Inherited car - what to do!

beauty of old cars is you can actually work on them

I spent most of my late teens mucking about with a mk2 ford escort..have you seen how much a restored rs2000 is worth these days?!
 
Haynes manual, a few tools and Google.

You'll be a master mechanic in no time, or at least be able to get it running and stopping.

I'd never touched a vehicle till the start of the year, I now do pretty much all my own work on my motorbike and there's a much higher chance of me dying if I mess that up and I'm still here :D
 
OK cool, so the ball has started rolling. I've decided, screw it. I can get the car delivered to my address for about £220, so this is pretty much the most I can lose, plus parts that I will need to buy for it. The garage it's currently sat in also has loads of tools, so I will be commandeering them too!

Bought the haynes manual and awaiting for that to be delivered, plus I've spoken to a contractor at work who has a friend who is a roaming mechanic, i.e. he comes to your house to fix broken down cars. I've always wanted to learn about motors, so if I really get stuck, I can get him round for a few hours (paid, obviously).

Only thing I'm stuck on now (maybe a biggy!) is actual legal ownership of the car!

The car was last registered to my great uncle, who died 5 years ago. This asset would now be part of my great aunts estate (through her automatically inheriting it through the will), but there will be no paperwork showing this yet. My uncle has power of attorney over all her assets, so in theory can legally sign over the car to me.

The issue is; we have 0 paperwork to speak of - likely all buried in the house never to be seen again (it's an absolute mess!)

So has anyone dealt with a tangle like this before, and if so, what did you do?

Many thanks you wonderful people!!!
 
allllec said:
Just apply for a new V5, tick recently purchased no V5C so you don't have to pay the fee.

Legal ownership is yours if you've been given the car.

Really is as simple as that.

Kind Regards

Alec

*edit*

Form is here mate

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/360103/V62_220714.pdf
Click to expand...

Brilliant, thanks!

Just out of curiosity, what's to stop me seeing a nice Aston down my street and filling in this form with it's reg number? Bam, free Aston surely?

*edit*

Also, there is a section which says:

I do not enclose the fee because:
– I am the new keeper and I have enclosed the new keeper’s details section (V5C/2); or ✖
– an insurance company destroyed the V5C because they considered it to be category C
salvage (see section D over the page).

So I'm assuming I still incur a 25 pound fee, which I'm not worried about.
 
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Are you going to store this outside then? :(

Arsonist said:
Brilliant, thanks!

Just out of curiosity, what's to stop me seeing a nice Aston down my street and filling in this form with it's reg number? Bam, free Aston surely?
Click to expand...

Because the other person can prove ownership?
 
Having a V5 in your name does not imply ownership. It just means you are responsible for tax, insurance, parking / speeding tickets etc... Hence why it says at the top of a V5 you are the registered keeper, not the owner.
 
sigma said:
Are you going to store this outside then? :(
Click to expand...

Go very little choice unfortunately. It's that or get scrapped. Really don't fancy putting it in garage storage where it will cost a fair bit, for it to potentially be something I can't get going anyway!

xs2man said:
Having a V5 in your name does not imply ownership. It just means you are responsible for tax, insurance, parking / speeding tickets etc... Hence why it says at the top of a V5 you are the registered keeper, not the owner.
Click to expand...

Duh!! I should have read that bit! Ownership would never be contested on this car anways so guess I have no worries!

Thanks guys! :)

Hopefully getting this shifted 13th/14th Nov when I'm back from hols.

ALSO! On a side note, I was also given an old 1994 Diesel 205 1769cc Junior. Bodywork also has 0 rust, kept in a garage for years. I got it running 2 years ago but battery has since died. Also go no brakes, but everything else seems OK. Anyone wanna buy it?
 
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The last time I saw one of these was in around 2000 wheelspinning across the grass at work with about 20 Apple G5 computers in it and followed by 2 youths in balaclavas.

Is this Passat basically the same as a B1 Audi 80 estate?
Might be another source of forum help, parts, etc...
audi-80-estate-02.jpg
 
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amazing - get this badboy running again asap!
there's a good few vw forums for help if you need it - you can usually find someone fairly local to give you a hand too if you need it.
The body work is always the killer on these so if that's in good nick you're golden!

just get some bbs alloys, stretch the tyres, slam it and you've got a serious wagon there :D
 
To change
Fluids - Engine oil, gearbox oil, Diff oil, brake fluid, clutch fluid, fuel, coolant (probably worth going to a waterless coolant)
Filters - Air, fuel and oil
Belts
Battery
Tyres & any other obviously perished hoses
 
As you don't really know anything about cars, putting it through an MOT would be a really good idea.

As the MOT is a "minimum safety standards" test, even though you know it will fail that £30 odd quid will give you a decent health check on the car and a base line of stuff that NEEDS to be fixed before you move on to polishing it and making it nice. If you find a local indy that does testing and explain the situation (I seem to remember it has no brakes for example) Then I'm sure you'll find them willing to do the test, and if you pay them they might well pick it up and drop it of for you.

When you get the fail sheet back, a decent garage will go through the fail items with you and then we or people on Retro Rides (highly recommend you register and start a Readers Rides thread) will happily give you guidance and advice on getting it sorted.
 
You really want to be doing the basics like getting the motor turning over before thinking about an MOT. Change the oil and check that you can turn it by hand. The fuel will be rank if its sat for 9 years, you might need to mix it with fresh petrol or flush it out.
 
Serious suggestion.

How about contacting Wheeler dealers TV program. It is the sort of project they love and you would see the car restored to the fullest.

They spend a fortune on cars as they don't calculate labour and I am sure they would give you a good price as they often pay well over the top.

If you can make the car a celebrity, I am sure your relative would appreciate that as I would.
 
Third Opinion said:
Serious suggestion.

How about contacting Wheeler dealers TV program. It is the sort of project they love and you would see the car restored to the fullest.

They spend a fortune on cars as they don't calculate labour and I am sure they would give you a good price as they often pay well over the top.

If you can make the car a celebrity, I am sure your relative would appreciate that as I would.
Click to expand...

They only do cars which are interesting or special, if we're being totally frank then nobody is really interested in 1.6 passat estates no matter how old they are.
 
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