Vel Satis, am I mad?
Discussion
The obvious alternative must be that other saloon that looks like it might be an MPV ,again from a manufacturer of high quality,reliable,well regarded by the British motor trade therefore with rock solid residuals and a healthy demand,luxury vehicles.
The Fiat Croma! I haven't actually seen one fo r a few years,but the diesel shared an engine with the Vauxhall Vectra and a lot of those are still smoking around with 2/300,000 miles behind them, a feat that no Renault Dci is ever likely to achieve .
The Fiat Croma! I haven't actually seen one fo r a few years,but the diesel shared an engine with the Vauxhall Vectra and a lot of those are still smoking around with 2/300,000 miles behind them, a feat that no Renault Dci is ever likely to achieve .
infradig said:
The Fiat Croma! I haven't actually seen one fo r a few years,but the diesel shared an engine with the Vauxhall Vectra and a lot of those are still smoking around with 2/300,000 miles behind them, a feat that no Renault Dci is ever likely to achieve .
That's because the Croma was a rebodied Vauxhall Signum - not the sort of thing people go to Fiat for and lacking in all Italian motoring attributes.farrendahl said:
em177 said:
Bit different, and can get a high spec mint one for £2k, the forgotten French barge:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2003-PEUGEOT-607-HDI-MAN...
Or if you could stretch your budget and extra £500-1k:
A had actually given the Avantime a bit of thought as they seem to have an air of 1. The all important quirkiness and 2. I don't give a damn, about them but the lowest I can seem to find them (on the rare occasion you can find one) is for about £4khttp://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2003-PEUGEOT-607-HDI-MAN...
Or if you could stretch your budget and extra £500-1k:
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2011...
or
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2011...
Not many left at all in the scheme of things http://howmanyleft.co.uk/?utf8=%E2%9C%93&q=vel...
Some variants are getting distinctly hens teeth-ish. I expect the numbers will start to dive in the next few years once they are into 10+ years old.
Some variants are getting distinctly hens teeth-ish. I expect the numbers will start to dive in the next few years once they are into 10+ years old.
Edited by MycroftWard on Tuesday 7th August 12:16
MycroftWard said:
Not many left at all in the scheme of things http://howmanyleft.co.uk/?utf8=%E2%9C%93&q=vel...
Some variants are getting distinctly hens teeth-ish.
They only sold five of them in the first place.Some variants are getting distinctly hens teeth-ish.
farrendahl said:
So any other suggestions for quirky/unusual on a 2k budget?
Practicality is not a huge concern, but would be welcome and no I don't want an MX5, they are certainly not quirky or unusual
PT Cruiser? Practicality is not a huge concern, but would be welcome and no I don't want an MX5, they are certainly not quirky or unusual
I went to buy the missus a new old car, I went to get a Mondeo and ended up coming home with a PT Cruiser instead, it's different, parts are cheap and it's spacious and well specced, all for less then the bottom of your budget, they are not everyones cup of tea but I was mildly surprised by it.
Jazoli said:
PT Cruiser?
I went to buy the missus a new old car, I went to get a Mondeo and ended up coming home with a PT Cruiser instead, it's different, parts are cheap and it's spacious and well specced, all for less then the bottom of your budget, they are not everyones cup of tea but I was mildly surprised by it.
Hmmm I hadn't even considered the PT cruiser, which is surprising since I've always liked themI went to buy the missus a new old car, I went to get a Mondeo and ended up coming home with a PT Cruiser instead, it's different, parts are cheap and it's spacious and well specced, all for less then the bottom of your budget, they are not everyones cup of tea but I was mildly surprised by it.
No I don't think you are mad thinking about a Vel Satis personally.
A few years back we had one turn up as our hire car for the weekend, thoughtfully they gave us the 3.5 V6 petrol version as well. I've done the trip Portsmouth to Plymouth many times but without a doubt this was the most comfortable weekend car ever either driving it or sat in the back.
Contrary to popular belief it didn't break down, explode in a ball of flames or do anything other than waft 4 people in comfort. The obvious downside was thirst but that was it and easily remedied by buying a diesel.
A nice left field choice especially in French government black, get it bought!
A few years back we had one turn up as our hire car for the weekend, thoughtfully they gave us the 3.5 V6 petrol version as well. I've done the trip Portsmouth to Plymouth many times but without a doubt this was the most comfortable weekend car ever either driving it or sat in the back.
Contrary to popular belief it didn't break down, explode in a ball of flames or do anything other than waft 4 people in comfort. The obvious downside was thirst but that was it and easily remedied by buying a diesel.
A nice left field choice especially in French government black, get it bought!
Edited by wal 45 on Tuesday 7th August 15:48
Jazoli said:
PT Cruiser?
I went to buy the missus a new old car, I went to get a Mondeo and ended up coming home with a PT Cruiser instead, it's different, parts are cheap and it's spacious and well specced, all for less then the bottom of your budget, they are not everyones cup of tea but I was mildly surprised by it.
Ah, the PT Crusier, brings back memories of the brilliant Mr Big Arms threads I went to buy the missus a new old car, I went to get a Mondeo and ended up coming home with a PT Cruiser instead, it's different, parts are cheap and it's spacious and well specced, all for less then the bottom of your budget, they are not everyones cup of tea but I was mildly surprised by it.
SWoll said:
farrendahl said:
Hmmm I hadn't even considered the PT cruiser, which is surprising since I've always liked them
Just to confirm, after that comment you are definitely clinically insane. 
My dad had a Vel Satis a few years back, he thinks very highly of them. They are absolutely enormous inside, it's like a van with the seats down. He only had the 2.0 turbo, but with all the option boxes ticked it was a very nice, quiet place to be. Second comfiest seats I've ever sat in (his Volvo S80 T6 was the most comfy, take a look at them if you want an alternative).
Great cars, we only got rid of ours because the electrics started playing silly buggers. Spotted a theme through this thread, French electrics...
Great cars, we only got rid of ours because the electrics started playing silly buggers. Spotted a theme through this thread, French electrics...
These big renaults become rare because they have a very high alumiium content, so are often worth more to a scrappy than to a cheapo car lot.....
Love the Aventime. real style. Almost had one once. But then fortuantly I shook the idea off before I really regretted it.
Modern day equivalent is the BMW X6 I guess.
Love the Aventime. real style. Almost had one once. But then fortuantly I shook the idea off before I really regretted it.
Modern day equivalent is the BMW X6 I guess.
You are not alone in a strange attraction to Vel Satis's, I too have a growing need for the odd gallic overgrown hatchbacks, partly caused by the weird adverts when they were new.
Would have to be the top of the range 3.0? petrol job for me with quilted soft leather, oui oui, get one bought!
Would have to be the top of the range 3.0? petrol job for me with quilted soft leather, oui oui, get one bought!
Back in the day I had a Vel Satis as a replacement car after some numptie rear ended my 7 series, I had the 3.0 diesel which was a unit shared by the Saab 9.5. We took it to the South of France on holiday and it was very comfy indeed , loved the interior it felt more like a boat than a car and was very well equipped. However it drank oil and left a Bismarck style cloud of black smoke when in kick down, we made it back to the UK before the engine finally went pop with a total of 7300 miles on the clock. Avis with an evil cackle then replaced it with a petrol version which lasted a week before going into limp home mode on a trip to Cornwall.
I left it at the dealer in Cornwall and never saw it again.
Could have been great alternative exec if theyd hung together better but I still loved the car though
I left it at the dealer in Cornwall and never saw it again.
Could have been great alternative exec if theyd hung together better but I still loved the car though
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff