Schaefft

Cheapest CL500 I've ever seen, 400 quid with mot not too far from @HMC?

Obviously it'll be cheap for a reason.

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/1143304097114744/

5 minutes ago, Oi_Oi_Savaloy said:

Particularly like the alfa it has to be said.  

Incidentally - did the agent call you?  Hats off to him/her if they did.

It is a great car when you ignore it's build quality ha. And no, no further discussions really, the ad was marked as sold subject to contract so I assume that's the end of it for the time being.

2 hours ago, wesacosa said:

I was briefly getting excited expecting a Ford Tempo before seeing the photos.

On 23/04/2024 at 13:40, jmsguzzi said:

I really enjoyed mine, but you're right about the tracking, it was awful on uneven road surfaces. Have heard there's a few things you can do to improve them, strut brace etc.

Its not terrible but certainly noticeable. Might investigate what can be done about it if I can be bothered that is.

Parts for the Celsior arrived on Monday so they went straight on the car after work yesterday/today.

We made a start with the swaybar bushings, as you can tell it was about time...

Things actually went surprisingly smoothly, no seized bolts or anything really. Replacing the bushes finally removed any frontend clunking the car had, straight forward job resulting in a major improvement right there.

I've also replaced the dodgy O2 sensors. Since I didn't want to buy an O2 sensor specific 22mm socket with a cutout for a wire I decided to take a sawzall to them instead, access wasnt great but just good enough to cut them down to a length just short enough to get a long 22mm on instead. The sensors actually came out surprisingly easily on both sides.

The new sensors are of the universal type, they are Denso though so OEM other than the lack of connector. With plenty of wiring on both sides they were cut down to about the right length and crimped together. I checked the connections and resistances of each wire several times to make sure I dont have to do this again. The plastic sleeve acts as heatshrink, I've wrapped it all up in electrical tape to make things weather tight and a little cleaner looking as well. The sensors came with anti-seize paste which was nice, too.

I took the car out for a drive afterwards, no CEL or limp mode after wide open throttle anymore, the car has full power and pulls well. Fingers crossed it stays that way, will confirm on a longer journey but we should be good there as well now. Another issue crossed off the list.

Rear brake discs happened today. Turns out they are paper thin even when new at just 1.6cm. 1.5cm is their minimum allowed thickness so I'm not sure who came up with that bright idea.

With the old discs being ancient and having some pretty noticeable lips it was time anyway.

Job jobbed. I didn't do the front discs as I'm cheap and probably get another few years out of them considering the miles these cars usually do, but aside from them all pads, the rear discs, brake hoses, the brake fluid and all wear sensors are new now, with all calipers greased in the hope to get a lot more life out of them.

I've also adjusted the coilovers in the front now and double-checked the rears. Its now sitting much better without being exessively low, at least as good as I can do without all 4 wheels off the ground at the same time.

I think there's still something wrong with the rear suspension but I might have to deal with that when the ebay special Maxpeedingrods wear out and I replace them with the BCs I got stashed away. Considering I only paid 135 quid for them new they are currently proving to be surprisingly good though. We'll see how long that'll be the case.

I don't think most girls I dated in the past actually owned a car, or even had their license. One had a Nissan Note she received from her dad who was MOT tester that I drove a few times until it was replaced by an Xtrail I think.

My gf got a new Fiat 500 from new in 2016 which she still drives, close to 70k miles now. It almost grenaded its engine recently after losing most of its oil because the oil pan rusted out, typical Fiat quality. I attempted to get her into an E38 7-Series but that happened to be during the height of petrol prices a few years ago and she quickly wanted to get rid of it after seeing how much it was to fill the tank (completely ignoring the fact that the tank is probably twice as large). Maybe in a few years when the framerails have rotted out or something else breaks catastrophically.

Cheap Lincoln Towncar with bad paint and no MOT for £1650. Save it from the oval!

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/1000713378148562/?ref=search&referral_code=null&referral_story_type=post&tracking=browse_serp%3Af939f290-de2b-406e-8a77-3af8933c9b7f

3 hours ago, DVee8 said:

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/380053065025262

@Schaefft

22 minutes ago, GR8 PL8 M8 said:

I'm going to assume that the seller knows absolutely nothing about the car, considering that she thinks the dealer sticker is a model designation...

I'm wondering if the listed mileage is inaccurate as well, as 95000 km isn't exactly "extremely low".

@Schaefft how's the price for one of these that's been sitting for a decade?

That's the thing, the car isn't low mileage, neither is it necessarily worth 3 grand. I paid around 2k for my lower mileage Deville that didnt need much aside from bad cosmetics due to vandalism. I actually always wanted to try one of these fwd V8 Continentals, same engine as in my Mark VIIIs but transversely mounted and detuned to help the gearbox/with traction a little, not necessarily making it easier to work on either though. Maybe two grand on a good day depending on how well it runs and overall shape. I'm expecting a fairly rough car that was maintained somewhat half-heartedly by people who barely knew what they were doing on something like this. It's local though so bookmarked to see if the price drops in a few weeks!

Pretty much almost anything petrol post-2001 as long as it had competitive emissions standards back then. It's pretty much as easy as that. You can check it all online to be in the safe side but I could give 100 suggestions right now. Interesting cars being non-compliant and petrol after 2001 might be the bigger exception.

55 minutes ago, Cavcraft said:

Reminds me I forgot to add what Mercedes said about my 23 year old ML back in August:

 

Inspection notes: 

Difficult to start, requires investigation: £

Rear  brake pipes corroding: £ 

Play in both front bottom ball joints  inc. nuts £

Play in both rear bottom ball joints inc nuts and cable sleeves £

Play in offside front inner and outer track rod ends

Two tyres £

'Spare missing'  (assuming they mean the wheel, it isn't) £

 

Anyone want to guess the total?

 

3.5k plus vat

Weekend over, 250+ miles and almost exactly a tank later and the car did well without trouble aside from an annoying rattle from a heatshield with the top down. Pretty sure this was also the first time I drove over the Hardknott pass, which happened to be during a bicycle hillclimb type event...

A few driving impressions: Generally quite comfortable, the suspension and seats are definitely long-distance worthy. Noise levels are high with both the top up or down (naturally) at motorway speeds but the only comparable car I have ever driven was a 2-series convertible.

It handles well although I couldn't get even close to its limits with the gf in the passenger seat (constantly shouting slower SLOWER even at normal speed limits)😂. Tracking is quite easily affected by uneven road surfaces, much more than the usually much bigger cars I'm used to. That compactness really helps with the lake district's many one lane roads though.

Its not quite summer yet but with temperatures rising I'm definitely looking forward to some more top down motoring. Maybe I'll actually get the SL500 sorted and MOT'd in time to be able to compare the two.

9 hours ago, RetroShite said:

 

Picked this rather sad looking passat up today, quite uncommon being a GT with the 2.0 16v engine. Non runner at present.

 

Fortunately it came with another tailgate so swapped if over this afternoon.

 

 

Seems relatively solid and apparently ran when parked 16 years ago... Don't really have room for it so will see how long it stays.

A clean and polish would totally transform this one.

1 hour ago, brownnova said:

That Z3 is a good looking thing in black with those wheels… like it a lot… 

As I do pretty much everything on your fleet in all honesty.

It's a great spec which really makes it, just need a little bit of trim to make it look a little more upscale. I still don't get why these aren't more expensive, especially this exact car. I know there are a million 1.9l 4-cyl Z3 out there which I wouldn't recommend to anyone (although they can be pretty too in FL trim), hence prices for them generally being low. But the facelift really rectified a lot of shortcomings, the car looks more like a BMW-priced sports car, there are no narrow-body variants anymore and with the 2.8 or later 3.0 it goes appropriately as well.

These two were spotted while out and about today. Teal one was a late pre-fl 1.9, light blue one was a slightly rough looking facelift 2.0 i6 (looking at the Mot history proper rough...).

13 minutes ago, egg said:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/285804704618

All of them are crispy around the wheel arches or poorly repaired. Way too much considering what they usually sell for.

The Z3 is doing well so far. Neither CEL nor Airbag lights have come back.

The access to our Airbnb was half a mile of gravel roads/green lane so the car did a little bit of light offroading a few times.

In Penrith today. Early 2000s Roadster face-off. I know which one I'd rather have.

Very cheap JDM Toyota Gaia which is the sibling of the Picnic sold here. Looks very clean for 950 quid.

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/3698788890438004/

That sucks but you'll definitely get more than scrap money for it, no matter what, especially when it's still driving. It'll certainly break for more.

One for @83C, seen parked down an alley in Alnwick.

The Corona only made a brief appearance as its now switching storage spaces with the Z3, which is reawakened from its slumber over the winter. The Clubman isn't mine, neither is the Rover 200 convertible rotting away just outside the frame.

Today was actually the first time I could have a really close look at what I bought at Mathewsons back in October as the car went into storage not all that much later.

A wash was badly needed, even under a tarp the dust quickly built up.

So yeah, impressions are still very positive considering the silly low price I paid. There is a little bit of bubbling on the passenger front wing panel and outer sill. Since pretty much every exterior panel is bolt-on on the Z3 this should be a rather easy fix however, if I do anything about it at all for now. There's a scratch on the rear quarter and a few stonechips on the very large bonnet, other than that its really just very minor stuff for what is now a 25 year old car.

I've managed to clear the airbag light (driver seatbelt tensioner) and will keep an eye on any fault codes coming up over the next few days. The plan is to take the car out for a weekend in the Lake district tomorrow, plenty of time to get a little more familiar with it then! The cheap floormats will go in the bin once I got a proper OEM-like set. I want to replace the center console dials/shifter trim with the burl wood variant as well to brighten up the interior a little, if I can find a sensibly priced set for a facelift dash that is. The chromeline package helps a little but the less matte black plastic the better.

Its incredible to think that these were sold side by side in a BMW showroom back in late 2001/2002. With its E36 origins the Z3 feels easily more than a decade older inside, the E65 still feels somewhat fresh today.

Speaking of the E65 - the 18 quid pedal assembly actually fixed the limp home mode. It sucks that things appear to break all the time. At the same time parts are so plentiful and cheap that it almost doesn't matter. With the running issues sorted I was able to confirm that the windshield was sealing properly after all, no whistling sounds noticeable at any speed. That meant the A-pillar trims could go back on for one last time:

I've also had a moment to replace the bonnet badge. They are all prone to fading and its surprisingly hard to find a badge that's not clearly Chinese junk sold as OEM part, fake packaging and everything.

That's much better:

Still plenty of other things to sort but this was a satisfyingly easy improvement for once.

4 hours ago, busmansholiday said:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202404168715885

£350, Totnes, Devon.

 

Be quick.......

 

Not far from @HMC! I'd totally have this just to be able to say I owned a PT convertible.

8 minutes ago, Split_Pin said:

The options are on the bill of sale, you will know what those are without me even telling you though! I believe the wheels were a very expensive option.

Yeah, and with quite a few things standard in the UK (like leather) where you'd pay extra even for that back home it really is a nicely equipped car.

19 minutes ago, DirtyDaily said:

22 minutes ago, Schaefft said:

I can't contain my nerdiness and need to report that they aren't. Your's is Nordlicht Blau Perleffect (Aurora Blue Pearlescent) with a light tan interior which I forgot the name of. Great color combo.

Can't tell you have German roots

I researched the exact spec before I even got the car😂 A lot of the stuff is £££ if you were spec'ing the car when new.

3 hours ago, Split_Pin said:

Cheers Ronnie!

I think our cars are indeed the same colour!

I can't contain my nerdiness and need to report that they aren't. Your's is Nordlicht Blau Perleffect (Aurora Blue Pearlescent) with a light tan interior which I forgot the name of. Great color combo.

4 minutes ago, Rust Collector said:

One less gear as well I think!

I think the back end of the US spec ones looks better than the EU spec ones, and it doesn’t look bad in grey. I wonder if it’s ever been UK registered?

Yeah, I could sing a song about GM's half arsed export model homologation attempts, my euro-spec Caprice is similar, even the C5 Corvette got messed up with poorly integrated extra lights. Agree that it does look good though but pretty rough around the edges the closer you look.

Another obscure practical workhorse that already has a forum counterpart. I'd still love to try a Sigma but it would have to be a sedan for me. This one looks great but has been off the road for 17 years which usually means everything needs replacing. Probably could get it for much less than the already discounted 1k.

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/1461056707806946/

I always thought these pre-facelift LeBarons looked very sleek with their hidden headlights. It might not have any structural rigidity in convertible form but would you care while surrounded by this level of opulence?

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/917118929752829/

One Dustbuster van on Autoshite isn't enough so here's one with less color and less power:

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/917118929752829/