Estate, 20k, ULEZ, not depressing

[aussieal]

draytonians said:

I could be interested

Happy to share some more info with you, just drop me a private message.

[otolith]

Not a Panamera, a Cayenne, and a cheap one at that, but...

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

(could remember the thread, couldn't find it, searched for "pistonheads cayenne bork" and there it was )

[ingenieur]

otolith said:

ingenieur said:

Bad garage, I've fixed air suspension faults before, they're easy. It's a pump and airbags with some hoses and wiring, it's not at all
mysterious.

They've replaced the damaged section of pipe that was leaking, but they've found that didn't fix it. I'll speak to them when they've sorted it and can explain, but it looks as if constantly trying to pump the sagging suspension back up may have damaged the pump. I think they thought it was going to be an easy job, because they previously fixed it on a car they sold and that was simple.

I should have taken it to my usual Mercedes specialist (who replaced the torque converter, and replaced the motor in the inlet manifold, and the auxiliary battery) but the local garage are walking distance and did a good job of replacing the alternator after the car was recovered to it.

I'm sure they have it all in hand but on the W212 the problem is often the sensor arm(s) (some models have 2, others just 1) on the rear wishbone(s) get rusted onto the ball joint so the arm gets stuck in position or moves very slowly and the sensor starts giving false ride height readings. That of course leads to the system trying to control the ride height to all the wrong levels so it ends up at all different sorts of heights depending on how stuck the sensor is. You can get a replacement arms kit off eBay.

[otolith]

ingenieur said:

I'm sure they have it all in hand but on the W212 the problem is often the sensor arm(s) (some models have 2, others just 1) on the rear wishbone(s) get rusted onto the ball joint so the arm gets stuck in position or moves very slowly and the sensor starts giving false ride height readings. That of course leads to the system trying to control the ride height to all the wrong levels so it ends up at all different sorts of heights depending on how stuck the sensor is. You can get a replacement arms kit off eBay.

Leaking pipe and two knackered air springs. Suspect that not getting the former fixed quickly enough caused the latter.

[tonyvid]

otolith said:

ChocolateFrog said:

You'd need to be quite handy with the spanners or friendly with a local independent but it certainly wouldn't be depressing.

Annoying that prices have strengthened, I got close to buying a lovely low mileage turbo for around £25k before the pandemic.

Yes, it's certainly a tempting option. Sort of opposite end of the spectrum to the Mondeo/Passat in the desirable/appropriate spectrum.

Isn't there a Passat with a v6 and four wheel drive - a bit of a sleeper maybe?

[otolith]

tonyvid said:

Isn't there a Passat with a v6 and four wheel drive - a bit of a sleeper maybe?

Newest ones are 2009. Replaced by the inevitable turbo 4 from the Golf R.

[braddo]

otolith said:

I should have taken it to my usual Mercedes specialist (who replaced the torque converter, and replaced the motor in the inlet manifold, and the auxiliary battery) but the local garage are walking distance and did a good job of replacing the alternator after the car was recovered to it.

Yikes

[braddo]

There are virtually no 6-cyl petrol estates sold in the past 7-8 years, so it's either an older car or a 4cyl.

I think you'll soon find a 3-series and A4 too small for your needs.

I would be tempted by the last of the 6-cyl 5 series before they switched the NA 6 to a turbo 4 - this was around 2015 (ETA, more like 2012)? Refined engine, nice noise, decent size and a decent steer.

Here's a nice one (imported from Japan)

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202204024...



ETA another:
A 2011 car with only 64k miles
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202205236...

Edited by braddo on Thursday 23 June 18:35

[Dstreet11]

aussieal said:

Happy to share some more info with you, just drop me a private message.

I could be interested in rage S4 as well mate. Tried to message you but it said something along the lines of the recipient doesn’t allow emails (there’s a tick box to allow this in my account/forum profile).

Drop me a message with some more info on the S4 if you like!

[otolith]

braddo said:

There are virtually no 6-cyl petrol estates sold in the past 7-8 years, so it's either an older car or a 4cyl.

Yep. Or a 6 cylinder diesel.

I’m going to go and look at some candidates on Saturday. Just to see if any are eliminated on packaging really, not particularly planning to drive any.

Those older five series petrols are nice cars and worth considering. Seems a lot of money for an old car, but I guess the scarcity is a factor.

[milu]

Superb 3.6?

[ingenieur]

otolith said:

ingenieur said:

I'm sure they have it all in hand but on the W212 the problem is often the sensor arm(s) (some models have 2, others just 1) on the rear wishbone(s) get rusted onto the ball joint so the arm gets stuck in position or moves very slowly and the sensor starts giving false ride height readings. That of course leads to the system trying to control the ride height to all the wrong levels so it ends up at all different sorts of heights depending on how stuck the sensor is. You can get a replacement arms kit off eBay.

Leaking pipe and two knackered air springs. Suspect that not getting the former fixed quickly enough caused the latter.

I seriously doubt the airbags are damaged. It's one of those things people say like a knee jerk reaction to any air suspension issue. Think what the airbags actually have to put up with and consider whether or not they're going to be fragile little things that could break at a moments notice! And why are 2 of them required! Are both of them burst, at the same time... what!

[aussieal]

Dstreet11 said:

aussieal said:

Happy to share some more info with you, just drop me a private message.

I could be interested in rage S4 as well mate. Tried to message you but it said something along the lines of the recipient doesn’t allow emails (there’s a tick box to allow this in my account/forum profile).

Drop me a message with some more info on the S4 if you like!

Just updated my profile and have sent you a message.

[aussieal]

aussieal said:

draytonians said:

I could be interested

Happy to share some more info with you, just drop me a private message.

Tried to drop you an email, but your profile doesn't allow it.

[braddo]

Leftfield option - import an Aussie wagon

Random example $15k = £8.5k ish.



https://www.carsales.com.au/cars/details/2013-hold...

[MDMA .]

braddo said:

Leftfield option - import an Aussie wagon

Random example $15k = £8.5k ish.



https://www.carsales.com.au/cars/details/2013-hold...

When you add shipping, VAT, import duty etc, that will be about £14k on the road.

[otolith]

I'm counting rarity as a demerit here - I'd like to be choosing from a few examples, and I don't want something it's hard to get parts for. This is not a hobby car, I have the Lotus for that, this is firstly an A-B family car and secondly one which has some way of making me smile and not feel like I've spent a big wodge of cash on something I don't care about.

[braddo]

MDMA . said:

When you add shipping, VAT, import duty etc, that will be about £14k on the road.

Yep, and maybe they have to be 10 years old before they can be easily imported too. Extremely niche, but a way to get a big petrol wagon in V6 or V8 form which will be decent to drive and likely to have far fewer expensive niggles than the Germans.

(wasn't a serious suggestion for the OP)

[MDMA .]

braddo said:

MDMA . said:

When you add shipping, VAT, import duty etc, that will be about £14k on the road.

Yep, and maybe they have to be 10 years old before they can be easily imported too. Extremely niche, but a way to get a big petrol wagon in V6 or V8 form which will be decent to drive and likely to have far fewer expensive niggles than the Germans.

(wasn't a serious suggestion for the OP)

Will just be an IVA test if less than 10 years old. Little bit dearer than a standard MOT/registration fees.
Nice car though.
Seymour Pope seem to bring over some nice JDM spec A6’s. V6 Supercharged ones.

https://www.seymourpope.com/vehicle-details/used-a...

[ingenieur]

braddo said:

MDMA . said:

When you add shipping, VAT, import duty etc, that will be about £14k on the road.

Yep, and maybe they have to be 10 years old before they can be easily imported too. Extremely niche, but a way to get a big petrol wagon in V6 or V8 form which will be decent to drive and likely to have far fewer expensive niggles than the Germans.

(wasn't a serious suggestion for the OP)

I thought that was a smart looking car from the outside. But my second thought was if I were going to the trouble of importing a car I'd want one which was special somehow. A v8 with high spec. Obvious advantage of importing from AUS is going to be the lack of rust and the prevalence of V8s (though I'm not sure if that is still the way they do things?)