My 1971 CS might be dead. I mean, really dead.

plexus

plexus

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To make a long story shortL I have/had a nice "original condition" 1971 3.0CS euro. it had the rusy front fenders and doors. Nothing critical, and all that can be fixed. I entered in a contract with a small one-man shop that does vintage restos to strip the car, fix the body problems and re-paint. Half way through the job I went to see the car and he was definitely in the middle of the job. The resto was to cost $6000-8000 complete.

Anyway, he left, cleaned out the shop and took my car. He would not let me see it. I called insruance and the police and they are not investigating. He was highly evasitve with me giving ne a string of medical issues but when I told him the police were involved I expected he'd at least let me see it so I know its still there. But he would not. The police have tried to talk to him but he is evading them as well. So, the police are about to get a warrant for his arrest.

We don't know if the car is still around or not. Eye witnesses said that he parked the car outside for a long time unprotected and because it was stripepd down to the metal, rusted.

So, if they dont find the car I would get coverage from insurance. But if they find the car and insruance deems the damage as not a result of the theft, I would not have coverage. They do not cover rust. I think to correct this would be a big job: the whole car would need to be sand blased, sanded and then completely coated and hand sanded down to provide a workable surface. Plus all the other work needed to restore it.

I have already paid him $5000 of the money. We agreed on a payment schedule, some up front, some in the middle and some at the end. Because the work was progressing I felt comfortable with this.

So, I am usure what will happen. I feel that to give the car to someone else to do, if I can find someone, would cost at least $8000-10000 to carry the job forward. I've already put $5000 in. So I am thinking its just not financially viable to do any further work on the car, if its found and completely rusrted.

But, this is painful. To scrap the car would be such a waste. But, I do not have any way to store the car - I live in a desne large urban setting and there is no place to park a car. Storage centres are $300/mo and up. I could try and find a place to park it in kijiji (someone renting out a spot somewhere) but then would I even want to do that. I could imagine the car just sitting there further deterioriating while I look for someone to do the job. Then tow it to them and be in for another $10000? and open myself up agian to all these risks???

So I am thinking the best course of action is to either scrap the car or sell it to someone as a parts car. Then drive train was fine. its a 4-on-the-floor. glass was all good etc.

Any ideas or advise? I'm in Toronto.

197130CS.jpg
 
teahead said:
Hard to say without seeing it
Click to expand...

And there-in lies the crux. I wont know what to do with it until its recovered. So I think I will have it towed to a scrap yard so that it's theere ready to go in the event the damage is too great to keep the car. It would be nice to find someone locally who may want it as a parts car. I just can't see myself keeping it around all rusted on the premise that sometime in the future I may get it worked on. It would just deteriorate even more.

If anyone in around the Toronto area might be interested in the car for parts let me know.

If I do scrap it, what parts are worth recovering? I was thinking the steering wheel as its a CSL leather wheel. Also perhaps those 850 rims and maybe the glass and whatever trim I can get off it? The drive train doesn't seem to be of much value - maybe the tranny but getting that out at a scrap yard is beyond my ability.
 
I'm no lawyer and know less about Canadian law than I do about US law. But from my experience (which may or may not be applicable in Ontario), I would suggest that you lean on your insurance company for help. They shouldn't be able to duck responsibility here, though I understand that they would like to say that your coverage doesn't include damage caused by rust. The fact that the car was stripped, that you were deprived of using the car for an extended period, that a report was filed with the police, etc. etc. should carry some weight. When dealing with insurers you need to become a thorn in their side - call them repeatedly, enlist your local agent as an ally, threaten to contact the provincial insurance regulatory board, etc. Your insurance company has the clout to make you financially whole in this terrible situation. The police may go after the shop owner, but won't do much for you.
 
Hope you get this resolved.
 
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that’s a heck of a story
 
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i would think you need to go after the shop's insurance company ... have your insurance company or a lawyer file a claim against them.
 
This is so very sad.

I do happen to be a commercial lawyer but being based in Australia and unfamiliar with Canadian criminal law please just take this a general observation based on common law principles - as opposed to legal advice.
Without seeing a copy of your policy it's even harder to give a fully informed view.
However, generally speaking insurance policies will not cover general wear and tear, which includes metal fatigue and rust.
That said it sounds to me like the rust in your case wasn't caused by wear and tear but a mix of alleged criminal conduct, negligence and breach of contract on the part of the body works.
If you have some sort of documentation from the police that they view the car as stolen then this would strengthen your bargaining position with your insurer. As would any documentation that the body works was engaged to strip and store the car.
Another factor here is the agreed value of the car under your policy, if the agreed value was only 10k they may simply write it off. If the agreed value was say 60k they may be more inclined to have the car fixed - of course this depends on the state of the car.
I'd be more than happy for you to pick my brain offline if you feel it's of any use.
 
Sorry buddy. When you get it back you can have any of my meagre collection of parts to help you get back and driving.

James

Sent from my ONEPLUS A3003 using Tapatalk
 
Get in touch with @Nicad. He is from the Toronto area, a real enthusiast and can surely help in some form or the other.
Best of luck.
 
indeed sad story ... hope you get it resolved !

i once had a similar story... a shop building a race engine for my 928 went broke and disappeared with everything ..including my engine ..... at that time i had 20K already payed in it...:mad:
But despite invoices,pics etc... and lawyers , officials,police.... nothing was found or done.
 
I think I have seen that car several times over the years in the Lower Riverdale area. You'd be surprised what parking you can find . There are a ton of Condo's in Toronto with vacant parking spots. I store my Miata out in Scarborough through a friend and it costs me $150 for the winter. I have my old e46 wagon parked for $180 per month in a Riverdale detached garage that also stores all my scrap bicycles and overflow from the basement at home. Hopefully you don't have to scrap it. Seems to me the car is stolen at the moment, so can you not proceed that way with insurance? The leather CSL wheel is ultra desirable. If in good shape, it is worth 1/12th what my CS cost me. Parting out a car can be profitable, but expect it to take a year of your time. A scrapyard would give you nothing for a rusty CS. I stripped a CS at Standard Auto Wreckers several years ago and things like the LSD diff cost me $40. I hope you get it back on the road, but it also sounds like that body person was not quoting you on fixing the likely underlying rust. $8000 will get you a respray and superficial rust repair. It is what is under the skin that usually needs fixing on a CS. Good luck with it, if I can be of any assistance send me a PM.
 
Once you recovered the car. Post pictures and we can help you decide what the best course action is.
Do not scarp the car!!!
It is worth something to somebody.

There are relatively inexpensive solutions you can buy that you , yourself can spray with hand pump garden sorry to stop the rusting process.
First this First if to find the car and take it back.

It will be a very sad ending if you end up scrapping the car or abandoning the whole thing.
I will PM you!

Best wishes!

Tony p.
 
Most sad. Yes, it's been stolen, and by being dissembled and cut upon, to anyone but us car nuts, it's been 'destroyed' thus has little or no value, so even if they pay off your claim, you can buy back the remains for what they consider it's worth, which is peanuts. Then you can use our guidance to continue the restoration, or sell the parts (a slow and tedious process).

Ian
 
Very sorry to read of this Plexus. What a sad story. You have been given some great advice here, but from what I can tell, you wonder if you have the time and energy, let alone the extra funds required to get this car back on the road again. I agree you need to be all over that insurer. And surely there is someone in the police force that would be sympathetic to what has happened. You deserve a break and someone should see this. As Nicad has suggested, get in touch with him. He is near to you and very resourceful. We all want you to succeed, and please keep us up to date. Good luck! Mike
 
Nicad said:
I think I have seen that car several times over the years in the Lower Riverdale area. You'd be surprised what parking you can find . There are a ton of Condo's in Toronto with vacant parking spots. I store my Miata out in Scarborough through a friend and it costs me $150 for the winter. I have my old e46 wagon parked for $180 per month in a Riverdale detached garage that also stores all my scrap bicycles and overflow from the basement at home. Hopefully you don't have to scrap it. Seems to me the car is stolen at the moment, so can you not proceed that way with insurance? The leather CSL wheel is ultra desirable. If in good shape, it is worth 1/12th what my CS cost me. Parting out a car can be profitable, but expect it to take a year of your time. A scrapyard would give you nothing for a rusty CS. I stripped a CS at Standard Auto Wreckers several years ago and things like the LSD diff cost me $40. I hope you get it back on the road, but it also sounds like that body person was not quoting you on fixing the likely underlying rust. $8000 will get you a respray and superficial rust repair. It is what is under the skin that usually needs fixing on a CS. Good luck with it, if I can be of any assistance send me a PM.
Click to expand...

Yes that's the car.

Well the problem with finding a cheap spot is that I'd have to have the spot secured before I can get it towed. The police said if they find the car they would call immediately and expect me to have towing instructions ready. This means I'd need to have the spot secured and ready to go on a moments notice. We are talking about a car that was sanded to the metal across most of the car. The last time I saw the car, it wasn't an even sand. Like a first pass with a gentle grinding pad. If the car was outside like that it makes it worse because the rusting damange would be even more uneven. You see, I am speculating the cost to move the restoration forward after that damage, adding in the $5000 I already paid the guy, is beyond the value of the car.

This makes me want to ask the question what is a 3.0CS euro manual w/carbs running well worth? I know I know, it all depends on condition. I was thinking max $20k Canadian. So if its another $10k to finish the job thats $15k in. Plus storage, time, more risk with another shop...

Anyway I will just deal with it as it comes. It's very strange the guy, Dave Imrie from Oshawaw by the way, would evade me from even seeing the car knowing that I was involving the police. And then he evades the police... thats a good sign the car is "gone". But then why would he do that? Its a real mystery.

If I can manage it I am thinking I should try and have it parked near me. I might be able to find a spot in an hour or so of calling classifieds. Maybe the cops will give me an hour to come up with an address. Otherwise I may also see if a local wrecking yard would let it sit for some time, paid storage, until insurance has dealt with it. If it ends up being for the scrap yard, pull off as many valuable parts as I can and get the scrap value.

I think it would be difficult to find someone who would want and be able to store a car in that condition as a parts car. and that just means more expense with parking, etc until it sells.

Quite sad.
 
plexus said:
I may also see if a local wrecking yard would let it sit for some time, paid storage, until insurance has dealt with it.
Click to expand...

I think that is a bad idea. If the car is located at a wrecking yard, parts are going to disappear. Even if the yard owner is honest, and intends for the car to just be stored there, someone is going to assume that all parts are fair game.
 
i agree with Jay. even if the car was taken to bare metal and sat uncovered and started to rust ... that is the start of surface rust, which can be reblasted and start the process over with rusted shells selling for 20k these days, if you recover the removed parts and especially if you are able to get some money back thru insurance ... find somebody new and get it done. restored coupe values are on the rise. cars with some rust, but together are selling for 25k to 40k depending on condition and presentation.
 
If you recover the car just post allot of detailed pictures of what's remaining and I'm sure we can help you sort out, from a mechanical perspective, your options. We're all really sorry to hear about this-
 
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