There are bargains to be had out there….if you like taking a chance.
One of my crazy rich Asian friends knows I am into cars and bailed me up the other day as he wanted advice on how to get a car registered.
It turns out his mother in law had passed away some years ago and they had ended up with her car. He thought it might be suitable for one of his soon to be licensed kids but unfortunately they had let the rego run out.
So I gave him some tips and off he went.
He came back after a little while and said he had decided it was too much hassle and that the car was too old. He said it had sat at his place for 5 or 6 years and been started once in that time “probably 3 or 4 years ago”
Could I tell him how to go about getting rid of it? Could I help him see if we could get it running as the battery was flat? He said it was trapped behind a mound of dirt and it wasn't possible to move it or get a car near to jump start it.
The car in question?
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A 2004 corolla lovingly covered in dirt, grime, moss, leaves and spiderwebs.
As luck would have it I was down at the wreckers later that day for other stuff and a suitable battery was had for $35 with a 90 day guarantee!
That evening I headed over to his place with some odds and ends including the small compressor as “the tyres were flat”, the wrecker battery, the big battery out of the LJ and jumper leads - just in case we flattened the wrecker battery.
So I turn up and its as advertised….trapped, dusty and half flattened tyres
Pop the bonnet, fit the battery and cross fingers.
And it starts first time. Typical unkillable corolla.
His wife is very pleased and wants to know if I am interested in it. Why not? Should make good P plater fodder for the household.
Despite my best efforts I couldn’t get her to take more than $200.
So now I have a 2004, 67,000km corolla with full Toyota service history. Well until 2014 when she got too unwell to drive.
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Picked it up today where again it started first time and uneventfully transported me home. Drives like it’s new. Only took a few kilometres to wipe all the surface rust off the brakes….
Gave it a quick bath.
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The paint isn’t great being a red left out in the weather but we shall see what we can do.
Happy times!
