2004 V70 D5. More eBay goodness in the usual fashion!
Discussion
Jeez, that was in a bad state. How some people treat their cars is disgusting. You've done a good job in just one day!
Did you see this yesterday?
Did you see this yesterday?
EvoDelta said:
Good luck OP.
Do you mind me asking how much BPM you have to pay when you get back to Holland? This has always put me off importing cars, but if it's viable, then I may have to think about doing the same. Also, what are costs with RDW like for importing etc?
I'd be interested to know, as some cars are so much cheaper in the UK, it would be great to know if there are any tricks around the BPM.Do you mind me asking how much BPM you have to pay when you get back to Holland? This has always put me off importing cars, but if it's viable, then I may have to think about doing the same. Also, what are costs with RDW like for importing etc?
A lex said:
Now theres a little more time for a decent write-up......
Firstly, I couldnt have timed yesterday better; im shocked at how well it worked out, although I am gathering a decent amount of experience in the area by now.
Train: I had built myself a 25min buffer on the train journey in case of problems, which turned out to a good idea as only 1/2 the normal services were running between Utrecht and Schiphol. Delay = 15min.
Plane: Straight in to the airport, through security, made the long walk down to gate H1, 10 min wait in the boarding gate and then on the plane. Perfect timing or cutting it fine, cant decide!
Southend: The airport is a bit of a shambles. Spanking new building and no-body knows how to run it. First held outside the terminal on the tarmac for 20mins and then locked inside the customs area as someone forgot to unlock the doors! Changed €3000 in to 2381GBP (OUCH!) and took the hire car, which was 20quid more expensive than the train and got me there in an hr, rather than 3 1/2!! The car itself was a 3-cyl VW Polo, I really liked it
Dealer: Nice chap called Nick, selling it for the owners who traded it against a BMW. He was kind enough to help e get the hire car back to the rental location
Drive!: Quick blast to the ferry in Dover, no traffic and had time to stop off at Tescos and stock up on Apple Juice (Strongbow). Check-in closed at 5.15pm - TOA: 5.05pm. Nice
A 2hr ferry ride followed by an equally simple motorway cruise on this side of the water - as mentioned yesterday a 350mile drive, averaging 73mph and 49.9mpg. That included some sections at XXXmph (just testing the car M'Lud).
Right, the car. Ive spent the whole day on it, since 9am this morning. I feel as though I have moved it away from toxic and in to the realm of hygienic. I can certainly commute in in tomorrow without too many personal hygiene worries
Its still a long way from great though. Ill need to get a leather restore/repair kit to take care of the passenger seat and rear bench - apparently wear from baby seats. Ive got most of the grot out of the hard to reach (and not so hard to reach) places. Theres been a dog in it at some point and lots and lots of smelly children I think.
The car has clearly been used as an appliance without much thought to its appearance!
Ive given it a wash, about 3kg of mud fell out of each wheel arch. There are car park dents and scratches all around it - the fairest thing to say is that it looks great from afar, but far from great. Theres plenty of things for me to be getting on with on sunny weekends anyway.
The front parking lights were U/S, now fixed. Its topped up with oil (0w-30 FS). On checking the PAS fluid its very, very low. When the dealer opens tomorrow ill be getting a litre of the correct fluid and topping up - itll be interesting to see if that has any affect on the steering pulse.
There are no receipts to go with the car, just a few printouts of work done whilst it was a fleet car and a service book. Im going to write to the previous owner and ask if she can fill me in on some of the details. Its clearly been looked after mechanically - its wearing 4x Hankook V12 EVO tyres with about 4mm on the front and 6mm on the rears. The rear brake pads look brand new and are from Pagid. The engine bay was a little dirty (now cleaner), but there are no signs of leaks of any kind. Air filter isnt new, but isnt old, commensurate with about 10k miles since last service.
It drives very, very smoothly. Its much more supple than the T5 and has none of the shakes or rattles. There are no steering shimmys or wobbles all the way through the speed range = happy Brakes feel fine and dont pull or grab. There are no codes stored in the ECU, so everything seems happy enough there. The clutch feels good. The aircon is nice and cold. The dash clocks seem OK and without fault and the music system works as it should.
The pollen filter was nasty, so a new one has been ordered from eBay. Once I had removed the old one the force of the air through the centre vents improved considerably.
In many respects its a bit of a step down from the T5 - it certainly was in better cosmetic condition, although I think mechanically this one is stronger. The T5 was certainly better specced with the various option packs.
The D5 is a nice motor, but its made me appreciate how fast the T5 was...... however I cant argue with the economy and fingers crossed the cost savings its going to bring.
So, well done for reading - some pics:
All this from just the boot - you couldnt see the carpet in places:
The whole under bench area was thick with dirt like you see at the top of the picture
Old pollen filter:
Worst leather on the rear bench:
Passenger chair:
Front cabin:
I still need to steam clean the boot, but at least now its not a bio-hazard:
Engine bay:
Headlamps need a polish to restore clarity:
Exterior:
Jesus Christ!!!! I'm trying to eat a Pizza here!!!!!! Firstly, I couldnt have timed yesterday better; im shocked at how well it worked out, although I am gathering a decent amount of experience in the area by now.
Train: I had built myself a 25min buffer on the train journey in case of problems, which turned out to a good idea as only 1/2 the normal services were running between Utrecht and Schiphol. Delay = 15min.
Plane: Straight in to the airport, through security, made the long walk down to gate H1, 10 min wait in the boarding gate and then on the plane. Perfect timing or cutting it fine, cant decide!
Southend: The airport is a bit of a shambles. Spanking new building and no-body knows how to run it. First held outside the terminal on the tarmac for 20mins and then locked inside the customs area as someone forgot to unlock the doors! Changed €3000 in to 2381GBP (OUCH!) and took the hire car, which was 20quid more expensive than the train and got me there in an hr, rather than 3 1/2!! The car itself was a 3-cyl VW Polo, I really liked it
Dealer: Nice chap called Nick, selling it for the owners who traded it against a BMW. He was kind enough to help e get the hire car back to the rental location
Drive!: Quick blast to the ferry in Dover, no traffic and had time to stop off at Tescos and stock up on Apple Juice (Strongbow). Check-in closed at 5.15pm - TOA: 5.05pm. Nice
A 2hr ferry ride followed by an equally simple motorway cruise on this side of the water - as mentioned yesterday a 350mile drive, averaging 73mph and 49.9mpg. That included some sections at XXXmph (just testing the car M'Lud).
Right, the car. Ive spent the whole day on it, since 9am this morning. I feel as though I have moved it away from toxic and in to the realm of hygienic. I can certainly commute in in tomorrow without too many personal hygiene worries
Its still a long way from great though. Ill need to get a leather restore/repair kit to take care of the passenger seat and rear bench - apparently wear from baby seats. Ive got most of the grot out of the hard to reach (and not so hard to reach) places. Theres been a dog in it at some point and lots and lots of smelly children I think. The car has clearly been used as an appliance without much thought to its appearance!
Ive given it a wash, about 3kg of mud fell out of each wheel arch. There are car park dents and scratches all around it - the fairest thing to say is that it looks great from afar, but far from great. Theres plenty of things for me to be getting on with on sunny weekends anyway.
The front parking lights were U/S, now fixed. Its topped up with oil (0w-30 FS). On checking the PAS fluid its very, very low. When the dealer opens tomorrow ill be getting a litre of the correct fluid and topping up - itll be interesting to see if that has any affect on the steering pulse.
There are no receipts to go with the car, just a few printouts of work done whilst it was a fleet car and a service book. Im going to write to the previous owner and ask if she can fill me in on some of the details. Its clearly been looked after mechanically - its wearing 4x Hankook V12 EVO tyres with about 4mm on the front and 6mm on the rears. The rear brake pads look brand new and are from Pagid. The engine bay was a little dirty (now cleaner), but there are no signs of leaks of any kind. Air filter isnt new, but isnt old, commensurate with about 10k miles since last service.
It drives very, very smoothly. Its much more supple than the T5 and has none of the shakes or rattles. There are no steering shimmys or wobbles all the way through the speed range = happy
Brakes feel fine and dont pull or grab. There are no codes stored in the ECU, so everything seems happy enough there. The clutch feels good. The aircon is nice and cold. The dash clocks seem OK and without fault and the music system works as it should.The pollen filter was nasty, so a new one has been ordered from eBay. Once I had removed the old one the force of the air through the centre vents improved considerably.
In many respects its a bit of a step down from the T5 - it certainly was in better cosmetic condition, although I think mechanically this one is stronger. The T5 was certainly better specced with the various option packs.
The D5 is a nice motor, but its made me appreciate how fast the T5 was...... however I cant argue with the economy and fingers crossed the cost savings its going to bring.
So, well done for reading - some pics:
All this from just the boot - you couldnt see the carpet in places:
The whole under bench area was thick with dirt like you see at the top of the picture
Old pollen filter:
Worst leather on the rear bench:
Passenger chair:
Front cabin:
I still need to steam clean the boot, but at least now its not a bio-hazard:
Engine bay:
Headlamps need a polish to restore clarity:
Exterior:
I used some of this before with good results...
http://www.dynamixdyes.com/car-leather-gallery-bef...
Admittedly not on that amount of wear though.
http://www.dynamixdyes.com/car-leather-gallery-bef...
Admittedly not on that amount of wear though.
Loving the topic - this reminds me more than a little of my 850GLT bought in 2002, from a 'wealthy' bankster family.
Car looked OK, but when I lifted the seats in the back - eeeuuuurrgghhh. Still, all cleaned and good to go...
At the first service the mechanic pointed out all the bits I'd missed, mainly cosmetic or underside, but it wore it well and provided good transport for our family for the next 24 months.
How many miles/kms has this one done to get that bad?
Car looked OK, but when I lifted the seats in the back - eeeuuuurrgghhh. Still, all cleaned and good to go...
At the first service the mechanic pointed out all the bits I'd missed, mainly cosmetic or underside, but it wore it well and provided good transport for our family for the next 24 months.
How many miles/kms has this one done to get that bad?
This is the epitome of a bargain Barge purchase. You can see the Labrador wear on the back seat!
I had a very similar purchasing experience with my M3. Utterly filthy when I collected it, but a car owned by the right people for 7 years. (Incidentally I did my research before travelling and was reassured to see that they bought their house a good few years ago for £600k+!)
I had a very similar purchasing experience with my M3. Utterly filthy when I collected it, but a car owned by the right people for 7 years. (Incidentally I did my research before travelling and was reassured to see that they bought their house a good few years ago for £600k+!)
I'm tempted to say that if the au pair is not into car cleaning, then it don't get cleaned!
However, the full main dealer service history (even down to new tyres etc which mere mortals would shy away from ,no?)is what sold the car to me (as well as being a model I wanted).
If 'these' people can afford to use these machines as appliances, who am I to judge - as long as I get first dibs when they sell, of course.
However, the full main dealer service history (even down to new tyres etc which mere mortals would shy away from ,no?)is what sold the car to me (as well as being a model I wanted).
If 'these' people can afford to use these machines as appliances, who am I to judge - as long as I get first dibs when they sell, of course.
A lex said:
Yeh, my Photobucket account has gone over the limit..... Anyone know of a good alternative?
Had to fill her for the first time today..... 615 miles to the tank, OBC reckoned 45mpg, real calculation = 40mpg. I did lots of city and high speed mway runs, so thats not bad at all! €100 to fill the tank, rather than €130 for the T5.
That ain't bad at all. I've done 500 miles today (800 since yesterday), all nice and steady like, 70 mph max, apart from occasionally getting past the odd MLMHad to fill her for the first time today..... 615 miles to the tank, OBC reckoned 45mpg, real calculation = 40mpg. I did lots of city and high speed mway runs, so thats not bad at all! €100 to fill the tank, rather than €130 for the T5.
. OBC has just clicked over to 63.6 average (I haven't reset it in 6 months, I've no idea over what distance/time it uses to calculate the average). This afternoon's fill was 633 miles to just over 57 litres, making it a touch over 50 mpg for real. Good to know the overread is consistent at roughly 14 mpg (bit wierd, but can't complain). Been driving for over 10 hours, but apart from a bit of backache, there are no ill effects (yet, might feel it tomorrow!).
It's probably about time I started my own thread, rather than hijacking everyone elses.
A lex said:
I have a flickr account, but i couldnt find a way to generate IMG code.... Fixed the photobucket pics.
When you're looking at an image on Flickr there's a share button directly above it, select 'Grab the HTML/BBCode' and then BBCode.Alternatively just copy the image url and manually shove it between img tags.
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