The next car on my hunt was a 400i automatic which was for sale at Joop
Stolze (http://www.stolzeclassiccars.nl/).
I had never been there before and was very interested to visit this large
classic car dealer. It is not that far away from where I live. His website mentioned to make an appointment beforehand,
which I did. So I went on Saturday morning. I was expecting to find clear markings on his location, which was
not the case, it was slightly hidden between the green houses. The place is
incredible, a greenhouse packed with project cars. And quite a lot of
rare cars. All cars are parked bumper to bumper and door to door. As said,
most of these are project and restauration objects. The 400 was one of the few good examples. Since the place was so
packed it was almost impossible to reach the car and do a good inspection. On
the advert description and pictures the car looked clean and interesting:
The
price was on request and costed about € 32.500,- I’m not sure why, maybe it was the surroundings, but the car
did not appeal to me. It looked overall good, only the front bumper had a
nasty scratch/damgage, which does not surprise me. Joop claimed he runs all his
cars and drive
them outside on a regular basis. For unknown reasons he did not wanted to start the car for me. Furthermore he did not wanted to make an effort to look up the documentation and paperwork either. Slightly ackward. I was told all was fine and complete. Typical. The mileage was very low but I was none the wiser what and when maintenance was done. Tricky. The tyres looked good but were very old, it wouldn’t surprise me if these required replacement. The exhaust was original and very rusty, so likely also would require replacement soon or later. The distribution adjustment screw indicated that another maintenance job was required soon. All in all, I think it required a full maintenance job. So I started added things up and could only conclude this one was becoming to expensive.
them outside on a regular basis. For unknown reasons he did not wanted to start the car for me. Furthermore he did not wanted to make an effort to look up the documentation and paperwork either. Slightly ackward. I was told all was fine and complete. Typical. The mileage was very low but I was none the wiser what and when maintenance was done. Tricky. The tyres looked good but were very old, it wouldn’t surprise me if these required replacement. The exhaust was original and very rusty, so likely also would require replacement soon or later. The distribution adjustment screw indicated that another maintenance job was required soon. All in all, I think it required a full maintenance job. So I started added things up and could only conclude this one was becoming to expensive.
Although the advert mentioned it’s from 1983 – it is actually from late
1979 (license plate RB-XJ-14). It’s Original from France / Monaco and delivered by Pozzi. The champagne color looks very
chique in combination with the white interior. Joop also claimed it had 1 Dutch owner but according to the RDW
register it had least 3 owners since imported to the Netherlands in 1997. He is the owner since 2008, so quite a while
and no MOT done since.
I also made a small video on the stunning Maserati collection he had on
stock. But mind you, they all need a lot of TLC. In fact, it made me slightly
sad to see so many neglected beauties. Hopefully they will find new owners who
will take care of them:
Some bastards had to steel the badge - sad people.
The only 400 I have seen with the original rubber body protector. Cool accessoire!
And these are in stock at superperformance. So guess what's on my list for Christmas.
And these are in stock at superperformance. So guess what's on my list for Christmas.
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