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So my bro and I finally managed to get over to Welwyn Garden City to view No.91.


As we arrived the dealer was leaning on the car. As we started to look around the car, he remained there without even a Hello or any sort of acknowledgement. Eventually he moved to one side without saying anything. I wasn't expecting much in the way of customer service, particularly after reading the comments on here but a simple Hello would have worked.


As we started looking around the car, it was immediately noticeable that there was a dent in the sill on the near side under the plastic trim.
Trophy91_sill.jpg
The picture is not so good but when you open the passenger door you could not miss it. It prompted me to look a little closer and it was obvious most of the near side has been resprayed. The most obvious tell tale was that where the Trophy sticker on the sill is normally slightly raised, when respraying, instead of removing the stickers they were masked, so the paint around the stickers is now slightly raised.
On the inside, the steering wheel is one of the worst I have ever seen the way it has melted. There is also what looks like a cigarette burn in the driver's seat.
We also noticed a patch in the floor of the boot and I wasn't sure if this was correct. I saw something similar in the boot of a friend's 197 F1 though.
Trophy91_boot.jpg
My theory on the mystery wheels is that the car was in an impact on the near side and this damaged both wheels. The owner would have found it difficult, too expensive or maybe impossible to replace the wheels.


Normally, this is a car you would just walk away from but I wanted to have a chat to the dealer. On asking for a test drive he told me I would need to make an appointment. It just didn't really seem like he was trying to sell the car even though it has been sat there for almost 1 year.
I asked him how long he had had it and he told me since the end of last year. When I asked him if we was willing to take a deal on it since it had been sat there for the last 6 months (according to him) he said he did not care if it would sit there for the next 6 years. Apparently they are going up in price!
He did say that the car would get a new cambelt as part of that price and I could have a bit of money off if he sold it without the cambelt service.


All in all the car could be put right but it would need a fair amount of money spending on it particularly on a proper respray. So to be asking top money for this car I have a feeling No.91 will remain in Welwyn Garden City for a little while longer.
 
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It never ceases to amaze me how this type of dealer manages to stay in business.

Good luck with your search.
 
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Thing is this dealer has quite a large showroom so must be doing relatively well. And he has some nice cars in there too, although after seeing the Trophy you simply could trust them.
There was an original Fiat 500 in there, a Masarati Ghibli Cup, an old Alfa, a Fiat Stilo Michael Schumacher edition. Boxster, M3s. He most probably picks them up from auctions.
 
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Great critique MaKSiNG. Hopefully this will save someone without as sharp an eye as you from buying a lemon.

It's sounds like way too much of a risk to take unless the asking price is lowered to near scrap value. Sadly the dealer is probably of the opinion that 'there is another mug born every minute' and someone will buy it eventually.

Thankfully the Trophy is a bit of a specialist car that owners and prospective owners know a lot about; which may foil his sales strategy.
 
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I would have assumed that people buying a Trophy would also frequent forums such as this since I would have expected them to be an enthusiast. I am surprised that there is no information about #91 on here.

It would be awesome if you could just go to the owners register and see the entire history of every car. It would mean as a prospective buyer there is little or no chance of getting ripped off.
 
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