Abandoned Evo, Discovery and Saab
Discussion
Just spotted these 3 in the West Sussex country side and made me a little upset seeing them in such a state. Haven’t moved for quite a while looking at the moss on the Disco. I checked the Evos reg and it has a bit of a funny background being exported etc, MOT only expired in 2015 though with 145000 Miles. Didn’t catch the other twos registrations, I wonder what will happen to these cars...? Not too sure on the model of the Saab.
There seems to be this fashion of approaching car ownership like caring for a pet. Neglect and misuse have somehow become unacceptable to people.
The crazy thing is, it's perfectly legal to do this to a car, and there is no RSPCC to come in and seize the vehicle. You could go and find the owner and make him an offer but he might just as likely tell you to four letter word - off, and that would be his perogative.
I'm very much against applying for the V5 for abandoned vehicles. It amounts to theft, and is so in the eyes of the law. It's just that people think that the V5 is proof of ownership, when it is not. So while it might upset you to see a car treated like this, I don't really see what can be achieved by complaining or posting it on the internet. They are someone's vehicles, and they might not be in the best state but I can't really see what can be done about it, beyond locating the owner and making them an offer.
The crazy thing is, it's perfectly legal to do this to a car, and there is no RSPCC to come in and seize the vehicle. You could go and find the owner and make him an offer but he might just as likely tell you to four letter word - off, and that would be his perogative.
I'm very much against applying for the V5 for abandoned vehicles. It amounts to theft, and is so in the eyes of the law. It's just that people think that the V5 is proof of ownership, when it is not. So while it might upset you to see a car treated like this, I don't really see what can be achieved by complaining or posting it on the internet. They are someone's vehicles, and they might not be in the best state but I can't really see what can be done about it, beyond locating the owner and making them an offer.
Edited by MarJay on Monday 23 October 16:01
designforlife said:
That evo will probably be a rusted out husk by now if it's been sat a while... they rust fast enough with regular care as it is!!
Plenty of comments about underside corrosion in the MOT history. Likewise, the Disco and 900 are probably rotten.Is it REALLY very different to simply scrapping 'em?
I wish the DVLA had a service where, for a fee, they would pass a letter on to the registered keeper of a car.
My dad's old 9000 Aero is on SORN somewhere, as is my mum's old E30 325i, and I wouldn't mind being able to pass along a "if you ever want to sell it, drop me a line" message.
My dad's old 9000 Aero is on SORN somewhere, as is my mum's old E30 325i, and I wouldn't mind being able to pass along a "if you ever want to sell it, drop me a line" message.
on private land so will stay there until they lose the land. if it rots it rots, it's still only some cars.
whilst not exotic, there's a neighbour near me who I'm fairly sure has had his mk1 octavia vRS off the road for about 3years now on their driveway. hasn't moved an inch and has grass growing up through it every year, they only seem to get the grass cut once a year.
whilst not exotic, there's a neighbour near me who I'm fairly sure has had his mk1 octavia vRS off the road for about 3years now on their driveway. hasn't moved an inch and has grass growing up through it every year, they only seem to get the grass cut once a year.
I run past a rotting bmw 840ci most mornings - clearly unloved for years
It is obviously just a punch of metal and plastic but it doesn't stop it being sad to someone that would enjoy the vehicle.
Cars to most enthusiasts are more than the sum of their parts - this is why neglecting them causes some to have emotional reactions, particularly when the cars are desirable and would be loved by other people
It is obviously just a punch of metal and plastic but it doesn't stop it being sad to someone that would enjoy the vehicle.
Cars to most enthusiasts are more than the sum of their parts - this is why neglecting them causes some to have emotional reactions, particularly when the cars are desirable and would be loved by other people
Smitters said:
Vehicles owned by the business and things got wound up? Seems sad, whatever. There's an Alfa abandoned near me - had it's door jemmied open a few weeks back, so no doubt ruined on the inside now.
Could be. Or a customer that part-paid a bill and not the rest. I remember a chap called Miles who used to run Fibreglass Services in W Sussex (a very traditional Lotus garage). He was a grumpy bugger for the most part and he would tell you the story of how he was legally obliged to store some classic Lotuses for years as he had undertaken some work, been part-paid but the owners never paid him the remainder but he could not sell the cars to recover the balance. Some of these had been there 15+ years.HedgeyGedgey said:
As daid its an evo 4, pile of s
te. Suffer with crankwalk, narrower track, suffer with rusty rear chassis legs more than the other evos do. Ready to be sent to the scrap heap if its been driven in the winter for 5 years let alone being left like that!
Little confused as to how you can call an enthusiasts car a "pile of ste. Suffer with crankwalk, narrower track, suffer with rusty rear chassis legs more than the other evos do. Ready to be sent to the scrap heap if its been driven in the winter for 5 years let alone being left like that!te" when all you have to show is a little toy model of a Cossie? 
I've worked in plenty of garages and at least 2 or 3 customers per year leave their vehicles behind when the parts for repair cost more than the car/bike.
2 recent examples-
Regular customer was involved in a fatal accident on his bike, pillion killed. He wanted the bike fixed despite everyone in the garage telling him it was a bad idea. He leaves £2k deposit and bike is repaired which takes about a month. When its time to collect he says too many bad memories keep the bike. So we were shafted as the bike took £4300 at cost price to repair, who wants to buy (or sell) a bike with this history, so owner of the garage took a £2k bath.
Daughter of a regular customer comes in with a mini one with abs light on, needs an abs pump at £1600 and 2nd hand isn't viable option (16 variations of the pump) so she says can you sell it? we try but no one wants a mini with a £1600 bill (even for £300 when its running perfectly bar the pump) so it sits there for a year or so until she agrees to scrap it.
Chances are all of those cars were beyond saving before they were parked up, not a shame really.
2 recent examples-
Regular customer was involved in a fatal accident on his bike, pillion killed. He wanted the bike fixed despite everyone in the garage telling him it was a bad idea. He leaves £2k deposit and bike is repaired which takes about a month. When its time to collect he says too many bad memories keep the bike. So we were shafted as the bike took £4300 at cost price to repair, who wants to buy (or sell) a bike with this history, so owner of the garage took a £2k bath.
Daughter of a regular customer comes in with a mini one with abs light on, needs an abs pump at £1600 and 2nd hand isn't viable option (16 variations of the pump) so she says can you sell it? we try but no one wants a mini with a £1600 bill (even for £300 when its running perfectly bar the pump) so it sits there for a year or so until she agrees to scrap it.
Chances are all of those cars were beyond saving before they were parked up, not a shame really.
Smitters said:
Vehicles owned by the business and things got wound up? Seems sad, whatever. There's an Alfa abandoned near me - had it's door jemmied open a few weeks back, so no doubt ruined on the inside now.
Similar near me with this one - seemed a shame as my daily driver is the same age so it still seemed like it would be a useable car....plus has the wheels I'd definitely want on a 156Guess corrosion or big mechanical bill put paid to it
Decky_Q said:
Daughter of a regular customer comes in with a mini one with abs light on, needs an abs pump at £1600 and 2nd hand isn't viable option (16 variations of the pump) so she says can you sell it? we try but no one wants a mini with a £1600 bill (even for £300 when its running perfectly bar the pump) so it sits there for a year or so until she agrees to scrap it.
I'd have thought the logical thing to do would be to remove the ABS pump entirely and replumb the brakes without it.The Lancer was starting to corrode back in 2010 so it's probably gone by now. Also looking at the evidence - it was owned by a 'council' type with no clue i.e. Red calliperz, horrible alloyz, blacked out rear windowz. And 'colour matched' interior with holes everywhere for spreakerz innit, probably.
The Disco will be broken beyond economical repair (from factory). And there isn't much love for old Saab's.
The Disco will be broken beyond economical repair (from factory). And there isn't much love for old Saab's.
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