The Joy of Running an Old Shed (Vol 2)

[sixor8]

egor110 said:

You check the car out before handing over the money.

A £1000 banger off marketplace is far better than a £1000 car from a dealer.

As long as you're not fussy. The search on Facebook marketplace is dire; you get results returned that you didn't ask for. Limited listing preferences. IME, most are kiteflyers and chancers, because it's free. As soon as you compare to prices on other platforms, you see how ridiculous some of the asking prices are. Autotrader tell you if a car is cat C, D or whatever too.

And for a multi-billion pound platform WTF is the issue with vehicles having to be displayed in 'kilometres.' No miles for the UK?

[anonymous-user]

ferrisbueller said:

177k miles, sold as seen - no warranty. £2495.......

Pass.

"Dash says Anti Skid when you start it up. , Next MOT due 24/01/2023"

ABS warning lights on the dash so not going to pass another MOT without it being fixed. I assume it is something expensive, if it was "just a sensor" he would have fixed it.

Double Pass

[757]

Anyone have any experience with running a Lexus RX300/330/350 SUV 2005+ years.

These have come up on my radar, seem to be hovering slightly above shed budget, they still look good in my eyes, quite classy looking cars despite there age, are they all hybrids?

Edit - not all hybrids i.e (RX400h)

Edited by 757 on Tuesday 21st June 13:50

[Challo]

sixor8 said:

As long as you're not fussy. The search on Facebook marketplace is dire; you get results returned that you didn't ask for. Limited listing preferences. IME, most are kiteflyers and chancers, because it's free. As soon as you compare to prices on other platforms, you see how ridiculous some of the asking prices are. Autotrader tell you if a car is cat C, D or whatever too.

And for a multi-billion pound platform WTF is the issue with vehicles having to be displayed in 'kilometres.' No miles for the UK?

I agree the search function being rubbish. Never seems to extract the same information twice, and then gives you options for stuff you never searched for.

[QBee]

Joey Deacon said:

ferrisbueller said:

177k miles, sold as seen - no warranty. £2495.......

Pass.

"Dash says Anti Skid when you start it up. , Next MOT due 24/01/2023"

ABS warning lights on the dash so not going to pass another MOT without it being fixed. I assume it is something expensive, if it was "just a sensor" he would have fixed it.

Double Pass

I had that on a Vulva XC90.
The fix would have been over £2000 because what was actually faulty was the haldex unit that activated the rear diff on the command of the ABS/ECU. The replacement fag-packet sized unit was £1800 and of course it needed to be married to the car by a Volvo computer. It may say "AWD" on the back, but it was front wheel drive until you lost enough grip.
I ended up scrapping a perfectly good car because Volvo completely over-complicated it. It's all very well having a CANBUS network on a new car, but on a 12 year old one you get things that fail. And if the main ECU couldn't see all the way round the CANBUS network the Volvo computer was unable to marry in new parts or diagnose problems. End result was you couldn't cure MOT fails of an electronic nature and the car became an expensive drive-way ornament.
It's another reason why I nowadays stick to old, lower tech cars. Late 1990s TVR, late 1990s Saab, early 2000s Nissan. A man with a spanner and a life of experience can fix them.

[cedrichn]

QBee said:

Joey Deacon said:

ferrisbueller said:

177k miles, sold as seen - no warranty. £2495.......

Pass.

"Dash says Anti Skid when you start it up. , Next MOT due 24/01/2023"

ABS warning lights on the dash so not going to pass another MOT without it being fixed. I assume it is something expensive, if it was "just a sensor" he would have fixed it.

Double Pass

I had that on a Vulva XC90.
The fix would have been over £2000 because what was actually faulty was the haldex unit that activated the rear diff on the command of the ABS/ECU. The replacement fag-packet sized unit was £1800 and of course it needed to be married to the car by a Volvo computer. It may say "AWD" on the back, but it was front wheel drive until you lost enough grip.
I ended up scrapping a perfectly good car because Volvo completely over-complicated it. It's all very well having a CANBUS network on a new car, but on a 12 year old one you get things that fail. And if the main ECU couldn't see all the way round the CANBUS network the Volvo computer was unable to marry in new parts or diagnose problems. End result was you couldn't cure MOT fails of an electronic nature and the car became an expensive drive-way ornament.
It's another reason why I nowadays stick to old, lower tech cars. Late 1990s TVR, late 1990s Saab, early 2000s Nissan. A man with a spanner and a life of experience can fix them.

I wonder if we will see a price increase in the 1990s cars, when they will be 40 years old: no VED! I think this is the best era for a good simple daily, for the reasons you mentioned. You can even choose them in a nice V6 or V8, as you will not have to pay a premium for them! Except if they become "youngtimers" and the fuel price become out of reach

[Mr.Nobody]

giblet said:

I can relate. I went from V8 and V6s plus a few fast 4 pots back to a shed 9-3 estate almost 4 years ago. Allows me to try and sort my finances out. Took a gamble on one at auction using a mate BCA account. Aside from the initial service which brought up an issue with the power steering pump it's not really needed anything other than a new battery and some rear springs. Used a specialist for the first few services and after that I just buy the service kit online and use a cheaper garage. Looking to switch from that to a diesel version next as the running costs on this are a bit silly.

I loathe FB, deleted my main account years ago but had another account used solely to communicate with some relatives. I tend to use that these days to have a look at what cars are on the marketplace, it's become the new Gumtree. Plus with a lot of car owner forums moving to FB you find that there are bargains to be had on the for sale pages there too.

Whereabouts in the country are you?

I’m based in Liverpool.

[Shnozz]

757 said:

Anyone have any experience with running a Lexus RX300/330/350 SUV 2005+ years.

These have come up on my radar, seem to be hovering slightly above shed budget, they still look good in my eyes, quite classy looking cars despite there age, are they all hybrids?

Edit - not all hybrids i.e (RX400h)

Edited by 757 on Tuesday 21st June 13:50

My ears are open to this as also considering one.

[aaron_2000]

My newly acquired £900 L322 TD6. 118k, runs and drives absolutely perfect. All the electrics work apart from the electric steering column adjustment as usual. I have an Air suspension inactive warning, 3 amigos and the language is stuck in French, for now I am quite happy. I plan on holding onto it if an LPG 4.4 doesn't come my way

[Mr.Nobody]

Nice L322. I know of a Land Rover supplier in Liverpool if you need any parts.

I’ve found an interesting SAAB 9-5

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202102199...

[aaron_2000]

Mr.Nobody said:

Nice L322. I know of a Land Rover supplier in Liverpool if you need any parts.

I’ve found an interesting SAAB 9-5

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202102199...

Cheers, I'll almost certainly need some parts

[Ouroboros]

aaron_2000 said:

Cheers, I'll almost certainly need some parts

Brave man, that LR make grown men cry.

[Slow]

aaron_2000 said:

My newly acquired £900 L322 TD6. 118k, runs and drives absolutely perfect. All the electrics work apart from the electric steering column adjustment as usual. I have an Air suspension inactive warning, 3 amigos and the language is stuck in French, for now I am quite happy. I plan on holding onto it if an LPG 4.4 doesn't come my way

Should be good as long as the gearbox is ok.

Buy an icarsoft i930 diagnostic tool and it will point you in the right direction for most issues.

[230TE]

Ouroboros said:

aaron_2000 said:

Cheers, I'll almost certainly need some parts

Brave man, that LR make grown men cry.

Bork factor 10 for sure, but what the hell. I still regret turning down a mid-seventies Jaguar XJ6 4.2 for £500 about twenty years ago. It was a lovely solid old thing but I wasn't brave enough.

[cedrichn]

aaron_2000 said:

My newly acquired £900 L322 TD6. 118k, runs and drives absolutely perfect. All the electrics work apart from the electric steering column adjustment as usual. I have an Air suspension inactive warning, 3 amigos and the language is stuck in French, for now I am quite happy. I plan on holding onto it if an LPG 4.4 doesn't come my way

Where is the Bimmer ? :P

[cedrichn]

Shnozz said:

757 said:

Anyone have any experience with running a Lexus RX300/330/350 SUV 2005+ years.

These have come up on my radar, seem to be hovering slightly above shed budget, they still look good in my eyes, quite classy looking cars despite there age, are they all hybrids?

Edit - not all hybrids i.e (RX400h)

Edited by 757 on Tuesday 21st June 13:50

My ears are open to this as also considering one.

As far as I know, they are (really) thirsty. That's all. Nothing bad on a premium Toyota petrol engine car to be expected

[aaron_2000]

cedrichn said:

aaron_2000 said:

My newly acquired £900 L322 TD6. 118k, runs and drives absolutely perfect. All the electrics work apart from the electric steering column adjustment as usual. I have an Air suspension inactive warning, 3 amigos and the language is stuck in French, for now I am quite happy. I plan on holding onto it if an LPG 4.4 doesn't come my way

Where is the Bimmer ? :P

The cruise control didn't work so I got rid, I wish I'd kept on to it but I'm into the RR for the same money so I guess I can't complain too much as long as it doesn't give me too much hassle. The gearbox I'd guess has been rebuilt quite recently as you literally don't feel it shift, few minor things like a squeaking bush at the rear and a couple of usual electrical gremlins but mechanically it seems decent

[Condi]

aaron_2000 said:

a couple of usual electrical gremlins but mechanically it seems decent

Brave comment

[BrettMRC]

cedrichn said:

Shnozz said:

757 said:

Anyone have any experience with running a Lexus RX300/330/350 SUV 2005+ years.

These have come up on my radar, seem to be hovering slightly above shed budget, they still look good in my eyes, quite classy looking cars despite there age, are they all hybrids?

Edit - not all hybrids i.e (RX400h)

Edited by 757 on Tuesday 21st June 13:50

My ears are open to this as also considering one.

As far as I know, they are (really) thirsty. That's all. Nothing bad on a premium Toyota petrol engine car to be expected

Go for a 400h, there is little benefit to not having a hybrid version.
They are reasonably thirsty, but low 30s are achievable.
We've run one in the family for ages and I can't think of a bad word to say about them.
Usual rules apply: buy the best one you can find, don't skimp on routine maintanence and it will out live you.
Only things to be aware of are some seem to get rusty fuel tank straps and they are quite tyre sensitive - especially on the rear.
My RX thread here: https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

Edited by BrettMRC on Wednesday 22 June 10:19

[aaron_2000]

Condi said:

aaron_2000 said:

a couple of usual electrical gremlins but mechanically it seems decent

Brave comment

Should I mention that I've never heard it cold start?