Cxxx MGJ
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| Cxxx MGJ | |
|---|---|
| Model: | Renault 5 Turbo 2 |
| Current Owner: | Andrew |
| Registration Number: | Cxxx MGJ |
| Country Registered In: | UK |
| Year of First Registration: | 1986 |
| Colour: | Black |
| Renault Colour Code: | not supplied |
| VIN Number: | not supplied |
| Engine Number: | not supplied |
| Number of Doors: | 3 |
| Current Odometer Reading: | 4000 km |
| Odometer Read on: | 2007/01/01 |
| Current Status: | Taxed and On The Road |
| Last Seen/Known: | 2010/03/30 |
Contents |
Cxxx MJG History
Originally registered 666 XVX
My father and I purchased this car from eBay in the summer of 2003. It had only covered 2,187km. Many modifications were performed to the car when it was new.
1986-1997
The car was bought new (specially imported from France). It cost £12,000. Its first owner (to be advised) then specified a large number of modifications and "improvements" to be carried out on the car, including:
- Custom leather interior with Recaro seats
- Engine modifications £700
- In-car entertainment system, comprising:
- Trio CD player and tape player
- Black-and-white television
- Video recorder
- All the above were switched through a central distribution system, graphic equaliser and amplifier
- Switched horns - standard, or playing La Marseillaise (French national anthem)
- Smoke/flame generator (not quite sure which - it injected either oil or petrol into the hot exhaust)
- Police siren (!!)
- Under-bonnet laser show (powered by a 240v inverter housed by the rear of the engine compartment)
- Reversing camera with remote zoom
- Radar detector
- 3 batteries - one in the standard location, one in the engine bay, one mounted in the front bonnet as a switchable reserve battery
- Custom exhaust with four tailpipes
- Custom front bumper with extra lights
- Custom rear bumper
All in, the above cost in excess of £45,000 in 1986. Using National Archives' Currency Converter, that would be equivalent to £90,000 in today's money!
The original owner parked the car in his mansion as a work of art but didn't drive it. In the mid-late 1990's it is understood that he fell into financial difficulties, which meant that his car collection had to be disposed of.
1997-2003
A private buyer purchased the car for an unknown sum, though there were reports that the car was for sale for £20,000 in 1997. Also around that time, it was featured in Max Power magazine. It is believed that the buyer purchased the car as an investment, however in 2003, he placed the car on eBay to raise funds to purchase a motor home.
2003 to the Present Day
We purchased the car for an undisclosed sum (much less than the £20,000 it went for in 1997!) from eBay. There were some arguments with a third party, who had apparently placed a deposit on the car while the eBay auction was current. The agreement was that if the car did not reach its reserve, it was theirs. However, I won the car fairly on eBay, so it was mine. This possible situation was made clear to the third party, but they were not happy when I won the auction!
When picked up, the car had 2,187 km on its clock. Since then, we have increased that to 4,000 (2009).
Initially, we struggled to decide with what to do with the car. We recognised its historical interest (what with the large number of period modifications) and also its unblemished condition. Many of the original modifications were no longer working, or were just not practical to keep on the car, as they spoilt its enjoyment for us. We decided on a compromise, which was to remove the modifications we didn't like, but leave those that we did! We kept everything that was removed from the car so they could be refitted at any stage in the future.
We removed:
- The extra batteries
- The laser show and inverter
... to be continued
