740 Turbo Intercooler estate for sale in Coventry...beware!

[AllHailKingVolvo]

Hi all,
As you may have read in my previous post, last month I placed a £200 deposit on a 1990 740 TI estate being sold by a dealer in Coventry, after being assured that it had "no issues", "drives fantastic", and "fires off the key first time". He said for the asking price it would come with a full MOT, hence me putting a deposit down.

I arrived after a lengthy train and cab journey (I live in Dorset!) To find the car was an utter shed, not at all as described, had a blown head gasket, no coolant in it, various sensors missing, disconnected vacuum pipes with nails and bolts shoved into them to blank them off, no PCV vent hose or flame trap, a wooden bung shoved into the intake bellows where the PCV normally vents to, oil literally dripping from the (faulty) turbo, barely any oil in the car, damage to the bottom of the dash, a smashed handbrake surround, the centre console of the dash damaged and the stereo and equaliser hanging out, and found on a brief test drive that the engine had horrendous valve train noise, the turbo pulsed rather than engaging (making the car kangaroo embarrassingly), it would only go into second gear with extreme force, and the overdrive didn't work at all. To add to this, the tailgate wouldn't shut properly and initially the car wouldn't start at all, without initially needing more fuel (ie in tank pump shot) and then jump starting (battery shot).

Of course, I rejected the car. I didn't trust it to get me home, and it wasn't at all as described.

The dealer at the time was contrite, apologised and assured me that he would return my deposit by bank transfer as soon as possible.

Predictably, this didn't happen, so I called him today to see how things were progressing. First he flatly denied that he was himself (despite having the same name, phone number, business name and address when questioned on it!) Then denied ever having met me, then denied assuring me that my deposit would be returned, then denied that anything was wrong with the car, then blamed ME for him having to spend £400 on getting it through its MOT (somehow, with a NSF tyre that was bald as a coot!) before I came to have a look at it, and told me that because I rejected the car after he had had it MOTd, he now couldn't find anyone to buy it at the £2k asking price, and said I'd inconvenienced him massively!

I thought he had never met me...?

Anyway, just a word of warning to anyone tempted to go to view the car...it's not worth your time. Gerry of Gerry's Cars & Vans (also previously known as Park Cars and Carz & Vanz) is not someone I would wish on anyone as a car vendor...caveat emptor.