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MG MGA - interesting ebay sale??

this is a scam sale for sure, ebay item 160059612532, this fellow must be new to the scamming business, no pictures yet, his feedback is very funny. caveat emptor
james madson

James

Why should it be a scam? He is new to Ebay so his advert may not be the most professional or comprehensive, that comes with practice. The description is correct as far as it goes. South African cars are right hand drive. Not everyone has access to a digital camera. Hardly his fault if someone leaves the same feedback 3 times - only one counted on his credit rating.

Steve
Steve Gyles

Could be genuine but I would hesitate to buy with no proof of the car existing -it would help if it had chassis /engine numbers etc. and it's a bit too far to get a viewing - OK if you know someone in RSA - cheers Cam
Cam Cunningham

steve, you can't be that gullible can you? it fits all the parameters of common scams on ebay, seller has been user for almost 2 years, made 3 purchases for under $5 all from same person, most likely themselves, and suddenly they are selling a $15,000 car? gray interior? did coupes come with original color of that? why not bid it and find out?
james madson

Actually, James, very early 1500s were available with grey interiors for Island Green and Mineral Blue Coupes (ref. Original MGA, pg 103). And you can order a grey interior and seats from the current Moss (USA) catalog for either the roadster or coupe!



Derek Nicholson

James

My issue here is that although it could be a scam, it equally it could be totally genuine. I don't think it is right on this forum for us to sit as judge and jury unless there are blatant lies in the advert or the hallmarks of the well known Nigerian scams etc. I see none of that and therefore do not think that we should cast aspersions on an individual's character just because it suits us.

Steve
Steve Gyles

Easy way to get more information is to "ask seller a question", get the phone number and pictures. Who wouldn't do that if they were interested. One would need a lot more information before buying a car without seeing it and the owner. Having said that, I did buy my last two cars over the net without seeing them!

Incidently I reported the twin cam scams to eBay; three ads after the real auction. (I was also the high bidder on that, but didn't make the reserve). I also reported a scam Austin Healey ad. They removed the ads almost immediately. You get a little thank you email but no details of what happened.

Neil
JN McGurk

steve, that is my point, it does have the "nigerian hallmarks" as you say, this is the reason for my post, hopefully no one on here will fall into sending money for this car. fwiw i did email the seller a couple times and have received no replies. derek, thanks, i know you can get gray interiors aftermarket as i have one in my rdstr but this car claims to be original and also a 1961. besides, i doubt the car actually exists or if it does that it is owned by the person trying to sell it.
james madson

Well, actually, the seller say that it's had a complete rebuild. The only use of the word "original" is in association with the hand book.

TTFN

Derek Nicholson

James - Perhaps might be a good idea if we all ask him questions and see if he replies to any of us - cheers Cam
Cam Cunningham

Well, I sent a question or two, and we appear to have someone who knows something about MGAs. Here are my (Q)uestions with the (A)nswers I got back:-

Q:- I wonder if you could send some more details. Also, photographs would be very important to see before bidding. What's your reserve price and is the car available for inspection? Thank you.

A:- Don't know what to add. The car has a couple of non-original features. eg. The generator has been replaced with a Alternator, the batteries have been relocated in the engine compartment. An ampmeter has been included in the instrument layout.

My digital camera went on the blink just before I decided to put the car on eBay so I have no pics and don't think it'll be repaired before the end of the auction. The Reserve price is $US 8000. Not sure of the freight costs to the US but the car is not restricted for export. It can be inspected anytime.


Q:- Thanks for getting back to me. Any chance of getting the chassis, engine and body numbers? I'd like to see if it's a numbers matching car. Is it a 1500 engine? You don't have a friend or acquaintance with a digital camera?

A:- Chassis Number; GDH 70001
Engine Number; 16AMWUH16087
This is not the original engine number but is a 1600cc Weslake unit. I'm trying to sort something out re the camera although time is tight.


Q:- Thanks for getting back to me. The engine serial number seems to correspond to an Austin/Morris application. Do you know if the cylinder head is from an MGA or is it still the Austin part? When you had the engine rebuilt, what camshaft did you install? Does the car still have the original SU carb installed?

Thanks and I'm looking into shipping costs. Are you located near a port?

A:- The head is to MGA specs. The engine is AMW (Austin Morris Wolsley)but is H so its a high compression engine. The Carbs are original SU's which were recently rebuilt with new jets, seals washers and filters. The cam is a standard cam (not high lift.)


Now before you criticize me for making mistakes in my questions, I deliberately asked if it was a 1500 and if it still had its original SU carb (singular). For both deliberate errors, the seller corrected the mistake. Other than being slightly dyslexic with the serial number (GHD vs GDH) I'd say he's answered pretty well.

The chassis number gives it a production date of June '59, but maybe it was imported to SA in 1961, which could account for his listing it as a '61.

I really don't want to string the poor guy along too much, but so far there's been no mention of Western Union or Nigerian bank accounts. Once the auction's over, I think I'll send him a message that he get a bit better organized with his description and photos and perhaps list it on eBay UK. I think he's more likely to get a better price and I'm guessing the Brits are a bit more comfortable dealing with South Africa.

Thats my two bits worth.

TTFN

Derek Nicholson

I can confirm that my mineral grey 1500 coupe had a grey interior and I know that was original

gordon
g c pugh

This thread was discussed between 09/12/2006 and 10/12/2006

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