[Closed] I've joined the bangernomics brigade!

photo please.

Age ? (beemer not your good self)

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Bangernomics? Spending over a grand? No! 😀

More importantly..... How fast is it?

Sorry Binners, I did have a grand in mind, but this just seemed too good!

Pics here, and full details!

http://www.churchgarage.biz/used-cars/bmw-5-series-2-5-523i-se-touring-5dr-southampton-201506244614296

VERY nice.

Should be good for the thick end of 140mph (on private roads or the unrestricted autobahn, naturally!)

MPG should be ok - my car is listed on Autotrader at 28 and it will usually do 32 on a run (but 28 is average) - I think Autotrader's figures are pretty accurate. I have seen 37 - but that was a rather slow but steady trip! I don't tow anything with mine, though.

I used to live just around the corner from that garage - it was a Hyundai dealer then! Things have clearly changed for the better...

Hope you enjoy your purchase! Would be envious if I didn't love mine so much 🙂

Should be good for the thick end of 140mph

Don't think it's quite that swift, 178bhp iirc (we had a V reg saloon) but fast enough. However, who gives a shit about performance when it's got a sweet tape deck and sat nav like that!?

Cream leather interior. Good work!!! 🙂

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Enjoy!!!!

My recent bangernomics purchase is an 800 quid mark 4 Golf GTI 1.8t, with bloody big fat, daft alloys, which is bloody great fun. Though I suspect I'm going to have to put budget aside for front tyres 😀

I had an e30 with that engine; think it was 171bhp.

Wasn't savagely fast, but deceptively fast!

Funny, only today I spotted an S reg prelude and noticed how respectable it looked, despite it's age, and wondered what other cars could match that. From the top of my head Volvo & BMW estates sprang to mind.

Enjoy & may the bangernomic gods be with you.

legend - Member
Should be good for the thick end of 140mph
Don't think it's quite that swift, 178bhp iirc (we had a V reg saloon) but fast enough. However, who gives a shit about performance when it's got a sweet tape deck and sat nav like that!?

Autotrader lists the 2.5l at 146... But as you say it's about the style and the way you arrive, not how fast you arrive!

Big old cars are great - hoping to get one ourselves soon (thanks, CFH - mostly your fault!) - will post pics on here as and when we get it!

nice

That looks very nice. 8)

You must be well chuffed with it!

It's says it's being sold as spares/repair. Is there anything wrong with it?

[quote=iolo said]It's says it's being sold as spares/repair. Is there anything wrong with it?

Ask the OP in 6 months 🙂

It's just code for 'it's cheap and we can't be arsed with a warranty - take your chances' ...implies nothing bad from a reputable garage.

It's says it's being sold as spares/repair. Is there anything wrong with it?

Umm no - they give a 24 month warranty on all the cars they sell, but won't on this. So it's a 'spares or repair' car! It has nearly a year on the MOT!

Looks a corker, good work.

Check the indicators, they don't seem work on most BMW's 😉

Muke - Member
Check the indicators, they don't seem work on most BMW's

😀

I'd happily buy a car like this with 100,000 plus on the clock - especially for that price. Probably good for at least the same again. In fact the one we're after has 154,000 on the clock and is just about run in, I hope. Not going to get thrashed, though!

It's not all about the engine though is it. The exhaust might be on it's last legs, discs/pads nearly gone. That's the reason I got shot of my 2002 Leon this year, the engine was good for many thousands of miles extra but all the other stuff was original and rapidly approaching "must be replaced" status.

mark 4 Golf GTI 1.8t

Had one for 10 years or more .... wasn't bangernomics then guess it is now by default.

Mines a glorified mobile skip.... i seem to only do runs to the tip in it( doing my house up)

Binners .. .watch for lots of condensation on the windscreen. In hindsight this was the indicator that I had a blooming great puddle in a rear footwell !! (from it seems something block inside the door)

I should have sorted it earlier... see here how to

http://www.seatcupra.net/forums/showpost.php?p=3255713&postcount=654

... as it's really in a poor state now... but runs great

allthepies - Member
It's not all about the engine though is it.

Yeah, pretty much.

Exhaust will be available, discs and pads ditto. GSF will be your friend - estimate about £250 fitted for front discs and pads, £500 for tyres all round (rated to 150mph). If they're even needed - a current MOT is great.

At £1250 or so, who even cares? Great bit of kit and a very nice ride, I'd warrant!

Nothing could go wrong with a 25yo vw gti... cabriolet

Right?!

My wife is in the club too 😉 Picked up an auto Mercedes A class last month for the school run/shopping trips.53 plate,FSH,76K,6 months MOT, leather interior,alloys etc only issue so far is the Sony radio lights up but no sound from the speakers,oh and her green magnetic "P" plates don't stick to the hatchback door-mustn't be steel.Mind you for £200 we're not complaining.

http://retrorides.proboards.com/thread/179237/2000-jaguar-supercharged-sold-berkshire

My latest bangernomics purchase

Oohhhh ... nice car OP. I like.

😀

Bangernomic Pug 406 failed it's MOT today. It was a freebie from parents neighbours - run for a year with no issues. Easy fixes apart from emissions - could be simple, could be costly.

Getting £120 scrap tomorrow and it's going towards a Rover 45 2l diesel. £450.

stu170 and OP great choices!

Swiping through those photos made me feel like I was on tinder

stu170 and OP great choices!

Yep, make sure you come back and update us on them (especially on that lovely Jag's fuel consumption).

1250? Can't even buy a decent pair of wheels for that. Incredible deal.

Got to resist car hunting...

Nothing could go wrong with a 25yo vw gti... cabriolet

Right?!

No soft top, but it does have a sun roof 😀 Bought from a garage, 4 owners, FSH. A service reveals it to be in good nick where it matters, the engine pulls like a train, and it flew through an MOT

When I was debating buying it, a mate who had one with 260,000 miles on the clock (and still going strong) summed it up nicely...

"They're built like Panzers, and they go like stink!"

I suspect thats an apt description of ciderinsport's new beemer too

523i 2.5l

?

Can I interest you in some breakdown cover? 😀

I thought a banger had to be less than 500 quid? I know my 350 quid Fiat Panda 4x4 certainly fitted into that category. As did the Polo for that matter. And the Frontera.

Hmmm. Now you mention it, most of my cars did.

Anyway, nice car. Looks pretty tidy and very smart considering how little money you spent on it.

Under £1k I'd say, but there's probably a case for "superbangernomics" when it comes to well-kept prestige vehicles, eh?

523i 2.5l
?

2.5 in a lesser tune

Jags doing 21mpg over the last 1200 miles and that's been short drive to work, a trip to the lakes and some hooning about. I'm happy with that. Only live once, not a bad car for a 25yo

I just got a 7th Generation Celica for £500. £100 to get it mot'd and it's happily doing 40+ mpg, measured!
I love old cars 🙂

Very nice! Hopefully it's one of the examples which likes to soldier on without much spend.

My recently purchased bangernomics estate will be getting it's first big test next week. Alps here I come!

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Nice house woodster. 😀

So whats the ideal spend on a bangernomics car then? £1000. Do you change the cambelt on them? Or just run them into the ground?

td75 - Member
So whats the ideal spend on a bangernomics car then? £1000. Do you change the cambelt on them? Or just run them into the ground?

If you don't change the cam belt (assuming it's due to be changed) and it fails then your car has just written itself off!

Nice house woodster

Cheers. Maintenance costs are quite high, but when my friend Libby says it's costing £150mil to do up her pad, then it doesn't seem so bad.

So whats the ideal spend on a bangernomics car then? £1000. Do you change the cambelt on them? Or just run them into the ground?

Personal choice, but I wouldn't want a car for more than that if I was really trying to keep the figures in check. I don't chance cambelts myself. Prefer a car with a chain or a recent change.

So discounting all engines with cambelts. Which diesel engines have chains then? I know the 2.2 in a Saab is chain driven

td75 - Member
So discounting all engines with cambelts. Which diesel engines have chains then? I know the 2.2 in a Saab is chain driven

Not sure, but you might be ruling out quite a lot of cars!

Cam belt change is around £350 in my experience (should include water pump change as well). Should be good for 60,000 - 70,000 miles - still seems like a bargain. (My experience is with VAG - other makes are available (I think)).

Our c2 is 100k for cam belt , and 20k for service
Rubbish French cars have there plus points
Admittedly I've changed the filters oil etc every year over the 10 years we have had it
But still cheap motoring and far more reliable than the audi vw stuff we also have

But all the costs are minor compared to our defender lol

Brought it home this morning, so had a chance for a 'proper' test drive.

Blinking lovely on the motorway, goes like a train (esp in sport mode!)
Engine and gearbox feel really tight, and had a chance to look through the massive service history - last owner spent over £4k on it in 6 years, and did every thing it could possible have needed! Water pump and belt done 10k ago, all disks and pads, rear air suspension and a rebuild of the air con! 4 new tyres and service 500 miles ago!

Looks like I might have got a proper bargain 😆

I'd say so OP well done.

E39 nice car 😉
If anyone fancies a go at bangernomics send me a pm got a 1998 e39 saloon 523I Sat on my drive, with around 98k on the clock it should go on for a good few years yet. £550,00

Worth it for the sweet rims lol.

ciderinsport - sounds a like a good deal. I would have suggested water pump and rear air suspension as things to look out for. You just need to decide whether to believe the bimmer autobox 'sealed for life' tag or whether to open it up and change the oil 😉

Slight hijack ...

Do you guys think it's worth rust proofing a 10 yr old Toyota Corolla 1.6 auto? Not an expensive car as the current value is around £3k to £3.5k.

I like this car very much and the engine mileage is still low at around 44k. Drive very well but perhaps slightly harden suspension coil would make it even better.

But FFS do you lot actually wash the under carriage of your car after the winter salt? FFS some of the rust ... 😮

ciderinsport - Member

Looks like I might have got a proper bargain

Looks like it! Sounds great - enjoy!

I've recently joined the club with the purchase of a 1997 Audi A4 Avant Quatro TDi and managed to get it for just over £500... needed new disks and pads and some filters oil etc which I did myself with the help of Euro Car parts.. oh and new gas stuts after the boot tried to kill me!! 😯
So far its been as good as gold being my work horse lugging tools and equipment around, then dog transport and of course bike ferrying duties... I even clean it!

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Nick1962 take a magnet round the lower edges etc of the car 😉

Sounds like its been fillered on the tailgate.

Inspired by the OP. After looking at those old 5 series estates. Seen a few diesels, 530d, 525tds around for not a lot of money. All seem to have 200K on the clock.

Whats likely to go wrong at that mileage on the diesel version? What kind of MPG will they get on a run?

They seem like a lot of car for the money.

Whats likely to go wrong at that mileage on the diesel version?

So does anyone know. The 530d and 525tds engines. Are they timing chain or belt?

the a class had a plastic hatch.. was the same on ours

All timing chains on recent BMWs

http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/faq/chain-cam/

Do you guys think it's worth rust proofing a 10 yr old Toyota Corolla 1.6 auto? Not an expensive car as the current value is around £3k to £3.5k.

Try half that. And maybe a little bit less.

Rustproofing can be done cheaply, I've heard good things about a Canadian product called 'Fluid Film' which might be an easy DIY. I may be putting in on an 18 year old Corolla later in the year...

Check the indicators, they don't seem work on most BMW's

Apparently it's a factory upgrade. Bypasses the relay. Also a very popular modification with the Audi as well.

Whats likely to go wrong at that mileage on the diesel version? What kind of MPG will they get on a run?

I have a 525d Touring manual (MSport model with harsher suspension...)- with 204k on the clock - bought it at 113k. As said above - there's a [b]lot[/b] can go wrong on these - quite complex cars but some of the main things are:

Suspension - lots and lots of links/bushes which all wear out so the suspension clonks and handling degrades slightly plus you can get front wheel braking shimmy. Quite expensive to get fixed as it's difficult to find what to replace and not do it all.

Rear self levelling suspension air bags. Usually go somewhere around 150k. About £200+ fitted per side.

They eat injectors - £170 each, exchange.

Electrical gremlins can set in due to 'hedgehog' (some sort of ECU/rectifier device), ignition key barrel etc.

If autobox then you have swirl flaps to worry about - they can drop off into the engine.

Plastic water pump can break up.

I had to replace the mechanical fuel pump on mine - £350 exchange for the part, and the previous owner had the other two(!) fuel pumps replaced. Makes me wonder if someone ran some petrol through it by accident.

Air con has packed up.

The strutless tailgate 'struts' which sit inside the roof lose their charge so the tailgate won't stay up. I have one leg from a camera tripod in the back of the car...

And finally corrosion. The E39 diesel touring is a minimum of 11 years old now and they rust, especially front arches and tailgate.

All that said, I can still get 45mpg at 70 on the motorway and it is fantastic for cruising at that and significantly higher speeds. I can chuck a 26" 160mm full suss bike in the back without taking anything off it and it's possible to get three people and three bikes in it without too much dismantling.

Fairly high risk though as bangernomics cars go.

Thanks hamishthecat for the info. I was curious, as they seem cheap. Seems like they could turn into a money pit.

So, I thought it time for an update.

So far, so good! The first trip in the car was New Forest to Plymouth, For Twentyfour/12. So I loaded it up a bit. Bikes, easyup, generator, 50kg dog, 3 people and towing a laden caravan!
Perfect.
The following week was spent In North Somerset, again lugging all the stuff.
Never missed a beat, I'm rather happy so far 🙂

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Glad it's working out for you cider. Nice looking motor!

You have a 50kg dog!!!!? What on earth is he / she?

By the sound of it, depressed.

Can the roof take the weight of two fatbikes at speed? Just asking like...

You have a 50kg dog!!!!? What on earth is he / she?

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Can the roof take the weight of two fatbikes at speed? Just asking like...

You think I go fast with all that on / in / attached to the car 😯