Seight on ebay

[Lee1980]

Hi all,

 

I joined the club at the end of last year with the sole intention of going down the build route. So in the meantime I've been saving up, whilst reading the many informative build threads.

But I have an itch to own a Westfield right now that just won't go away!

And what better way to scratch that itch than with a Seight!

This one has come up on ebay and it seems to have been an ex 330 demonstrator, but the engine has been changed by the previous owner.

Does anybody know any more history of this one or any pointers/opinions/advice please?

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1994-Westfield-Seight-4-0-TVR-Chimaera-400-V8/402780836910?_trkparms=aid%3D111001%26algo%3DREC.SEED%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20160908105057%26meid%3Dcf94016773d949129655cdea3231fbd9%26pid%3D100675%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D15%26mehot%3Dpp%26sd%3D402780836910%26itm%3D402780836910%26pmt%3D0%26noa%3D1%26pg%3D2380057&_trksid=p2380057.c100675.m4236&_trkparms=pageci%3A50416692-989e-11eb-b25e-5e0981539d48|parentrq%3Ab2e61c8d1780acb1143ee952fffb38da|iid%3A1

 

Many thanks,

Lee.

[Quinten]

If you've never sat in one, and you are not of average build  then I advice you to try it out before you buy.  The inside is nearly as small as a narrow body due to the increased transmission tunnel width.

 

 

Other than that, it is a kit car, everything is exposed and on display.  The advert is a little sparse though.

 

[djm]

Don't know anything about Seight's but general advice on eBay buying I did notice that his seller feedback was a bit a low as a result of a couple of negative feedbacks in the last 12 months. Always useful to build up a picture of a "private" seller on eBay from the feedback and the other items on sale. Hope this helps.

[Ian Kinder (Bagpuss) - Joint Peak District AO]

@6carjon Given you've got a similar 'lump'  any good advice?

[Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman]

A difficult advert! (in some ways).

 

For a decent sales advert for something as specialist as this, for my preference, there are too many arty photos of the car, that don't really give much info beyond the fact that it looks pretty, and the colours work!! And not that much more detail in the text.

 

What I can see (of the build) looks reasonably OK, not the neatest, but not too untidy, (keeping in mind I'm not hugely familiar with SEiGHTS up close and gritty.)

 

What a shame panels have been chopped about for the hi fi. Between that and the engine change, I'd be looking to make sure wiring hadn't been bodged.

 

The thing with second hand Westfields, is that age isn't anywhere near as relevant as it is with lesser cars  it's all about the detail and condition. So lots of photos of a shiny new paint job, literally just confirm that what you would expect to be OK, is!

 

Worth a closer look, in person, in normal times.

[Ian Kinder (Bagpuss) - Joint Peak District AO]

10 minutes ago, Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Secretary said:

Worth a closer look, in person, in normal times.

Which isn't likely to happen if it's on E-bay. There's usually a good reason people shift cars on e-bay and not allowing prospective viewers to view/test drive/inspect etc.

 

Fine for normal cars at a low price but a specialist item such as this really needs a good look at and test drive before spending that sort of money.

[Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman]

yup.

 

I also had a look  at his history after my last post. And I stress, this is absolutely, purely a gut reaction I have to certain types of sales, and I probably loose out on some decent buys because of it! But I always find my self deeply suspicious when the advert and the sales history don't gel: ie the advert reads like a enthusiastic petrol head, who likes nice cars, but has limited mechanical knowledge and is just quoting "what the previous seller told me", but then you see the history of someone who does a lot of buying and selling of specialist bits for motorbikes and the odd car sale here and there.

 

It would put me off, I'm afraid.

[TAFKARM]

I liked 

 

TVR Chimaera engine = Rover V8

Lamborghini Yellow = Yellow

 

Anyway, must get back to my Ford Mondeo Engined, Fiat Siecento yellow car. 

[Jim RS]

Basic car buying rules definitely apply - don't buy before thorough inspection and trial. Ebay history a bit dodgy in my opinion.

[Lee1980]

Thanks for all replies.

It was definitely a heart ruling head moment, purely for the V8! I sent the seller a message a couple of days ago asking for more info and photos but no reply.

And the bid has already exceeded what I was willing to pay, so I'll be giving this one a miss.

[Not Yeti]

I could be wrong as it was a long time ago but IIRC, TVR [Rover] engines had "TVR" on the cam covers and a number (400, 430, 500 etc) on the plenum. In the add, couldn't see the covers but the plenum looked blank. Equally, I do have a suspicious nature so... 

[stephenh]

It is taxed, but only has about 10 weeks unexpired MOT. If it is in good condition and ready to drive away, why hasn't the seller had it MOT'd for the sale?

Definitely one to avoid at that price and for the reasons given by others.

[Jim RS]

Ebay together with all auctions suffer from "bumped" prices by unscrupulous sellers, virtually impossible to control and I've had it at live sales where the auctioneer themselves were bumping prices.

[djm]

The Seight was 'unsold' at £11,700!

[Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman]

I’m not surprised really. Not sure what his reserve was, but I was getting the feeling it would be high.