I'm really not very good at this...

[wuvvum]

Operation Fleet Reduction is still having some rather mixed results. The chap who bought the CX is in Ireland so wanted to pay by Paypal, which I reluctantly accepted. When the money came in, it turned out that I could only transfer £500 of it to my bank account, unless I wanted to go through some rigmarole to get "verified" - that wasn't an option given that as far as I'm concerned the less I have to do with Paypal the better. So this left some money sitting in my Paypal account which could only really be used to buy something off eBay.

 

So I went on there the other night looking for something cheap and local which I could pay for with Paypal and pick up quickly, ideally something small, economical and reliable that I could sell on easily. Which is how I ended up the proud owner of a 51-plate Laguna 3.0 V6 Initiale automatic. Whoops.

 

 

 

 

It's an absolute top of the range car, with pretty much every gizmo Renault could think of to throw at it. I picked it up from Lowestoft last night after work, and it drove like a bag of shit, missfiring like buggery at low revs and popping and backfiring at random intervals. I dumped it at my garage in Norwich in disgust and drove the rest of the way home in the Rover. I went back to it this morning to run it up to my mate's so he could plug his code reader in, and it started and ran beautifully. The code reader helpfully came up with "generic multi-cylinder missfire" (well duh), so he cleared the code and the car seemed happy enough and has been running fine since. Fingers crossed it was just being temperamental due to being sat for a while and being fugging low on fuel when I picked it up.

 

It really is ridiculously well equipped, and a surprising number of the gadgets still work. The buttons on the key card still lock and unlock the car (which is an improvement over my last Laguna), cruise control works, Xenons work, electric memory seats work, sunroof works, power folding mirrors work, heater works, trip computer works. Only things I've found so far that don't are the front door windows (seller has glued a perspex block to the driver's window to enable it to be raised and lowered manually, just like my old A35 ), the gearbox won't go into tiptronic mode (gear lever won't physically move over), and the map on the built-in sat nav seems stuck somewhere near Southend - it's picking up a satellite signal though as there's a box in the top right corner telling me how far I am from where the map is showing. Even three out of the four tyre pressure sensors still work. The gearbox is a five-speed auto with an adaptive feature which is supposed to change the shift patterns to suit your driving style - I'm not convinced as yet.

 

It is a Renault auto box, though, and it's done 102,000 miles, so I suppose the fact that it's still transmitting drive at all is a minor miracle. And to give it its due, the car is fugging fast. Grips well, too, although the ride is more jiggly than I was expecting - probably due at least in part to the silly big alloys with 225/45 ZR 17 tyres. Anyway, at the moment I quite like the old crate, which is probably a good thing as I don't think it's going to be the easiest car in the world to sell. I've decided I'm going to flog the Primera, though, so if Marham ever happens I might take the Laguna round and see how the gearbox copes with several hours of thrashing...

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

Yay! Laguna II!

 

(seller has glued a perspex block to the driver's window to enable it to be raised and lowered manually, just like my old A35)

...or a slam door train!

[skattrd]

That's a bargain Wuvvum, and it'll easily break to get more than your money back should it end up being a bit of an arse.

 

Those things are silly cheap atm though ... I may end up buying one to use the engine in my (yet again) broken GTA. It would prob work out cheaper than replacing 2 head gaskets on the PRV lump.

[25v6turbo]

Thats a lot of Laguna for the money,i would only buy an Initiale V6 myself,window regs are common,the misfire will be coils,6 of theses on there and hope it isn,t a rear bank as its a bit of a pain...

Keycard working on both opening/closing is rare!

Rear suspension bushes are very common to fail,the engine/box is a great unit,aisan warner box and the fantastic L7X engine is a dream.

Nice buy hope it serves you well,the rear spolier was an option.

[dollywobbler]

Blimey. Must be the season for V6 Laguna acquisitions seeing as R9UKE has got one too. Quite tempting I must admit (though too new for me really!).

[Cavcraft]

 

I'll give you your due, Wuvv, you are absolutely fucking MINT at buying random stuff for random reasons.

[25v6turbo]

The Late phase 1 V6s are still going strong...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/RENAULT-LAGUN ... 3a737a1fd4

Only a few miles from me aswell,manuals are nice cars to drive.

[eddyramrod]

That's my kind of fleet-reduction! Well done sir, you and Luke will have to park together at Shitefest now...

[hairnet]

saturday surprise

 

'ooh sold one must buy another'

[Ross_K]

The chap who bought the CX is in Ireland so wanted to pay by Paypal, which I reluctantly accepted. When the money came in, it turned out that I could only transfer £500 of it to my bank account, unless I wanted to go through some rigmarole to get "verified" - that wasn't an option given that as far as I'm concerned the less I have to do with Paypal the better. So this left some money sitting in my Paypal account which could only really be used to buy something off eBay.

 

I would have told him to GTF.

 

You must have been ass-raped on the Paypal charges on that amount of money.

[Negative Creep]

The chap who bought the CX is in Ireland so wanted to pay by Paypal, which I reluctantly accepted. When the money came in, it turned out that I could only transfer £500 of it to my bank account, unless I wanted to go through some rigmarole to get "verified" - that wasn't an option given that as far as I'm concerned the less I have to do with Paypal the better. So this left some money sitting in my Paypal account which could only really be used to buy something off eBay.

 

I would have told him to GTF.

 

You must have been ass-raped on the Paypal charges on that amount of money.

 

Not to mention he can cancel the transaction and claim his money back. I nearly got caught out by this when the payment bounced, but thankfully the guy was honest and paid again. Never ever ever accept paypal for a car

[wuvvum]

The chap who bought the CX is in Ireland so wanted to pay by Paypal, which I reluctantly accepted. When the money came in, it turned out that I could only transfer £500 of it to my bank account, unless I wanted to go through some rigmarole to get "verified" - that wasn't an option given that as far as I'm concerned the less I have to do with Paypal the better. So this left some money sitting in my Paypal account which could only really be used to buy something off eBay.

 

I would have told him to GTF.

 

You must have been ass-raped on the Paypal charges on that amount of money.

 

Not to mention he can cancel the transaction and claim his money back. I nearly got caught out by this when the payment bounced, but thankfully the guy was honest and paid again. Never ever ever accept paypal for a car

That's why I've emptied all the money out of my Paypal account - most of it's safely in the bank, the rest is (relatively) safely in the Laguna. Paypal can't get to either. It's over a week now since he paid and there's no sign of anything bouncing. Plus the Paypal "I'm claiming my money back because I didn't receive the item" bollocks doesn't work for vehicle purchases. The only way it could backfire is if he funded the Paypal payment from a credit card and tries to do a chargeback, but I don't think that'll happen - for one thing, credit card companies don't automatically take the buyer's side like Paypal do. And I still have the car for the moment as well - not heard anything yet from the transport firm that's supposed to be picking it up.

 

And yes, I did get bumraped in Paypal fees, but the car made more than my reserve so I can't complain too much about that aspect.

[Lord Sterling]

 

Funnily enough I seem to have a set of rear floor mats for a Renault, same style as the front ones in your car, not exactly which model Renault they are supposed to be for though. Got given them a fair few years back.

 

Dont think I've tried a V6 Laguna yet, the Diesel ones I drove did shift though.

[scooters]

Welcome back my son...we always knew that your crisis in faith would be temporary and you would be brought back to the path if shitechesness once again! halleluia brother! Praise the chod...all you needed was a few bob in your paypalled account and an itchy mouse finger...the path of the shitter is full of shite ...etc.....