Buckley’s deals on wheels
In mid-January, I saw a classic example of what can happen to old cars when they become MoTexempt. The vehicle in question was a mid-1970s Rolls-Royce, bought via one of the more recently established auction sites where the listing comes with a verbose description of the car’s condition – even if you get the feeling the writer has not been within 100 miles of the car.
The Royce was bought for a substantial but not unreasonable sum ( given that it looked smart superficially), and sent to be inspected by a Rolls specialist. It drove well, apparently (other than a wayward-feeling rear end), and even once on the ramp it took a while to spot the big rusty holes around the rear suspension that an annual prod with a screwdriver might have prevented. Trouble is, once you’ve found this sort of thing the inclination is to keep digging, which is why more rust was found in the bottom of the well where the hood sits. On the basis that every Cloud has a silver lining (actually, it was a Corniche), I put in a cheeky bid for the glamorous rustbucket, but probably dodged a bullet when it was rejected.