(weldathon prices?) Shitehunt continues- I can has...

[Luxobarges_Are_Us]

...first dibs on this example of Teutonic shite:

 

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/ ... 385515899/

 

Albert kinda put me off going to view that Omega (though I still might go and have a look), so I decided to look at autotrader again this morning...and came across the above. It's only in Wakefield so I just drove up the M1 to have a little look. I'll save you the good and bad points for now, and just say that the MOT is about to expire, and I have had a look at the failure sheet, which was showing the following:

 

- Nearside and offside coil springs fractured

- Nearside inner and front brake pipes corroded

- NSF subframe mounting area corroded

And something about the foot "handbrake" which I guess isn't that important.

 

The good news is that they were hoping to get that price before they took it in for an MOT, and are willing to be quite flexible on it...(plus they seem to be genuinely lovely people). Bearing in mind I am not Mr Boll and everything will have to be done by garages, how much do you reckon it'll cost to sort?

[mk1_4dr]

Without actually seeing the affected areas, it'll be impossible to cost for you. I'd say you'd need to spuff at least 200 on it to get a years ticket.

 

If you want a friendly help with having a look, I live in Wakey and Im not working after today until Thursday evening.

[Luxobarges_Are_Us]

  mk1_4dr said:

Without actually seeing the affected areas, it'll be impossible to cost for you. I'd say you'd need to spuff at least 200 on it to get a years ticket.

 

If you want a friendly help with having a look, I live in Wakey and Im not working after today until Thursday evening.

 

200 is good. They 've been quoted 500, so I guess 800-850 notes will take it off their hands. Thanks for the offer- PM me with your number and we can go and have a look tomorrow.

[mk1_4dr]

  Luxobarges_Are_Us said:

  mk1_4dr said:

Without actually seeing the affected areas, it'll be impossible to cost for you. I'd say you'd need to spuff at least 200 on it to get a years ticket.

 

If you want a friendly help with having a look, I live in Wakey and Im not working after today until Thursday evening.

 

200 is good. They 've been quoted 500, so I guess 800-850 notes will take it off their hands. Thanks for the offer- PM me with your number and we can go and have a look tomorrow.

 

But thats just it, if they've been quoted 5ton to do it, then it must be pretty grim underneath.

These things do seem to rot for fun, and if its a subframe mounting it could need major deconstruction to do it decently. Have you priced up springs? Did they give any clues what the problem with the handbrake is?

 

It could be a whole world of pain, but if you still fancy a gander I'll drop you a PM....

[Albert Ross]

There's me berating Omegas, and recommending W124s, and you find one with broken bloody springs!!

I prefer these pre-facelift ones, the grille looks right...

Front springs are about £35, rears about £50.

 

I think the fronts might be a REAL PITA to fit....

[Luxobarges_Are_Us]

  Albert Ross said:

There's me berating Omegas, and recommending W124s, and you find one with broken bloody springs!!

I prefer these pre-facelift ones, the grille looks right...

Front springs are about £35, rears about £50.

 

I think the fronts might be a REAL PITA to fit....

 

The problem is that LPG cars are quite rare, so my choices are pretty limited...In fact, the ideal scenario of a 20+ year old car (for classic insurance) with a semi-recent LPG conversion and half-decent ride quality is nigh-on impossible to come across (even if I'd be willing to forego little luxuries like cruise and aircon in exchange for the savings offered by classic insurance).

 

 

  mk1_4dr said:

But thats just it, if they've been quoted 5ton to do it, then it must be pretty grim underneath.

 

I think the garage may have been trying to make a few bob extra off'em. The car is owned by a guy who does know his stuff, but he's in Spain and his parents have to shift it. They are marvellous people, but not really well-versed in automotive matters.

[trigger]

If your looking at crap like that then you'd have been better of offering to buy Pete's HEEP.

[warren t claim]

To be honest they're all typical W124 failure points. Mines had all of those done over the last four years. None of it is too terminal and for the right money you'd end up with a nice car.

[Luxobarges_Are_Us]

  trigger said:

If your looking at crap like that then you'd have been better of offering to buy Pete's HEEP.

 

C'mon, it's a 20 year old car (one that comes with a ridiculously long history file). The 400 quid it'd save me on insurance would probably be more than enough to get it sorted and I'd doubtless be able to get something back when I sell it (unlike a Heep or a Pug, even if the latter would be my first choice if I could find one!).

 

New tyres, battery, perfect shocks, no visible rust, solid 'box, smooth multi-point LPG system...only needs that MOT work and a very good clean/tidying up of the interior. If it weren't povo spec, I would have probably driven it home already!

[Tayne]

.

[Guest Leonard Hatred]

I think the best thing to do is post a new thread every time you see a car you like.

[Luxobarges_Are_Us]

  Leonard Hatred said:

I think the best thing to do is post a new thread every time you see a car you like.

 

I'm planning to do just that! I've only ever owned under a dozen different models, and only driven about 50 (most of which are irrelevant to my current search), so I have no clue what to look for etc, and this forum is full of people who know their stuff about virtually every kind of shite in existence. Can you see anything wrong with that?

[Luxobarges_Are_Us]

  Tayne said:

  Luxobarges_Are_Us said:

New tyres, battery, perfect shocks, no visible rust, solid 'box, smooth multi-point LPG system...only needs that MOT work and a very good clean/tidying up of the interior. If it weren't povo spec, I would have probably driven it home already!

 

What's povo about it?

 

Subframe corrosion aside, it seems like a good buy.

 

The biggie is no aircon, and cruise is also missing. It also lacks a couple of other things that you'd take for granted in such a car, e.g. remote locking, but I'm not bothered about them. It does have leather, though.

[trigger]

Try using one thread to post you thoughts in?, I agree with Leonard on this one hence my slightly snoty post earlier in this thread,

[Luxobarges_Are_Us]

  trigger said:

Try using one thread to post you thoughts in?, I agree with Leonard on this one hence my slightly snoty post earlier in this thread,

 

Fair point, although, if you look at the thread titles, you'll see that I've been asking specific questions as opposed to just posting random thoughts.

[warren t claim]

I think aircon was a hideously expensive option on the W124. Even if it had it fitted it would probably need unobtainable gas to recharge it. Are you sure it has leather? MB Tex trim can fool a lot of people!

[Luxobarges_Are_Us]

  warren t claim said:

I think aircon was a hideously expensive option on the W124. Even if it had it fitted it would probably need unobtainable gas to recharge it. Are you sure it has leather? MB Tex trim can fool a lot of people!

 

ah, good point. I didn't check it that thoroughly, but it seemed to be a bit more worn than you'd expect from real leather.

 

I've had a quick look at the MB fora, and they say retrofitting aircon costs about 1600 quid!!

If it did have it, I'm pretty sure there is a way to swap from one to the other.

[warren t claim]

What engine has it got?

[Luxobarges_Are_Us]

2.3

[warren t claim]

  Luxobarges_Are_Us said:

2.3

I don't think the 2.3 motor suffers from wiring loom problems like the bigger engined 124s. I honestly think you need to look harder for wob in the front wings though. The foot operated parking brake is probably just an adjustment issue, they have a small drum in the back of each rear disc that needs a knurled wheel turning to take up the slack. I think the subframe mounts will just need a small amount of plate and electric glue to reinforce them, not the end of the world.

[Pete-M]

Hmm. The 2.3 isn't a wonderful engine, but there are plenty out there that seem to have covered plenty of miles.

 

The front coil springs are an absolute arsehole of a job to do on these. The springs are about half a mile long (13 coils on the last ones I did) and have to fit in a space about half their length. I broke two pairs of Snap-On coil spring compressors when I did mine. Absolute swines.

 

Auto boxes get very thumpy with age if not used regularly, the valve pack in the box can pack in causing the thump, but there's a 50/50 chance that there's a clutch pack or two on the way out. Check it engages reverse reasonably smoothly and that the idle speed isn't artificially high to stop it stalling when a gear is selected.

 

Discs, pads, anti-roll bar bushes are often dead on neglected ones.

 

Beware of rot. These can dissolve pretty spectacularly if neglected.

 

Diffs can be shonky on ones that have skipped services.

 

Steering boxes tend to have a fair bit of play (75mm at the rim is the MOT limit for something with a steering box), only measure the play with the wheels pointing straight ahead - if they're on lock there's tons of play even on half decent ones.

 

Listen for rattly water pump. If the pump is shafted and rattling, chances are it'll have HGF too. They run for ages (just losing a bit of water occasionally) before finally giving up big stylee. Check the header tank isn't pressurising massively.

 

Exhausts aren't cheap, and the back box is normally knackered.

[trigger]

If you want a LPG Merc then what about this one?, Seems a decent price, has MOT and also has the leather?.

 

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1994-Mercedes-Ben ... 2a0fbbc797

[Tayne]

.