Wanted: Large Saloon

dahamsta

I'm being a nasty cross-poster today...

http://beecher.ie/play/otto-vonted.htm

adam

unkel

Adam, surely you can find a decent E34 520. There are scores of them here. You gotta start making those phone calls

How about these in particular?

Mercs ditto, but the only coupes available within your budget would have at least the engine and the wheels missing

How about this from a dealer in Cork:

MERCEDES E230 MANUAL 1989, Black Met, 2.3, Privately Owned, In As New Condition. €1,875. Phone 021 7331331 or 087 2615831

Sounds promising and also in your favourite colour - just like gold old Henry

E190s aren't W124, and I hate them

I hope mike65 forgives you

[shiver]you sure about the scorpio[/shiver]

There is a lot to say for a Saab, well there used to be before General Motors took over, but do you realise the Saab 9000 is the sister of the Fiat Croma
:eek:

Saab's prestige has never been the same since...

unkel

To all: you may or may not be aware that Adam has put in a tremendous effort to promote broadband internet access in Ireland through boards.ie and other channels. This guy deserves all the help he can get

Tommy Vercetti

unkel

That a large saloon alright Tommy

Anyone here to help Adam prevent buying a scorpio?

Tommy Vercetti

dis is all I could find

IrishRover

Just suggesting this for what it's worth. I don't know whether it has to be a beemer or a merc. You may not have considered something like this, but it could suit you very well:

It's a Rover 820 "Tickford" Turbo - the engine was developed in conjunction with Aston Martin as far as I know. It's got a limosuine class interior - all the leather you could want and a seriously quick car for a large saloon!
I think the owner would have accepted £450 for this lovely example.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2468893847
This car may still be available. If it's not, but you would consider something like this I can check around for any other 800s, Sterling or Vitesses that may be for sale. Would you be prepared to travel to the UK to buy one? It's not nearly as much hassle as you might think and VRT would not be a lot.
What do you think?

dahamsta

For the record guys, I've done the CBG/B&S/Autotrader thing, so posting links to searches is a waste of both our time. Most of the time the car is gone, or it's not NCT'd, or it's "sold as seen", or the car is somewhere I can't check it out, or the seller simply couldn't be bothered their bollix. That's why I'm trying something different. Someone on Boards will eventually come across the perfect car for me...

IrishRover, no offense but I'm not a big fan of Rovers and the 820 is a very dull looking car. (Drove a 1.3 200 once, nearly put my foot through the floor trying to accelerate and/or brake. Scarily underpowered for a 1.3!) That being said, I would travel to the UK for a good car, they keep their cars way better than we do over here. But it would need to be tested independently first obviously.

unkel, I went to look at that Merc, yerman gave me duff instructions and I never got there (forgot to bring the number with me, doh!) But it was NCT-less, so I wasn't all that bothered. I'm not buying a car without an NCT, if it's in good shape the seller has nothing to worry about. Yes, I'm sure about the Scorpio, I've always had unusual tastes. Yes, I know the 9000 is built on the Croma platform, but that's hardly unusual these days. Passat/A6/Octavia?

adam

IrishRover

Originally posted by dahamsta
IrishRover, no offense but I'm not a big fan of Rovers and the 820 is a very dull looking car. (Drove a 1.3 200 once, nearly put my foot through the floor trying to accelerate and/or brake. Scarily underpowered for a 1.3!) That being said, I would travel to the UK for a good car, they keep their cars way better than we do over here. But it would need to be tested independently first obviously.

No offense taken. I'm very used to the fact that people in general don't like Rovers. Most people underestimate them, and for me that's part of the appeal. I like driving something a little more unusual too. At the moment, I drive a 200BHP Rover which will take me to 60 in roughly 6 seconds and on to a top speed of 150mph. I thoroughly enjoy the fact that nobody is going to expect a Rover to be able to do that!

That 1.3 200 you drove was a mark 1 200 with an old single carb 8v engine. They stopped making that in '89. The mark 2 200 replaced it and had a twin cam 16v fuel injected lightweight engine producing 95BHP. The later multipoint injected revision which came out in early '93 produced 103BHP and will get to 60 in 10 seconds or maybe even a little less. Compare that to the competition of the day - pretty much everyone else was still using 8 valve pushrod engines. A 1.3 Ford Escort LX would have had something like 60BHP and been just as slow as the mark 1 200. Even now, those figures are very good compared to other cars in its class.

You would not have a problem with accelerating in the 820 tickford turbo. It has 180BHP which is actually limited at that figure due to political reasons. As far as I remember, the maximum boost is limited to something like 6psi. This is something which is easily overcome to bring that up to 200+ without fear of damaging the engine. The reason it was deliberately limited like this was an effort to find a slot for it in the 800 range so it would not be seen to compete with the flagship 827 vitesse model.

If you are buying a car from the UK you can pay for an RAC and HPI check for peace of mind. If the seller seems geniune and is able to produce a history of services and yearly MOTs though I doubt you would have much to worry about.

dahamsta

Originally posted by Tommy Vercetti
some large saloons

I'm ashamed to admit that I actually didn't get that until I saw unkels response just now.

Out of curiousity IrishRover, does a car with a valid MOT have to be retested when it comes into Ireland?

adam

Seth Brundle

cars coming into Ireland have to sit an NCT if they are over 4 years old regardless of previous foreign tests

dahamsta

Originally posted by kbannon
cars coming into Ireland have to sit an NCT if they are over 4 years old regardless of previous foreign tests

Saved me the hassle of Googling, thanks kbannon!

Seth Brundle

see http://www.oasis.gov.ie/transport/motoring/national_car_test.html (about 1/2 way down page).
also see http://www.oasis.gov.ie/moving_country/moving_to_ireland/importing_car_into_ireland.html about importing a motor

mike65

Adam, even though you insult the perfectly formed 190
I'll keep an eye out for you on my travels/travails! How far from Cork are you willing to drive to see another car?

Mike.

dahamsta

Originally posted by mike65
Adam, even though you insult the perfectly formed 190

Sincere apologies Mike. I don't take it back though.

I'll keep an eye out for you on my travels/travails!

Appreciate it.

How far from Cork are you willing to drive to see another car?

Not very far to be honest, and I'm not about laziness, it's about not being a mechanic. €3,500 is my total budget for insurance, tax and fixups, so I can't afford to buy something with a tranny that'll pass the NCT but not a couple months driving. So there's very little point in me driving more than a half hour to see a car, when I'll expect the seller to bring it to Cork to have it checked over anyway.

adam

mike65

I googled for you and found this -

http://forums.tcm.ie/showthread.php?threadid=23111&perpage=15&pagenumber=1

He! you get everywhere

edit> I mean I googled to help you, not check out your web history....honest! :ninja:

Mike.

dahamsta

It's on CruiseIRL too. And Foot.ie. Just working on a new email sig...

Google away boy, I do it all the time. Vanity is a terrible thing...

(I'm on Motornet's forums because I run them for TCM.)

adam

BrianD3

3,500 is my total budget for insurance, tax and fixups

Does the 3500 include the purchase price of the car? In my opinion you're asking for trouble with what you're trying to do i.e. buy and run a 2 litre+ large saloon which is over ten years old on such a small budget. Big saloons = big bills. Tax alone will be over 500 quid, insurance will cost you a fair bit unless you're an ould lad. Mercs, SAABs and BMWs may be generally reliable and long lasting but when they go wrong they can be very expensive. And at 10+ years and probably high mileage (and likely clocked too) they WILL go wrong - it's just a matter of luck whether you are the owner at the time.

If it were me and I were on your budget and needed a reasonable sized car I would be thinking a class or two lower - eg 1.6 litre Toyota Carinas and Nissan Primeras etc.

This probably won't dissuade you, but just be aware that the purchase price of an executive motor is only the start of the expense. Even buying a tyre for one of these cars can be a heart breaking experience!

Good luck anyway

BrianD3

IrishRover

I'll try to make this my last plug for a Rover!
See this site for a beautiful example of a Mark II Rover 800 Vitesse "Fastback"
http://www.rovervitesse.tk/
The owner has done some weight reduction and modifications to the engine as well as swapping the original Garrett T25 turbo for for a larger T28.
As standard, it does 0 to 60 in 7.8 seconds but now it gets there in 5.6 and does a quarter mile in 13.8 seconds. That's very quick for a car that size!

Going smaller to a BMW 3-series size, you could consider a 600. The 620 and 623 use Honda Accord engines, but the 620Ti uses the same Rover T16 engine as in the 820 MKII Vitesse in a lighter chassis for even quicker response!

Ah... I'll stop flogging a dead horse!

Anyway, about the MOT/NCT my insurance company accepted an MOT no probs instead of an NCT. I suppose they know full well the NCT is a bit of a joke anyway!

unkel

Originally posted by IrishRover
the 620Ti uses the same Rover T16 engine as in the 820 MKII Vitesse in a lighter chassis for even quicker response!

For once I got to agree with you Irish Rover

Classy car the 620TI. Nice styling, very comfortable and luxurious (wood, leather, carpets, all elec, 17" wheels, abs, twin airbags). The father in law bought one new in '95 but there were 4 attempts to steal it within months so he sold it

Considered buying one myself years ago and had a test drive in it. The car is very fast (0-60 in something like 7.5 seconds iirc) but the turbo is old fashioned so you need to keep the engine over 4k rpm to take advantage of the turbo generated torgue. I prefer cars with lots of torgue at lower revs, so I didn't buy it (I'm into the BMW V8's since). Petrol consumption is probably bad if driven hard

As IrishRover said, it's the Rover and not the Honda (accord) engine, so careful when buying!

IrishRover

Originally posted by unkel
For once I got to agree with you Irish Rover

Classy car the 620TI. Nice styling, very comfortable and luxurious (wood, leather, carpets, all elec, 17" wheels, abs, twin airbags). The father in law bought one new in '95 but there were 4 attempts to steal it within months so he sold it

Considered buying one myself years ago and had a test drive in it. The car is very fast (0-60 in something like 7.5 seconds iirc) but the turbo is old fashioned so you need to keep the engine over 4k rpm to take advantage of the turbo generated torgue. I prefer cars with lots of torgue at lower revs, so I didn't buy it (I'm into the BMW V8's since). Petrol consumption is probably bad if driven hard

As IrishRover said, it's the Rover and not the Honda (accord) engine, so careful when buying!

I'm surprised there were so many attempts to steal it, Unkel. There's nothing really to indicate that it's a fast car other than the Ti (instead of Si) so I would reckon the thieves (or thief if it was the same persistent chap!) must have known about the wonderful Rover T16 engine!

As for 0-60 time, I just checked Parkers and it lists it as 7 seconds which I suppose would be about right. The thing about the T25 turbo is that it has a relatively small impeller which helps keep lag to a minimum. Also, the engine management system (MEMS) is designed to start with a low boost and gradually up the boost as the revs increase. This is done in a deliberate effort to smooth the power delivery and give a constant amount of torque. The turbo effect is very progressive and you don't notice any sudden "kick" of power.

By the way, although the Honda engines are great (I know of one guy with a 620Si that has over 350k on the clock and it's still going strong!) the Rover engines are very good too. I'm well used to the fact that people have a poor opinion of them, but in my opinion, this is mostly unfounded. Everyone always says "notorious for head gasket failure" but the T series isn't particularly known for this. The K series did have weaker dowels at one point holding the "sandwich" of the engine block together, but even so I reckon alot of the HG failures were caused by people ragging them constantly without ever checking the coolant levels.

dahamsta

Bugger, missed another one. Out of interest, in case another one comes up, what are the A6/100 like for maintenance and that? Honest John reckon they're expensive, but what are the odds of something going wrong? Reliable or pernickety?

(Annoying thing is, I actually spotted that Audi a fortnight ago, but I was still on the Beamer trip. Bummer dude.)

adam

mike65

Bad luck! I quite like the old shape 100/A6 stuff to read here-

http://www.club-audi.co.uk/

http://www.audiworld.com/

http://www.audioc.force9.co.uk/

http://www.auho.com/contents/cars/AUDI-A6.shtml

http://www.audiworld.com/forum/a6100.html

for parts prices check out www.andyspares.com or
www.eurocarparts.com

Mike.

dahamsta

Cheers Mike. I saw a black lowered 190E earlier on, I have to admit that it didn't look half bad.

adam

mike65

Adam I just realised that Audi is in Clonmel (I thought you were'nt willing to travel?) you could try Strang Motors who have a load of Mercs, admitedly most are beyond your budget but I know he has a selection of Old Germans..

http://www.cbg.ie/dealer_detail.asp?County=Tipperary&dID=377

I could take a look see on Friday (not on-line)

Mike.

dahamsta

That'd be cool Mike, I'd appreciate that.

(I'm willing to travel, but not /too/ far and only for something I think'll work out. I wouldn't be bothered travelling for something sans NCT for example, it just wouldn't be worth the hassle; and I'd only go as far as Dublin for something right nice, because organising insurance would be a pain in the hole.)

adam

unkel

Originally posted by dahamsta
Bugger, missed another one

Damn, that looked like a great deal

Positive thing is that there seem to be a good few old high mileage cheap A6's surfacing for sale now and again. Not a bad alternative at all to the mercs and beamers. You'll get a car that is looking at least a generation newer for the same readies

unkel

Oh and how about an Audi 200 Turbo Quattro? That's the A8 avant les lettres. Looking a tad old now but a grand luxobarge it is

The 20V has 309Nm torque at an astonishingly low 1950 rpm in a 2.2 liter petrol engine, meaning relatively low tax and insurance. Enough torque there to get from 0-60 in just over 6 seconds :eek:

Prolly hard to find one over here though...

dahamsta

Originally posted by unkel
Damn, that looked like a great deal

There's another one on AutoTrader for €2200 if you're interested. Blue, about the same age, in Dublin. Too far out of my way and too, uh, blue. Nice, but not really me.

Oh and how about an Audi 200 Turbo Quattro?

If you mean one of these things, christ no. Aside from the fact that it's dog ugly, the words "turbo" and "quattro" don't sit well mit ze in-sewer-ants peeps. (I would have been able to go up to 2.5 in the 100/A6, but not over and not Quattro/S3/etc.)

adam

unkel

Originally posted by dahamsta
Too far out of my way and too, uh, blue. Nice, but not really me.

You could spray it black

Originally posted by dahamsta
if you're interested.

I'm sorted with a decent barge - just trying to support your picky self

dahamsta

Originally posted by unkel
You could spray it black

I would, if they gave it to me for free.

I'm sorted with a decent barge - just trying to support your picky self

I resemble that remark.

Just saw a lovely '96 Saab 9000 down in Tivoli, great spec including leather interior, only €1650. Unfortunately it's the 3.0 V6. Untaxed.

Nice clean Scorpio down there too, but I'm not sure I fancy a blue one. Pretty pricey for a '96 too.

adam