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C-V8 Mk111 For Sale

Posted: Wed Jan 17, 2018 4:38 pm
by John Staddon
This has just appeared on Ebay

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Extremely-Ra ... SwE7JaXkgg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Unknown C-V8 Mk111.jpg
Unknown C-V8 Mk111.jpg (173.35 KiB) Viewed 5690 times
It's got me stumped, there is no ID available, registration blanked out and the data plate on the bulkhead has been removed, but it's a distinctive car, bullet wing mirrors, no front bumper, the parrots beak prow to the bonnet is truncated and it has little 'V8' scripts at the back of the front wings (these ring a bell, as if there was some discussion about them on this forum, but I can't find anything now). Does anyone recognize the car?

John

Re: C-V8 Mk111 For Sale

Posted: Wed Jan 17, 2018 5:09 pm
by mojo
Sorry John, don't recognise it from the past, but there are a few things I don't like about it! For example, when you look at the bids to see who you're bidding against, what you see is "Private listing - bidder identity protected".

But Ebay has protected bidder identity for years now by "anonymising" the IDs.

IMO there is no legitimate reason to use this feature of Ebay.

The wording is also a bit daft as well - how can the seller describe it as being at "a sensible price" when the listing is an auction?

It also makes me suspicious that identifying marks have been removed. It's not uncommon for people to photoshop out the registration plate, but physically removing the chassis number plate looks very odd indeed.

Re: C-V8 Mk111 For Sale

Posted: Wed Jan 17, 2018 5:11 pm
by Peter Rothery
As you already know about 2388, could it be 2398...based on reg date and description of interior as black....although the pictures don't make it look like black!

Re: C-V8 Mk111 For Sale

Posted: Wed Jan 17, 2018 6:16 pm
by John Staddon
Peter

2398 was last recorded in British Columbia.

I don't know about 2388, but I have found a photo of that car taken a long time ago and there it is!
112-2388 GWD 151D.JPG
112-2388 GWD 151D.JPG (27.98 KiB) Viewed 5656 times
The car in the middle, truncated beak on the bonnet, bullet mirrors, ex-factory 10.01.1966, this must be the car.

Last heard of in 1984, though the DVLA says it was last MOTd in December 2015 and it is currently on SORN.


John

Re: C-V8 Mk111 For Sale

Posted: Wed Jan 17, 2018 6:41 pm
by timmo
Looks to have had a bit of a dust over, judging by the overspray in the engine bay on some components, definitely one to view before bidding!

What the hell happens to all the front bumpers? Is there a massive stock pile somewhere we don't know about?

Re: C-V8 Mk111 For Sale

Posted: Thu Jan 18, 2018 3:46 am
by Martin R
I rather like the truncated beak.
I also know my head would too, having hit it one too many times on Zac 2's car!

Re: C-V8 Mk111 For Sale

Posted: Thu Jan 18, 2018 6:17 pm
by mojo
Martin R wrote:I rather like the truncated beak.
I also know my head would too, having hit it one too many times on Zac 2's car!
Me too - on both counts!

I've taken to fitting a cloth "cap" over the beak of mine, with a small weight hanging on string underneath - the theory being that I'll feel the warning of the back of my head hitting the weight before hard contact with the beak. It hasn't drawn blood for a while now, but I know it's just a matter of time...

Re: C-V8 Mk111 For Sale

Posted: Wed Jan 24, 2018 8:51 pm
by 88V8
I would have been the high bidder, but I cancelled my bid.

CV-8... last summer, an American car rally in Yate, nr Bristol - we have a 63 Rambler Ambassador - there was a lovely oily rag of a CV-8 on Wolfies,
638 FDM, and I thought 'I like that'.
Since then I have been looking, albeit in a rather lethargic fashion as I have many hours of work in the Rambler and it is a pretty nice car.

So then this Mk III, which as an eBay junkie I immediately see. I bid on it and have a bit of an email interchange with the seller.

As mojo has said, there are issues. No chassis plate - the seller thinks he does not have it - the attempt to conceal the id, the MOT history when one knows the id - the rust arrgh - the secret bidding, the lack of description, I don't have too much time for sellers who won't or can't be bothered to describe their cars.
And the seller told me the chassis may have 'some surface rust' when he must have known it initially failed its last the MOT on corrosion.
So having bid what turned out to be enough to have won the auction, but lacking time to go and see the car I thought about it and cancelled my bid.

Now it's listed again at £44k obo. Which may be a steal.

Did anyone go and look?
Is it bargepole? Or am I thinking myself out of a decent car?

V8

Re: C-V8 Mk111 For Sale

Posted: Wed Jan 24, 2018 11:51 pm
by mojo
I would say that you must go and look at it if you're tempted to buy. At that price I would not want to go on what someone else thinks of it!

When I bought mine, the seller (a dealer) was happy to put it up on a 4-post lift for me to look at in detail underneath - I can't see any reason why this seller should not offer to do the same.

Re: C-V8 Mk111 For Sale

Posted: Thu Jan 25, 2018 9:14 am
by John Staddon
The seller did contact me after the first posting on the Forum, just to confirm it is 2388.

The first owner was John Gardner, see http://www.john-gardner.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The car did pass its last MOT, now lapsed, after initially failing on rust in a floor pan, not unusual for a C-V8.

£45K or best offer is not a ridiculous price for a C-V8 but as Mojo says, you have to see it.

The car has had at least 6, possibly 7 owners, and that was up to 1984 when the records end, but I'm assuming the seller isn't aware of all of the previous owners.

The seller has joined the forum.

Regards

John

Re: C-V8 Mk111 For Sale

Posted: Thu Jan 25, 2018 8:37 pm
by Pymmie
I always wonder if sellers just hope that buyers won't do there homework.

The car is listed as covering 715 miles in the last 11 1/2 years.

Link to DVLA site to check on MOT's : https://www.check-mot.service.gov.uk/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

John P

Re: C-V8 Mk111 For Sale

Posted: Sat Feb 10, 2018 9:18 pm
by mojo
In case anyone has been watching this one, it's been relisted at least twice - I think the first time was a Classified listing, and now it's back as an auction:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/142684216251/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Oddly, the photo of the engine bay showing the space where the chassis plate was missing has also gone missing! It's another "Private Listing" so, as before, the bidding is hidden from view, for reasons unknown...

Re: C-V8 Mk111 For Sale

Posted: Sat Mar 24, 2018 12:46 pm
by mojo
It's back on Ebay again.

Strangely there seem to be multiple bidders (two different people/accounts?) desperately trying to bid less than £30,000 on it. I wonder why?

£29,999 seems a very odd amount to bid if you want to win the auction. It doesn't make sense even if the bidder just wants to find out what the reserve is, so why it should have happened twice I just can't imagine...

[Edit: it's hard to tell exactly what bidding is going on, because the seller has again chosen to make bidding hidden - another possible explanation is that it's one bidder who bid once at £29,999 and then again with a higher bid against himself that was still less than the reserve.]

[Edit 2: There's also now a great set of words in the listing: "DO NOT ASSUME ANYTHING!", but then right down at the bottom, below the conditions of sale, the words "Please note that although the vehicle was driven into storage three weeks ago it now appears not to start so one would 'assume' it can only be something simple". The missing VIN plate is also no longer apparent in the listing - the photo showing this disappeared shortly after it was mentioned on this forum.]

Re: C-V8 Mk111 For Sale

Posted: Sat Mar 24, 2018 9:37 pm
by Chris_R
mojo wrote:
[it's hard to tell exactly what bidding is going on, because the seller has again chosen to make bidding hidden - another possible explanation is that it's one bidder who bid once at £29,999 and then again with a higher bid against himself that was still less than the reserve.]
What is happening is bidder 1 put in a bid of £29,999 on 18th March when the high bid at the time was £25,000 and became the high bidder at £25,100. Someone else on 22nd March bid £26,000 and bidder 1 automatically outbid that to £26,100. That was repeated at £27,000, £28,000 and £29,000 a few seconds after each one but bidder 1's previous bid of £29,999 automatically outbid each one. Then someone, and judging by the time probably the same that put in the previous bids entered a high bid of £29,999 but does not become the high bidder because bidder 1's bid takes precedence. You can't bid against yourself, ebay does not increment your own bids.

Re: C-V8 Mk111 For Sale

Posted: Sat Mar 24, 2018 9:53 pm
by mojo
Indeed, your guess at what happened might be right - though there are several ways to get to what you see. For example you ~can~ bid against yourself and it does show as a separate bid - but if there are no other bidders the amount bid does not increase, provided your second bid doesn't meet or exceed the reserve - if it does then your bid becomes the reserve price.

But the relevant question is this: why would anyone who wants to win the auction bid £29,999?

[Edit: The answer became obvious the following day, when it became evident that the reserve was set at £30,000]