A sad day

Lazy-Ferret · 04-11-2019, 23:48

The Fuzzmobil went today...

She put up one hell of a fight not to go though..

They came this morning to look at her, and said they would be back between 5 and 6 this evening to collect her. That gave me the rest of today to get all the stuff out of her that I wanted, and to be honest, she had become a bit of a shed over the summer, with some bits from the caravan that we do not always need being stored in her, and some stuff taken out of Suz's car when it went for it's MOT, that never made it back into her car.

I started her up for him, and she started first time, even though she had not been started for at least 2 months. To be fair, she has had a smart battery charger connected all the time.

So I re-started her later in the morning, and moved her onto the drive, so I could get all round her, and set to work.

6pm came and went, and they were nowhere to be seen, so I started her up, and parked her back in the corner of the drive, and put the Jeep back in front of her. 7:15pm, a very apologetic guy knocked on the door, his day had gone to pot, but he was here now. Showed him round the car, and a few of her idiosyncrasies, then went to start her....

Dead battery... I jumped her from the Jeep, but she would not start... Remembered the "shut all doors, lock and then unlock" trick, and she started.

Guy got less than 2 miles away, and apparently she just died on him. When he went to start her, the battery was dead. They tried bump starting, but nothing. He called me, and I ended up going to find him, to jump start her again.

Nothing...re-connected her to the Jeep, and she spun over a dream, but would not fire. Tried the locking the doors with the remote thing... still no go... tried locking the door with the key... nothing.. Now the flip key decided to disintegrate, timing!! Fortunately, I had given him the original key, so I managed to put the innards back into that, and tried again, Still nothing.

By now I am getting desperate, and I said out loud "Come on old girl, this is not like you" just as I turned the key again, and she bursts into life, much to the guy who bought it, and his sons amusement.

The problem was, when they blipped the throttle the car would rev up ok, but when settling back to tickover, it would stall. While connected to the Jeep she would start again no problem. We decided that it was last filled with Diesel and Veg oil, just before Christmas last year, so maybe, it was a bit stale, and not helped by the cold night, so to drive it without just dropping the throttle, and sort of slowly bring it back down to tickover, which seemed to work OK.

It also looks like the main battery is not holding a charge, but I did tell him it was an old one, and would need changing, I was just expecting it to hold a charge for a bit longer than that though. Fortunately, the Jeeps massive alternator gave it a good charge while I rebuilt the key, and then we put the second battery in parallel to the main, as that seemed fine.

Got a text later to say that she made it back to their place with no more adventures and the stalling stopped as soon as she was up to temp, so they are going to fill the tank up with fresh diesel...

A sad day, made worse by the fact I don't think she wanted to go..

terranosaurusdoug · 04-11-2019, 23:55

She will have had a sly grin mate

macabethiel · 05-11-2019, 02:37

I guess you were lucky the buyer still wanted it - you could not blame him if he said forget the deal I'll have refund.

Your story is different but it reminded me of when we sold our old Mercedes 260E (petrol) back in 2003 she looked well tidy but had about 186k mile on the clock with an immaculate pale blue cloth interior, Pimp my Ride 18" Alloy wheels, Chrome Wheel Arch trims etc.

I put it in Add Mag for £900 and the bloke that came to view it was TBH a bit of a gangster from a bad family who had just come out of prison after a two year stretch. He recognised me straight away and said he was now going straight, he was running a Landscape Business with a mate.

I took him round the block, he liked the car, paid in cash said be would pick it up the next day when he had sorted the Insurance. Next day came I put the car on the driveway ready for him, the top hose burst as he pulled up to collect the motor.

I tried to give him a refund as I did not fancy him coming back a few weeks later with any problems. He refused the refund, we agreed that I would fit a new hose and he would collect at the weekend. All sorted and off he drove.

A few days later I got a phone call from him I was ready for him changing his mind but he went on to say what a great motor it was but had no idea how to remove the wheels as he wanted to clean the inside rims!

The wheels were a Multi Spoke type held on with the usual 5 wheel bolts but instead of a centre cap it had a huge trim that was screwed into the wheel hub covering the 5 bolts. In the boot was a massive plastic spanner for undoing them! Never heard from him again though I did get reports of him cruising around Ilkeston in it many months later.

Lazy-Ferret · 05-11-2019, 21:53

I did offer him to return her to my house, and I would give him his money back, but he knew that I meant it, as he has been trying to buy her for 8 months, and this was the first time I relented.

I hate selling cars on, as you just know something will go wrong. At least he has seen her with me for many years, and knows how well she has been looked after. He had a whole A4 binder with receipts for all the things I had bought from the day I got her.

Lazy-Ferret · 07-11-2019, 22:59

had a call from him today, she is booked in for an MOT tomorrow... Fingers crossed.

04-11-2019, 23:48	#1
Lazy-Ferret Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Sevenoaks, Kent Vehicle: Terrano 2.7TDi SE Touring Posts: 5,221	A sad day The Fuzzmobil went today... She put up one hell of a fight not to go though.. They came this morning to look at her, and said they would be back between 5 and 6 this evening to collect her. That gave me the rest of today to get all the stuff out of her that I wanted, and to be honest, she had become a bit of a shed over the summer, with some bits from the caravan that we do not always need being stored in her, and some stuff taken out of Suz's car when it went for it's MOT, that never made it back into her car. I started her up for him, and she started first time, even though she had not been started for at least 2 months. To be fair, she has had a smart battery charger connected all the time. So I re-started her later in the morning, and moved her onto the drive, so I could get all round her, and set to work. 6pm came and went, and they were nowhere to be seen, so I started her up, and parked her back in the corner of the drive, and put the Jeep back in front of her. 7:15pm, a very apologetic guy knocked on the door, his day had gone to pot, but he was here now. Showed him round the car, and a few of her idiosyncrasies, then went to start her.... Dead battery... I jumped her from the Jeep, but she would not start... Remembered the "shut all doors, lock and then unlock" trick, and she started. Guy got less than 2 miles away, and apparently she just died on him. When he went to start her, the battery was dead. They tried bump starting, but nothing. He called me, and I ended up going to find him, to jump start her again. Nothing...re-connected her to the Jeep, and she spun over a dream, but would not fire. Tried the locking the doors with the remote thing... still no go... tried locking the door with the key... nothing.. Now the flip key decided to disintegrate, timing!! Fortunately, I had given him the original key, so I managed to put the innards back into that, and tried again, Still nothing. By now I am getting desperate, and I said out loud "Come on old girl, this is not like you" just as I turned the key again, and she bursts into life, much to the guy who bought it, and his sons amusement. The problem was, when they blipped the throttle the car would rev up ok, but when settling back to tickover, it would stall. While connected to the Jeep she would start again no problem. We decided that it was last filled with Diesel and Veg oil, just before Christmas last year, so maybe, it was a bit stale, and not helped by the cold night, so to drive it without just dropping the throttle, and sort of slowly bring it back down to tickover, which seemed to work OK. It also looks like the main battery is not holding a charge, but I did tell him it was an old one, and would need changing, I was just expecting it to hold a charge for a bit longer than that though. Fortunately, the Jeeps massive alternator gave it a good charge while I rebuilt the key, and then we put the second battery in parallel to the main, as that seemed fine. Got a text later to say that she made it back to their place with no more adventures and the stalling stopped as soon as she was up to temp, so they are going to fill the tank up with fresh diesel... A sad day, made worse by the fact I don't think she wanted to go..

05-11-2019, 02:37	#3
macabethiel Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Derby Vehicle: Freelander & Jeep GC 3.0 Posts: 4,416	What an ordeal! I guess you were lucky the buyer still wanted it - you could not blame him if he said forget the deal I'll have refund. Your story is different but it reminded me of when we sold our old Mercedes 260E (petrol) back in 2003 she looked well tidy but had about 186k mile on the clock with an immaculate pale blue cloth interior, Pimp my Ride 18" Alloy wheels, Chrome Wheel Arch trims etc. I put it in Add Mag for £900 and the bloke that came to view it was TBH a bit of a gangster from a bad family who had just come out of prison after a two year stretch. He recognised me straight away and said he was now going straight, he was running a Landscape Business with a mate. I took him round the block, he liked the car, paid in cash said be would pick it up the next day when he had sorted the Insurance. Next day came I put the car on the driveway ready for him, the top hose burst as he pulled up to collect the motor. I tried to give him a refund as I did not fancy him coming back a few weeks later with any problems. He refused the refund, we agreed that I would fit a new hose and he would collect at the weekend. All sorted and off he drove. A few days later I got a phone call from him I was ready for him changing his mind but he went on to say what a great motor it was but had no idea how to remove the wheels as he wanted to clean the inside rims! The wheels were a Multi Spoke type held on with the usual 5 wheel bolts but instead of a centre cap it had a huge trim that was screwed into the wheel hub covering the 5 bolts. In the boot was a massive plastic spanner for undoing them! Never heard from him again though I did get reports of him cruising around Ilkeston in it many months later.

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04-11-2019, 23:55	#2
terranosaurusdoug Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2014 Location: Yorkshire, J33 M62 Vehicle: 2000 Terrano lwb 2.7TDI Posts: 5,500	She will have had a sly grin mate

05-11-2019, 21:53	#4
Lazy-Ferret Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Sevenoaks, Kent Vehicle: Terrano 2.7TDi SE Touring Posts: 5,221	I did offer him to return her to my house, and I would give him his money back, but he knew that I meant it, as he has been trying to buy her for 8 months, and this was the first time I relented. I hate selling cars on, as you just know something will go wrong. At least he has seen her with me for many years, and knows how well she has been looked after. He had a whole A4 binder with receipts for all the things I had bought from the day I got her.

07-11-2019, 22:59	#5
Lazy-Ferret Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Sevenoaks, Kent Vehicle: Terrano 2.7TDi SE Touring Posts: 5,221	had a call from him today, she is booked in for an MOT tomorrow... Fingers crossed.