Battle of the cheap V8s! £5,000 budget...
Discussion
Interestingly, there's not a whole lot of choice. I'm jumping out of my trusty old 530d and using a tired old A4 tdi as the hack. No need for two diesels. The A4 is hardly destined for Hollywood so I might as well induldge a little and buddy it up with a V8, and limit the mileage to weekend fun.
As a rule, I've never spent more than £5000 on a car that I'm keeping, as aposed to one bought to sell. In fact, £4000 would be ideal. I'm inclined to go for a coupe, but am open-minded.
My shortlist:
Merc CLK 430/55 AMG (this is top of the list, bags of performance, and what value!)
Jag XK8 (I'm well versed on these now, and their foibles, the only thing that puts me off is having to buy a very early car to get within budget).
BMW 540i (Kinda been there with E39s now, I think they are one of the best cars ever made, period. I've driven a 540 but didn't find the 286bhp all that breath taking).
Lexus LS430 (only on here becasue it's a V8, can't say the Japs do much for me).
Audi S6 (Buys a very ropey car with this money, the cheap ones are advertised with gearbox faults. Lovely V8 though).
Ruled out S-Class Mercs because at this budget they could be potentially ruinous. For me, it's a toss up between the Jag and Merc at the moment, I'm short on other alternatives at this money. I'd be very interested to hear of people's remarks on the above cars or of any to add.
As a rule, I've never spent more than £5000 on a car that I'm keeping, as aposed to one bought to sell. In fact, £4000 would be ideal. I'm inclined to go for a coupe, but am open-minded.
My shortlist:
Merc CLK 430/55 AMG (this is top of the list, bags of performance, and what value!)
Jag XK8 (I'm well versed on these now, and their foibles, the only thing that puts me off is having to buy a very early car to get within budget).
BMW 540i (Kinda been there with E39s now, I think they are one of the best cars ever made, period. I've driven a 540 but didn't find the 286bhp all that breath taking).
Lexus LS430 (only on here becasue it's a V8, can't say the Japs do much for me).
Audi S6 (Buys a very ropey car with this money, the cheap ones are advertised with gearbox faults. Lovely V8 though).
Ruled out S-Class Mercs because at this budget they could be potentially ruinous. For me, it's a toss up between the Jag and Merc at the moment, I'm short on other alternatives at this money. I'd be very interested to hear of people's remarks on the above cars or of any to add.
Baryonyx said:
I'm not sure what the S6 market is like at £5000, though that sort of money would get you a fairly good S8 or a very, very good facelift A8 (360bhp 300ft/lb's in the S8, 310bhp 300ft/lbs in the A8).
Hmmm. I read the story of you taking ownership of your A8 with some interest. I love the car, love the engine, their styling and 'means business' road stance. And then there's all the horror stories. Is your's still relatively glitch-free?ajb85 said:
Hmmm. I read the story of you taking ownership of your A8 with some interest. I love the car, love the engine, their styling and 'means business' road stance. And then there's all the horror stories. Is your's still relatively glitch-free?
Yeah, it's been an easy ride so far. £165 to replace a cracked rear spring and get it MOT'd. Going to need four new tyres soon too, which will be between £500-£600. Aside from that, it's been relatively trouble free. The servotronic steering cut out one day (a variable assist on the PAS) meaning it was heavy to steer at parking speeds. I bought a replacement relay for £20. The old one started working again before it arrived. So I now have a spare relay, I've saved five minutes of my time swapping the relay and I have a spare now too. For £5000, the Mercedes CLK55 seems like a brilliant shout. They really are stunning cars. Just be prepared to dig deep if something goes dramatically wrong. I suspect the air suspension could level costs that would make the A8/S8's £1500 gearbox look like a pittance. But they can be remapped and easily tuned for earth shattering performance, I hear.
EDIT: if you concern yourself unduly with internet horror stories you'll never buy anything. You only live once. If you drive a car and you like it and have a good feeling about it, why not just go for it?
Baryonyx said:
EDIT: if you concern yourself unduly with internet horror stories you'll never buy anything. You only live once. If you drive a car and you like it and have a good feeling about it, why not just go for it?
Weeeell, that's my sentiment entirely. I am not of the 'You only live once, let's blow £35k' camp but right now I'm feeling inclined to buy with my heart a little. Sick of the sound of diesels, and I've promised myself - and have been banging on about, wanting a V8 since I was 18. Ten years later it's still not happened. Fuel prices have sky-rocketed though. On the plus side, these types of cars, £50/60k of yester-year, are for nothing now. I do belive that so long as you're not a numberplate snob, £5,000 can by sky's the limit. You can buy a Lotus with that sort of money, and deal with the consequences later. Something along those lines is how I would define a 'petrol head', and not a flash-Harry!Anyway, unless I'm wrong, I think the CLK55 is conventionally sprung, it's the S500 Mercs on air suspension. What kind of mileage are you doing in the A8? And do you run a more economical car alongside it?
EDIT: Apologies for the mistakes. I'm in bed, and on the Blackberry. No further excuse required!
Edited by ajb85 on Friday 1st February 01:35
ajb85 said:
Anyway, unless I'm wrong, I think the CLK55 is conventionally sprung, it's the S500 Mercs on air suspension. What kind of mileage are you doing in the A8? And do you run a more economical car alongside it?
You may well be right about the CLK. As for the A8, I reckon I do around 100-150 miles a week in it, not affording any large trips. I don't run another car alongside it, it does everything well enough to make owning a second car unjustifiable. The fuel costs aren't too bad, it's comfortable enough to cruise to and from work in and fast and nimble enough still to thrill when you want entertainment. I do sometimes dream of having an ultra-light hot hatch to compliment it, which is something I will be looking at this year.In my experience of a previous xjr ( not XJ8 admittedly), is that it started to become a game of "guessing what electrical gadget was going to stop working next" every time i drove it, steering adjustment, sunroof, central locking etc. Not bankruptcy threatening but quite annoying. This would have to be weighed up against the potential body work issues with the Mercedes, as they do like a bit of rust at some point no matter how well they have been looked after or serviced.
I think the Xk8 would nick it out of the pair. Like all old Jag coupes they are growing old gracefully.
To throw a couple of wild cards into the mix.....A friend of mine recently had a Holden hsv for that sort of money which was a fast bit of fun( a real hooligan of a car, a cross between an M5 and a MK2 escort, encouraging you to drive like your in an Aussie touring car race!!). If you would be prepared to go older, a W124 E500 ( which is were my money will be going when my CE goes)could be found on the German sites if you don't mind a bit of leg work. It would be the most reliable and only go up in value to.
I think the Xk8 would nick it out of the pair. Like all old Jag coupes they are growing old gracefully.
To throw a couple of wild cards into the mix.....A friend of mine recently had a Holden hsv for that sort of money which was a fast bit of fun( a real hooligan of a car, a cross between an M5 and a MK2 escort, encouraging you to drive like your in an Aussie touring car race!!). If you would be prepared to go older, a W124 E500 ( which is were my money will be going when my CE goes)could be found on the German sites if you don't mind a bit of leg work. It would be the most reliable and only go up in value to.
The last 3 are great suggestions. I'll have to have a look; I love the Chimaera but didn't think it was anywhere within budget. That would tick the box for 'most stonking V8' plus would be in very good company at Le Mans this year (part of the reason why I want to ditch the diesel for a V8!).
Pretty sure you can't get an S-Type R for this money yet, even a Sport with the later 4.2 tips the scales a bit. And as for the Alpina, I'll have a look, but last time I checked - £5,000 got you the 3.3 and not a V8. If I was going to go down this route I'd probably get a B3 3.3 which I have considered.
I've looked on/off at E36 M3s too. No it's not a V8. And I'm unsure of the image. I'd want an original, out-of-the-box coupe, yet oddly the cabs seem cheaper and more plentiful. Manual box means a reasonable fuel return and the tuned straight-six is a masterpiece.
Pretty sure you can't get an S-Type R for this money yet, even a Sport with the later 4.2 tips the scales a bit. And as for the Alpina, I'll have a look, but last time I checked - £5,000 got you the 3.3 and not a V8. If I was going to go down this route I'd probably get a B3 3.3 which I have considered.
I've looked on/off at E36 M3s too. No it's not a V8. And I'm unsure of the image. I'd want an original, out-of-the-box coupe, yet oddly the cabs seem cheaper and more plentiful. Manual box means a reasonable fuel return and the tuned straight-six is a masterpiece.
PH Classifieds:
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/j...
E-bay S-types within reach although maybe I'd aim at haggling on one near £6k and getting it down...
http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/Cars-Motorcycles-Vehicle...
Edited by Six Fiend on Friday 1st February 08:55
I've had my CLK55 for a few months now and it is conventionally sprung.
Awesome cars with tremendous performance! 20mpg is expected and if you buy a good one they shouldn't go too wrong...hopefully!
I removed the secondary cats and resonator on mine (£150 at local exhaust builder) and it sounds glorious! Not as raw as the 63 engines, but a deep rumbly old v8 sound
Awesome cars with tremendous performance! 20mpg is expected and if you buy a good one they shouldn't go too wrong...hopefully!
I removed the secondary cats and resonator on mine (£150 at local exhaust builder) and it sounds glorious! Not as raw as the 63 engines, but a deep rumbly old v8 sound
I bought my mint S6 in August for just under £4k
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
It was a lucky find though, low price was due to the loud exhaust scaring buyers off and the cambelt being due. Neither of which bothered me as they are easy fixes.
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
It was a lucky find though, low price was due to the loud exhaust scaring buyers off and the cambelt being due. Neither of which bothered me as they are easy fixes.
If you don't need back seats I reckon a XK8 would be a fabulous purchase.
I would look more into the B10 V8 because I think there was one in the barge thread this week for only £3k? Or a black XJR V8
On the Merc front, other options are:
R129 500SL roadster
W210 E55 saloon
W202 C43 saloon (about 300kg lighter than the CLK)
You should be able to find a good one without rust issues for £5k.
I would look more into the B10 V8 because I think there was one in the barge thread this week for only £3k? Or a black XJR V8
On the Merc front, other options are:
R129 500SL roadster
W210 E55 saloon
W202 C43 saloon (about 300kg lighter than the CLK)
You should be able to find a good one without rust issues for £5k.
ajb85 said:
Battle of the cheap V8s! £5,000 budget
Love how £5k is cheap to some. Shame I'm not in that group though 
ajb85 said:
Interestingly, there's not a whole lot of choice. I'm inclined to go for a coupe, but am open-minded.
AUDI S4 (B6) QUATTRO 2004 (2004) 
BMW 840 Ci Coupe Revised 4.4 V8 (1996)
Cadillac Seville 4 door Sedan (1987)
Chevrolet Camaro Z28 5.7 V8 (1992)
CHEVROLET SILVERADO (1996)
DODGE DURANGO 4x4 5.2 V8
DODGE 1995 (1995)
Ford Mustang GT 4.6 Litre V8
JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE 4.7 V8
LAND ROVER 90 SWB 3.5 efi V8
BOBTAIL RANGE ROVER PICK UP
Toyota/Lexus Soarer 4.0 V8
Mercedes 500 SEL
PONTIAC TRANS AM 5.7l V8 1996
Rover SD1 Vitesse Twin Plenum 3.9 V8
TVR 400SE 4.6 Conversion
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