Not Without Guilt

addo · Unread post by **addo** » 07 Jul 2011, 01:45

Just feeding the "Freedom Fighters vs Mercenaries" debate.

Remember, PSA cars take several decades to start rusting here (brake fluid and electrolyte spills aside).

So, this freshwater flooded car, chockers with fine silty mud was still uncorroded. I bought it for $2000 on Fleabay and spent $600 on the tow to deliver. However the Australian sun and a legacy of incompetent mechanicking had ruined all cabin plastics plus much of the underbonnet flexibles. The upshot was a car uneconomical to repair, as too many parts are NLA, motor condition unknown and it had a gearbox full of rusty water!

So I stripped it for bits handy to my endeavours, and donated the rest to a specialist. This in itself cost me $200 for the delivery tow. As a side note, 47 (yes, you read right) of these were sold in Australia, so it was a difficult one to start cutting into. My gross cost of purchase, stripping and disposal exceeded £2000.

So - I can't be a freedom fighter, because I didn't save it. Yet I made a net loss of thousands on the purchase and disposal, so I'm clearly not a mercenary either!

Ross_K · Unread post by **Ross_K** » 20 Jul 2011, 09:46

What was it?

addo · Unread post by **addo** » 20 Jul 2011, 10:21

605 Pug. If you were thinking XM, they are very similar under the skin.

Ross_K · Unread post by **Ross_K** » 20 Jul 2011, 23:58

Wow, I take my hat off to you.

$2000 - that's what, about £1300?

davoxx · Unread post by **davoxx** » 21 Jul 2011, 17:23

sorry that it turned out that it was doomed, but at least you tried?

that sounds like a freedom fighter to me ... there was no profit driving you i'd imagine.

but had you broken a "driving" car because it is worth more in parts than what you part for it ... well i'd cry a little ...

(was is sold to you with false information?)

addo · Unread post by **addo** » 21 Jul 2011, 23:31

This was a little misrepresented; I knew it didn't run, but inference being the car was more complete than it happened.

It lacked (for example) the spare wheel, jack, wheelbrace, stereo HU, all speakers, nearside mirror, some wheelarch liners. Most of the interior was broken - not from age/UV so much as uninformed attempts to remove. It had been offroaded, and the exhaust crossunder pipes were beat up - as was the subframe slightly. Washer jets were busted and their caps just glued over the bumper holes.

I needed a donor to sort out a far better repair prospect, but the realities of this car (once received) were that I couldn't recoup any costs short term because things I had contemplated selling were either not there or broken. Balancing the books, it could well have been cheaper to ship over a low mileage front cut from the UK or Europe.

As a side note, I'm always interested in people breaking late 605s (facelift cars) - rumours and "spots" are invited.