5,000 miles honda DC5 help advice needed!

Luggy16v

Member
Messages
6
Hello, I've not long bought a genuine 5,000 miles dc5 c pack which was unregistered in the UK until I got it. I'll start with the good points first...
genuine 5000 miles with certificate from Japan, even still has the same tyres from factory! Was imported into the UK in 2004 only 2 years after it was made, was left In a corner of a yard due to unforseen circumstances which I then purchased it from the importer after they had closed for business in 2021
I didn't touch this car until I got it UK registered with all paperwork in my hand before I started it, with the intention of cleaning up/ sorting a few niggly bits out and then selling it on to fund other projects, this is where it starts all going wrong...
After closer inspection of having the car on the ramp it has had a smack on the near side front, from what I have worked out it was purchased by the original owner in 2002 and he had an accident in 2003, from which it was repaired In Japan (not to a very high standard) and sold at auction to the importer as a straight unmolested car. It required a little patch of welding pre mot which I had the garage do before I got it. After I looked at the patch which had been welded I then realised it had been In the accident.
Other things to note is someone has swapped the tailgate for a type s one which is non c pack, also the seats must of been changed at some point to ones which have covered more mileage as they don't look like they've covered 5,000 miles.
I was gunna cut out the welding which the gargae had done and straighten the car and repair it properly but unfortunately I don't have the correct tools in my garage to repair the car to the high it deserves, this the situation I'm now in, I don't know whether I should break the car or sell it as it is? As it seems a shame to let the car go to waste as its such a genuine low mileage car, the bolts still even have the zinc plating on! The car has no service history obviously as it hasn't even covered the enough mileage to be serviced yet, but the car runs perfect as you'd expect with a car which is practically brand new.
Mileage is in kmh.
Any advice is welcome as I'm really stuck as what to do.
Cheers
luggy
 

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carl hammond

Advanced Member
Messages
3,737
This has to be a scam post or something as anyone with eyes will know this cars a shed based on those images

The seats are in shocking condition, the engine bays one of the worst I’ve seen and the car as a wholes a right mess and I’d be shocked if this cars done less than 150k
 

Luggy16v

Member
Messages
6
This has to be a scam post or something as anyone with eyes will know this cars a shed based on those images

The seats are in shocking condition, the engine bays one of the worst I’ve seen and the car as a wholes a right mess and I’d be shocked if this cars done less than 150k
This is no scam
U have got to remember this has been sat outside in a yard since 2004
I think seats and tailgate have been changed
When u look under it u can tell it’s defo only 5000 miles still got factory brakes suspension oil air filter never had a service never reached that point
This is genuine
I’m stuck need advice on what to do with it
Cheers
 

Luggy16v

Member
Messages
6
This is no scam
U have got to remember this has been sat outside in a yard since 2004
I think seats and tailgate have been changed
When u look under it u can tell it’s defo only 5000 miles still got factory brakes suspension oil air filter never had a service never reached that point
This is genuine
I’m stuck need advice on what to do with it
Cheers
Sorry forgot to mention
I have Japanese hpi and mileage certificate to proof it aswell
 

skipper

Member
Messages
24
Well, if this is a genuine scenario, then you really need to advise what you paid for it, as the course of action one might take if it owed them £5K (for example) is very different to that which you'd be forced to take if you bought it very 'wrong' in the first place. Well below market value, then sell on with full disclosure or poss even break for parts, and make a small profit, or if overpaid, then advice likely to be either cut your losses or suck it up and just drive/enjoy it.
 

VtecPaul

Advanced Member
Messages
332
Perhaps it was used as a parts car by the importer to switch the good bits out into other cars they imported?
Seats would be a 10 min job, tailgate straightforward too. Also note from some photos bits of interior trim are missing (A pillars).
Or it could have had more damage than you think and the Japanese seller replaced bits that were damaged in the accident. Unless you’ve got the auction/import photos and paperwork you may not find out when those bits were changed.

will it be worth top money? Unlikely. Standing still outside for that long will have allowed rust to set in and you’ll be wanting to do a lot of work to it to bring it back up to scratch. But as a parts car, breaking it - you may find the condition of some parts you have to be good and therefore can get decent money for them individually.
 

Luggy16v

Member
Messages
6
Perhaps it was used as a parts car by the importer to switch the good bits out into other cars they imported?
Seats would be a 10 min job, tailgate straightforward too. Also note from some photos bits of interior trim are missing (A pillars).
Or it could have had more damage than you think and the Japanese seller replaced bits that were damaged in the accident. Unless you’ve got the auction/import photos and paperwork you may not find out when those bits were changed.

will it be worth top money? Unlikely. Standing still outside for that long will have allowed rust to set in and you’ll be wanting to do a lot of work to it to bring it back up to scratch. But as a parts car, breaking it - you may find the condition of some parts you have to be good and therefore can get decent money for them individually.
Probably right about importer that is exactly what I thought
Piller trim is in boot was looking at damage on post and sh”t welding
Was cheap but not super cheap
Was not expecting this
Sell as whole ?
Sell in bits ?
Throw it together and abuse it ?
Use engine for another conversion ?
After ideas ?
This mileage sham to break it
Cheers
 

2Cent

Active Member
Messages
59
How does it drive? Is the alignment straight?
Maybe can still be a race car and sell all the unnecessary stuff
 

matt_hodgson

Active Member
Messages
58
So seemingly someone has imported it, gone to the bother of converting the clocks to mph, then let it languish in a corner for 17 yrs... all a bit weird. Can only guess the 'unforeseen circumstances' could have been the discovery of the crash damage and deeming it not worth repairing - and if not worth repairing back then it's hard to imagine it's going make sense now, especially with all the other work you'd need to do and parts to source to make it feel like a 5k car.

Sorry, but I'd have to say breaking probably looks like the best option to me. That steering wheel looks fresh, and if the engine really has only got 5k on it it'll be worth a bit too...
 

Luggy16v

Member
Messages
6
So seemingly someone has imported it, gone to the bother of converting the clocks to mph, then let it languish in a corner for 17 yrs... all a bit weird. Can only guess the 'unforeseen circumstances' could have been the discovery of the crash damage and deeming it not worth repairing - and if not worth repairing back then it's hard to imagine it's going make sense now, especially with all the other work you'd need to do and parts to source to make it feel like a 5k car.

Sorry, but I'd have to say breaking probably looks like the best option to me. That steering wheel looks fresh, and if the engine really has only got 5k on it it'll be worth a bit too...
Your probably correct mate
Looking like a breaker
Might make it road worthy
Run it for a bit check everything ok then break it
Cheers for advice
 

gaza4

Advanced Member
Messages
426
To me mileage means nothing. How the car was treated and maintained matters much more. I would pay more for a car with 500,000kms that has been looked after than a car with 5,000kms thats clearly been abused in some way.
Again without knowing how much you paid for it its a hard one to call but...
If its easy enough to get road worthy do that, drive it till you get bored of it and sell it on...with a full disclosure of its known history.
If its not worth your time and effort break it.
 

Luggy16v

Member
Messages
6
To me mileage means nothing. How the car was treated and maintained matters much more. I would pay more for a car with 500,000kms that has been looked after than a car with 5,000kms thats clearly been abused in some way.
Again without knowing how much you paid for it its a hard one to call but...
If its easy enough to get road worthy do that, drive it till you get bored of it and sell it on...with a full disclosure of its known history.
If its not worth your time and effort break it.
Yea cheers
Don’t ( THINK ) it’s been abused yet not until I get it on road at weekend
Think it was driven in Japan for about year
Then crashed with no insurance clam
Bogged back together then sold on internet to uk importer left in yard because they realised what they bought then scavenged for parts probably mint put the shit back on it 17 years later folded business sold me car without saying anything
JUST needed to get paperwork that why it was cheap
Me thinking polish couple of parts whoppy got a 25k car
Not how it’s turned out
Cheers for everyone advice
 
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