Man buys cheapest sports car for $8,000 and despite a ‘total mileage scam’ all is not lost

The cheapest sports car rebuild on the UK market started with a Vauxhall VX220, sold for £6,000 and advertised as a low-mileage, well-kept example… or so it seems.

The odometer showed just over 50,000 miles, and there was no paperwork to suggest otherwise.

But online owners uncovered a past dash replacement, originally done under warranty, that had wiped out over 100,000 miles from the record.

What looked like a bargain soon became a complicated and costly project.

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Cheapest sports car was missing key mileage records

The car’s new owner, who documented the process on the Top Dead Center YouTube channel, quickly uncovered discrepancies through forum posts.

Other owners recalled the exact car having its instrument cluster replaced early in its life.

Since the swap happened before MOT mileage records were digitized in 2005, the car’s history vanished from public databases.

When the owner contacted Vauxhall, they confirmed the cluster replacement but could not retrieve any details about the original mileage.

Without hard documentation, it became impossible to prove how far the car had travelled.

Based on community input, the estimated real mileage sat closer to 170,000 miles.

That figure was more than three times what was shown on the dash.

With that knowledge in hand, the owner chose to press on with a complete sports car rebuild.

The focus shifted to making the Vauxhall VX220 roadworthy and mechanically sound, regardless of its past.

Rebuilding the Vauxhall VX220 from the ground up

The work started with the suspension. The original components were removed and replaced with upgraded coilovers, new bushings, toe links, and ball joints.

Some parts had been previously damaged or worn beyond use, and a section of the front structure showed signs of fiberglass repair.

Despite cosmetic wear, the chassis itself was structurally sound.

The Vauxhall VX220 also underwent a full engine service.

Spark plugs, coil packs, an oil change, and belt replacements were completed alongside the installation of new engine mounts to address driveline noise.

The air filter, which had been disconnected during earlier ownership, was properly reinstalled.

To complete the handling overhaul, the car received new wheels and wider tires.

This allowed better grip on the road and brought the setup closer to how the car was originally intended to drive.

The tire fitting and balancing were handled in-house, using a newly installed machine.

After all the work, the car was back on the ground and running reliably.

While Vauxhall could not provide definitive mileage records, the most important systems had been refreshed.

The cheapest sports car title came with more baggage than expected, but the rebuild brought it back to life.

The car still shows its age visually, and the true mileage may never be confirmed.

But for now, the sports car rebuild has reset the driving experience.

What began as a gamble has become a running project, one that trades paperwork for performance.

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