What if an old car could change more than just a ride? In La Crau, in the Var, a small shop chose to give away a practical vehicle. Not to advertise, but to help someone who really needed it. The result: within a few hours, his phone wouldn’t stop ringing.
The story starts with a 2011 Peugeot Partner, diesel 75 hp, with over 400,000 kilometers on the clock. The vehicle still runs very well, with three seats, air conditioning, and electric mirrors that work. The inspection is valid, a simple cleaning remains to be done. It’s this model, offered as a free car on social networks, that triggered the wave of reactions. Around Monster Garage 83, the story quickly outgrew the initial listing.
In La Crau, this Var-based mechanic gives away his Peugeot Partner
Behind this gesture are Kamel and Gali, partners and managers of Monster Garage 83. The shop is located at 65 Rue Galilée in La Crau. They live by buying and reselling cars. “Since we buy and sell cars, we take trade-ins. We sometimes take them back for free when customers want to get rid of their old car,” Kamel explains, contacted by Actu Toulon. For some of these models, too old or not matching the shop’s criteria, a new path opened: to put them at the disposal of those in need.
This Peugeot Partner 2011 is part of those trade-ins taken back for free. A customer simply wanted to get rid of his old car. For this Partner, it was a first, on Monday, September 14. The garage decided to give it away rather than sell it. “This is really the first time we give one away.” “That car had cost me nothing, so I figured I should give it to someone who could really use it rather than keeping it.” A formula that nicely sums up the spirit of the operation, in a place more accustomed to high-end vehicles.
A free car that sets the social networks ablaze and reveals the struggle of going carless
The idea behind it remained simple. They post an ad on the garage’s social networks and let each person tell why they need this Partner. Very quickly, responses multiply and the operation takes on an unexpected scale. Kamel receives nearly a hundred calls in the day and more than 1,000 comments appear under the post. Kamel concedes that he had “trouble working normally” that day, so often his phone kept ringing.
In the comments, stories flood in. Some explain they can’t afford to buy or maintain a car. Others say they need one to get to work, take their kids to the doctor, or handle daily trips. One online user sums it up: without a car, you can’t “just live.” Faced with the influx, the partners decide to hand the keys to the first person who commented. “To the first person who arrived, we responded, discussing with them and verifying that they were truly in need.” For Kamel, the essential thing remains the recipient’s smile. “The main thing is that today there is someone who is happy and leaving with a car without paying a dime.” Kamel isn’t closing the door to more gifts of this kind. “I’ll try to do it again from time to time when I can and if I get other vehicles like this.” Rather than trying to squeeze a few hundred or a few thousand euros out of it, the partners imagine renewing this kind gesture whenever the opportunity presents itself. “It’s not always about the money.” For some online users, that phrase resonates as much as the call announcing that a car is waiting.
