NonMember Posted July 5, 2022 Report Share Posted July 5, 2022 14 minutes ago, micmak said: If the insurance valuation would put it around £14.5K, that’s almost €17K Euros. So his asking price of €15 or €16 is pretty much where it should be. Still a little high - insurance valuations are intended as "replacement cost" and will be quite a bit higher than the car would sell for. Especially with: 16 minutes ago, micmak said: I have not seen the car in person at all yet – I hope to see it tomorrow, but I wanted to ask you guys if the asking price was reasonable. But from the pics, the paint finish looks pretty good to me. Pictures can be extremely misleading about paint finish. There does look to be a fair bit of orange peel, which may polish out but may not. If you're happy with the finish as it is, and if the seller is willing to drop the asking price for not giving it a re-spray (a decent re-spray will cost four figures, a cheap blow-over isn't worth doing), then it's not an outrageous price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul H Posted July 5, 2022 Report Share Posted July 5, 2022 My Vitesse has an agreed TSSC valuation of £12.5k though realistically it’s only worth £8.5k Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
micmak Posted July 6, 2022 Author Report Share Posted July 6, 2022 Hi Guys, I went to see the Vitesse this morning. I now understand the seller’s desire to re-paint it. However, it is not bad as is. Not bad at all. There is an orange-peel effect in parts of the paint finish. The story is, the car was bought by the previous owner in the early 2000’s. It had been sitting since ’81. He started to strip it down to restore it. He moved from Ireland to Hungary, and had the car shipped there in pieces and boxes. He did some work there before moving to Spain a couple of years later, and he had the car shipped there, again in pieces. Then the poor guy got cancer, and decided to abandon his plans, having spent hours and hours of labour and effort, and about 15K in parts. He had the semi-restored car shipped back to Ireland where the current seller bought it. The seller is a car restorer. He wanted to finish it off and re-paint it because of the orange peel situation. He figured his asking price would be about €15K. The floors have been replaced, the door bottoms, sills, boot floor, all replaced. There is a new gearbox and a totally rebuilt engine, restored radiator. There are tons of receipts showing the parts purchased. The brakes and brake lines are all new. The car has not been driven since all the work was done aside from moving it from the storage unit to the garage and back again. The engine still needs to be run-in! The brakes are not yet bedded-in! The tracking has not been set at all yet. The tyres are brand new. New dashboard, door cards, carpets. He has the original seats in it right now, but will give me the other seats with the headrests if I want them. It is very close to being a new car. The seller was planning on spending big money on a new paint job, (hence his planned €15K asking price), and was thinking of making it a concours car. I asked what he would sell it for now as is. He said €9K!! I agreed to buy it. But I have to wait until I get my garage extended here at home. I hope to have a builder give me an estimate on the weekend. Meanwhile, he will keep the car in storage until I am ready. Given all I have read and all the information you kind fellows have given me, I think €9K for a car like this is amazing. That’s somewhere between £7½K and £8K. .....Mick..... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted July 6, 2022 Report Share Posted July 6, 2022 now thats a good relistic price a much happier outcome you will soon get the Smile Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul H Posted July 6, 2022 Report Share Posted July 6, 2022 Well done Mick 🤗Nice to see a great result . Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daverclasper Posted July 6, 2022 Report Share Posted July 6, 2022 Maybe?, if you really want it, could it not be kept under a cover until garage ready?. Just thinking, he may change his mind about selling it, get a better offer?. Just what I'd do Mr Cautious Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
micmak Posted July 6, 2022 Author Report Share Posted July 6, 2022 Thanks Pete and Paul. Yes it IS a happier outcome. I am already smiling even though I won’t get possession of the car for a few weeks. Mr Cautious; Cool name! I am not worried about him selling it from under my feet. He had planned on repainting and selling it for top price. But his workload means that it might take a couple of years before he could get to it. He does some amazing work, and he is very picky and fussy about quality. He was prepared to leave the Vitesse sitting in storage until he had time. He kinda feels a little overwhelmed by having too many projects like the Vitesse, so in a way, I’m doing him a favor by buying it as is now. He said he will simply put it back in storage where it was, and leave it there for a couple of months, if necessary, until I am ready. Even if I were to walk away and not buy it, he would likely revert to his original plan and leave the car there until he has time. He wasn't actively trying to sell the car at all - it just came up in conversation. I COULD buy it today and keep it under a cover as you suggest. But to me, as it is such a beautiful little car in much better condition than I imagined, it would be a shame to keep it outside 24 hours a day. I know it is just a car, but I have already fallen for it, and I want to give it the best treatment. The seller actually said I was right to get the garage built because it would be a shame to keep a car like that outdoors. It is such a cool little car. I can’t wait to get it and go for a drive up the mountains or out to the sea for a ice cream! .....Mick..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul H Posted July 7, 2022 Report Share Posted July 7, 2022 Hi Mick . Do you have overdrive on your new Vitesse ? Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
micmak Posted July 7, 2022 Author Report Share Posted July 7, 2022 3 hours ago, Paul H said: Hi Mick . Do you have overdrive on your new Vitesse ? Paul Hi Paul, No, it doesn't have overdrive. In a way, I wish it did. But realistically it is not going to reduce my fun and enjoyment of the car. .....Mick..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johny Posted July 7, 2022 Report Share Posted July 7, 2022 Ive had both Mick and dont miss OD now. You might want to consider going to a higher ratio diff (3.63) at a later date but even this has its down sides... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
micmak Posted July 7, 2022 Author Report Share Posted July 7, 2022 2 hours ago, johny said: Ive had both Mick and dont miss OD now. You might want to consider going to a higher ratio diff (3.63) at a later date but even this has its down sides... Hi Johny, I expect there will be things I’d like to change or modify as time passes. All my options are completely open right now. I think one of the things I will do as soon as I get the car will be to put alloys on it. I have looking at Minilites, as I think they suit a Vitesse best. This might horrify some purists, I dunno. But aside from that, I don’t plan on doing too much more at first. I want to enjoy it first and get a feel for it before deciding what I might or might not do in the future. .....Mick..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Lindsay Posted July 7, 2022 Report Share Posted July 7, 2022 Your car, your choice!! One thing I will say: drive it. Keep it on the road, as once it comes off to fit overdrive, or an uprated diff, then you see all sorts of other jobs and it never sees the road again until Car SOS appear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daverclasper Posted July 7, 2022 Report Share Posted July 7, 2022 2 hours ago, johny said: You might want to consider going to a higher ratio diff (3.63) at a later date but even this has its down sides... Interested in the downsides?. I understand it may be the strongest diff? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johny Posted July 7, 2022 Report Share Posted July 7, 2022 Well you lose some of that rorty acceleration and also have to change down from 4th more often round town which as we all know means those weedy little needle bearings get used😭 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
micmak Posted July 7, 2022 Author Report Share Posted July 7, 2022 1 hour ago, Colin Lindsay said: Your car, your choice!! One thing I will say: drive it. Keep it on the road, as once it comes off to fit overdrive, or an uprated diff, then you see all sorts of other jobs and it never sees the road again until Car SOS appear. Ha ha, Colin. I know! The while-you-are-there theory. It IS a fact. When you go the trouble of rolling up your sleeves and getting stuck in, you see other stuff that will need attention soon, so you may as well do it now. I know. Been there. But no, my main plan will be just to drive it for the first little while at least. If I did go with a set of Minilites or similar, what size should I get? How wide can the wheels/tyres be on a Vitesse? Sorry if this is a childish question, but I know nothing about these cars, at least not yet. I expect that will change rapidly when I get the car. But in the meantime, what is the wheel diameter? How wide can I go? What is the offset and bolt pattern of the rims? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johny Posted July 7, 2022 Report Share Posted July 7, 2022 1 hour ago, micmak said: Hi Johny, I expect there will be things I’d like to change or modify as time passes. All my options are completely open right now. I think one of the things I will do as soon as I get the car will be to put alloys on it. I have looking at Minilites, as I think they suit a Vitesse best. This might horrify some purists, I dunno. Who cares, Ive got minilites on my Vitesse and I love them. They are 13x5.5J but were sold specifically for the Vitesse as they must have the right offset etc... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted July 7, 2022 Report Share Posted July 7, 2022 one future thing to contemplate with a wheel change is to uprate the small 3/8 wheel studs with 7/16" or go metric 12mm the small originals get stripped by gorilla's you wont shear the bigger studs they fit the orig hub holes Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johny Posted July 7, 2022 Report Share Posted July 7, 2022 Ha ha, thats it Pete get Mick started on the to do list😂 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MK2 Ed Posted July 7, 2022 Report Share Posted July 7, 2022 Hi Mick, Loving this saga and so pleased that you've hit upon such a fine car. Buy it now! Anything can happen in a couple of months, just ask Boris..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badwolf Posted July 7, 2022 Report Share Posted July 7, 2022 Don't worry, on current trends your car will still be there in a couple of months (just like Boris!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josef Posted July 7, 2022 Report Share Posted July 7, 2022 You can get 5Jx13 and 5.5Jx13 Minilites to fit the small chassis cars (and 6J I think too but they’re running into possible clearance issues territory). 5J will let you fit 155 tyres which are close in width to the originals, 5.5J will require wider 165 or 175 tyres. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
micmak Posted July 8, 2022 Author Report Share Posted July 8, 2022 OK, great. I will start looking for alloys now. It seems funny to me to read that 5.5J will require WIDER 165 or 175 tyres. My other two toy cars have 235’s and 255’s. 165 and 175 sounds tiny! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johny Posted July 8, 2022 Report Share Posted July 8, 2022 Yes and 13" is small nowadays but our suspension design means the wheels change their angle to the road quite a lot so theres not much advantage to having wider tyres... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johny Posted July 8, 2022 Report Share Posted July 8, 2022 You will have to get used to driving a 50+ year old car as the handling is not so predictable like a modern vehicle and as I found out its quite easy to turn over a vitesse☹️ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
micmak Posted July 8, 2022 Author Report Share Posted July 8, 2022 1 minute ago, johny said: You will have to get used to driving a 50+ year old car as the handling is not so predictable like a modern vehicle and as I found out its quite easy to turn over a vitesse☹️ Ah yeah, I know. I will not be trying to break any land speed records. I will just take it out to cruise around on a sunny day. Did you actually flip your car? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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