You think you're safe with an old fashioned advert in autotrader or the freeads, but I've also discovered that the same nobs exist there, but as Sean says they are happy to ring you up and waste your time on the phone instead. When I sold my w123 I had two nobs find my ad on auto trader both of them ringing up asking where I was (Kent) and was it near Birmingham, can I drive it there so they can have a look. My boss put an old fiesta on there yesterday morning and so far arranged for the viewings, none of them showed up or had the courtesy to call and let him know. One wanted to know if he could pop round after midnight last night. I'd rather take cars to scrap than sell them nowadays.

What 'route' are you going with the original 'buyer', O-N? Will you still lose the ad fee if you mutually decide to cancel the sale? If not, then this would be the most painless way to go, I'd have thought. Followed by 'unpaid item' dispute if he doesn't, for some reason, go for the former.

Its a dam shame you are the other end of the country. I have four new wings to spray up for the D*lly that James is going to re-chassis for me ....then when that is done a whole body and panels for my original Jade.

All the celly paint is here, thinners and all the primer.....I wish I could pop it all in a jiffy bag and post to Bolton !!

DA I told the original buyer that I don't expect him to go through with the sale. Anyone trying to gyp out of the sale isn't the sort of bloke I want to sell to anyway. Ebay have already invoiced me for the costs. There's been no further contact from the posh accountant bloke, embarrassment maybe? So I started an unpaid dispute, let ebay sort it out.

Squeeze there's nothing quite as satisfying as taking a scruffy old panel and making it shine up like new. I love the process. I enjoy the attention to detail necessary to achieve a decent finish, and like others have found, I'm hooked on the smell of thinners.

My attitude exactly ......I hate having get stuck in with the spanners,but paint spraying is an art ....

T.

What you need to do then is buy an Ami or a Dyane-invariably they can be swept into a jiffy bag!

In Film, or the ‘Movie industry’ as it’s become known, there is a technique known as the fourth wall. This stems back to the time of theatre when a set had three walls, the fourth naturally being open to allow the audience to see. The ‘fourth wall’ then, refers to the audience, or latterly the camera. To create the illusion of reality an actor will never address his lines directly into camera. To do that means he has broken the spell. We the audience thus addressed become part of the plot, we are no longer anonymous eavesdroppers. The illusion of the fly on the wall has then flown, we become involved, complicit.

Anyone who has seen the film Alfie starring Michael Caine will know of this fourth wall technique. The greatest exponent however, was Oliver Hardy. As a kid I watched endless Laurel and Hardy films, every Saturday morning. Stan Laurel would say or do something utterly stupid, and Oliver Hardy would turn and glance into the camera. He never spoke, but the look said it all. It was a look that invited us to share his thoughts. It’s quite unusual to find myself living in an age where some young people may never have seen Laurel and Hardy at all - unthinkable a few years ago. For the uninitiated then, here’s a short clip of Oliver Hardy using the fourth wall technique. He looks into the camera – and so directly at us, as if to connect to us one on one.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLbJf8KqpKU&feature=related

So what has this fourth wall or Oliver Hardy got to do with selling my 2cv you ask? Well, I’ve had one or two kind messages from folks that know the car (from here no doubt) sent to my ebay listing wishing me well with the sale. Thanks for that. I thought I’d reply here as I don’t post the comments on the listing for the whole world to see. Just like I don’t post some of the stupid questions I get, and believe me I’ve been getting them. Some of the questions I’ve been asked have been so dumb they had me wishing that I had a fourth wall. I’ve felt like turning to it and giving it one of those looks, the one Oliver Hardy did so well.



I’ve posted one question on the listing. In it someone called Lisa starts by calling me Roy, then asks a question that I addressed in the second line of the ad. I’ve no idea why they do it. I refrained from correcting her about the name, or even from saying ‘read the fu*king advert properly,’ because I’m on my best behaviour. The next guy however, really caused me to look for the fourth wall. Here’s his question cut and pasted.

how about a swap with a 1997 subaru 2.0 WRX STi 300 bhp this is the STi rare model 60,000m alloy body panals car unmodified other than a s/s exhaust,value £3,000 with 1,500 cash its in white

So let me get this right. He considers a likely and suitable replacement for a 2cv is a 300bhp Subaru WRX? Where do these people come from? I’m going to use you lot as my fourth wall for that one.



Then there are those blokes that ask initial questions that sound pertinent, but after answering them you can’t get rid of ‘em. When ebay says ‘You have a question about your item’ you don’t really want it to be that same bloke writing back for the fifth time. By now you know his dog’s name and where he went for last year’s holidays, but it doesn’t help your sale any. Especially when he finishes with; ‘Well, good luck with the sale then’.



There will be more of them I’m sure, it just amazes me who’s actually out there. I’m not sure how long my best behaviour can hold out.

Great Post Mr Nail.

thanks a million for doing that dash nail ill sort it out with you
thanks

No problem James. I'll make sure that you have the best damned dash in the south. Just be careful when fitting it though as cellulose scratches depressingly easy.