and found that the windscreen was cracked, which immediately made me suspicious. One look underneath and I was gad to get out alive. Have to say I was a bit peeved at going out a long way to view it, so was the idiot selling it when I told him what I thought of it!
A so called dealer who had taken a Fiat 127 in P ex and let me drive it with air in the breaks! I'll call you mate.
Any stories where people have been offered the daftest of cars for sale, either due to pure ignorence or worse?
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Yep - after my recent car hunt (now over - yay!) I was looking at a 3-Series which was described in the ad as "very good condition". One of the first things I saw was a patch of rust in the passenger door I could have put both thumbs through. There was a hole in the floor of the driver's footwell, the engine ran unevenly and didn't start first time even though it was already warm when I got there. There was a huge amount of condensation on the rear windscreen, as though it had been raining inside the car - which smelled damp. There were holes in the carpets and seats, which were damp to the touch, and there were loads of leaves decomposing in the surround of the boot lid. The steering pulled to the left and the wheel was off-centre. The suspension was in poor shape as the car actually scraped the ground going round a corner at moderate speed.
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So, andymc, did you buy it??
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In the Philippines that would have years of life left in it. As long as it is capable of some form of forward locomotion it is perfectly roadworthy here!
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when looking for number 2 son's car, a VW Polo with lots of minor surface rust. But a clutch which engaged about 1/2 inch from the top of travel and was so fierce it was in/out and nothing in between.
Totally undriveable.. and a death trap to any pedestrian if you tried to park/reverse in it becaue it was uncontrollable.
Sold by a dealer on a fixed site...words fail me...
madf
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Renault 5 Mk1 GTL 3 door, where the passenger door pillar had actually com away from the floorpan, making it possible to push the door open by half an inch without actually opening it! Scary or what. Fortunately it could not be driven as the cylinder head was in the boot! Huge sigh of relife there.
I forgot to expand on this one. After I viewed this car outside a very nice expensive house I might add, I explained in detail to the owner, a fairly well to do professional type, why I thought it should have the car breakers called on it with immediate effect for everyones' safety. I offered to show him why. He was not interested but said he noted my concerns.
The following week I saw his ad in the paper again for the same car. He didn't even recognise my voice when I phoned him again. I did the usual and asked about the car. He explained that it was cheap because the cylinder head needed refitting, just as he had before.
"What work would need doing to the bodywork?" I asked. He assured me that it was sound. "Even though the door pillar has parted company with the floorpan?" I asked. Stunned silence. I assured him that should I ever find out that car had been put on the road, I would report him to the Police for knowingly selling a car that was dangerous.
"Oh yes well, there are lots of rougues out there we all have to be careful these days don't we?" he stammered.
"Closer to you than to me" was my reply.
It's not as if he even needed the money for it!
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