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1

General Car Chat / Re: So what have you done to your car today?

« on: Today at 08:04:38 »

Must be a day for MOT passes - a pass on the Petrol Blue 3.2 Elite with clean bill of health and no advisories. In fact it created a lot of admiration from the other mechanics during its test..

Congratulations on the MOT pass 

It's quite often a stranger says ...
"not seen one of them in a while"  ""great car, I used to have one" etc

I hope they are not too disappointed when I don't praise their common as muck, shiny ,Euro Sh!tbox 

Great to get an advisory free pass on an Omega now with youngest ones being 20 years old 

Mine seems to get the most attention when filling it with fuel, loads of 'I used to have one of these, best car I ever had' and 'You don't see one of those very often' remarks. However, no one offers to pay for the fuel!

2

General Car Chat / Re: So what have you done to your car today?

« on: Yesterday at 17:34:01 »

Did oil and filter on the V70. The D4 5 Cylinder engine isn't the greatest for getting the oil level correct on. Takes more than what half the online sources say, dipstick (a retrofit) shows just above half, electronic gauge says full. This is one of those engines that likes to fill the sump with diesel if it doesn't complete a regen, then the car starts to complain.

Also managed to give the Silver Omega a good wash, lots of green forming on the window seals etc. Didn't come up too bad after a bit of work though. My arms ache now!

3

General Car Chat / Re: So what have you done to your car today?

« on: Yesterday at 17:20:16 »

Nice one. Very nice looking example. 

Thank you. It's a nice colour when it's clean!

4

General Car Chat / Re: So what have you done to your car today?

« on: Yesterday at 15:34:54 »

MOT Pass, no advisories on the BMW 

5

General Car Chat / Re: Bavarian brawn

« on: 13 April 2024, 21:42:56 »

.... and they're all so much bigger. I saw a P6 TC on my way home from work this evening .... they used to be considered a big car in their day .... it didn't look very big anymore.

Yes indeed, the Omega and the wife's V70 feel Astra sized after driving the 5 series.

6

General Car Chat / Re: Bavarian brawn

« on: 13 April 2024, 20:29:06 »

Any car in that class is going to cost more, no different to Jaguar etc. If you want a car to spend minimal money on you go for a simple shopping car with nothing in it except the minimal equipment to drive it - steering wheel etc.

That used to be the case, but now everything has A/C, some sort of display, remote central locking, immobiliser, ABS, electric windows, PAS, various driver aids for the safety ratings, electric handbrakes, etc etc there is no such thing as a simple shopping car.

Yes true. There seemed to be a giant leap in technology in cars about 20 years ago. I'm sure if I jumped in my first company car (1993 Cavalier 2.0 SRi) it would seem ancient now. I'd still love to have a decent run again in an SD1 Vitesse but again I'm sure it wouldn't feel the same as the first time I drove one!

7

General Car Chat / Re: Bavarian brawn

« on: 13 April 2024, 10:07:07 »

Any car in that class is going to cost more, no different to Jaguar etc. If you want a car to spend minimal money on you go for a simple shopping car with nothing in it except the minimal equipment to drive it - steering wheel etc.

8

General Car Chat / Re: Bavarian brawn

« on: 12 April 2024, 23:17:01 »

I think the 5 Series in all generations (except perhaps the E60/61 at the time) has the most tame styling of all the vehicle ranges they make.

If I had the cash i'd happily go from my F10 to a G30 or G60 but I don't so that's the end of that! 

Yeah, but in 10yrs when the prices are better....

Yes, although in ten years I may have carked it so won't be an issue!

The main problem I found when looking for a used 5 series is getting the options you want in a decent example of the model you are after. I mean you can retrofit a lot of the kit but it's a lot of work which £ for £ you may as well just pay more in the beginning imho.

Assuming that someone ordered the spec you want and it's available for you to buy at a price and in a condition that meets your requirements.

And that the previous owners continued to provide the open wallet maintenance that such cars require if they're going to be viable at 10,15, whatever(3,5 ) years old

No different to any modern car then!

9

General Car Chat / Re: Bavarian brawn

« on: 12 April 2024, 15:43:37 »

I think the 5 Series in all generations (except perhaps the E60/61 at the time) has the most tame styling of all the vehicle ranges they make.

If I had the cash i'd happily go from my F10 to a G30 or G60 but I don't so that's the end of that! 

Yeah, but in 10yrs when the prices are better....

Yes, although in ten years I may have carked it so won't be an issue!

The main problem I found when looking for a used 5 series is getting the options you want in a decent example of the model you are after. I mean you can retrofit a lot of the kit but it's a lot of work which £ for £ you may as well just pay more in the beginning imho.

10

Omega General Help / Re: Micksgarage and cheap wishbones

« on: 12 April 2024, 15:29:35 »

I'm the same with balljoints, only replace if necessary.  The originals usually last the life of the car TBH. The pattern ones are shite.  The ones ATP use are shite from the beginning

The 'life' of the car being 100k ish...

The GM balljoints last far longer.  On all my Omegas, I only ever had 1 (genuine GM) get any play.  "I" (well, Gixer, as he has a press ) used to press in a new genuine GM rearward bush (fronts always poly'd) and pop it back on (or in my case, we always had a spare set already done, so could just replace the wishbone and the removed ones could be refurbed at leisure, and put into spares stock.

I found out by trial and error that Genuine GM rear bushes can move when pressed into Lemforder wishbones, therefore the only option inmho is to refurbish genuine GM wishbones or just buy new Lemforder wishbones and swap the front for Poly from new.

Yes the ATEC arms from ATP are cheap and cheerful, but with the poly bush mod they are a cost effective solution. Especially when you consider that the genuine arms each cost more than a scrap Omega. Even refurbishing the factory arms with genuine VX/GM parts costs far more than the ATP wishbones.

I think Chris and I were paying £14 per side, for the rearward bush.  Suspect thats far more cost effective that a new pattern wishbone that doesn't really last

Speaking personally, I have fitted ATP arms to my own cars and have always found them to out perform their price point.

They do seem to have a short life compared to what I used to use (completely ignoring fornt bush, as thats irrelevant, obviously)

For anyone already on pattern wishbones, the economics change though, as genuine wishbones are probably outrageously priced.

I did buy a job lot of genuine GM rear bushes very cheaply, still got a couple I think, but as above, had issues with them in 3rd party wishbones.

11

General Car Chat / Re: Bavarian brawn

« on: 12 April 2024, 08:59:47 »

I think the 5 Series in all generations (except perhaps the E60/61 at the time) has the most tame styling of all the vehicle ranges they make.

If I had the cash i'd happily go from my F10 to a G30 or G60 but I don't so that's the end of that! 

12

General Car Chat / I thnk it's time to find a new home for one of my Omega's :(

« on: 09 April 2024, 15:51:56 »

Hoping to move house at some point this year and parking four cars just isn't going to be feasible. I also know that the Silver Omega just doesn't get used and is really an ornament. Plan is to pop it in for an MOT then take the 6 pot brakes off it and return to standard setup along with the standard wheels and steering wheel, grill etc.

Once I get around to sorting that out i'll advertise it on here first, not that I think anyone would want to pay what I want for it.

I've had this car 15 Years, can't believe it!

13

Cars for Sale & wanted / Re: 2.6 Elite Estate for Spares or Repair!

« on: 09 April 2024, 15:12:59 »

I hadn't spotted the mileage discrepancy. Either the person who bought it from you has turned the dealer over and they're too stupid to have done even a basic check, or the dealer is a slippery as a mouldy trout. Or both.

Or the clocks have been changed because of a cluster issue.

14

General Car Chat / Re: A Bit Weird

« on: 30 March 2024, 20:57:33 »

Do like our V70 D4, it's a car that your never in a rush when you drive it. Pushing it on isn't on the agenda because there's no feedback just a wallowy feeling!

I like my V70 D5. 

It has a bit of grunt if I give it a bit of welly and the straight 5 has a nice growl, but compared to the BMW 530d it replaced, it's like driving a narrow boat! 

Yes our D4 is early enough (2012) to be a 5 Cylinder model, 2.0 with a lazy 160BHP, I think they went to 4 cylinder the year after. The V70 feels quite a small car (Feels Omega sized) after driving the 530D.

15

General Car Chat / Re: A Bit Weird

« on: 30 March 2024, 19:43:07 »

Do like our V70 D4, it's a car that your never in a rush when you drive it. Pushing it on isn't on the agenda because there's no feedback just a wallowy feeling!