JohnK Posted February 6, 2015 Share Posted February 6, 2015 Back in 2006, I got a 1999, T reg Vectra SRi 140 for free. Equivalent of say getting an 08 reg Vectra for free today? Basically, a Shogun wrote my Honda Accord off and I needed a motor. My mate won the lottery (not millions, but about 20k) and bought a new car, palming his Vectra off on me. I sold it for £1600 after 6 months of service, my mate was skint by that point through blowing the lot so I gave him £800. Steviemillar 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dollywobbler Posted February 6, 2015 Share Posted February 6, 2015 Back in 1998, I got given an immaculate 2CV. It had been put on a galvo chassis by a Citroen main dealer! Sadly, it had been put on a really shit galvo chassis (early Frome for those who know) which meant no towing points (useful), shite panel fit and a hideous ride (because it was far too stiff). The old boy who gave it me just wanted it to go to a caring home. It's probably best that he didn't know that I went greenlaning in it with my 2CV chums... I think it lasted eight months before I sold it. It was two-tone Grey and I found it horribly dull, even before getting to the chassis complaints. I should have had it put on a decent chassis, and painted it but instead, I flogged it and bought a rotten Acadiane. It sold for £1100 which represents pretty much all of the profit I've ever made on cars... Just checked online and it's currently SORN! That's great news as the last I knew, it'd effectively been abandoned on the driveway of the person who bought it off me. MOT ran out in Feb '14, so perhaps it isn't out of the woods just yet. Hilariously, this is me. I still feel guilty you know, even almost 16 years later. The proceeds helped me buy my first BX, which I bought for £1700, kept for six months, failed to sell for £1100, then traded in against a brand new Daewoo Matiz for just £660. I think that's the automotive equivalent of beating yourself with thorny sticks. Subsequent 'free' cars have generally cost a fortune to collect, and then gone nowhere. I did more recently get given a rotten 2CV which I sold for £250. It might have made more sense to restore that one than the one I have now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doctormop Posted February 6, 2015 Share Posted February 6, 2015 Fiat 127 1300 in 1992.A friend of my Mums had owned it for several years and was told the Fiat needed lots of work for its motMy Dad knew a bloke who was selling a freshly tested Chevette for 150 quid so snapped it up and sold it to the Fiat owner for 200. Scrap wasn't worth much then so I was offered the 127 gratis, it had a fortnights tax and test so I drove it for a short while and it went like a rocket, a quick prod underneath showed that much weldage was required, scrapman offered a tenner but managed to get 30 quid off 3 students for it, they planned to fix it up and travel around Europe in it, often wonder how they got on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty Pelican Posted February 6, 2015 Share Posted February 6, 2015 MK1 Metro in poo brown with collapsed suspension due to pipe breakage , i was going to fix it up but just sent it over the bridge instead Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anonymous user Posted February 6, 2015 Share Posted February 6, 2015 I'm the one who gives them away.1977 Triumph Spitfire (slightly crashed)1966 Austin Cambridge Estate1977 Citroen 2Cv1960's A35 Van1966 Volvo Amazon Estate3 J40 Pedal Cars Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
privatewire Posted February 6, 2015 Share Posted February 6, 2015 My old Mum gave me her 1990 Fiesta in 1999, it was a special edition called a "Bonus" which meant it had wheel trims.I gave my Father in Law my Rover 600 years later, ungrateful fucker never stopped moaning about it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
junkyarddog Posted February 6, 2015 Share Posted February 6, 2015 I got this for free,including delivery, Took me 12 months and quite a few €'s to get it to look like this,So not really free HillmanImp, dollywobbler, Alan_Green and 6 others 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HillmanImp Posted February 6, 2015 Share Posted February 6, 2015 Got a couple of Imps for free when I was younger that I stripped for parts that I needed and then scrapped. I also got given my Xantia by my old man which I really regret scrapping as it needed a little work (not a lot mind you) but I had no money to repair it and no space as I had been kicked out of my house: He also gave me a Citroen Xsara which I unfortunately crashed into the back of a taxi whilst giving evils to a Porsche drive who had cut me up twice. Can be seen here on the left of the Streetview image. And then there was the Sera which was free from Kinkersaab but we spent circa £700 on it to get it roadworthy, including transporting it down from Aberdeen. As I lived so far away I did ask if he could actually pay me £300 for the car as its a long way for me to travel etc etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Split_Pin Posted February 6, 2015 Share Posted February 6, 2015 Flipping no chance I'm giving anything else away for free after reading this. Lacquer Peel 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest equipe59 Posted February 6, 2015 Share Posted February 6, 2015 I was given/acquired a free Morris Ital that my grandad had owned. All I remember about it was that it was orange, had a brown velour interior and was awful to drive. I sold it to my g/f's mum's 'boyfriend' who was going to teach their kids to drive in it. He must have hated them. I shall now go and introduce myself in the appropriate place in the correct fashion. chaseracer 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spike60 Posted February 6, 2015 Share Posted February 6, 2015 I was given a Mini Clubman with the cylinder head in boot, an Opel Ascona A SR and a Peugeot 205 GTi 1.9. The Ascona had the block split by ice, the Pug also had a cracked block and door frames, and as far as I know the Mini is still in the club car park in Kielder village, - I never went to collect. I also said no to the Pug but they delivered anyway! eddyramrod and Sloth in a bowl 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wuvvum Posted February 6, 2015 Share Posted February 6, 2015 I've had a few over the years. 1982 Bedford HA van which I never did manage to get running. This was about 1998 and I knew fuck all about engines. 1984 Maestro 1300 in doom blue with a broken engine mount - it was quite comical to watch as the exhaust pipe would move about 8" every time you took your foot off the clutch. 1988 Rover SD3 216 Vanden Plas auto. This was a lovely thing to drive, if somewhat smokey. Didn't have it for long as the starter packed up and it got scrapped. 1987 Citroën AX 10E. This actually had about 3 months' tax on it, so I used it as a runabout and then flogged it for £50. Never opened the bonnet in all the time I had it - the cable had broken and it just kept running fine so I didn't bother. 1988 Nissan Sunny 1.6 Coupe. I sold my Merc 190E to a chap who had this sat in his driveway - I asked what he was doing with it and he said I could have it if I brought a battery and drove it away. It was solid as a rock and low mileage, but it'd obviously had a minor prang as it was white with one metallic grey front wing. Drove lovely though, and was brilliant in the snow - and as everyone knows, these will do 150mph straight out of the box.* 1997 Toyota Carina E. This was my grandad's old car, which my uncle had for years until he replaced it with a Golf estate and gave it to me. It's still in occasional use (it passed 80K miles just before Christmas) and I have no plans to get rid. It was pretty much immaculate until some little cuntfuttock keyed it last week. RobT 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vin Posted February 6, 2015 Share Posted February 6, 2015 I've never been on the receiving end of a free car unfortunately... I have been the giver though. I once gave away a K reg Fiat Tempra Estate turbo diesel...to someone on the Fiat club forum... It belonged to my sister. She'd replaced it with a V reg Pug 306 estate (Cavette ended up with that eventually...) and didn't need it anymore. I was loathe to scrap it as it was really good...so a 'giveaway' it became. That was Jan 2009 I think... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayMK Posted February 6, 2015 Share Posted February 6, 2015 Didn't think I'd had any freebies but you've reminded me (wuvvum). My grandad died in 1968. His wife (we called her Aunty 'cos she was his 3rd wife and much younger than a granny) - sort of promised me his car, a Vauxhall Velox L type. My parents argued that my moped licence and pocket money made the offer impractical. It was sold to someone in Nottingham and never seen again. Much later, my boss donated his rusty Renault 12 to me for spares. My R12TS needed a new engine and front suspension. When tackling the front coils, the spring clamps slipped and the coil went off like a bomb, assuming a U bend sort of stance and writing off the good wing that I also needed. Luckily I was not near it when it slipped, but had to poke it with a long pole to make sure it had finished exploding. The engine turned out to be so sick that in the end I scrapped both cars and bought a rusty metallic green Renault 20 which was fabulous. So far, freebies have resulted in chronic disappointment and near death. Vin 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
STUNO Posted February 6, 2015 Share Posted February 6, 2015 No Freebies, but my mother once sold me an Allegro that needed a new engine and gearbox. Someone is trying to give me a Holden that needs welding and has now been standing in the open for several years . He even said that he doesn't actually know if it is still where he left it or has been scrapped by the property owner. So far I have resisted solidly ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HMC Posted February 6, 2015 Share Posted February 6, 2015 I have given away a couple of freebies- one 405 estate to a friend, it had a short mot but helped them move house, and a dolomite 1850 auto that sat in the works car park for months without a rear axle until I realised I'd never get round to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noel Tidybeard Posted February 6, 2015 Share Posted February 6, 2015 i was lucky enuff to be given a 2.0 primera cos grandad was "buggered" if he was going to accept a derisory offer on trade in for the spaceship i now have Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Sterling Posted February 6, 2015 Share Posted February 6, 2015 My Sapphire Ghia was a freebie to me sometime in 2005/6 or thereabouts: Then more recently my KV6 Sterling which I still have now in storage: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dugong Posted February 7, 2015 Share Posted February 7, 2015 Jesus. I've been given parts for free, but never an entire car. Gutted. TRW 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dieselassist Posted February 7, 2015 Share Posted February 7, 2015 Not 'really' a free car - when I lived in Auz, Sydney, I met an English chap who was a die hard shite'ist - n this was 2002; he used to leave notes on abandoned old cars round Sydney, attempt to trace owners, lobby the local authority to achieve title of these discarded cars, n filled his flat complex's garden in bondi with his 'finds'... I originally met him playinging pool, n over a few schooners, we exchanged car stories, n I mentioned I could weld... about a week later he called me n asked me to come up to his n weld up an 1980 colt; failed its inspection on rust on the floor n a wing bottom - hed actually bought a welder in the time since id met him n got 3 or 4 disposable gas bottles... I zapped in a few patches using old BMW E36 wings hed picked up from a junkpile behind a crash repairs... I said Id do it 'for a few beers'... also gave him a 'crash course' on welding, but he didn't take to it that well... The colt passed its test, n he lent it to me for a week; I did about 800 miles in it, drove it everday on long hauls - cant remember what I was up to - probably visiting friends or whatever....then he deemed its 'fully road tested' n gave it to his girlfriend to use daily. When I dropped the car back he was chuffed with the welding n offered me a 1985 Suzuki SJ Jeep hed picked up- again was abandoned but he got ownership to it, through the proper channels... it had a bulbar n a stainless steel roll cage; it was an ex Aussie off-road show winner or something - with a patch on the drivers side floor, a new drivers door n windscreen surround (was a convertible) I was off after a rego inspection...drove it quite a bit, n had a lotta fun with it - urban offroading n spinning it in a circle after a flash rain shower at deserted junctions... it was great fun for wat it was... sold it to the 4x4 breakers who sold me the door etc for it, when I went travelling (it was too 'unrefined' n spinal cord damaging to do long highway stints in) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Sterling Posted February 7, 2015 Share Posted February 7, 2015 Jesus. I've been given parts for free, but never an entire car. Gutted.I wouldn't be too gutted in all honesty Jon. Free cars sound great but they can be a real pain in the arse. Free cars tend not to be on your doorstep, so it'll cost to recover it, then you need to MOT/Tax and insure it, if not, you'll need to find space to store it, which will often cost money. At least when you buy a car you feel more commited, are financially ready and ready to walk away if it isn't as described. With free cars, it's a car, which we all love and our hearts rule our heads so we commit ourselves to something we wouldn't normally do if the car was offered up for cash. Then as they're offered when we are not financially ready we'll not always be ready to commit money/time. My Sierra got scrapped in the end as I wasn't ready with knowledge or finance to spend on it, nor was I with the Sterling, but I did just about get the Sterling acceptable with the little cash I had. Sloth in a bowl, DodgyBastard and dieselassist 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DodgyBastard Posted February 7, 2015 Share Posted February 7, 2015 I've never had a free car that didn't cost me money, the allegro cost around £400 to get on the road, if I had seen one for sale for £400 I wouldn't have bought it but because it was free, it was a novelty. The cars that I've been given, I never really had a desire to own them, they were just offered and I found it difficult to say no! I got lucky with selling the allegro, there was no interest in it apart from the guy who bought it so if he didn't want it i would probably still have it. dugong 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dollywobbler Posted February 7, 2015 Share Posted February 7, 2015 I forgot the poo brown Vanden Plas Allegro! Off the road for years, but pretty solid. I owned a beavertail, so getting it home cost nowt. Got it running, had some welding done but didn't quite get it MOTd. Sold it to some dodgy character called Mr Bollox on the internet in my pre-Autoshite days for £150 IIRC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steviemillar Posted February 7, 2015 Share Posted February 7, 2015 A couple of freebies for me 1990 Orion Ghia EFI in that nice metallic green was offered to me for free as long as it was removed pronto from the owners brothers driveway. The car had been crashed at the front but still ran and drove. I was brassick at the time so sold it for about £200 I think. My old man was not impressed that it sat in his garage for over a week! 1986 Capri 1600 Laser that had been written off - I sort of knew the owner/driver who had broadsided it into a snow drift and shifted off this mortal coil when he hit his head on the steering wheel. I think that is what was the cause of his demise as the steering wheel was the only missing part of the whole car. The blokes sister had kept the car after her brother died and ss I was a bit of a capri botherer at that time, she called me up a few years later and asked me to take it away. I felt crap as when I was winching it up into the trailer, the poor lass was crying her eyes out. Once I got the car home, I unblocked the exhaust tailpipe by removing a section of road verge from within it and the car fired up with the sweetest pinto I've ever heard. Even though there was not a straight panel in the car there was no rust at all on it, and being white it would e shown anything up. The car was "uplifted in error" by a local scrap dealer who was adamant he had been asked to do so. Ah well. I've given away a couple too including a four door Chevette GLS in Linden Green that ran and drove and an X19 that was completely dismantled when it came and when it went! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taff Posted February 7, 2015 Share Posted February 7, 2015 A 105E Anglia when my Grandad passed away, every panel dented. Wish I still had it though.A Fiat 128 when I passed my driving test, wrapped it round a tree, like you do.A '82 Metro auto in beige, which my FiL had bought in a last ditched attempt to get MiL driving. It failed, I got given the car and swapped it for a ford pop petrol tank I wanted for my hot rod. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Posted February 7, 2015 Share Posted February 7, 2015 Other than family cast-offs... 1987 Peugeot 305 diesel van that had put a leg out of bed, I think a particular run of XUDs was prone to that. I towed it home and put another block in it, ending up with an engine that had no oil filler. Although I ran it for a few years it was probably more bother than it was worth. 1985 Daihatsu Charade on a Q plate (bought new in Germany by a British squaddie), its engine was in bits in the boot. I weighed it in for £40 when it became apparent I wasn't going to put it back together. 1977 Allegro 1100DL. Although it looked presentable enough it had the worst MOT fail I've ever dealt with, something like £240 to put right. I tried to give it away more than once but it kept coming back. I can't actually remember what happened to it in the end, maybe I've still got it. 1980 Mini City. I didn't really want it but the owner was very keen that I should have it, and I think I finally persuaded him to take £20. It was more or less hanging together but it needed too much welding to pay somebody else to do. I tried to give it to a friend who had the necessary resources and he insisted on paying for it too, £20 again I think. It never saw the road again but I believe it yielded some useful spares. On the subject of Minis, I once gave somebody a Mini gearbox to put in his Metro. Justice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DodgyBastard Posted February 7, 2015 Share Posted February 7, 2015 Nothing. It must be great to have stuff dropped into your lap for free to then sell on for a vast profit having done fuck all.Must be like owning property or working for the council. Fuck off, don't care, just give us some money. I'm the most important. Go me. How do you feel about people buying cars from forum members for cheap then selling them over on the blue forum for vast profit? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaseracer Posted February 7, 2015 Share Posted February 7, 2015 A very early XM, much of which I still have in component form... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaseracer Posted February 7, 2015 Share Posted February 7, 2015 Was this... ...ever parked up on the roadside in Cheadle with a 4SAIL sign on it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Bell Posted February 7, 2015 Share Posted February 7, 2015 Nothing. It must be great to have stuff dropped into your lap for free to then sell on for a vast profit having done fuck all. Must be like owning property or working for the council. Fuck off, don't care, just give us some money. I'm the most important. Go me.Obv not aimed at my post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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