Event For Chod & Ulster: Local Auctions for Local People (Nordie Shiter Events)

[Datsuncog]

'Kay, so I think my oul snottery neb's not quite so bad as yesterday - so I'm gonna risk it later, very likely along with MrsDC (who seems terrifyingly keen on Ballyclare and its magic roundabout of chod).

Possibly it's related somehow to her blowing a reasonable sum at Bangor Auctions last Thursday night for... well. Maybe I should start a separate thread on it?

Clue: black, ancient, slight drive belt issue (part now on order from a specialist) and a seized clutch mechanism (now freed off and awaiting reassembly once fluids are procured), but otherwise in surprisingly good nick despite some surface rust and dings, and purrs like a sewing machine. I rather like it.

Probably be around 7.30 before we'll be up at the ring, so mebbe see some of yis up there?

[The_Equalizer]

Hey Datsuncog,

 

The missus has a fund-raising work thing tonight (Friends of the Cancer Centre) which she pointed out was in the calendar - a calendar which I fail to look at on too often! I know for a fact that she's taking 1/2 of the mini Equalizers, but if she takes both I'll be up. Either way, I'd still be interested in a coffee/pint and a natter before Christmas and very interested to hear the Bangor Auctions adventure should I not find out tonight.

 

Cheers,

 

The_Equalizer

[warninglight]

I had intended on being home this week but I'm stuck in Lancaster uni working on coursework. Will definitely be home for Christmas though!

 

Enjoy the auction folks!

[The_Equalizer]

Update - 'The Wife' (my favourite NI term) says she'll take both the kiddiewinks. So, I'll dust of the hair dryer, give the Land Rover's dizz cap and HT leads a bit of a warm and head up to Ballyclare. I have just checked and it's going to be a tropical five degrees. Might even go full auction native and get a donkey burger. Looking forward to catching up.

[Datsuncog]

Hey, no bother! I can't see there being many entries tonight anyway, but I'll bring a torch and snap anything that looks vaguely amusing, for the delectation of all herein. See you up there!

Will certainly try to get something knocked together for the festive period; should be good!

[hairnet]

jaysis

 

oddly enuff i was looking at cars to buy on ebay and there was one from letchworth auctions

 

belfast is closer and cheaper to get at

[108]

Great thread

I'd be up for a meet between now and New Years. Weekends work well for me and I'll be much closer from the 27th til New Years.

[Datsuncog]

On 12/5/2018 at 9:22 PM, 108 said:

Great thread

I'd be up for a meet between now and New Years. Weekends work well for me and I'll be much closer from the 27th til New Years.

Yeehaw! Keep your eyes on this thread then; we'll be getting something sorted before too long.

I'll add you in to my ever-growing PM list of Ulster-linked Shiters too - whereabouts do you hail from?

[Datsuncog]

"In the bleak mid-winter

Frosty Fords made moan;

Tyres stood bald as iron,

Heaters cold as stone;

Rust was falling, rust on rust;

Rust on rust,

In the bleak mid-winter -
Chod that's bust..."

Yes yes yes y'all, 'tis the most wonderful time of the year (as Andy Williams so enthusiastically phrases it) - the time of year when cash-strapped used car dealers at the more budget-conscious end of the spectrum stare gloomily through the December drizzle at their fine* wares, and think to themselves,

"How in the name of all that's holy am I going to shift these total shitbags before Easter?"

And verily, an answer doth come down from up on high, sung sweet and pure by choirs of heavenly angels, surrounded by cherubim and seraphim:

"Buck them on through the auction at Ballyclare, big lad, it's too dark and wet for the punters to bother looking underneath - and sure aren't you better off with a monkey in your back pocket than an oul shitter of a Peugeot making the place look bad?"

And lo, it didst come to pass.

As it comes to pass every Wednesday night at 7pm.

And a small and hardy contingent of shiters were there to document the occasion.

[TBC!!]

[The_Equalizer]

"And a small and hardy contingent of shiters were there to document the occasion."

 

Read - the usual suspects.

 

Rather enjoyed it and was surprised the variety of chod available. VW Beetle with 'interesting' BBS alloys - £400. Bini Cooper with 'not quite right' front end - £400. Looking forward to the rest of the write up as ever.

[Faker]

Good show boys!

[Datsuncog]

So, around 7pm MrsDC and I found ourselves heading up the New Line into what appeared to be a cloud bank, the Forester's foglamps scything through the wintry night as best it could... the mist dissipated at Ballynure, and before too long the sodium arcs of Ballyclare split the gloom, and we peeled off to find ourselves parking behind a very familiar LWB Series 3 Land Rover...

Tiny spits of moisture flecked the cold night air, rather ruining an opportunistic photograph of this slightly dinged Fiat Coupé parked up on a beavertail opposite the entrance:





[spoiler alert - pretty much all the pics are this shit, I'm afraid ^^^]

Also, to my surprise, a red Citroen C5 parked along the road turned out to be UKZ4446, the 'clonking turd with an interior like a crime scene' from September's auction and whicch was last spotted, seemingly dumped in the yard, back in October. It actually looked relatively good this time. At night. In the rain.

We entered the auction yard only to find a jolly festive pantomime being played out in the ring queue right in front of us. Fun!

Say what you like, Ballyclare really looks after their punters.

In this merry little vignette, Mr Ford the Focus decided he didn't want to drive anymore, so he stalled and wouldn't start. In came Ernie the Engine-Doctor, with a big jump-start pack marked 'Medicine'.



Ernie tried and tried, but Mr Ford just didn't want to start.



Eventually, with all the other cars in the queue having now been through the ring, Percy the Passat became annoyed, and wanted to get around Mr Ford. So he engaged reverse, and sailed straight backwards into Sammy the Sprinter, with a great big CRUNCH.



How we all howled with laughter.

Eventually, with bits of Passat all over the ground, some lucky boys and girls were invited up on stage to help push Mr Ford around the yard until he started, with a great big *COUGH*!!

And then Mr Ford limped into the ring, sounding like he was gargling Irn Bru and bolts, and some luckless chump (who possibly hadn't noticed all the drama outside) got saddled with him for £420.



We all laughed even harder.

Ah, you can't beat a bit of panto at Christmas time. Magical.

After all the frivolity, it was then back to business as usual. Unfortunately, I was so busy chortling merrily that I neglected to pay attention to Mr Passat's brief journey through the ring (with a freshly bruised bottom), but Sammy the Sprinter (with only a slightly biffed nose but one hell of a tide mark) was up next.

The auctioneer kept stressing that this van was one owner from new, locally owned.

I could probably make similar claims about my lunchtime sandwich, but I doubt anyone else would want that now, either.

The crowd really didn't seem to be feeling the enthusiasm, with the no-reserve bidding starting at £100 and staggering to a heady £310 before the hammer fell, presumably along with the face of its new owner.



Sammy the Sprinter sputtered off to the Green Room to relax after his star performance, giving us all a flash of his comically tattered back doors as he went. What a trouper.

However, from my vantage point I could now see something a little more interesting over by the podium in chod corner, hidden behind the milling punters... regular readers of this thread may recognise this as the hallowed spot previously occupied by the Lada estate and also the impressively realistic Isopon sculpture in the shape of an MGB GT.

Oh, hello.

An ex-peelermobile Omega V6. GB police force spec, mebbe, but not an armoured PSNI version - as well as dealer plates from over the water, there was no sign of the bullet-proof glazing and multiple aerials that tend to grace the big Vauxhalls used for security purposes round these parts. Swirly paint and a few minor dings notwithstanding, this looked generally... okay. But would you really buy one of these with no opportunity to drive it, or even see it running?

Following the Sprinter, next up we had another comedy turn, this time all the way from the Far East - a JDMYO! Honda of some description (I'm genuinely not sure of the model, this one's unfamiliar to me).



As the auctioneer advised, rather charitably, this exotic act could only make itself go forwards, not back, owing to a singular lack of reverse gear. It also had no paperwork available. Good luck with both those things, new owner.

A single bid of £200 was raised; and down came the hammer. This Misery of the Orient exited the ring to more cheers and guffaws.

I noticed later on that the spiteful child driving it through the ring subsequently parked it nose-first up to a wall outside. He'll be getting coal in his stocking this year, the little scamp.

 

After its departure, I spotted The_Equalizer over by the key office, and MrsDC and I headed over to increase tonight's shiter quotient by a substantial amount.

 

He'd also had a quick scan around the yard outside, and confirmed that there were lamentably few vehicles in tonight that would legitimately qualify as prime chod, sadly. Hey, no-one was expecting an Allegro or an R14, but this time round there wasn't even an Almera or an MG ZR. Nothing much pre-2002, at a guess.

Well, except for this one, poking its snout into the ring - one for Cavcraft's delectation.

A honkin' great LDV Convoy with a recent-ish looking beavertail coachbuild on the chassis. Not the usual fare for this place, admittedly, but there were a few commercials in tonight.

Despite the wild and wacky bumblebee paintjob, it did look moderately sturdy... although the fact that there were no documents m8 (a seemingly common trait amongst the offerings within these walls) seemed to put off some of the punters... bidding peaked at £1,550 which, we were informed, was woefully short of the reserve price.

Out it went, unsold, nearly knocking a chunk out of the wall and wiping out a couple of auction-goers as it did so.

[to be continued - again!!]

[Datsuncog]

There then followed a parade of moderately well-used cars; not quite shiteworthy (yet) but mostly falling into that dangerous bracket of Sensible Runners Unless/Until There's Something Wrong With Them. It's fair to assume that if they're being sold up here, in the dark, in December, chances are there's something wrong with them. Low Cost, Big Liability thread fodder?

A Merc ML soon popped up; once a common old thing but I'm led to believe that the export market has taken a lot of them out of circulation. With £800 bid at the fall of the hammer, will this one also be heading for the warmer climes of North Africa?

A slightly scabacious Ford C-Max realised £650. Possibly better than a Zafira? Less prone to spontaneous combustion, mebbe? (It was more in focus in real life, honestly.)

I quite like the CL7-era Honda Accord, especially in estate format with that big blocky rump, but haven't I heard somewhere that there's clutch/gearbox issues latent in many?

The auctioneer opened by asking the floor whether he heard £3000 for this?

Unsurprisingly, he didn't.

The hammer fell at a rather more appropriate £725.

Auctioneers: leave the comedy to the professionals, yeah?

 

There were a few quite big fourbyfours through this evening; this Volvo XC90 was one of them.

Because I was busy blethering, I didn't catch the final bid price here; somewhere up in four figure territory, for sure. Although I became aware that quite a few cars were not reaching reserve, but many of the lots were concluding with a muted and somewhat terse "gonna need to make a phone call on that one", before sputtering from the ring. I believe this was one of them.

A pez-flavoured Peugeot 407 arrived through, whickering and squoinking merrily from beneath the bonnet. With a few bodywork dings, I can't say it possessed bags of kerb appeal, yet bidding did manage to struggle up to £425, which I found remarkable as I would have guessed its chances of making it home under its own power were not much better than 50/50.

"Six speed gearbox on this one!" was our auctioneer's incessant rallying cry. He carefully managed to omit specifying just how many of those six gears were actively functional at any given time. CogSr owned a SW version of one of these; the flappy-paddle selector arrangement was confirmed as Not Very Good.

 

A moderately clean Mk2 Kangoo topped out at a mere £575; the interior needed a good scrub, but overall this looked pretty decent. Do these have issues that I don't know about?

Both MrsDC and I had a weird hankering for the Mk1 Kangoo when it first appeared, as a car that looked totally functional (I kinda saw it as a spiritual successor to the R4, what with its tallness and giant rear tailgate), so I'm gonna select it for this month's Pluriel Award, as the car I most wanted to take home even though I know it would make me weep bitter tears at some point.

 

This Mk2 Focus realised more than twice the price of its silver commedia dell'arte sibling from earlier; they generally seem to hold their value pretty well, these ones. I always thought they were tidy-looking wee things, more so than the Mk1 Focus, whose styling I just never gelled with. Very much the Mk9 Escort.

 

A bit of class came in next.

Looking actually quite clean, and a damn sight better than the crusty V6 that rattled through a few months back, this Jaaaaag X-Type caused a bit of a stir. With nearly a full year's MOT and new tyres, £925 didn't seem unreasonable. Assuming it's not about to do something terminal, of course.

 

Some twonk will enjoy spending the next month in his new A4 hanging 5mm away from the back bumper of every other car they're driving behind, for a mere £850.

(Other sweepingly unfair Audi-driver stereotypes are available.)

At least it's not white, yeah?

 

Now this also caught my beady little eye...

I'm not so hooked on TEH MODERNZ, but I do have a little bit of a Saab itch that, one day, may need to be scratched. This 9-3, in 2.8 turbocharged V6 flavour, actually looked bloody lovely. I don't think it was an AWD version, but perhaps someone with more knowledge of these things might illuminate me. [EDIT: it's only a bloody Carlsson!!!]

Unfortunately, its current owner also seemed to have an equally inflated opinion of it and the highest bid of £2250 was, we were informed, "miles off" the reserve price.

For an eight year old car with a bare three weeks' MOT left, that hasn't been on the road since the summer, I'm not sure I would entirely agree. But out it went, unsold. [see R9UKE's comment below for more info on this particular transport of desire]

 

Another unsold vehicle was this Southern-registered VW Transporter minibus. A bit of crispiness round the arches, but even then a £1500 top bid was deemed insufficient. Dub tax?

 

One that did actually manage to sell was this Citroen C3, one lady owner, low miles, waffle waffle waffle.

£420, and off it went. I'm told that people who like these really like 'em; they're not especially to my taste, but hey.

 

A Volvo C30 then appeared: another car which daily threatens our domestic harmony. I really liked the design of these when they first appeared; MrsDC detests and despises them for reasons which have yet to be satisfactorily elucidated.

The_Equalizer and several other casual bystanders were then treated to a special command performance of our short but edgy piece of experimental drama, entitled 'You Needn't Think You're Getting One Of Those Bloody Things (A Tragedy In One Act)'.

By the time our Brechtian tour de force concluded, the hammer had fallen at £970. The auctioneer said it was the cheapest one of these he'd ever had through.

Our audience was too stunned by the power of modern theatre to applaud (which is a terribly bourgeoisie affectation anyway, I find), and the little Scandi coop' exited the ring in appropriately post-Ibsenesque silence.

 

Its absence was filled by a big Skoda Superb with, erm, a conveniently non-working odometer... of course I'm quite sure this was never* at any time affiliated with the taxi trade.

Still, a lot of car for well under a bag of sand - even if it might* have an intergalactic mileage.

 

MOAR Saab shenanigans, then - a first-gen 9-3 Cabrio, making a lot of very horrid noises from beneath the bonnet that suggested some hearty cog-munching was in progress.

The auctioneer appeared all but oblivious to the cacophony, expressing his utter disbelief that bidding had petered out at a mere £430.

Maybe there was indeed a £900 reserve, but if so the owner might want to have a wee word with himself, trying to punt on a 13 year old convertible with obvious mechanical issues in the depths of winter.

"That's gonna need a phone call" was the verdict as it squeeeeeled and klonked its way back out into the night.

Indeed it will, most probably to T-Met for collection by an oily man with a HIAB and precious little in the way of bedside manner.

 

A Transit Connect (what was wrong with calling these things a Fiesta Courier?) with a fair bit of bleb hit a brisk £550 before all the bids were done. My phone decided that it didn't want to focus anymore, so I only caught its arse leaving.

 

Suddenly, the spotlight shone on the star of the show.

Our glittering fairy chodmother, the Omega V6, now took a turn into the limelight. Ex-plod, and apparently one owner since being pensioned off, this one stood at almost a full year's MOT and had been 'dry-stored'.

Bidding was better than might have been expected, all things considered, but once again the auctioneer was left disbelieving in the powers of magic as, even at £1300 bid, the reserve was not met.

Seemed strong money still, for a post-facelift jobber - unless I'm out of the loop and these are starting to make a bit of coin these days?

 

Anyway, it seemed that £650 for a dog-dick red Corsa with obligatory Ripspeed extras was still not enough to help our auctioneer believe in the magic of Christmas.

With so many lots not making reserve, why, it would take a Christmas miracle to restore his festive spirit!

"Awwwww!"

 

But stay! What's this?

Bugger me senseless, that is a lot of truck. Ford Transit Custom recovery wagon, looking barely used.

Wow. And that's the most expensive thing I've ever seen go through the ring here. Apparently sold. So there is money in the room.

"Now we ALL know the magic of Christmas!!"

[^^^ actual photo of auction attendees]

[to be concluded later!!]

[The_Equalizer]

Lovely write up as usual and, like any good 'drama', I am looking forward to the next episode. Rather annoyed I missed the collision comedy at the beginning.

Does anyone know how money is made from this type of auction? Even at these prices, the margins must be slim once you factor in the total lottery that buying a £500-1000 car is. Is it really akin to a quick trip to the casino and popping £500 on black? That said, I did fancy the Merc C220 W203 coupe for £400-ish with a decent chunk of MoT remaining. How far wrong can you go at £400? I spent more than that on the brakes on my CLK.

[The_Equalizer]

Just a little idea. Perhaps change the title of the thread? I am sure there's whole host of readers that are missing out on your auction write-up. 'Ultimate Chod Auction Exploits - NI Style' is my starter for ten. It can always be changed back for the next meet up suggestion.

[Datsuncog]

Lovely write up as usual and, like any good 'drama', I am looking forward to the next episode. Rather annoyed I missed the collision comedy at the beginning.

 

 Cheers man! Will hopefully get the concluding part finished tonight!

 

Yes, I was half-thinking about changing the thread title too, as it's mebbe more than just a chat group to arrange meet-ups... I indexed the write-ups at the top of the inaugural post to aid anyone stumbling across it to find the 'good stuff', but I like that idea!

[Datsuncog]

[ballyclare 05/12/18 - The Concluding Chapter]

A series of other recent-ish, pricey commercials bumbled through - a Transit Tourneo, and something else outside that was too big to fit through the doors - and maybe this helped to raise the mood a little.

The Merc C220 alluded to above by The_Equalizer looked pretty straight, if a smidge 'road-fresh', and was certainly a bit of a steal at the hammer price. This also provoked some mild temptation to raise a sticky paw.

 

A Beemerwagen of uncertain liabilities fetched a similar sum, though I have to say I wasn't tempted so very much here.

 

A non-flaming (yet) Zafira realised a bit more, coasting to a halt at £510.

I noticed that, with most of the big-ticket motors now gone, the crowd in the hall was noticeably thinning out and the remaining old shitters were cracking through at a pace.

 

Not much love for this Fiat Bravo, tapping out at £450.

Eleven years old this one, but it still looks like a fairly fresh design to me. But, y'know - the Fiat reputation, however ill-deserved, seemed to keep folk away. Stilos are, however, looking increasingly attractive to my tired eyes. I dunno if should be worried.

 

A Pug 308 of similar vintage only managed £360; I'd find it a stretch to imagine myself in a Peugeot built after about 1995 too. Very much into worthless heap territory now.

 

A shy Chrysler Grand Voyager then stood a-tremble on the edge of the auction ring; seemingly Midge Ure took a shine to it, anyway.

Despite some general roughness and a fair few bangs here and there, this old heap managed to attain £840, to my general amazement.

 

My excellent* photo here seems to show a chap so enraged by the appearance of this black E46 that he feels duty-bound to kick the n/s door in.

That's not quite what was happening, though given the legendary* reliability of these beasts, I daresay it'll be on the receiving end of a few boots before too very long.

BULLETPROOF BMW ENGINE YO.

 

Messing about with my phone as I was, I did manage to miss quite a few cars due to focusing issues, or protracted and cackhanded attempts to get the price added to the photo of the previous car going through. One or two I accidentally deleted, such as the Bini Cooper (as mentioned previously upthread) which just looked 'wrong' (MrsDC's intuition again), especially around the front end.

It had been nastily barried-up, and bidding topped out at £400. Despite more teeth-sucking and threats of phone calls being needed, no-one felt much inclined to pony up any more - which was perhaps just as well, given the dreadful noises it started making while exiting the ring (and which it hadn't made on its way in).

Lucky miss.

 

Among the last of the stragglers making their way in was this fine Pickeringmobile (with almost custom plate, too):

Blokey to the left clearly doesn't like having his photie taken.

MrsDC opined that this was a vehicle she'd like to buy, just to crash it (worryingly, a similar sentiment to that directed at a harmless MG ZS in October).

Despite fighting with my own repressed sense of rage and horror when my father traded in his Laguna Sport 16v for a greeny-blue one of these back in 2001 (just like the ex-Bucketeer, ex-Jim Bell example), the old Pickarsehole does seem to have a bit of a cult following on these beige pages. Now that I'm not having to see one daily, I'm probably a bit more accepting of them.

Certainly cheap, cavernous motoring anyway, at £330.

 

At the last gasp, only a handful were there to witness the final car of the night, a blue Mk6 Fiesta, going round for £340.

Cheap, cheap cheap - and it does seem that few places other than Ballyclare cater for cars at this, ahem, select end of the market.

I didn't manage to catch the Beetle on BBS wheels unfortunately, but there was indeed a good range of all manner of vehicles to be found on this visit. If I found myself in need of a cheap runaround for £notthatmuch, I might even be tempted into raising my hand here someday...

So there we were; I'd said I'd only call up for a wee while, but we ended up seeing out the entire auction. As we stumbled out into the chilly December night, away from the comforting roar of the WW2-era space heater that probably runs on whale oil, we agreed that this was probably the best amusement you could find for free on a cold winter's eve.

The light rain was still falling on the Fiat Coupé, in a manner that could almost be considered reminiscent of snow, as we said our fond goodbyes and the two mighty AWD vehicles of Autoshite (NI Branch), Team DC's L'il Thunder and The_Equalizer's Landie S3, parted company to make our separate ways home over the foggy, wintry hills to distant towns and hot mugs of welcoming cocoa.

But stay! What's that, up in the high clear air? Why, it can't be...

No, of course not. Don't be daft.

Just my decongestant tablets kicking in. Damn, they're strong stuff.

 

"Yet I heard him exclaim, as he drove out of sight,

Choddy Christmas to all, and to all some good Shite!"

 

[New POD]

That omega ? What trim? What miles ?

 

What (auto) shite wheels.

 

Are you sure it was really a 3.2?

 

Those look like 16 inch steel wheels and surely the 3.2 needs a 235/45 × 17 tyre ?

[Faker]

There seemed to be a great amount of cheap chod going under the hammer. Good night of spotting chaps! When's the next outing?!

[The_Equalizer]

That omega ? What trim? What miles ?

 

What (auto) shite wheels.

 

Are you sure it was really a 3.2?

 

Those look like 16 inch steel wheels and surely the 3.2 needs a 235/45 × 17 tyre ?

 

You are asking questions that only you can answer my friend. We put total faith in the famous white windscreen card - think of this like a 'Gentleman's word is his bond' albeit in a crappy tin shed in the back arse of Northern Ireland in 2018 as opposed to The Gresham in 1960s London.

 

 

 

That said, I have it on very good authority (read DVLA website) that GL02GKC has, and I quote directly from source:

 

"Cylinder capacity (cc): 3175 cc"

 

and

 

"Fuel type: PETROL"

 

Furthermore, its MoT:

 

"Expires: 30 October 2019"

 

So in the white windscreen card you can trust in the same way you can a mother in her love for her children. Unless of course it says Sold As Seen, in which case it is probably akin to that same mother let those kids on the Jim’ll Fix It show the M25 in rush hour (changed made at the last minute in the interest of me not coping a load of grief for a joke in very poor taste). 

[Spottedlaurel]

An enjoyable read, I look forward to a future episode.

 

I miss going to rubbish car auctions.

[108]

Yeehaw! Keep your eyes on this thread then; we'll be getting something sorted before too long.

 

I'll add you in to my ever-growing PM list of Ulster-linked Shiters too - whereabouts do you hail from?

I spend most of my time in North county Dublin but am in Monaghan most weekends. Will keep eyes peeled!

[hairnet]

You go on holiday and you get this

Ffs

[SierraMikeHotel]

Re Volvo C30s... I always really liked the looks and used to fancy one, until I owned a V50 that I just didn't get along with.

 

While I had the V50, I got a lift somewhere in a C30 that had the same diesel engine as mine (the clattery Ford unit from the contemporary Focus, I think) so from inside the car the experience was exactly the same as the V50. I remember thinking that you may as well have the estate, if it's exactly the same to drive but more useful day-to-day.

 

Excellent write-up as always, many chortles and guffaws here!

[Datsuncog]

On 12/8/2018 at 10:51 AM, hairnet said:

You go on holiday and you get this

Ffs

Unlucky, chucky!

Were yis in Tesco cafe? Swung by on my way back from Holywood about 9.45, and terrified some other fella I thought was you!

[hairnet]

No passed a maccys at conn thingy so did that was in there later for lottery ticket to

 

Couldn't find this so had to buy it in the south

[R9UKE]

What a write up!  You need to be there weekly, Tim.

 

I nearly shat the bed the first time I saw that Saab 9-3 Carlsson up there (it's been there about two months now).  They're extremely rare and would be worth the £3k reserve if it hadn't have been totally under appreciated it's whole life.  There's a few been and gone on Autotrader of the same age and miles around the £7k mark.  Hardcore Saab guys will happily pay for these and Turbo Xs when they've been well looked after.

 

Also glad I didn't waste time waiting around for that 9-3 Convertible now!

[Datsuncog]

On 12/8/2018 at 5:27 PM, hairnet said:

No passed a maccys at conn thingy so did that was in there later for lottery ticket to

Couldn't find this so had to buy it in the south

Arf - I was on my way down to Connswater, and stopped off at Tesco! Shoulda just carried on and had myself a McSausageMcMuffinMcThing...

Never worry - hope y'had a good time at the Transport Museum.

Easons usually stocks Irish Vintage mag, never seen it on Tesco's shelves. Good wee read.

[Datsuncog]

On 12/8/2018 at 7:06 PM, R9UKE said:

What a write up!  You need to be there weekly, Tim.

I nearly shat the bed the first time I saw that Saab 9-3 Carlsson up there (it's been there about two months now).  They're extremely rare and would be worth the £3k reserve if it hadn't have been totally under appreciated it's whole life.  There's a few been and gone on Autotrader of the same age and miles around the £7k mark.  Hardcore Saab guys will happily pay for these and Turbo Xs when they've been well looked after.

Also glad I didn't waste time waiting around for that 9-3 Convertible now!

Hah, cheers dude! I'm not sure my constitution could cope with the car/burger van fumes weekly, but I do enjoy both the auction and doing the write-up!

So that grey 9-3 is a Carlsson... funny, I was looking at my smudgy pictures while uploading them and wondering if that badge on the far side started with a 'C', so the thought did cross my mind... but I reckoned that, if it was, the auctioneer would have made much more of the fact. I don't remember Carlsson being mentioned, though blokey on the podium was talking at a mile a minute, so mebbe I just didn't catch it.

It looked fairly tidy (though allowances must be made for dark/rain/comparison to the other shitheaps before and after) - is it just a bit tired and leggy? The very short MOT put my alarm bells ringing, it has to be said; if it's been going through for weeks now with no takers, mebbe the owner should pull it, tidy it and punt it back through in the spring with a fresh MOT...

It's not really the place for automotive rarities though, Ballyclare?

Aye, the floppytop was clearly rather unhappy in the engine department! Best given a wide berth, all things considered.

[Datsuncog]

On 12/7/2018 at 9:52 PM, New POD said:

That omega ? What trim? What miles ?

What (auto) shite wheels.

Are you sure it was really a 3.2?

Those look like 16 inch steel wheels and surely the 3.2 needs a 235/45 × 17 tyre ?

As The_Equalizer mentioned, Ballyclare doesn't offer quite the same auction experience as BCA etc... it really is an 'old skool' establishment of handwritten notes and children in hi-viz ragging nasty old Beemers around a muddy, puddle-strewn yard.

Miles on the clock weren't forthcoming (it might have been mentioned by the auctioneer, but my cloth ears didn't catch it), nor trim level... I can confirm black velour seats, if that's any help? Interior looked quite tidy, but it was all locked up so I couldn't investigate further.

DVLA details do confirm it as the 3.2; not sure about the wheels but guessing it might be something to do with its ex-police status OR if someone had put daft alloys on it, then removed them before putting it up for auction and replacing with whatever steels they could find lying around.

If it's still there next time, I'll be sure to take a closer look!