Sport for sale in uk

[eugene]

Bren,dont be laughing at Dave,as he has tanks for the frontline just like me .
Ok here is my story.Went to London last Nov08 to look at a 131.Was sent some photos.A photo is one thing,seeing it in the flesh is another thing.Was told before i left Eire that the car was running ok(engine wise) needed a total break rebuild and if purchased would have to be trailered back to Eire.It had been idle for 6 years and always stored indoors and had no MOT.
If the car was as he said it was,i agreed to pay him 1000sterling which he accepted.
The day before i left i got a e-mail from the seller to say that i may have overfilled the rad and that a little bit of water was coming out the overflow(at this stage i had my airline ticket bought).I was very suspicious about what i was told,but said nothing until i go and see for myself.
Got picked up at the airport,And got to the sellers house.Started up the car with the rad cap off.In under 3 minutes the car was blowing water out the rad like a volcano.Also noticed oil, engine oil blowing up around 2 spark plugs and also out one exhaust chamber.To be honest,my opinion was engine out and a total rebuild.The body wasn't bad,on the roof and bonnet the paint had all blistered as like someone had thrown paint remover on it.Inside the car was good,except the roof lining was starting to sag,but not bad.
I offered 500 sterling for what i saw and he said he would get the car to a garage and get the problems sorted.At that point i knew he was just a timewaster.What could a garage do only a botch job unless you are going to spend serious money.
In jan09 i got a e-mail to say that the water problem was sorted(was told a new termostat was fitted and the rad was blocked) and the car now seems to be running ok.I replied and asked about the oil blowing out around the 2 spark plugs and out the exhaust chamber.His reply was that when he was putting oil into the engine hemay have spilt someAnd the oil coming out the exhaust chamber was not there at all.I replied and said if new oil was spilt it would be a golden colour and not black and burn't.Also i reminded him about when he overfilled the rad.Haven't herd anything back since and won't either unless some not mechanical minded person comes along.These kind of people remind me of Aurthur Daly.
You have dishonest people everywhere and i myself would not try this on anyone.I would not bring anyone a long or short journey and try to sell some one something that is faulty.
I can see where Sid and the theredx are coming from,but don't tar everyone in the Uk with the one brush.There is good and bad everywhere.
My experience is,once bitten,twice shy. :(Eugene

[sid131]

I understand what you are saying Eugene but when you know a good few people that have similar & worse experiences, one friend bought a car on ebay that when he arrived it was a totally different car, another was to get picked up at the airport & the guy didnt show, myself i bought both our every day celicas in England & got absolute bargains but the market is huge for those cars so you can pick & choose, i didnt tar all with the one brush but in the classic car game i am afraid i have to cowboys!! real people with classic cars appreciate them & have them locked away at night & in bad weather not sitting outside the house rotting away, no excuse if you got no where to put a classic Fiat Toyota or whatever that rusted when the sun went in dont buy one to ruin, there are not many left, my 2 cents worth.

[mirafioriman]

Was this 131 a sport or a four door Eugene? If it was a sport and the body and interior were not too bad then I would say ?1000 was a reasonable price even if the engine needed work. I recently sold an excellent 2 litre twin cam engine and gear box for ?200, so mechanical parts can be found and replacing mechanical bits is much easier than fixing bodywork or interiors.

As we have seen on ebay recently, sports in poor condition can still fetch much more than ?1000!

[markwilliams131]

jeep ers dave just as well ya have all them spotlamps  you would hardly bee seen driveing
that yoke in daylight