Hi everybody, this is my first post & having just bought a Fugitive 4, i'm hoping someone will know this vehicle & perhaps give me alittle imformation on it's past, the reg is VBE 923J & it is currently painted Nato green (but that will soon change!) thanks
Frank

This one?
http://forums.fugitives.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=1088

I was looking for one myself, including this one, until I found out your insurance is invalid in the event of a claim, if its not properly registered. :(

That's right, and I can't understand why some people see it as a grey area. If it's not a Beetle it can't have a Beetle V5, or indeed any other vaguely represented V5. It can be a heavily modified Beetle, that's really what a beach buggy is, if ministry is fully aware and you've complied, but not a Fug. At the risk of sounding sarcastic, if you were driving a Ford Focus with a Vauxhall Astra tax disk and insurance you'd expect some trouble, so what's the difference.

Hi and welcome,

Yup, there's a bit of info on the other thread mentioned above. It's also shown in the members car section as it was when owned by a member called Dom.

It used to be owned by a friend of mine several owners back. Back then it was in it's original :rolleyes: PINK :rolleyes: gel coat. He did a bit of work on it mostly with the electrics and the dashboard panelling. He also sprayed it metallic racing green with aerosol cans - personally I'd have just stuck a large decal of the Pink Panther on it!

When he had to sell it I handled the sale on the condition I could borrow it for a bit (mine being off the road!) and sorted the MOT and then took it round Wales for a week - photo attached. The only issue back then was the occasional failure to start which was down to the mounting angle of the coil and was fixed by Dom.

From him the car went to Dom who took out the woodwork from the rear seat area and added the aluminium panelling including a baby seat harness.

When it appeared on ebay this time the baby seat has gone and the paint schemes changed to the NATO green.

On the registration side of things I personally see the insurance as less of an issue, if they've been told it's a Fug they are aware what they are insuring. I see more of an issue surrounding MOTs in the future if rules are tightened up - the MOT station can rightly refuse to MOT something described as a Beetle on teh log book if what arrives looks like a Fug! How far they are going to go with regard to the middle ground descriptions e.g. "2 axle rigid body convertible" remains to be seen.

Paul.

Thanks for all the info chaps, much appreciated, i actually got the Fug for £1900, the original winning bidder was a messer, so it was offered back to me, i just couldn't resist it & now she's mine. This was a little bit of an impulse purchase & i didn't do my homework in regards to the value of such a vehicle, do you think £1900 is too much to pay?

I don't think anything costing £1900 that you want and are happy with can ever be too much. This includes everything from a Tv to a set of golf clubs. I personally will pay that for a mountain bike, but have friends that pay that sort of money for fishing stuff and sit by the lake with it. I know that's not really what you ment, so in answer to your question, no, it's a reasonable price which you will more than likely get back if you change your mind and re-sell either in a few weeks or a few years.

I've contacted the seller during the sale, and he confirmed he still had the baby seat, the original headlights and the pieces he cut off the front fenders.

I think it would be good if that stuff stayed with the car instead of getting lost, thrown away or sold separately. It could enhance the value of the car for a future sale.

Hi guys,

Karma, this is the first time I have looked in on the forums for months, and here is the old fug in new hands ! I hope it's still running as well as when I sold it, I still miss it and regret not having the space to keep it alongside the new toy.

You shouldn't have any concerns over the registration, DVLA screwed up when I sent in my documents after purchase, and missed a number from the chassis number. This got flagged up when the MOT guys loaded the correct number from the chassis plate when it had its first computerised MOT.

I had to send in all the old docs to the DVLA and explain their error and fill in the background, old MOT's etc, they re-issued new documents with no problems or awkward questions, so don't worry about it too much.

If you're ever nearby (East Sussex) I'd love to see it again. Drop me a mail at dom@chardec.co.uk if you ever have any questions about the car.

Have fun!

BTW, just looked at the Ebay pictures, I see the coil has been mounted upside down again. As they are oil filled, if you mount them upside down the oil drains to the wrong end and they overheat, eventually packing up. I never had a damp problem with it wire side up, but you can get silicone boots to cover the top if you are mad and drive it for miles in the rain. :-)