Something they're not

[tbc]

can't help but notice the sheer amount of standard cars which are tarted up to be something they are not

for example

I went to look at an S3 today, 5 years old , £12k, guy stood and I had a look around, then I ask if I could see under the bonnet and he got uneasy and said

'oh i'm selling this for my dad'

so low and behold I opened the bonnet and before me stood a 1.6 SE tarted up like an S3, it had everything, sat nav, flat bottom steering and S3 bumpers, from looking at it it looked like a S3

at this point i didn't bother starting it up, was just so pissed off that someone would attempt to sell something as something it wasn't

then I was speaking to a friend who was looking for a good clean mk5 Golf R32, and he said that the first three he went to see were all Replicas but advertised as r32

do people honestly think the rest of us are stupid?

[a4cabrio]

A 1.6 for an S3, that's just ridiculous, a few years ago people were passing 130bhp gt Tdi off as 150bhp gt Tdi, that's a lot easier to get away with than trying to pass off a 1.6 as an S3

Did the idiot of a seller honestly think you weren't going to look under the bonnet?? Unbelievable

[MercuryRises]

Problem is, that there are some people out there who are stupid enough to fall for it. The same is true for Phone/Email scams.

If you wait long enough, someone will take the bait

[Mastodon2]

The number of half-arsed Astra VXR knock offs I've seen doesn't bear thinking about. I even saw one with a bumper with a centre cut and a big exhaust tip (not the correct one though) but on the far left, where the normal backbox would have been, was a cheeky little mild steel down-turned tip. Cheaper to make a stealth backbox and throw a cheap knock off bumper and tip than get a real bumper and real exhaust. Stick some Halfords tat that looks vaguely like VXR kit, throw some VXR badges on and try and pass it of as the real deal.

Until you see them on the road, and they just got like the crappy 1.6s they are, and not anything like a real VXR. A bit tragic really.

[smiffy180]

tbc said:

do people honestly think the rest of us are stupid?

It happens a lot unfortunatly

[p4blo32]

a4cabrio said:

Did the idiot of a seller honestly think you weren't going to look under the bonnet?? Unbelievable

Or drive it?!

[FreeLitres]

Was it advertised as a S3? Did they mention 1.6 before they opened the bonnet?

Isn't that situation esentially the same as selling a fake? i.e. selling a fake Rolex as a legit one.

[Special K]

Dare I mention M badges on non M cars ?

[W00DY]

Wow that's pretty ballsy.

I'd like to think I would remain calm in that situation, but I'm not sure I would.


No doubt all the parts were stolen too.

[fozzymandeus]

I remember following a Corsa VXR once, and I thought to myself, "Hmm... odd wing mirrors for a VXR: they don't have the triangular mounting points. Strange...

As I turned off the dual carriageway I drove past him so I looked over at the side of the car. The HUGE VXR wheels on top of the midgy little rear drum brakes were a truly tragic sight.

[em177]

You got pics? Brakes are usually the easiest external way to tell if its a rep or not. Genuine bumpers can be convincing

[SSBB]

fozzymandeus said:

I remember following a Corsa VXR once, and I thought to myself, "Hmm... odd wing mirrors for a VXR: they don't have the triangular mounting points. Strange...

As I turned off the dual carriageway I drove past him so I looked over at the side of the car. The HUGE VXR wheels on top of the midgy little rear drum brakes were a truly tragic sight.

Was this not a factory option styling pack? Still tragic.

[thinfourth2]

Someone tried to sell me a genuine audi 90 20v quattro

That had 10 valves and no rear diff

[MarkRSi]

p4blo32 said:

a4cabrio said:

Did the idiot of a seller honestly think you weren't going to look under the bonnet?? Unbelievable

Or drive it?!

Or look at the paperwork?

[rossub]

The most frequent offenders are classic Impreza WRXs being passed off as STIs. Must be about 50% of them. Unfortunately, the sellers have often been sold the car themselves on that basis and therefore believe they have the genuine item.

Only takes a few cosmetic changes to fool those not in the know.

[groomi]

thinfourth2 said:

Someone tried to sell me a genuine audi 90 20v quattro

That had 10 valves and no rear diff

I'm sure it did have a rear diff, just perhaps not the one you were expecting...
[/pedant]

[martin84]

A few weeks ago I parked up behind something which claimed to be a Ford Mondeo ST24. However it didn't look right, I couldn't put my finger on it there was just something about it. I noted down its reg, typed it into the interweb and it came back as a 1.8 GLX.

[thinfourth2]

groomi said:

thinfourth2 said:

Someone tried to sell me a genuine audi 90 20v quattro

That had 10 valves and no rear diff

I'm sure it did have a rear diff, just perhaps not the one you were expecting...
[/pedant]

Nope it was FWD

[groomi]

thinfourth2 said:

groomi said:

thinfourth2 said:

Someone tried to sell me a genuine audi 90 20v quattro

That had 10 valves and no rear diff

I'm sure it did have a rear diff, just perhaps not the one you were expecting...
[/pedant]

Nope it was FWD

Ah I see - that really was brazen then!

[fozzymandeus]

SSBB said:

fozzymandeus said:

I remember following a Corsa VXR once, and I thought to myself, "Hmm... odd wing mirrors for a VXR: they don't have the triangular mounting points. Strange...

As I turned off the dual carriageway I drove past him so I looked over at the side of the car. The HUGE VXR wheels on top of the midgy little rear drum brakes were a truly tragic sight.

Was this not a factory option styling pack? Still tragic.

Had a triangular central exhaust.... or at least the bodykit had a hole for one...