[Closed] I've joined the bangernomics brigade!

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 😯