Scrapped car re-sold

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Corrado

Active Member
Joined
Nov 28, 2007
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224
Location
Sussex Coast
Car
Civit 1.8VTEC
Hi. Slightly off-topic for this forum - not ebay but a car aurction - here's the car I flogged to the scrap dealer after it had a full-on diesel runaway last Saturday week: MERZ C220 CDI S . As I post it's at £550.

(I no longer have a financial interest in it!)
 
Was the engine destroyed?

How much did you sell it for?
 
When my written off C220 (2001) was collected by Copart, the driver said that scrap mercs sell really well - they often go to Eastern Europe or Africa. My car that was probably worth 1200 in undamaged condition (as a private seller) sold for 700 on copart with significant rear corner damage
 
Replying to neilrr... The engine turned over after it had cooled down but with some metallic noises above those of the starter. Needs B service too!
I got around 300.
 
Not sure which is less eco friendly - keeping an old diesel car on the road, or removing it from rolling stock meaning that at some point at the other end of the line a new car is being manufactured?

My instinct tells me that extending the service life of machinery is probably better for the environment than keep manufacturing new ones...

So possibly they are doing us a service (whatever their actual motives are... )?
 
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What's a diesel runaway? Not heard that before. Thx
 
What's a diesel runaway? Not heard that before. Thx

It's basically where a diesel engine has additional fuel input and it continues to rev until it's limit until it kills itself.

You can either kill it by putting it in the highest forward gear and gradually allowing the clutch to engage until it stalls or block the air intake.
 
It's basically where a diesel engine has additional fuel input and it continues to rev until it's limit until it kills itself.

You can either kill it by putting it in the highest forward gear and gradually allowing the clutch to engage until it stalls or block the air intake.

Can't you just turn off the ignition ?
 
No. Engine is no longer responding to "normal" controls. Hence the term "run away".
 
This is funny thing.... modern engines rely on electronics, but... my first summer job was at a tractor garage... we used to start tractors by towing them with another tractor... once in gear, you lift the foot off the clutch and the things starts. You can then drive it off, no keys required. To switch off the engine, there was a mechanical valve that stopped the fuel supply, it was a lever located on top of the mechanical fuel pump on the right-hand side oif the engine block. Obviously, there were no lights, no horn, etc, but that did not matter much. You could still get a day's work done in it.

Diesel engines need very little in order to run... fuel, heat, and compression - and that's about it. Electrics and electronics are optional.
 

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