Bargain Barge or something else?
Discussion
This is a slightly long post so just scroll down to the bullet points to save time if you don't want to read it all.
We are looking to replace my Dads car as soon as we find a suitable replacement but after 9th Nov when the money will be available. Currently he has an E32 735 with full leather. It was purchased about 3 years ago as a keep us going car for a year or so, but work has not been flowing, it now getting a bit past it and rather than spend money fixing it, it seemed better to put £1k into something different instead.
Together with its 15-17mpg from the 3.5l straight 6 i think i will probably take out the leather interior, the rechargeable torch
and anything else that looks worth something then get a scrap merchant to pay for the rest.
£1,000 is the amount i have been looking around, i have been told no more than £1,500 for something exceptional.
Previous cars were
2.5 V6 Omega manual 19-29 mpg general - motorway, pretty nice car but started to drop to bits over 90k miles different failure every month. Someone drove into the back and was very badly repaired, didn't last for long then, sold for circa £115 after 3 or 4 years.
5L V8 w140 S class auto 18-28mpg, slightly lower mpg than Omega but 2 extra cylinders and 100% extra capacity, probably heavier as well. Both parents lied this car alot, stupid "green environmental wiring" killed it, all the wire insulation failed, replaced the wiring loom but it needed a new throttle actuator as well circa £1k + fitting on a £1.5k car, sold to a broker instead.
E32 735, not really liked as much as the W140, much lower and less room/features but perhaps more sporty. Less weight but now where near as smooth. Actually went to buy a 520 but that had sold and they had this instead.
The criteria are as follows,
I have mainly been looking at W123, W124, W126 Mercs, 850/V70 Volvos, possibly e38/39 bmw's but not sure if they are a bit electric fault prone, Looked at LS400's etcbut expensive to insure and expensive to fix if they go wrong.
The following 3 cars seem interesting, however i would ideally like a car near to Leeds as possible so i could possibly get a mechanic i know to check it over before buying incase anything mechanical needs doing which we would have to pay a garage to do.
This first one has just changed to sold but gives an idea of what i'm looking at, my Dads seen pictures of the w126 and w123 coupe and saloons and has liked the look of both.
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3210573.htm
http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C231511
3 Series convertible, as i said a convertible would be liked by my Mum, and the rear seats would be ok for short journeys with one of us sat sideways in the back.
http://www.greenwaygarage.com/1995-bmw-320i-conver...
So any suggestions or anyone know of any good cars?
Noticed the £1.5k 540 in the other thread, might not be too bad, sadly the £2.2k 740 is too expensive.
We are looking to replace my Dads car as soon as we find a suitable replacement but after 9th Nov when the money will be available. Currently he has an E32 735 with full leather. It was purchased about 3 years ago as a keep us going car for a year or so, but work has not been flowing, it now getting a bit past it and rather than spend money fixing it, it seemed better to put £1k into something different instead.
Together with its 15-17mpg from the 3.5l straight 6 i think i will probably take out the leather interior, the rechargeable torch
and anything else that looks worth something then get a scrap merchant to pay for the rest.£1,000 is the amount i have been looking around, i have been told no more than £1,500 for something exceptional.
Previous cars were
2.5 V6 Omega manual 19-29 mpg general - motorway, pretty nice car but started to drop to bits over 90k miles different failure every month. Someone drove into the back and was very badly repaired, didn't last for long then, sold for circa £115 after 3 or 4 years.
5L V8 w140 S class auto 18-28mpg, slightly lower mpg than Omega but 2 extra cylinders and 100% extra capacity, probably heavier as well. Both parents lied this car alot, stupid "green environmental wiring" killed it, all the wire insulation failed, replaced the wiring loom but it needed a new throttle actuator as well circa £1k + fitting on a £1.5k car, sold to a broker instead.
E32 735, not really liked as much as the W140, much lower and less room/features but perhaps more sporty. Less weight but now where near as smooth. Actually went to buy a 520 but that had sold and they had this instead.
The criteria are as follows,
- reliable as possible, don't really want to replace it regularly but happy to have it serviced. 3 years for the BMW wasn't too bad although it has had other money spent to keep it going.
- Ideally more MPG, i think a 500 S class would be ok again as they set off in 2nd unless you boot it and with the low down torque they are not too bad for the size. W140 out of budget really, especially with the cost to fix electrical faults. 560SEC is out of the question though really
.
- body style is not as important as reliability. Estate would be good to carry loads possibly some ladders, my Mum has always fancied a cabrio. Provided there is space for 3 or 4 nights away in a soft bag then even a 2 seater is passable as mainly its driven 1 or 2 up but nothing too small inside or with a rock hard ride.
- Auto or manual alot of older cars seem to have well built autos, don't really want to have to pay out for clutch for a manual, also my Dad's not driven a manual for probably 4+ years but will get used to it again if the car is reliable.
I have mainly been looking at W123, W124, W126 Mercs, 850/V70 Volvos, possibly e38/39 bmw's but not sure if they are a bit electric fault prone, Looked at LS400's etcbut expensive to insure and expensive to fix if they go wrong.
The following 3 cars seem interesting, however i would ideally like a car near to Leeds as possible so i could possibly get a mechanic i know to check it over before buying incase anything mechanical needs doing which we would have to pay a garage to do.
This first one has just changed to sold but gives an idea of what i'm looking at, my Dads seen pictures of the w126 and w123 coupe and saloons and has liked the look of both.
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3210573.htm
http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C231511
3 Series convertible, as i said a convertible would be liked by my Mum, and the rear seats would be ok for short journeys with one of us sat sideways in the back.
http://www.greenwaygarage.com/1995-bmw-320i-conver...
So any suggestions or anyone know of any good cars?
Noticed the £1.5k 540 in the other thread, might not be too bad
, sadly the £2.2k 740 is too expensive.Edited by BlueMR2 on Saturday 5th November 23:31
falkster said:
BlueMR2 said:
I've had a look at some saabs, the bulkhead cracking puts me off somewhat though 
.
I bought my friend a 9-5 on a W plate which had a mint dash. .How reliable are the 3L diesels in the merc and what sort of mpg do they manage.
falkster said:
What about an A8? I had a 3.7 quattro and it was awesome. Paid £2250 for it a couple of years ago on a Y plate. Great cars!! I was getting 24mpg too!!
Are they reliable?I seem to recall the gearbox having a reputation for turning into chocolate after 100-120k and parts being expensive based on the low numbers?
SuperHangOn said:
Legendary! they run to crazy mileages. From experience, 40-45 on runs, 30-35 average. Slow to accelerate of the mark but great on the move.
Don't discount an LS400 on repair costs, they are extremely reliable. Really nice cars.
Are they na rather than turbos? the last na diesel didn't end well.Don't discount an LS400 on repair costs, they are extremely reliable. Really nice cars.
A mk4 L400 would be really nice and well made but i had a toyota soarer aka ls400 coupe and it cost ridiculous amounts to keep on the road and kept breaking. Couldn't afford that again. Insurance is really expensive on them for some reason as well, but i'll keep a watch out for any at a good price.
BlueMR2 said:
re they na rather than turbos? the last na diesel didn't end well.
No turbo. The price you pay is glacial movement from a standstill.This looks a tidy W126- maintenance should be a doddle with the 6 pot.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/150688611820?ssPageName=...
190E 2.6
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1989-Mercedes-Benz-190-2...
Edited by SuperHangOn on Sunday 6th November 15:38
SuperHangOn said:
BlueMR2 said:
re they na rather than turbos? the last na diesel didn't end well.
No turbo. The price you pay is glacial movement from a standstill.This looks a tidy W126- maintenance should be a doddle with the 6 pot.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/150688611820?ssPageName=...
190E 2.6
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1989-Mercedes-Benz-190-2...
Edited by SuperHangOn on Sunday 6th November 15:38
I'd noticed that 126 before, it looked pretty nice.
I guess we will have to decide how far we can travel to get a car, once we are more than about 20 miles from home the chance of using a known mechanic to look over it before we buy is pretty much nill.
Together with the cost of travelling all over the uk looking for a car, i'd rather spend a little more on a known local example than a few £££ on fuel/train fare instead.
Cheap travel on the train to a known good car is probably ok though.
BlueMR2 said:
Are they reliable?
I seem to recall the gearbox having a reputation for turning into chocolate after 100-120k and parts being expensive based on the low numbers?
I had mine for 12 months and it cost me some pads front and back plus a service. Brembo pads were £18!!I seem to recall the gearbox having a reputation for turning into chocolate after 100-120k and parts being expensive based on the low numbers?
I have heard about gearbox issues but I'm sure that's more scare mongering like 320d swirl flaps !
falkster said:
BlueMR2 said:
Are they reliable?
I seem to recall the gearbox having a reputation for turning into chocolate after 100-120k and parts being expensive based on the low numbers?
I had mine for 12 months and it cost me some pads front and back plus a service. Brembo pads were £18!!I seem to recall the gearbox having a reputation for turning into chocolate after 100-120k and parts being expensive based on the low numbers?
I have heard about gearbox issues but I'm sure that's more scare mongering like 320d swirl flaps !
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