Why do some sellers encourage buyers to destroy a good car?

[Edgar Lowe]

A nice restorable Ruby

https://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C1299646

[Jacob Fowkes]

It would be a shame but it’s not the sellers fault that the Ulster reps go for crazy money

[Dave Wortley]

There’s a similarity here with pet dogs. So many old dogs given to dog rescue organisations and replaced with lovely little cockapoos and the like bred in inhumane puppy farms. Cast off the old and invest in the new confectionery. It’s a shame there isn’t a Ruby rescue organisation.

[Chris KC]

You've got hold of a can of worms there Edgar.

A lot of our traders, rightly or wrongly, make their bread & butter from 'conversions'.
And who among us can truly say they have not 'tweaked' our car(s) here and there?
In the internet age it seems we can all "do what we like" and what others get up to is none of our business.
But then take a look to the U.S. and see where that leads.

Those of us with an interest in conservation may look on in dismay, but where do you draw a line?
And who has a right to draw a line anyway?

Funnily enough I was reading a quite unrelated post on a quite unrelated site yesterday, but the tone was much the same.
It was imploring the site management to take a stand and at least discourage - or stop facilitating - irresponsible and potentially injurious behaviour by some of the membership. Understandably the management did not want to take sides.

One wonders though whether the clubs to which most of us belong have - or should have - policies with respect to the preservation of original vehicles or the butchery of same. And if they do, whether they perhaps need to get a bit tougher somehow?

[Martin Prior]

As a trader involved with A7 bodywork, I won't touch projects involving the replacement of a sound original body.

If the body has already been scrapped, very heavily damaged or modified, or is genuinely decayed beyond all saving (a lot aren't, despite claims to the contrary!) then I don't see any problem in a "creative restoration" in whatever style appeals to the owner.

There are plenty of butchered Austin Sevens out there already - we're working on two at the moment, which had little or no surviving original bodywork. There's no excuse for murdering a basically sound saloon, especially if it's going to be fitted with a hideous, poorly made new body!

[Howard Wright]

Hi Edgar

I agree with Chris but would add that whilst our cars are “relatively” common and the price of a well used Ruby remains so low there will always be the temptation to desecrate them for more perceived desirable vehicles.

We are dictated to by a free market and until conservation is regarded more highly then there will always be desecrators.  

Cheers

Howard

[Parazine]

It's always a shame to see vendors inciting the prospective purchaser to destroy the car and build a special (even if the ad refers to some type of kebab), however the purchaser will soon find, if they do the job properly, that the construction costs will soon outweigh the potential sale price of a completed car.

I emphasize "Do the job properly", rather than building a "Waterski special", hence the number of half built projects that appear on eBay with vendors trying desperately to recoup some of their investment after the interest in the conversion has gone. If the special is completed, it will probably adorn an advert for many months or even years at an unreal price as the vendor seeks to get his investment back.

Sadly, dreams are cheap, reality is depressingly large bills, unless you are a skilled enough engineer to be able to do all or most of the work yourself and enjoy that part of the build.

Most people (with a few exceptions) under the age of 50 simply don't have the basic skills to do the engineering work because schools and colleges don't teach them in their formative years anymore. in the nineties, my local college disposed of its engineering workshops and built drama classrooms instead. Drama students do not make good engineers.......

[Mike Costigan]

I don't approve the destruction of restorable cars, but at least the end product is still likely to be largely Austin Seven. Our branch of the hobby doesn't usually subject cars to this sort of desecration:

https://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C1299827

   

Sticking a Mazda MX5 engine into a sound original Humber seems bad enough, but then tune it to the extent that the seller openly admits the drive train is not strong enough (he's already burst one diff, and is including a spare in the sale!) seems crazy to me.

[Tony Betts]

an interesting thread.

and many very very good points above.

but its not just the value of ulsters, that makes people destroy perfectly restorable cars. the lack of people wanting an austin seven or even a pre-war car. makes it harder for sellers to sell less desirable cars.

also lets not get to wrapped up with what dealers do with cars, yes there are companies like classic and vintage breaker. who were breaking a ruby a week a couple of years ago on ebay.AND NOBODY BROUGHT IT UP ON THE FORUM. BUT BUT BUT there are also enough private WATERSKY strippers out there.

id like to think we could have a ruby rescue, or even that the clubs could come in and save a few.

if i had the space and a bit more cash, id also look at saving it.

but the reality is, what are we saving it for?

as less people want them as rubys, saving them would mean we would have a barn somewere with a 1,000 rubys slowly decaying.

tony

[Nick Salmon]

The misleading and inaccurate 'snobbiness' by some about the Ruby is largely brought about by our own fraternity. I'm sorry to say that some out there seem to think that anything with a painted rad is somehow inferior to earlier models. In fact, as most of us know, they are not inferior; they are simply different.

I know for a fact that there are those who would be terrified driving a Chummy but feel perfectly OK in a Ruby - especially a Mk2 - or even a Big Seven. 

I may be in a minority but I love the design of a Ruby and would heartily recommend them to anyone wanting a comfortable and practical everyday A7.