Buying a banger...car help required.

[legrandefromage]

I had a few Mercedes W126 V8 saloons and coupes.

gold oil at 200,000 mile+

room in the boot for 4 dead bodies

25mpg from the early pre '85 5.0 V8 (taller gearing)

They are still cheap because people are frightened of them. Their only weakness seems to be rust, Lucas Ignition amplifier and ABS sensors in the brakes.

Timing chains go one forever but the followers wear. Puff of smoke is valve guides and relatively cheap to fix and lasts the life of you/ car.

£1k gets a goodun.

 

[Easy_Rider]

Cool as funk

 

[Harryburgundy]

Mmmm...V8...nice. Last one I had was a P6 Rover

 

[Easy_Rider]

Be careful of insurance groups on these old V8's most are 18-20 and if you haven't had insurance in the last 3 years then all our no claims bonuses are lost!

 

[legrandefromage]

Be careful of insurance groups on these old V8's most are 18-20 and if you haven't had insurance in the last 3 years then all our no claims bonuses are lost!

I used Bedford Insurance - 3rd party F&F was around £328 for the year for a 560 SEL whereas a C220 Esprit was £450. The insurers didnt know why the group 20 S-class was cheaper to insure than the group 12 C-class.

 

[Easy_Rider]

Insurance is a strange thing indeed. I remember my brother was annoyed when he first started driving, his mate down the road got cheaper insurance just because he had a favourable postcode!

 

[grahame]

Also, with a "banger" and a limited amount of driving each year, you may qualify for classic car insurance. Probably worth giving companies like Adrian Flux, and Footman James (or its parent company, Aon) a call for a quote.

 

[The Ken]

Better still just get a V8 P6 Rover - lovely cars, plenty space and fast enough, might want to pay a bit more than £600 for a good one though. But Zero road tax and cheap insurance.

http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C129287/

 

[legrandefromage]

Better still just get a V8 P6 Rover - lovely cars, plenty space and fast enough, might want to pay a bit more than £600 for a good one though. But Zero road tax and cheap insurance.

http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C129287/

Dion rear and inboard disks are not exactly the most practical and mantainence free.

Bolt on outer panels hide all sorts of horrors.

 

[Harryburgundy]

Mmmm...V8...nice. Last one I had was a P6 Rover

Yes..been there done that. Think it was an 'S' I had...good fun.