Lot 77 - 06 Fiat Panda 1.1 (another pile of crap? stop it!)
Discussion
What you're about to read isn't just another readers cars thread, it's a life lesson.
Picture the scene - bored on a Monday evening, browsing the catalogue of the car auction house I have an account at. This little beauty catches my eye
Tidy, clean looking Fiat Panda 1.1 on an 06/06. It's done some miles at 180k but it looks great. Probably worth a look.
Log in to the live bidding portal and watch the sale progress. Usual stuff selling above CAP clean and leaving you wonder where the profit can possibly be.
Here it comes. Lot 77. This little Panda. I stick a low bid in assuming I won't be successful. SOLD - you placed the winning bid
fk. What's wrong with it? Why did nobody else touch it? Oh well, it's not a lot of money.
Couple of days later I find myself at the auction house, trade plates in hand, paying my dues. V5, service book and (single) key in hand, I start the walk of shame to the very back of the compound where it sits in all its glory.
It's a bit dirty outside but nothing a quick bucket of water won't sort. Inside is a different story, looks like it's been used to haul bales of hay / bags of manure around. My heart sinks.
What have I done? Who the fk buys a car without even seeing it based on a couple of shiny photos obviously taken months ago?
Moment of truth - I turn the key. Engine splutters for a bit and then eventually roars into life....... then keeps roaring. Every few seconds at idle it revs itself to 2000+ rpm and then dies down again, making it sound like im just woefully impatient as I wait for the barrier to go up at the auction compound.
Drives OK once it's moving I suppose but it's running on fumes and looks like it's getting a bit hot. Better stop for fuel, cigarettes and some Evian.
Refuelled and it starts with a splutter again, moved it to the car park to let it cool a bit so I can top up the water. Topped it up spilling about a litre for every 500ml I managed to pour into the radiator because I don't have a funnel
Time to chance the 58 mile journey home...... Or not. It won't start. Turns over and over. Splutters a bit like before. No start.
Couple of helpful blokes help me push it - and still nothing. Time for recovery. Thank God for Autoaid.
So that's Lot 77.
That life lesson? DONT BUY UNSEEN CARS AT AUCTION! Bet the bidders in the room thought I was a fking mug.
More to come once I'm able to face it again
Picture the scene - bored on a Monday evening, browsing the catalogue of the car auction house I have an account at. This little beauty catches my eye
Tidy, clean looking Fiat Panda 1.1 on an 06/06. It's done some miles at 180k but it looks great. Probably worth a look.
Log in to the live bidding portal and watch the sale progress. Usual stuff selling above CAP clean and leaving you wonder where the profit can possibly be.
Here it comes. Lot 77. This little Panda. I stick a low bid in assuming I won't be successful. SOLD - you placed the winning bid
fk. What's wrong with it? Why did nobody else touch it? Oh well, it's not a lot of money.
Couple of days later I find myself at the auction house, trade plates in hand, paying my dues. V5, service book and (single) key in hand, I start the walk of shame to the very back of the compound where it sits in all its glory.
It's a bit dirty outside but nothing a quick bucket of water won't sort. Inside is a different story, looks like it's been used to haul bales of hay / bags of manure around. My heart sinks.
What have I done? Who the fk buys a car without even seeing it based on a couple of shiny photos obviously taken months ago?
Moment of truth - I turn the key. Engine splutters for a bit and then eventually roars into life....... then keeps roaring. Every few seconds at idle it revs itself to 2000+ rpm and then dies down again, making it sound like im just woefully impatient as I wait for the barrier to go up at the auction compound.
Drives OK once it's moving I suppose but it's running on fumes and looks like it's getting a bit hot. Better stop for fuel, cigarettes and some Evian.
Refuelled and it starts with a splutter again, moved it to the car park to let it cool a bit so I can top up the water. Topped it up spilling about a litre for every 500ml I managed to pour into the radiator because I don't have a funnel
Time to chance the 58 mile journey home...... Or not. It won't start. Turns over and over. Splutters a bit like before. No start.
Couple of helpful blokes help me push it - and still nothing. Time for recovery. Thank God for Autoaid.
So that's Lot 77.
That life lesson? DONT BUY UNSEEN CARS AT AUCTION! Bet the bidders in the room thought I was a fking mug.
More to come once I'm able to face it again
TooMany2cvs said:
...and an MOT history that just screams of love and affection...
Wow, that's about the worst I've ever seen!"Oil filter badly corroded and leaking" is... Um..... Different?
I salute you OP, if you're going to share a cautionary tale then do it properly. And you did, oh yes.
Toaster Pilot said:
TooMany2cvs said:
The one that made me chuckle was the broken bonnet release. Then, a year and 20k later, missing bonnet release.
It's still broken too - the plastic handle at the end of the cable is what it refers to, cable/mechanism works fine eltax91 said:
You don't half love a shed toastie! This one going back through the auction soon?
If the breakdown guy had managed to get it started I think it'd have gone straight into that night's sale I'm going to try and put it right and use it - not sure how that's going to turn out
Had a dig around this today. Turns out it must've been sold in an earlier auction and put straight back in - the V5 is filled out with a new keeper's details
Still no start and it won't bump start either - rolled it down a steep hill to get it into my workshop and nothing.
Here's the interior in it's minging glory:
Don't think it's seen a service for a long time
First steps are to clean up all of the chassis grounds, change the HT leads and plugs (the leads disintegrated when pulling the plugs) and change that gopping air filter.
Still no start and it won't bump start either - rolled it down a steep hill to get it into my workshop and nothing.
Here's the interior in it's minging glory:
Don't think it's seen a service for a long time
First steps are to clean up all of the chassis grounds, change the HT leads and plugs (the leads disintegrated when pulling the plugs) and change that gopping air filter.
That interior is scary! Has it mostly lived under the sea or to transport dead farm animals? I'd be hitting that with lots of chemicals, lots of steam and maybe fire.
You could make money on this for charity, challenge people to a sponsored sit in the car. Similar to sponsored silence but with the added bonus of inventing a new disease that medical science hasn't yet discovered.
You could make money on this for charity, challenge people to a sponsored sit in the car. Similar to sponsored silence but with the added bonus of inventing a new disease that medical science hasn't yet discovered.
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