LUXOBARGE (sub5k) of the week/day

lomb · 23-03-2014 02:00PM

Went to view a CLS 5l week before last from done deal.
The( one )owner who paid around 100k for it . The front was crash damaged with the panel not lining up. He asked me what I saw and I said the panel didn't line up. He said he had rearended someone and shrugged. Every panel was dented and the rear bumper looked like it was touched up with a paint brush. Every alloy was scuffed. First service was at main dealer, second was at Atlas Tyre and Exhaust , one service (all 3 in 9 years) was at a small garage where it had ONE balljoint changed. Turning the steering wheel showed around half an inch of play before the wheel turned. It had in fairness passed an NCT recently so one can overlook that. Also the car wore matched premium tyres so that end was looked after.
When I looked at the exhaust they were black and it wasn't dirt or rust. Not being a diesel I suspected the engine was burning oil and asked him to rev it. He asked me what I expected to see. I said possibly smoke. He then said to me look at the area (posh part of Dublin) look at the type of man I am do you think it will be burning oil? This car has been babyied etc.
I told him Im only here to look to buy a car and needed him to rev it. So he sat in the car and revved it adding around 100 revs from idle. I stared at him and said sorry to waste your time and walked away :rolleyes:

Im on the hunt for a 500 or 560 SEC as a second car now due to road tax issues. I doubt I could enjoy paying 2k for a piece of paper and like my TT roadster just fine as my daily.

Voodoomelon · 23-03-2014 03:11PM

I enjoy reading stories like that, i'd laugh in his face about the area of Dublin bit. Pain in the ass all the same. Is it still on Done Deal?

Nforce · 23-03-2014 04:06PM

ArnieSilvia wrote: »

Went to buy this car last week

Seller wasn't honest about the car so I didn't proceed with buying.

Thanks for the feedback on that particular car. In fairness it is at the lower end of the purchase scale for that particular model and year. A mate of mine has had an Merc S500 for the last couple of years and it is a joy to travel in despite the not insignificant running costs. I've always preferred the XJ, though and need to scratch that Jaaaag itch.

lomb · 23-03-2014 04:18PM

Voodoomelon wrote: »

I enjoy reading stories like that, i'd laugh in his face about the area of Dublin bit. Pain in the ass all the same. Is it still on Done Deal?

What do you think? Don't wish to link directly.

ArnieSilvia · 23-03-2014 05:00PM

Nforce wrote: »

Thanks for the feedback on that particular car. In fairness it is at the lower end of the purchase scale for that particular model and year. A mate of mine has had an Merc S500 for the last couple of years and it is a joy to travel in despite the not insignificant running costs. I've always preferred the XJ, though and need to scratch that Jaaaag itch.

I know what you mean, it's cheap for what it is but for me it was a car that someone used up and wanted to offload for someone else to worry about. I don't buy unloved cars anymore.

Voodoomelon · 23-03-2014 05:50PM

lomb wrote: »

What do you think? Don't wish to link directly.

The pictures look purposely awful. But was certainly worth a look at that price.

Tigger · 23-03-2014 06:06PM

ArnieSilvia wrote: »

put some smart comment on it about computer geeks coming to view the car :pac: and to make sure his car is the last one you view.

done deal is only on computers?
idiot

rovoagho · 23-03-2014 06:48PM

I'm tempted to ring him and ask what a "computer head" is.

lomb · 23-03-2014 08:31PM

Tigger wrote: »

done deal is only on computers?
idiot

Those sort of cars seem to attract people who enjoy lording it over others. The sellers are the time wasters. To be honest I wouldn't NOW even turn the key on a car if it didn't look cared for -that includes dings/dents relative to year/prestige, service history money no object, general interior condition.

After that I would take it on a test drive looking for drivetrain/suspension /engine noises and issues, finally checking fluids and operation of all electrical items.

lomb · 23-03-2014 08:34PM

Voodoomelon wrote: »

The pictures look purposely awful. But was certainly worth a look at that price.

It isn't that cheap, after I viewed it he increased the price to 7900!!!! to annoy me I suspect or because he didn't wish to drop on 7500 but allowed nothing off in his calculation. Its now back to 7500. The other thing is the revenue VRT calculator lists the open market selling price as something like 5200 which is low when you think about it for a 05 500. I guess no one wants them for any money but that's that what it is. In the end it will probably get traded into the trade at around 5k who will spend around 800 getting the alloys refurbed and the body touched up and valeted and get sold on with with a '3 month engine and gearbox' warranty for 7.5 or 8 or exported.
Its certainly a massive drop on its new value but that's the vendors problem not the buyers who is buying sold as seen with no comeback or warranty so needs to carefully check everything.

ArnieSilvia · 23-03-2014 08:55PM

rovoagho wrote: »

I'm tempted to ring him and ask what a "computer head" is.

Oooh, his face when I pulled the laptop and hooked it up to OBD.
He asked me if I'm some engineer

lomb · 23-03-2014 09:07PM

ArnieSilvia wrote: »

Oooh, his face when I pulled the laptop and hooked it up to OBD.
He asked me if I'm some engineer

That's funny. I think you had made your mind up anyway before even plugging the laptop in so why have bothered? I can understand it as you travelled to see it so felt committed to investigate it.
I think the best thing to do is to walk away without turning the key if it looks like a dog unless the price allows it.
I think now if serious I wouldn't even bother starting it and would place a ballpark offer if they looked like a serious seller and would follow it up in one/ two weeks and then take it for a test drive. If problems arose then pull out of the sale then.

porsche959 · 23-03-2014 09:14PM

Sobanek wrote: »

http://cars.donedeal.ie/vintagecars-for-sale/bmw-e32-735il-/6610369
Classic barge. Love this shape 7ers. Asking €1,800, no mention of NCT though.

I've always loved the brutish elegance of these cars. One of my favourite BM's. Looks well cared for too.

porsche959 · 23-03-2014 09:16PM

lomb wrote: »

Went to view a CLS 5l week before last from done deal.
The( one )owner who paid around 100k for it . The front was crash damaged with the panel not lining up. He asked me what I saw and I said the panel didn't line up. He said he had rearended someone and shrugged. Every panel was dented and the rear bumper looked like it was touched up with a paint brush. Every alloy was scuffed. First service was at main dealer, second was at Atlas Tyre and Exhaust , one service (all 3 in 9 years) was at a small garage where it had ONE balljoint changed. Turning the steering wheel showed around half an inch of play before the wheel turned. It had in fairness passed an NCT recently so one can overlook that. Also the car wore matched premium tyres so that end was looked after.
When I looked at the exhaust they were black and it wasn't dirt or rust. Not being a diesel I suspected the engine was burning oil and asked him to rev it. He asked me what I expected to see. I said possibly smoke. He then said to me look at the area (posh part of Dublin) look at the type of man I am do you think it will be burning oil? This car has been babyied etc.
I told him Im only here to look to buy a car and needed him to rev it. So he sat in the car and revved it adding around 100 revs from idle. I stared at him and said sorry to waste your time and walked away :rolleyes:

Im on the hunt for a 500 or 560 SEC as a second car now due to road tax issues. I doubt I could enjoy paying 2k for a piece of paper and like my TT roadster just fine as my daily.

That is classic. Sounds like one of those types that bought a bunch of investment properties at the peak of the bubble and has refused to sell any of them because "I'm not going to accept any offers for less that what my properties are worth."

lomb · 23-03-2014 09:25PM

ArnieSilvia wrote: »

Went to buy this car last week

Seller wasn't honest about the car so I didn't proceed with buying.

On the phone I asked:

On the scale 1-10, 10 being brand new car in showroom what's the condition of bodywork and paint.
His answer was 8.5
Well, I read on pistonheads that there might be problem with paint due to alloy body not working well with its paint.
So on this car pretty much every panel had laquer peel plus scratches on bottom of doors, cracked shiny bits of trim on bumpers etc etc
Seller first thing opened the boot so I paid special attention to it and guess what, the edge at the window all corroded (as in old alloy wheels)
Small crash damage around front light, would have to be looked at (bodyshop/paint)

In essence, if you buy a car like that you'd want it to be presentable and this one was starting to look shabby. OK from 4 meters but not up close.

On the phone seller said 160k, 178k miles in fact
Seats showing signs of wear in line with mileage so I'd say it's genuine 178k if you care. He said "rear seats never been sat in" well questionable I'd say because they had brown hue (baby shyte/chocolate?) and presence of playstation wiring and dvd screen (very small, useless really) kinda show that there were kids involved.
Wood on the steering wheel and gear knob didn't match the dashboard (darker on the dash) but quite a few early ones 2003-2005 models have this "feature"
Small hole on passenger door card, bit of an eyesore thats all
Tyres need replacing and not the same, not a good sign
Car fresheners in the boot so probably damp there

I was driven in it and mechanically it was ok as far as I could tell, no funny noises, gearbox ok etc but I wasn't at the wheel myself so no idea about vibrations from steering/brakes. Power/performance ok but not staggering. It's a massive car and it takes a lot space to turn it around.

In the end I hooked my autocom cdp+ interface but it didn't have much diagnostics on this model (usually it runs through all car's systems such as abs, aircon, lights etc etc, there was no OBDII (engine) related errors.

In the end the diagnostics was a deal breaker. I was a bit disappointed that I couldn't run through all systems. If I could tell that apart from bodywork everything else is fine then yeah, why not. It looks the part, drives like tank and has that sense of occasion when you're in it. In this particular case I walked away. Seller lied and there could be other issues that I couldn't see so it was too much risk for me. I told him that I want to view one more car (which was true).

Afterwards, the owner was piss_d off that I didn't take it (he thought that I'll say "yeah, lovely") and changed the price on ad plus put some smart comment on it about computer geeks coming to view the car :pac: and to make sure his car is the last one you view.

Ive offered him 2k cash by text for it. Id actually consider taking it for that subject to a test drive. It still has a months tax on it so drive it for a few months 3? and export it for sale at auction in the North.

ArnieSilvia · 24-03-2014 09:51AM

lomb wrote: »

Ive offered him 2k cash by text for it. Id actually consider taking it for that subject to a test drive. It still has a months tax on it so drive it for a few months 3? and export it for sale at auction in the North.

I could look past the bodywork (can be resprayed after all) and mileage (car still felt ok, or like a clocked one with 120k on it), but the fact I won't be able to check its electronic systems and fix it myself with my gear if need be wasn't a good prospect.

Don't take me wrong with the diagnostics, wasn't wasting his time. I was the one who wasted 1.5 hours driving and petrol to get there. I took my time to check it because it's a complex car and without access to car's systems you can't really tell anything these days. It's as important as body/engine/box/suspension check.
Or look at it from my experience. Bought a citroen c3 for local runs, running well, nct, clean enough, no issues found on test drive. Took it on motorway and electronic power steering stopped working. Going into limp home at 90-100km/h. I spent 350 euro in garages (because I didn't feel competent with canbus electronics), 250 euro on parts that I was told to fit that didn't fix the problem after which I bought myself a lexia interface (dealer level diagnostics) and scratched my head thinking how stupid those "specialists" were. Global test revealed most stuff in RED. Took wiring diagrams found where all these signals go and fixed it. All in 6 months worth of worrying about. Would I buy it if I had known? No f..n way!

That jag - 2k is all it's worth IMO as well. Needs paint, sorting out the bodywork, cleaning the seats, tyres. By the time you get there it'll be 4.5k and in the end of the day it'll still be a 03 car with 178k. I might as well get something else and get a proper clean, low mileage xj in few years.

lomb · 24-03-2014 01:04PM

Exactly, its basically scrap . It deserves scrap money. Now no one is going to sell for that but that is all its worth. If you want a 'real' one youd buy that light blue one in the North(after checking it out) with 116k on it.
If I spent 2 , I wouldnt put another penny into it if I could help it. A 45 minute test drive after agreeing the figure and showing the cash is probably a good idea to show up any issues on this complex cars (that applies to S classes, 7 series as well as many other machines most probably)
I like VAG cars as the diagnostics are easy with the VAG tool and laptop. The problem with Merc is you need Star which costs who knows, same with Jag I wouldnt know where to start.

He hasnt replyed to my text as he wants to be in control and doesnt want me to be. Tough ****e the customer is king at the end of the day with the cash. A good businessman would reply politely that he could accept no lower than 3 but would see what could be done if you came down and had a look and it was a really good car. A willing buyer might then even part with 2800 say after he sweetened the deal. Good luck with that general attitude though hes going to need it.

lomb · 24-03-2014 01:10PM

ArnieSilvia wrote: »

I could look past the bodywork (can be resprayed after all) and mileage (car still felt ok, or like a clocked one with 120k on it), but the fact I won't be able to check its electronic systems and fix it myself with my gear if need be wasn't a good prospect.

Don't take me wrong with the diagnostics, wasn't wasting his time. I was the one who wasted 1.5 hours driving and petrol to get there. I took my time to check it because it's a complex car and without access to car's systems you can't really tell anything these days. It's as important as body/engine/box/suspension check.
Or look at it from my experience. Bought a citroen c3 for local runs, running well, nct, clean enough, no issues found on test drive. Took it on motorway and electronic power steering stopped working. Going into limp home at 90-100km/h. I spent 350 euro in garages (because I didn't feel competent with canbus electronics), 250 euro on parts that I was told to fit that didn't fix the problem after which I bought myself a lexia interface (dealer level diagnostics) and scratched my head thinking how stupid those "specialists" were. Global test revealed most stuff in RED. Took wiring diagrams found where all these signals go and fixed it. All in 6 months worth of worrying about. Would I buy it if I had known? No f..n way!

That jag - 2k is all it's worth IMO as well. Needs paint, sorting out the bodywork, cleaning the seats, tyres. By the time you get there it'll be 4.5k and in the end of the day it'll still be a 03 car with 178k. I might as well get something else and get a proper clean, low mileage xj in few years.

What was wrong with the Citroen in the end, was it the power steering rack? How much did it all cost to fix? How much for the interface?

ArnieSilvia · 24-03-2014 03:59PM

lomb wrote: »

What was wrong with the Citroen in the end, was it the power steering rack? How much did it all cost to fix? How much for the interface?

It was two traces SLIGHTLY corroded on an electronics board which compromised communication. 60 euro.

Interface 120 euro plus lots of browsing to get soft going, not easy.
In retrospective I think it would have been a great buy if I didn't use "specialists". Previous owner had new motor fitted, ABS, ABS sensors, p/s ECU, new bearings, wiring checked etc etc. Clowns throwing parts into it were at it. I didn't put a penny into it afterwards incl 2 NCT's (apart from new headlights)

Nforce · 24-03-2014 07:38PM

lomb wrote: »

Exactly, its basically scrap . It deserves scrap money. Now no one is going to sell for that but that is all its worth. If you want a 'real' one youd buy that light blue one in the North(after checking it out) with 116k on it.
If I spent 2 , I wouldnt put another penny into it if I could help it. A 45 minute test drive after agreeing the figure and showing the cash is probably a good idea to show up any issues on this complex cars (that applies to S classes, 7 series as well as many other machines most probably)
I like VAG cars as the diagnostics are easy with the VAG tool and laptop. The problem with Merc is you need Star which costs who knows, same with Jag I wouldnt know where to start.

He hasnt replyed to my text as he wants to be in control and doesnt want me to be. Tough ****e the customer is king at the end of the day with the cash. A good businessman would reply politely that he could accept no lower than 3 but would see what could be done if you came down and had a look and it was a really good car. A willing buyer might then even part with 2800 say after he sweetened the deal. Good luck with that general attitude though hes going to need it.

The car was up for 2850 when I posted it,iirc. He bumped up the price soon afterwards.

mickyellow · 25-03-2014 03:16PM

I'd love to pull up to work in this monster and take up about 4 parking spaces

http://cars.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/monster-truck-road-legal/5831512

jimgoose · 25-03-2014 03:20PM

mickyellow wrote: »

I'd love to pull up to work in this monster and take up about 4 parking spaces

http://cars.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/monster-truck-road-legal/5831512

That is not a Monster Truck, that is a little metrosexual 4x4 in a pair of engineer's boots. A monster truck has a supercharged V8 dragster engine on nitromethane, and looks like this:

daRobot · 25-03-2014 04:45PM

wow, the two guys who have posted up their experience have really encountered 'Irish' car sellers. As in flat out liars, and full of batsh*t odd behaviour.

I assume he's referring to ArnieSilva as mr computer, due to you bringing an OBD scanner. While that's not exactly typical of the average consumer (it should be though), his reaction of trying to mock you for not buying his heap, and then raising the price is just comical.

But not as comical as that guy saying "Look at the type of man I am". The type of man who takes his CLS500 for a service in Atlas, right?

I think I'm going to start viewing cars with the intention of getting material for a 'Savage Eye' style sketch show :pac:

ArnieSilvia · 25-03-2014 08:55PM

Another good one today. Not a Luxobarge but hey, while we're at it

Some lady rang me that she wants to buy my wife's car but ideally she'd prefer trade in hers (same car, year) with fault (engine randomly losing power) because she spent "fortune" fixing it and it isn't fixed but I might know how to fix it.

I told her that I'm not in a position to sell now as my other car got stolen last weekend and I want to buy a Jaaaag first.

I volunteered to help her out as she seemed to be genuine and local.

It was meant to be a mint car with 40k miles on it (her words).

So I went, her car was an absolute heap of shyte, dented, pieces of external trim off etc. I couldn't force myself to sit inside, smell was disgusting. Looked like it was never cleaned, spilled coffee on the dash, layer of muck on the body and so on.

Anyway, told her what the problem was and promptly went home.

People are just unrealistic. She said that she thinks it's worth 2.5k while it was worth max 500 (can't sell my car which is identical and in pretty good condition, clean, nct and all for 1.2k) Oh and she thought I'll give her cash with the swap because her car has low miles:rolleyes:

Kaiser D · 25-03-2014 09:22PM

What was the car!?

And what was her response to you not taking it?

Clungewellies · 27-03-2014 06:01PM

Alanstrainor wrote: »

How in the name of Jaysis did a car like that, with that engine end up registered in this country. Madness! Saw a silver vel satis on the motorway over the weekend and thought it looked class though.

This was previously my families car since new, have to say its an absolute rocket and is quite fond of a drink. Wouldn't be as sensible as a daysul although :pac:

Kaiser D · 28-03-2014 11:42PM

http://cars.donedeal.ie/vintagecars-for-sale/jaguar-xj-3-2-2002-nct-2-15-may-swap/6004705

Slowly falling into bangernomics territory..

ninty9er · 29-03-2014 02:53PM

I was browsing for a Corsa OPC and came across this

http://adverts.ie/4984766

daRobot · 29-03-2014 03:30PM

V10 Phaeton £4,350 asking:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VOLKSWAGEN-PHAETON-5-0TDI-V10-4MOITION-AUTO-LIMO-2005-53-/181326280316?pt=Automobiles_UK&hash=item2a37e3767c

VRT is 2k.

Quite a chunk of car for that money.

lomb · 29-03-2014 04:02PM

daRobot wrote: »

V10 Phaeton £4,350 asking:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VOLKSWAGEN-PHAETON-5-0TDI-V10-4MOITION-AUTO-LIMO-2005-53-/181326280316?pt=Automobiles_UK&hash=item2a37e3767c

VRT is 2k.

Quite a chunk of car for that money.

Very few will pay 7500e imported inc shipping for an overgrown Passat though. Also a v10 5l diesel is a bit of a contradiction in terms. Still I wouldn't mind a shot of it. A friend drove a v10 tdi Touareg and loved it.

LUXOBARGE (sub5k) of the week/day

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