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A Very Bad Start

My love affair with Ford Capris first began in 1992 when I was driving around in a rather tatty Ford Escort. I had decided I rather fancied a Capri for a while - don't ask me why because at the time I didn't know anyone who owned one. It must have been those repeats of 'Minder' ! I was fighting a losing battle with rust on the Escort and the clutch was getting very dodgy. I decided to start looking....

The first Capri I saw in a local dealer's showroom was an immaculate metallic silver A-reg 1.6 LS for £1995 that had 44K on the clock. It had four new tyres and new exhaust and was free of rust. I was immediately taken in by the long bonnet and 'growling' looks. On the test drive, the car drove well and I was impressed how powerful and solid it felt compared to my Escort.

After a bit of haggling and discussion over some work (the car didn't have rear seat belts which I required), I paid my £200 deposit and went away a happy man.

Now being a cautious fellow, I decided to check on the history of the car. During my test drive I located the service history log book which was full of dealer stamps. It also had the details of the previous owner and I decided to call him and ask him a bit about the car. I was horrified to learn that the car had been around the clock ! and had done 144K. It was straight back to the garage where the dealer protested his innocence. To cut a long story short, the service book was a stolen one with the cover replaced. I got my money back and reported the incident to Trading Standards Officials. I was so careful yet nearly got duped. Let that be a lesson to you all !

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