Have I just done a really stupid eBay thing?

Yeah, he does sound like a reluctant seller from his questions but you never know - i can whack any old piece of shat on the bay and claim it's the best car i've owned and it's tough to part with it.

I know it's 'bidding to buy, not view' and all that and I'm quite happy with the car assuming all the faults are listed! Just as long as I'm not going to get kicked off eBay if I walk because it's been a writeoff, or it's been damaged and badly repaired or any other horror he's not mentioned.

well he's phoned me, and i'm just about to go and (all being well) leave a cheque.

I know you can't go on just a phone call but he sounds honest and not like he's out for a scam so fingers crossed! Will post piccies when i return

stolen/recovered is alright so long as its cheap. Column locks are a pain to swap out regardless though.

Stolen recovered shouldnt really make that much difference to the value of a car of that age so it doesnt really matter.
As everyone has already said if you feel it doesnt match the description then you should leave it.

Yeah it's not actually a private plate, it's an Irish import! Confused me for a minute when I saw the V5 - Date of first registration Sept 1993. Date of manufacture 1990.

Arches are ok, which is nice (if not downright unusual!), but yeah the length of the rear window has a line of rust. Not gone any further down the panel though so good news, should be a simple fix. Also one 50p-blob behind the headlamp. New hood, no smoke, no leaks, needs a service, stood for 2 months (with cobwebs all over the door to prove...) but started on the screwdriver. i mean key

it's not a stolen/recovered, travellers tried to take it from where i've just viewed it but they just managed to bust the locks, then the immobiliser foiled them. never claimed as not insured, already been laid up a year. S/R doesn't trouble me anyway, my Quattro was such a beast and all it really means for that age car is you warn the next buyer that it's HPi unclean.

Apparently just needs a few flexi hoses for the MoT and the rust below the window sorting as it's a bit sharp (thought failing on that was harsh, but hey). Not seen fail sheet but i poked and prodded as much as i know to, everything seemed good.


Pics:





Oh, and cheers Pogweasel - coming from an eBay fiend such as yourself, "You've done alright" makes me feel nice and fuzzy

well the wife's pretty much 'owned' it from me already so i guess I'll sort the rust out sharpish, whack some test and tax on it, then once our annual three days of sun are over I'll see what happens.

Might sell the mondeo, or might sell the Polo and keep the mondy (three people plus dog plus luggage on holiday doesn't fit in a polo, or an astra ragtop - not without humorously piling it up 30ft high!). Either way I'm going to cut back to his'n'hers daily drivers, and the fastback racer.