Money-pit purchase (605) latest- GIMME YOUR VIEWS

[Luxobarges_Are_Us]

I hope you weren't planning on getting the Eurostar back. LPG cars are banned from using it. Does the UK use the same LPG connector as the rest of Europe?

 

Eurostar's too expensive, so I wouldn't take it even if it allowed LPG.

As for connectors, I think there are 3-4 types of them, and it depends on the installation kit and/or design as opposed to the country. A few years ago, I was having a car serviced by an LPG garage in Derbyshire, and they gave me an eggshell-bumper Mondeo (RHD, UK plates) as a courtesy car, and that required an adaptor for some reason. In any event, there's no shortage of adaptors on e-bay and such (famous last words...).

 

Having said all that, I haven't agreed to buy it yet. It's not cheap, and most repairs on a large, rare car are obviously going to be on the expensive side, so I will be going over it as carefully as I possibly can and bargain really hard (or even walk out) if I spot anything I don't like apart from the couple of faults he's mentioned on the advert.

[gtd2000]

SE Asia? So you only drive Protons, or what?

 

In my experience, the only "potential problem" with a Hyundai is the fact that you will get bored with never having to do anything to it. After an encounter with a speedbump, me old Sonata ran for 3 months without any oil in the gearbox (by the time I noticed it, the damage had been done ), and could still be driven to the local shite auctions when it finally lost 3rd gear and I got fed up with it.

 

Once you do get bored with it, you get the other problem, that you can't really sell it on because "they haven't got the right badge, innit".

 

I have to admit I've owned a couple of Protons, both very reliable if somewhat basic transport.

 

Getting "bored" with never having to do anything to car is essentially what I expect from a Japanese or Korean car at the end of the day.

 

The Koreans (IMNSHO) are fast catching up with the Japanese (for reliability) but I have had more issues with Korean cars than Japanese brands to be quite objective.

 

The XG30 appears to be a car that can rack up loads of miles without any issues or can suffer from various costly electrical issues, even amongst pampered low mileage one owner examples, which I wouldn't have anticipated at all until I did a spot of research.

 

Fortunately, I'm very much into the inverted snobbery mindset when driving cars that I'm paying for, so that badge situation is great for me

 

Many of my cars end up in the hands of mates who have known that the car has been very reliable in my care and compare that to whatever Euroshite they have been driving around in (which hasn't been so reliable) and come to the conclusion that Asianshite is a very sensible choice at the end of the day.

[scooters]

although his e-mail sig is "Envoyé de mon iPhone", so he doesn't really seem to be a great shite-person

 

Don't be so sure - there's probably an 'Automerde' site in a parellel universe.

 

"Mons. Bollox" - Je viens de voir un Land Crab 1974 sur l'anglais Ebay. J'ai une érection massive.

 

"Le Révérend jeans bleu" - aller acheter le bougre, mais prenez votre guide lunettes!

 

 

 

j'ai lancai mon creme anglais d'amour sur mon ordinator!

 

merde!

[Luxobarges_Are_Us]

Reporting live from Mons, Belgium. A not-to-be-missed shite holiday destination, this country is (surprisingly) a complete shitefest.

 

Shite climate: today must've been the best, most summery day in years- the clouds are only dark grey and the temperature has reached the heady heights of 21 degrees. Loads of people eating and drinking in the Grand Place- I assume the bars have a mechanism to bring everyone in at the drop of a hat, as it looks like it's going to rain anytime soon.

 

Shite trains: I'm not really a train person, but this is epic grade shite. The intercity that brought me here from Brussels (admittedly on-time and quite quick) had non-airconditioned carriages with dark brown bench seats and yellow/beige "headlining" panels. Even the train from the airport to the city centre (also an intercity on a main route) was non-aircon and had some ancient (although not brown) seats. Sorry, no pics as they were quite busy and I didn't want people to think I'm stalking them or whatever.

 

Autoshite: In the 12-minute walk from the train station to the hotel, I came across a decent number of old chod, including a mint facelift Croma (I'm going to try and take a pic of that tonight). It also appears that there are about 14972397 numberplate styles, plus a number of foreign cars (in that same walk I saw a Greek-plated Shitroen C2 and a UK-plate Insignia!) so it would be extra fun for the plate buffs amongst you.

 

Tomorrow is the big day...wish me luck!

[Mr_Bo11ox]

Nice work Lazarus!!!!!

[Luxobarges_Are_Us]

Just seen the car and I've provisionally walked away. As suspected, the seller is a good lad, but totally bloody clueless about cars and stuff. It's a decent motah, but not without its faults.

 

Good bits:

- Two owners- the current one and his grandfather.

- There's plenty of history (although the dipstick+oil filler cap haven't been renewed!)

- The LPG installation is top quality stuff, homologated in both French and English.

- The interior is positively marvellous (aside from the fact that a tiny bit of the headlining is somewhat loose).

- The "cardan" noise isn't that bad at all

- Absolutely no rust. I doubt I've ever seen better wheelarches on a 20+ year old car that hasn't had any welding.

 

Bad bits:

 

- The 'box shifts alright, but there is no history whatsoever of the ATF ever being changed (we're at 240+k km)

- The airconditioning is lunched. He said he regassed a couple of years ago, but it's clearly not willing to play ball. Even the ventilation fan only works about 20% of the time (good job he had specifically confirmed that the aircon works!)

- The paint is flatter than a Pepsi Max I had forgotten open for 3 months, and the right-hand side is full of scratches

- The "broken speedo cable" turns out to be a mystery bit of electronics that influences everything from the trip meter to the temp gauge (warning lights seem to work tho).

- There is no history for LPG servicing, it's something ideally done every year- he says he had it done when he got it from his grandfather in 2008.

- He's had offers for 1300 Euros cash, so isn't going to be very flexible with the price. Moreover, he isn't willing to have a garage look at sorting any bits with a view to picking it up at a later date, because he doesn't "have time".

 

What would you do?

[maxpower]

to save it being a wasted journey i would have a butcher's to see if there is any other shite for sale near your location... but i would walk away from the 605... is he frightened what a a garage would find???

it looks that way

[Rod/b]

So, it's a tatty, big French white elephant that has high miles, not much history and faults. Unless you're a masochist, have endless supplies of money or can do all the work yourself including making the spares, i'd suggest leaving well alone.

[Luxobarges_Are_Us]

So, it's a tatty, big French white elephant that has high miles, not much history and faults. Unless you're a masochist, have endless supplies of money or can do all the work yourself including making the spares, i'd suggest leaving well alone.

 

Surprisingly, spares aren't a problem. The amount of stuff the seller has got is amazing- could have issues fitting it all in the car! History again is decent (plenty of services where they cared enough to change brake fluid, coolant etc), but the ATF issue is alarming.

However, even with the parts thrown in, I'm thinking that it's a lot of money to spend on a car that still needs a fair bit of work...

[garethj]

As said, don’t make it a wasted journey. Bring back a Peugeot 504 pickup, towing another 504 pickup with a 504 pickup in the back. Advertise on ebay and sell to Africa for ££££££

 

If this big Pug doesn’t work out, I reckon you’ll have spent quite a bit and end up with a pile of spares that’ll take years to shift on.

[Luxobarges_Are_Us]

As said, don’t make it a wasted journey. Bring back a Peugeot 504 pickup, towing another 504 pickup with a 504 pickup in the back. Advertise on ebay and sell to Africa for ££££££

 

I did have a look on leboncoin, but didn't find much. What I'll do is buy a round-trip ticket (I don't really fancy flying flymaybe again, though I guess they are infinitely better than Easydeath, and Air Farce actually charge more for a return than an one-way), combine it with a later trip to Prague and come back at the end of the month with more time at my disposal.

 

As for 504s, apart from Nigeria and Kenya, everything else is French-speaking, and they've all been exported years ago...

[trigger]

x2 on buying some other shite, Have a good hunt on ebay and a few other sites (vwpowered is the one to ask as he's a ex pat who lives over there.) and bring something else back

[dieselnutjob]

if the ATF fluid is clean and doesn't smell burnt then maybe it's okay

in fact if it's clean it would suggest it's been changed

if it changes gear okay then it suggests that the autobox is working okay

I have a factory Peugeot diagnostic tool if it helps but I am in the southeast and I won't let it out of my sight.

[Luxobarges_Are_Us]

if the ATF fluid is clean and doesn't smell burnt then maybe it's okay

in fact if it's clean it would suggest it's been changed

if it changes gear okay then it suggests that the autobox is working okay

I have a factory Peugeot diagnostic tool if it helps but I am in the southeast and I won't let it out of my sight.

 

What do you reckon about everything else? Would you walk away like I am doing, or would you consider it seriously?

[Cavcraft]

Walk away and put it down to experience. The very fact he 'doesn't have time to take it to a garage' tells you all you need to know.

[Richard]

I don't think any of the bad bits sound like dealbreakers.

[Luxobarges_Are_Us]

Sure, they aren't the end of the world, but I think it starts getting salty. I offered him 1100 "as is" or 1400 with the aircon and joint sorted (the parts he's got include both a joint and a ventilation fan, so it would just be a quick bodge by his local mechie...however, it probably wouldn't make much difference in the case of the aircon) but he refused.

[Guest Leonard Hatred]

Do you need a car to drive back in?

It sounds quite good for an ancient Peugeot, 1300 euros is quite expensive by UK standards but the used car market is different over there.

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

I'd walk. Let him take a 1300 Euro offer from Le Timewasteur Grande - he'll still have it in 3 months. My feeling is that a 605, whilst interesting and meritous weapons grade shite, needs to be cheap - I mean, that's the whole point. If you found a 605 V6 Auto in a UK auction house, the fees would be more than the car because they aren't worth a wank.

 

It's difficult to know what to do in your situation, but I wouldn't entertain this one. Not even at 1100 Euros.

[revolting peasant]

[pompei]

You've shown good faith in going out there - it's hardly a case of bowling round the corner - and he's being difficult. If I was in this seller's position, I'd be going through hoops to get it right and do a deal. The fact he isn't looks pretty poor from where I'm standing.

[Volksy]

Walk away, straight into the WIN from this... Take a duster though.. What can possibly go wrong!

 

You did want a white elephant!

 

http://www.leboncoin.fr/voitures/188196772.htm?ca=17_s

 

[Rod/b]

God look at the interior on that Tagora! That's SPACE AGE that is.

[Mr_Bo11ox]

WOW that is mega.

 

Get on it at once Luxo! Its in the '62' as well - ask the 605 lad to give you a lift over to the Tagora.

[hairnet]

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1997-PEUGEOT-605- ... 0782814781

 

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/RARE-1997-PEUGEOT ... 0619159036

 

jump up and down on the last one..........*******

 

offer him neuf cent and he say non - walk

[Guest]

SCTSH_ANDY has had two 605s. He says to avoid the 24 valve V6s because they're 'pish'. Apparently there's some oilway issues with them. He prefers the 12v Douvrins. His was £120 from a bloke in Somerset and he never had any trouble with it.

 

I can tell him you're after one if you want - I think they're a great purchase but would probably plump for a late two-one oil burner. The electrics got better on the 605s as time went on, much like the XMs. Our neighbours in the unit across are also daft about Peugeots - 205 and 309 GTIs mostly - but they get offered lots of French tat. Dave told me a 104ZS got weighed in recently because no one he knew wanted it.

 

Having met me, he now knows different.

[Volksy]

Or this...

 

http://www.leboncoin.fr/voitures/200348051.htm?ca=17_s

 

 

In fact, almost anything from this list....

 

http://www.leboncoin.fr/voitures/offres ... 60&re=1985

[Guest Leonard Hatred]

http://www.leboncoin.fr/voitures/193671729.htm?ca=17_s

 

✓LPG

✓Better ride quality than a Honda Accord

[dieselnutjob]

if the ATF fluid is clean and doesn't smell burnt then maybe it's okay

in fact if it's clean it would suggest it's been changed

if it changes gear okay then it suggests that the autobox is working okay

I have a factory Peugeot diagnostic tool if it helps but I am in the southeast and I won't let it out of my sight.

 

What do you reckon about everything else? Would you walk away like I am doing, or would you consider it seriously?

 

The aircon sounds the expensive problem rather than the transmission. Only you can decide. I suppose that the LPG makes it a bit rare but they'll always be something else.

[dollywobbler]

Good grief Volksy. There's some absolute filth there! That shabby Panhard is to die for. Or the six-pot SD1. Or the 204 Coupe. Or the gorgeous Fiat Ritmo. TOO MUCH INPUT!