This is the second time that this car has appeared on ebay in the last few weeks, and has been discussed a great deal between us 131 fans ever since.
The first advert was placed by a guy in Sutton, Surrey, selling it for a friend in Poland, where the car was at the time. The second advert had the same guy selling it, but the ad lead people to believe that the car was now in the UK, but needing UK registration.
There are a number of things that rang alarm bells among us, namely
1) Why would a guy be selling a car from the UK when it was still in Poland, where no-one could see it.
2) Photos of the car taken before and during the restoration show it to be a very rusty example. What lies 'lurking' beneath the shiny black paint?
3) If the car is not UK registered it means that it is certainly needs an MoT (which is a requirement of the UK Dept of Transport) prior to registration, (it doesn't need an SVA!) which was likely to incur a very high cost considering the pre-restoration state of the car. Also the advert states that the 'underneath OK' - read into this what you like.
4) Central locking and electric windows have also been fitted, which means that the electrics have been modified - who knows to what standard.
5) White roof and incorrect interior re-trim, coupled to non-standard wheels and left-hand drive, all wrapped up in a ?1,000 starting price, with the reserve not met.
I realise that I am very sceptical and also a purist, so this car doesn't appeal to me in the slightest, but common sense alone must tell anyone with a little savvy that buying this car will be a painful - in so many ways.
Incidentally, I assume that you communicated with Peter Jones of the FMC(GB) who is actually the Chairman, not the President
. He may have asked some of the 'resident 131 experts' but he certainly didn't ask me...which is a little surprising as I am the 131 Registrar and Vice-Chairman of the same club
Graham, if you want to know about a 131 please ask here first as the chances are we have already discused it
and our advice is always free!