Car Valuation needed. 2001 Fiat Seicento

Elderly neighbour stopped driving her 2001 Fiat Seicento in 2013.

Car was bought new, always garaged at night, never used in wintry salty weather, location is inland away from the sea.

26,000 miles since new. Underbody and underbonnet looks like a 6 year-old car. Only light surface rust on the rear suspension arms (where they usually rot) and the original chassis paint still mostly intact. Exhaust in perfect (external) condition.

Has been stored in a dry, windowless garage since 2012/2013, where it has always been kept since new in fact. Tyres almost like new. No sign of sidewall perishing.

Has a nasty dent behind the front offside headlamp in the wing but doesn't seem to have affected the headlamp fit.

Battery was flat but a lithium start-pack got it going after about 5 seconds and it runs like new. No rattles or noises although clutch made an abrasive noise when gently engaged probably because of light surface rust on the flywheel.

Handbrake was on and vehicle needed a firm (but not violent) heave to move, when there was distinct thwack as the rear shoes released, then it moves freely.

Has a full tank of petrol !!, or the guage or sender is stuck. Speedo shows a symbol with the word 'code' in red. Not sure what this is, maybe radio code needed.

Value as a private sale anyone ?????

Reply to
Andrew
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I have one of those and it started a *dead flat* (no ignition light even) Ibiza several times and nearly instantly. [1]

I can't help with the valuation (other than that you would get from 'We buy any car' or similar on eBay so ~500 quid etc) but would the abrasive noise you heard on the clutch be rust or 'stuck' frictional material (possibly stuck by rust)?

I'm thinking the clutch plate has just been left pushed up against the flywheel so not sure how 'rust' could have formed under it?

I ask because the Kitcar has done similar when not being driven for a while and I wondered what causes it?

(Assuming a cable clutch) ... I wonder if you left the car with the clutch pedal slightly depressed with a block of wood against something the clutch would 'stick' in the same way or the noise you hear the same (that would likely be a layer of surface rust).

Cheers, T i m

[1] I'm considering a 12V 40Ah Lithium (LiFePo4) battery to use with an electric outboard. 6kg versus 17kg for the 60Ah pb battery I use atm.
Reply to
T i m

No MOT? Couple of hundred - if you're lucky. Stick it on Ebay with full description and lots of pics.

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

Something similar but much better sold near me recently for 150, but was in full working order with MoT. Get an MoT and put it on ebay.

Reply to
MrCheerful

Because real surfaces are not flat, they just contact at the high spots. If you had ever stripped a "seized" clutch like this you would have seen the spotty rust deposits on the flywheel which map out the non-contact points. Similarly for hand-brakes.

Reply to
newshound

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Reply to
newshound

Doesn't stop it being a 15 year old car.

Every fluid will need changing. Battery will be shagged.Tank full of petrol should be emptied as will have gone off.

Brake shoes might well be damaged where they have been stuck.

Standing on its tyres won't have done them any good no matter what they look like.

Just another banger really. £300-400 on a good day if you do any work to get it an MOT.

Only light surface rust on the rear suspension

Reply to
Graham T

There are so many used cars on the market that even the popular makes fetch very little at 15 years old regardless of condition. It would do a lot better if 30 years old and getting rare.

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

It was driven up until 2013. It's not stood for 15 years.

So what's your reasoning for chucking out a full tank of fuel?

Tim

Reply to
Tim+

Around 1985 I paid £600 for a half decent Ford. Today I can get a much better one for the same amount.

Reply to
Graham T

Doesn't matter much, it hasn't been serviced at all while standing. If I let my car stand for a week a layer of rust forms on the discs which 'crunches' when first used. Imagine after 3 years standing. Plus brake fluid should really be changed every 2 years as should the coolant. Batteries left to stand will self destruct. Sounds like there is almighty work to do on this car. The low mileage is a red herring.

Petrol DOES go off and after 3 years standing I'd expect it to.

Reply to
Graham T

So you are talking at the granular level, rather that within the rivet holes etc (as whilst they might account for the noise, wouldn't account for it sticking)?

So the friction plate sticks to the flywheel where it touches because of rust and can't stick to the flywheel where it doesn't touch but more rust forms and that gives the noise once freed (till it wears off etc)?

Cheers, T i m

Reply to
T i m

What has need servicing? ;-)

Is that whilst garaged? And how much are disks these days?

Could be no different if in a garage?

Should be but often isn't and often without any main side effect?

True, but they wear out in time as well, eve when used daily. ;-)

You have never built a kitcar I take it. ;-)

I don't think so, especially as it isn't a barn find that has been standing for say 10 years or more?

But as Tim mentioned, it started and ran ok (after not being run for 2 years presumably) so how bad can this petrol be?

I had an old Royal Enfield Bullet motorcycle that I'd left in a garage for about 5 years and the petrol smelled more like paraffin. Didn't seem to stop it starting (although to be fair I didn't ride it anywhere at that point).

OOI, I wonder what time period you would consider 'too long' to leave a car un-driven before you would consider it needing more work than just say replacing (or re-fitting, if removed and kept charged) the battery?

I ask because some years the kitcar has not moved (other than to the MOT station and back) and we built that nearly 30 years ago now?

e.g. If I only start the kitcar once a year and haven't changed the fluids for 10, what will be wrong with it now?

Cheers, T i m

Reply to
T i m
[...]

Discs and pads fitted by a garage might exceed the value of this vehicle alone.

A battery on a modern vehicle should last perhaps 10 years if used regularly. If left flat for a week, sulphation will have already shortened its life.

Irrelevant; a kit-car is unlikely to be built purely for its value to someone else.

Chris

Reply to
Chris Whelan

Do you really find the words "runs like new" hard to understand? Petrol probably does go off a bit but clearly this engine doesn't seem too fussed about it. It might well represent a significant part of the car's value too!

Also, how easy is it to safely and legally dispose of old petrol? By far the easiest way is to burn it in a engine that'll run on it. I wonder where the OP might find one of those?

Tim

Reply to
Tim+

On Autotrader, dealers are advertising similar cars with a higher mileage upwards of £500. Just because disks and pads might cost £100 or so (neighbour is a retired MOT tester and still working for cash and has a low hourly rate), doesn't mean you get rid of it. You only get rid of a car if either a) you no longer need it or b) it has terminal problems, like rust or major component failure. Pads and disks are a servicing cost that applies to all cars.

Reply to
Andrew

You neglected to mention in your OP that you can get work done for less than the market rate; that significantly affects the viability of bringing it back into use.

This is not a car that someone is currently using. If that was the case, of course it would be worth doing discs and pads.

There are a number of these on both eBay and Autotrader; the fact that they are listed from 500UKP doesn't mean that is what they are worth. BTW, there are several at nearer 250UKP.

If you want real-world figures, here's my stab at it:

As-is - 100UKP

Tidied, with a fresh MOT, but without the body damage fixed - 300UKP

As above, but with the body damage repaired - 500UKP

Chris

Reply to
Chris Whelan

The ratio between buying and selling price increases dramatically with bangers. And the public generally think it safer to buy a car from a dealer than privately, so expect to pay more.

If a dealer is selling a car for 500 quid you can be pretty sure they paid about half that or less. Not worth the effort for less than a few hundred quid.

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

As confirmation, we bought a 51 Micra with 35000 miles, MoT and recent use for £350. You might get more than £100 by flogging some parts and then scrapping.

Reply to
Nick Finnigan
[...]

If you haven't checked recently, you might be surprised to find how little scrap cars are worth now. The over-production of steel has meant prices have plummeted.

I just did an online check for a Ford Focus in Berkshire; the quoted price if collected was 35UKP, and assumed all parts were present.

Chris

Reply to
Chris Whelan

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