S3 in the classifieds - a warning to prospective buyers
Discussion
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/t...
i went to view this car today with a friend, to say it was a disappointment is an understatement.
before we left we were told that the car was sound with a good exterior, slightly tatty interior and was a good runner.
the truth is somewhat different.
i. the car has had some sort of parking speed incident recently, the paint on the o/s/f is badly damaged (this has occurred after the pics were taken for the advert)
ii. the o/s/f indicator lens is missing and the housing itself is damaged.
iii. bad misfire
iv. massively overfuelling
v. petrol in the oil
vi. no power at all (even in 1st on flat ground it would hardly pull)
vii. serious lack of oil pressure
viii. no brakes
ix. interior was listed as "tatty" - well that was a proper understatement, as the leather is tough and hard and badly ripped, the carpets had bits missing etc etc
x. the roof panels dont seem to fit properly, and some of the lugs are missing
xi. hood itself appears to be rotting in places
xii. the boot release solenoid doesnt work, so the secondary cable is simple hanging out of the boot.
xiii. the bonnet didnt seem to open fully, possibly a result of the parking incident ?
xiv. the underbonnet wiring is in very poor condition.
its not all bad - the chassis was restored by Dulfords 7 yrs ago
(although we didnt check it too much due to the above list putting us off, plus the rain - however the car is not dry stored and the roads by his house on our half a mile test drive kept grounding the chassis and exhaust, so it may well be starting to go again by now)
the body seemed ok on the whole.
the bloke who owns it isnt short of ££££
his house was lovely, as was the 50's Bentley Continental he aso owns.
however he doesnt have a clue about mechanics etc, and was talking that if we werent intested then he was going to have a local mechanic tweak it to run ok and then readvertise it. (eg not fix it properly)
it could make someone a good project, but not at the price the guy wants for it. Im just a but concerned that someone on here might see it and waste time viewing it, or may see it on ebay or similar and bid based on the description.
I hope this post doesnt break any rules - but as i said im concerned about people wasting time and money etc.
i went to view this car today with a friend, to say it was a disappointment is an understatement.
before we left we were told that the car was sound with a good exterior, slightly tatty interior and was a good runner.
the truth is somewhat different.
i. the car has had some sort of parking speed incident recently, the paint on the o/s/f is badly damaged (this has occurred after the pics were taken for the advert)
ii. the o/s/f indicator lens is missing and the housing itself is damaged.
iii. bad misfire
iv. massively overfuelling
v. petrol in the oil
vi. no power at all (even in 1st on flat ground it would hardly pull)
vii. serious lack of oil pressure
viii. no brakes
ix. interior was listed as "tatty" - well that was a proper understatement, as the leather is tough and hard and badly ripped, the carpets had bits missing etc etc
x. the roof panels dont seem to fit properly, and some of the lugs are missing
xi. hood itself appears to be rotting in places
xii. the boot release solenoid doesnt work, so the secondary cable is simple hanging out of the boot.
xiii. the bonnet didnt seem to open fully, possibly a result of the parking incident ?
xiv. the underbonnet wiring is in very poor condition.
its not all bad - the chassis was restored by Dulfords 7 yrs ago
(although we didnt check it too much due to the above list putting us off, plus the rain - however the car is not dry stored and the roads by his house on our half a mile test drive kept grounding the chassis and exhaust, so it may well be starting to go again by now)
the body seemed ok on the whole.
the bloke who owns it isnt short of ££££
his house was lovely, as was the 50's Bentley Continental he aso owns.
however he doesnt have a clue about mechanics etc, and was talking that if we werent intested then he was going to have a local mechanic tweak it to run ok and then readvertise it. (eg not fix it properly)
it could make someone a good project, but not at the price the guy wants for it. Im just a but concerned that someone on here might see it and waste time viewing it, or may see it on ebay or similar and bid based on the description.
I hope this post doesnt break any rules - but as i said im concerned about people wasting time and money etc.
Edited by BountyHunter on Wednesday 6th February 02:07
I think you've done us all a great service with this feedback.
I've been hunting for a good, solid S3 for about 5 months now and it is such a frustrating process. The majority I've actually seen have had wildly optimistic descriptions, so you waste lots of time at the weekend seeing scruffy knackered cars with carefully taken photos.
I have to say it's making me very cautious. There is, what appears to be a lovely white S3 for sale. Only it is in Aberdeen and I'm in the midlands - and the description is quite lacking in detail and full of superlatives. So, do you arrange to drive for 8 hours, on the off chance it's a real beauty? And imagine the 8 hour drive home if it's not what you expected!
My conclusion, if you've already got a lovely S series - count your blessings !
I've been hunting for a good, solid S3 for about 5 months now and it is such a frustrating process. The majority I've actually seen have had wildly optimistic descriptions, so you waste lots of time at the weekend seeing scruffy knackered cars with carefully taken photos.
I have to say it's making me very cautious. There is, what appears to be a lovely white S3 for sale. Only it is in Aberdeen and I'm in the midlands - and the description is quite lacking in detail and full of superlatives. So, do you arrange to drive for 8 hours, on the off chance it's a real beauty? And imagine the 8 hour drive home if it's not what you expected!
My conclusion, if you've already got a lovely S series - count your blessings !
5.0ltr said:
You know he is a dealer in high end stuff? Not that it matters on this car.
the guy who has listed it is, but hes done that for a friend.the car is in the Shepton Mallet area of Somerset, not Milton Keynes where the dealership is.
ive actually let the dealer guy know, and hes said "ah, its been 6 months since I actually saw the car myself. thanks for letting me know, looks like I will have to pull the listing"
Edited by BountyHunter on Wednesday 6th February 10:33
Mr Plow said:
Thanks for the heads up.
What condition was the roof in, in your opinion?
Cheers
Liam
hi Liam,What condition was the roof in, in your opinion?
Cheers
Liam
it seems to be rotting down by were it meets the body, there were certainly shreds hanging away in places.
the roof panels themselves would need recovering (at the very least) as water has got under the cloth and its lifted Oh and they have missing lugs and dont seem to seat tightly at all.
phillpot said:
Caveat Emptor !
Guess you're not gonna get a "minter" for 3k but would help if it at least ran ok
thats it isnt it.Guess you're not gonna get a "minter" for 3k but would help if it at least ran ok
we werent expecting a minter, but did have a description to go from (which turned out to be misleading to say the least) and did expect a car that would accelerate and stop well enough.
we went with the cash, and had it been useable (bearing in mind it has 6 months mot) would have made an offer and hopefully driven it away - as it stands we simply walked away.
Edited by BountyHunter on Wednesday 6th February 10:21
BountyHunter said:
...... and hes said "ah, its been 6 years since I actually saw the car myself. thanks for letting me know, looks like I will have to pull the listing"
Maybe but is he saying the TVR pics were taken 6 yrs ago? They were taken on his usual driveway he uses for pics of his more expensive stuff..But matters not.5.0ltr said:
Maybe but is he saying the TVR pics were taken 6 yrs ago? They were taken on his usual driveway he uses for pics of his more expensive stuff..But matters not.
sorry my bad, 6 months not 6 yrsyeah it looks like he had the car at some point around when it had its mot done, and since then its been stored outside on a farm in Somerset.
Niiige said..
"There is, what appears to be a lovely white S3 for sale. Only it is in Aberdeen and I'm in the midlands"
If it's the white S3 that I saw, it says it is in South Ayrshire. Probably one hours drive across the border by my recollection!!
If it's not that car, just ignore me.
"There is, what appears to be a lovely white S3 for sale. Only it is in Aberdeen and I'm in the midlands"
If it's the white S3 that I saw, it says it is in South Ayrshire. Probably one hours drive across the border by my recollection!!
If it's not that car, just ignore me.
Yes - that's the one.
What is it like - would it be worth the journey (now possible 7 hours !!)
What is it like - would it be worth the journey (now possible 7 hours !!)
Sandgrounder said:
Niiige said..
"There is, what appears to be a lovely white S3 for sale. Only it is in Aberdeen and I'm in the midlands"
If it's the white S3 that I saw, it says it is in South Ayrshire. Probably one hours drive across the border by my recollection!!
If it's not that car, just ignore me.
"There is, what appears to be a lovely white S3 for sale. Only it is in Aberdeen and I'm in the midlands"
If it's the white S3 that I saw, it says it is in South Ayrshire. Probably one hours drive across the border by my recollection!!
If it's not that car, just ignore me.
Hi Nigel,
I admire your patience in your quest for this elusive S , that eludes you .yet you come so near and travel so far ..
Wow ! that White one in scotty , could be the one...
March up to Scotland ,with bags of sterling , and bring it back , with mr TT .
Good luck go for it ..as your cash is king ...
Kie
I admire your patience in your quest for this elusive S , that eludes you .yet you come so near and travel so far ..
Wow ! that White one in scotty , could be the one...
March up to Scotland ,with bags of sterling , and bring it back , with mr TT .
Good luck go for it ..as your cash is king ...
Kie
Kie s2 said:
Bounty hunter
The S you looked at in Somerset , I take it the same car on eBay ...which the seller has ended early now , the last time I looked this afternoon , it had reached bids up to 2k ..
Maybe sold now ? Anyway would you buy this car if the price was right ?
Kie
the adverts are not being hosted by the actual owner, instead a friend of his has listed them - so afaik the guy has removed them to save any hassles with feedback etcThe S you looked at in Somerset , I take it the same car on eBay ...which the seller has ended early now , the last time I looked this afternoon , it had reached bids up to 2k ..
Maybe sold now ? Anyway would you buy this car if the price was right ?
Kie
would we have bought it if the price was right ??? - well that would all depend on the price i guess. It certainly needs a lot of work on it (see my list of its faults in the 1st post - and that list isnt necessarily exhaustive) so that price would have to be a LOT lower than its £3k asking price
Kie s2 said:
Bounty hunter
Yup ! see those list of faults, you should set aside a min 1k to do repairs on this car .. And hope that chassis is still ok after 7 years...
Maybe worth a punt to someone at ÂT£1800 to £2200 ...
Kie
we were thinking similar to you - in that its worth £1500 - 1750 ish as it stands.Yup ! see those list of faults, you should set aside a min 1k to do repairs on this car .. And hope that chassis is still ok after 7 years...
Maybe worth a punt to someone at ÂT£1800 to £2200 ...
Kie
but i got the impression he wouldnt let it go for anything much less than the asking price of £3k.
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