Here’s an interesting find:
A Ford dealership that looks stuck in time has been discovered in Germany with a selection of untouched motors still inside.
The showroom displays six 1980s modern classic cars from the blue oval brand in the window that remain unregistered today — three zero-mile Ford Sierras, a Fiesta, Escort and an Orion saloon — and given their unused condition, should be worth thousands.
Considering that almost all Ford models from the 1980s were the blandest cars ever made, that “thousands” must surely be cents and not dollars.
Here’s the Orion, for example:
I could fall asleep just looking at the picture.
What would you rather have:
An original Orion; or, an original Trabant?
Any Ford over a Trabant.
Heck, almost anything over a Trabant, exception maybe being a 1980s Daewoo or Lancia.
The tell-tale is that they haven’t been stolen.
You expected something else, in Germany?
Actually, yes. A German friend had his car radio/sound head stolen seven times over a period of less than two years. He got so fed up, he didn’t bother to lock the car and even left the window down in fair weather so the Turks/North Africans at least wouldn’t smash his window for the radio.
Dry rot on all the rubber, embrittled plastic, crumbling seals….no thanks. Likely in need of a complete rebuild to get…nothing to be excited about.
…..and no doubt that the whatever paperwork for the German equivalent of a title has been lost to time, rendering them unsellable paperweights. I can imagine that the cars had been “floorplanned” to the Dealer and the distributor did not want them back because it had it’s own pile of unsold inventory to deal with. Add in delays while the German bankruptcy court tried to unravel a car dealership, a recalcitrant owner and then his widow. Selling these cars is a paperwork nightmare.
Who are the potential buyers for these questionable “Collectables?? At least Trabants have an entertaining story behind them. I can’t imagine there is a collection of Ford Fiestas out there looking for a No milage – no Paperwork 40 year old plain version to complete his collection before his entire collection goes to Auction at his death.
Over the years I have bought several older cars that looked in great condition, had maybe 2 or 3 years worth of mileage on the odometer, and then had sat for at least a decade. And yes, you are exactly right. It is possible to get them running again, but expect that most any rubber component under the hood is failing and there’s going be some upfront headaches before the car reaches any level of daily driver reliability. Auto transmission failures are also quite common, the upper section of the clutches dry out from sitting that long. The car (or truck) in question has to be at least interesting, or fulfill some specific need, for anyone to go to that much effort.
That said, remember the great computer chip shortages around 2020? Pics of all those Ford trucks parked in a giant lot, tens of thousands of them, all complete but missing the chip? I’m still wondering what happened to them. Are they still parked? Is Ford going try to sell them at some point? Is anyone going buy a brand new 3 year old truck that’s been sitting in direct sunlight all this time?