I went down to my very local scrappy last week to get a wing mirror and I noticed as I drew up that there was a blue Sisley in front of the office. What incredible luck I thought! This sort of thing never happens to me! I began looking at it furiously. It had had all the fluids drained out of it by means of cutting fuel and coolant lines and gearbox and sump plugs removed. There was no history and no guarantees anything would work. The prop shafts were in the boot and the seats were covered with blankets. It was very muddy everywhere including inside. It was notably not rusty underneath in key areas that I cleared by hand, although the nearside rear arch was clearly pap.
Worth a pop I thought! Negotiated £150 with the scrappy since he claimed he can sell 4x4 parts very easily and I agree with him. I said I would come back to collect after work that day. I paid and got the V5 and a receipt.
Came back later to find the car had gone. When I asked about it, the fellow looked shocked and said there was a communication error and it had been put in the yard with all the other cars and that there was now a Marbella on top of it! I went to inspect the car again and found it had been lifted using chains around the roof and wheel arches. Also the Marbella, although stripped and not very heavy, had left it's marks, not least the roof rack was crushed along with dents in the roof. I was gutted and reluctantly said that I would still take it despite the damage (loads of parts at least). They wouldn't reduce the price at all as to them it had not lowered in value. This was infuriating as I felt I had lost a perfectly good car for nothing, but I reminded myself that I didn't have a Sisley earlier that day!
Some days later..
I connected all the lines up and filled with oil, coolant and petrol. Amazingly, she's a real goodun'! Engine is sweet as you like and it drives fine. 4x4 engages and spins the output shaft to the rear prop, but the prop has been removed as I mentioned before. This puzzles me a bit and could point to problems, but I haven't found any yet. Rear diff seems smooth and in tact when wheels off the ground. Interior isn't even bad after removing all the pap and soil. It's got all the Sisley bits still on it and everything works.
Question is: what should I do with it now?
Pictures below are how it is now in my friendly farmer's field. There are some close-ups of the damage. It has created gaps on the tops of both the doors, so gaffer tape is water proofing at the moment.
Worth a pop I thought! Negotiated £150 with the scrappy since he claimed he can sell 4x4 parts very easily and I agree with him. I said I would come back to collect after work that day. I paid and got the V5 and a receipt.
Came back later to find the car had gone. When I asked about it, the fellow looked shocked and said there was a communication error and it had been put in the yard with all the other cars and that there was now a Marbella on top of it! I went to inspect the car again and found it had been lifted using chains around the roof and wheel arches. Also the Marbella, although stripped and not very heavy, had left it's marks, not least the roof rack was crushed along with dents in the roof. I was gutted and reluctantly said that I would still take it despite the damage (loads of parts at least). They wouldn't reduce the price at all as to them it had not lowered in value. This was infuriating as I felt I had lost a perfectly good car for nothing, but I reminded myself that I didn't have a Sisley earlier that day!
Some days later..
I connected all the lines up and filled with oil, coolant and petrol. Amazingly, she's a real goodun'! Engine is sweet as you like and it drives fine. 4x4 engages and spins the output shaft to the rear prop, but the prop has been removed as I mentioned before. This puzzles me a bit and could point to problems, but I haven't found any yet. Rear diff seems smooth and in tact when wheels off the ground. Interior isn't even bad after removing all the pap and soil. It's got all the Sisley bits still on it and everything works.
Question is: what should I do with it now?
Pictures below are how it is now in my friendly farmer's field. There are some close-ups of the damage. It has created gaps on the tops of both the doors, so gaffer tape is water proofing at the moment.