£4k - £5k Classic for Motorway commute

[HumbleJim]

Do they still have the P5B?

[AceOfHearts]

Yep the p5b is still there, nice car but a bit old for my needs I think and also not up to the condition I am looking for.

The rolls was a beautiful car. A few more blemishes than I would like but don't know if I am being too picky with it. Massive presence though and has great interior. Truly a step up from anything I had had in before and a wonderful vehicle

[mrtwisty]

http://www.middlebridge-scimitar.co.uk/sale_full_d...

If you're still considering a Scimitar GTE, one like this would be the sort to go for. The earlier ones won't stack up against the other cars in your list in terms of refinement, but these would be closer.

[GreatGranny]

You have me looking now :-) just dreaming....

http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C489764

http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C495440

[TurboHatchback]

A W126/C126 Mercedes would be my choice. They are cheap, reliable, comfy and drive perfectly well enough for modern traffic. They can be had with cruise control which I find very handy for motorway driving. My 560SEC was a lovely thing but I think a nice 300SE would be the best option for your criteria.

Edited by TurboHatchback on Wednesday 30th April 14:53

[rich888]

Lowtimer said:

AceOfHearts said:

Bentley is a nice shout, and apart from parts prices maintenance should be Ok as I do everything myself.

Capri might be a bit too 'sporty', but I will admit to having never been in one.

Porsche is nice but complicated, will have to do some more research into them

The Mercedes really doesn't float my boat at all

The 928 is a lovely thing to behold, and to drive when everything's working, but all the fuel, maintenance and eventual restoration bills are about twice what you get from a 944. And a £4k 928 is way too cheap for safety unless you are a total 928 expert. A very good, near mint normally-aspirated 944 can be had for your budget, though, and is a good motorway machine.

The 928 will have you grinning every time you fire her up, the V8 exhaust note is sensational, the grip is awesome, and it's a 2+2 seater and the seats drop down so is practical when needed. I average 21mpg which is a mixture of town and motorway driving. Just had the renewal premium through the letter box for May 2014 which is classic car for £285. This is a full blown 5 litre V8 supercar capable of nearly 170mph and made for driving along the motorway all day - so what is there not too like!

Well apart from tyre noise, I recollect a test between a Porsche 928, a Jag XJS and a Merc 500 SEC. Can't remember who won! Would think the Merc would be the cheapest option and in those Dallas/Miami Vice days they were built like tanks.

Reason the 928 has been slated in the past is because owners bought them on the cheap, neglected the servicing and maintenance, then dumped them when they couldn't afford to run them. Next owner picks up the bills. Nowadays I know of several owners of mundane modern cars and Toyota Hybrid cars (anyone bought replacement batteries) picking up far higher bills than most 928 owners, so don't be put off by folklore.

There is a fantastic website with many enthusiastic 928 owners providing a massive amount of information on the upkeep of the 928 which I find quite astonishing. For more info visit www.928.org.uk

As for the 944, it's a very nice car, and undoubtedly will be cheaper to run than a 928, so it's your choice over which to pick. Might be best to drive them both and feel for the difference.

[V8 Fettler]

The lure of a P6 or a Triumph saloon for business mileage is strong. I VAG for c50k miles pa, reliable and economical, but the tedium is intense. Depreciation at 150k miles is painful.

Triumph saloon with a modern 6 cylinder diesel engine? Would it stand 50k miles pa? Perhaps have a diesel-engined P6 in reserve?

[Kawasicki]

My old 635CSi was a great motorway car.

[robemcdonald]

Morning.

Have you considered an XJS?

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/j...

I've always had a soft spot for these. The 4.0 would probably be a more sensible choice than the V12.

Rob

[//j17]

V8 Fettler said:

The lure of a P6 or a Triumph saloon for business mileage is strong. I VAG for c50k miles pa, reliable and economical, but the tedium is intense. Depreciation at 150k miles is painful.

Triumph saloon with a modern 6 cylinder diesel engine? Would it stand 50k miles pa? Perhaps have a diesel-engined P6 in reserve?

If you're going to do high milage in a classic then I'd suggest either getting 2 cheaper ones or making sure you have a modern back-up. It's not that they are inherently unreliable (in fact they will be more reliable if you use them regularly than if you keep them for summer Sundays) but they will require more regular maintainence than a modern car and things will go wrong from time to time and you will end up waiting for specialists to post you/having to go and collect parts - and that's where having a 'plan B' car comes in.

[Yertis]

//j17 said:

If you're going to do high milage in a classic then I'd suggest either getting 2 cheaper ones or making sure you have a modern back-up. It's not that they are inherently unreliable (in fact they will be more reliable if you use them regularly than if you keep them for summer Sundays) but they will require more regular maintainence than a modern car and things will go wrong from time to time and you will end up waiting for specialists to post you/having to go and collect parts - and that's where having a 'plan B' car comes in.

Very true this. Those with a serious case of classic cars do tend to have two or more, the 'collection' being more of a practical necessity than anything else.

[brucky74]

TurboHatchback said:

A W125/C126 Mercedes would be my choice. They are cheap, reliable, comfy and drive perfectly well enough for modern traffic. They can be had with cruise control which I find very handy for motorway driving. My 560SEC was a lovely thing but I think a nice 300SE would be the best option for your criteria.

Yes agree with the above. I have just been given a 300SE and now use it for the daily slog & its a lovely thing to drive & not to bad on juice. Any of the bigger W126's were just to thirsty for me. The 300 engine is tried and tested and not to £ if things go wrong. This engine is geared higher than the larger engines so you pull around 2900 RMP @ 60mph but when you get used to that its fine and returns an MPG in the high 20's/low 30's on the motorway.

[Lowtimer]

rich888 said:

lots of good 928 stuff

Which is all fine, and I do love them to bits, but I always feel that a 928 which is being bought cheap and run on a tight budget is unlikely to be a happy 928 for very long.

I still think the OP's £4k budget is way cheaper than 'safe' territory for buying a 928 (one might of course be extremely lucky in getting a well maintained but seriously undervalued car) whereas it is a price at which a lot of very good normally aspirated 944s can be bought.

[TurboHatchback]

brucky74 said:

TurboHatchback said:

A W125/C126 Mercedes would be my choice. They are cheap, reliable, comfy and drive perfectly well enough for modern traffic. They can be had with cruise control which I find very handy for motorway driving. My 560SEC was a lovely thing but I think a nice 300SE would be the best option for your criteria.

Yes agree with the above. I have just been given a 300SE and now use it for the daily slog & its a lovely thing to drive & not to bad on juice. Any of the bigger W126's were just to thirsty for me. The 300 engine is tried and tested and not to £ if things go wrong. This engine is geared higher than the larger engines so you pull around 2900 RMP @ 60mph but when you get used to that its fine and returns an MPG in the high 20's/low 30's on the motorway.

My 560 did around 2500rpm @ 70mph and around 22mpg on the motorway. The performance was very amusing though and the noise with a custom stainless exhaust was filthy . There is more to go wrong with a 560 though (self leveling suspension etc), they are more pricy and on the motorway there is no need for a big V8 so the 300SE would be by far the more sensible option.

[mickyveloce]

Talking of 928's, there's a silver non-S model at Gmund Cars near me up for what appears to be a sensible price.

Looking at one these days, it looks small and in this devoid-of-spoiler version, almost pebble-like in it's simplicity. Utterly lovely....

[rich888]

mickyveloce said:

Talking of 928's, there's a silver non-S model at Gmund Cars near me up for what appears to be a sensible price.

Looking at one these days, it looks small and in this devoid-of-spoiler version, almost pebble-like in it's simplicity. Utterly lovely....

Totally agree with you, it is drop-dead-gorgeous.

If only I had a spare £8000 to buy it because I reckon the original 928 values will rise quite dramatically in the future. Am somewhat biased because I own an S4 of which far more were produced than the original non-spoilered 928 variant as driven and submerged in the 1980s film 'Risky Business'.

The 928 might not be the cheapest or the most reliable car to own, but it sure makes up for its quirks when driven...Bit like a mistress in that respect

[AceOfHearts]

Saw a beautiful XJS 4.0 today, really good daily driver condition (a few stone chips etc.) and it drove really well, smooth, very quiet and absolutely no squeeks, rattles or knocks.

The only thing turning me off was a small amount of rust on the lower arches but that looks as though it would clean up ok, and a small hole in the drivers side sill which I would need to weld up.

Much better than the last one I saw though and £1000 cheaper, not sure if i should hold out for a better one though or if this is realistically the best I can expect to find in my budget.

As i say it drove beautifully, looked great but just had a couple of minor body issues. The doors, bootlid, bonnet and all the floors were totally solid with no rust

ETA

Plus it was a fantastic purple colour

[mickyveloce]

rich888 said:

Totally agree with you, it is drop-dead-gorgeous.

If only I had a spare £8000 to buy it because I reckon the original 928 values will rise quite dramatically in the future. Am somewhat biased because I own an S4 of which far more were produced than the original non-spoilered 928 variant as driven and submerged in the 1980s film 'Risky Business'.

The 928 might not be the cheapest or the most reliable car to own, but it sure makes up for its quirks when driven...Bit like a mistress in that respect

There is no substitute.....

[AceOfHearts]

Going to see this at 1:00. Not sure whether I prefer the pre or post facelift models but it will be interesting to have a look at the manual version. The chap on the phone sounded very helpful though and he has owned the car for almost 20 years so should be interesting

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/321378339074?ssPageName=...

[Olivera]

Providing you aren't too concerned with fuel consumption, then an XJS is a great choice for a motorway cruiser. Check very carefully for rust in all areas including floorplan, sills and arches!