Omega Owners Forum
Chat Area => General Car Chat => Topic started by: Squealey on 11 February 2011, 21:55:43
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Well, completely out of the blue I fear I may soon be an ex Omega owner im afraid people.
As much as I have loved the old girl (and I really have) I must face facts and admit it isnt ideal for someone with as many kiddywinkles as I have (4 plus a grandson). The boot is surprisingly useless with the Bose tray hanging under the parcel shelf and I have to take two cars to see my parents in Hemel (which can happen 6+ times a year).
So when I noticed something in my local garage the other day I stopped for a closer look, and must say, it seems perfect for my needs.
Now please go easy on me here as im sure this wont be everyones cup of tea, but what I am probably changing to is a Toyota Lucida 2.2 TD 1994/L. This is the import version of the Previa (narrower than the English car). This one has all its bills since it was imported (in 2005) and seems to have been really well cared for. It hasnt got half the toys the Megga has, but it has 7 seats and a HUGE boot (when the seats are down). I have done a bit of homework and know these suffer with head gaskets and I will check this tomorrow as best I can and give it a decent (hour at least) test drive.
Something I have noticed about these cars is they seem to have finished depreciating. I looked into these 3 years ago when I ended up getting swmbo a Volvo 940 estate and they were literally the same price then as they are now.
The best part about it is the price. He wants £995 for it which is about bang on for the year and condition (very very good for its age) but he has also offered me £750 for the Omega, thats just £50 depreciation in nearly 2 years of motoring!!! I reckon with a bit of haggling I can get him to a price to change of £150-£200.
So, thats my news for tonight, i'll let you know how I get on tomorrow.
Cheers
Wayne
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Well, completely out of the blue I fear I may soon be an ex Omega owner im afraid people.
As much as I have loved the old girl (and I really have) I must face facts and admit it isnt ideal for someone with as many kiddywinkles as I have (4 plus a grandson). The boot is surprisingly useless with the Bose tray hanging under the parcel shelf and I have to take two cars to see my parents in Hemel (which can happen 6+ times a year).
So when I noticed something in my local garage the other day I stopped for a closer look, and must say, it seems perfect for my needs.
Now please go easy on me here as im sure this wont be everyones cup of tea, but what I am probably changing to is a Toyota Lucida 2.2 TD 1994/L. This is the import version of the Previa (narrower than the English car). This one has all its bills since it was imported (in 2005) and seems to have been really well cared for. It hasnt got half the toys the Megga has, but it has 7 seats and a HUGE boot (when the seats are down). I have done a bit of homework and know these suffer with head gaskets and I will check this tomorrow as best I can and give it a decent (hour at least) test drive.
Something I have noticed about these cars is they seem to have finished depreciating. I looked into these 3 years ago when I ended up getting swmbo a Volvo 940 estate and they were literally the same price then as they are now.
The best part about it is the price. He wants £995 for it which is about bang on for the year and condition (very very good for its age) but he has also offered me £750 for the Omega, thats just £50 depreciation in nearly 2 years of motoring!!! I reckon with a bit of haggling I can get him to a price to change of £150-£200.
So, thats my news for tonight, i'll let you know how I get on tomorrow.
Cheers
Wayne
sounds logical
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I personally love Toyota's, so I'd say you are doing the right thing :y :y
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It has to be said though that the Previa is an absolutely rather orrible thing to drive!
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Sounds like a sensible move Wayne :y :y
If it's as well cared for as it sounds it should serve you well :y
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My dad had two English Previas in the 90's and he loved them too, they really were huge and I do love the space they had!!!!
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S il be totally honest with you and i was at one point looking at them due to the fact you can change the seeting plan in the back as well and they had curtains ,being auto was a bonuscos i hate sitting in traffic up and down on the clutch,the price was right theyre now cheap enough but something stopped me getting one ::)
i finished up getting a sharan 1.9td red i and what a shock it was a rocket(lets say 120mph on the m62 once and i watched it get there from 90 to 120 in seconds)thats why i got shut even though it did average 48mpg,i traded a v6 mig in for a disco and traded the disco for the sharan and not long after traded the sharan for the last mig i had but now i have a isuzu bighorn 3.1td automatic seven seats so its an all rounder and im well pleased with it :y
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Well, completely out of the blue I fear I may soon be an ex Omega owner im afraid people.
As much as I have loved the old girl (and I really have) I must face facts and admit it isnt ideal for someone with as many kiddywinkles as I have (4 plus a grandson). The boot is surprisingly useless with the Bose tray hanging under the parcel shelf and I have to take two cars to see my parents in Hemel (which can happen 6+ times a year).
So when I noticed something in my local garage the other day I stopped for a closer look, and must say, it seems perfect for my needs.
Now please go easy on me here as im sure this wont be everyones cup of tea, but what I am probably changing to is a Toyota Lucida 2.2 TD 1994/L. This is the import version of the Previa (narrower than the English car). This one has all its bills since it was imported (in 2005) and seems to have been really well cared for. It hasnt got half the toys the Megga has, but it has 7 seats and a HUGE boot (when the seats are down). I have done a bit of homework and know these suffer with head gaskets and I will check this tomorrow as best I can and give it a decent (hour at least) test drive.
Something I have noticed about these cars is they seem to have finished depreciating. I looked into these 3 years ago when I ended up getting swmbo a Volvo 940 estate and they were literally the same price then as they are now.
The best part about it is the price. He wants £995 for it which is about bang on for the year and condition (very very good for its age) but he has also offered me £750 for the Omega, thats just £50 depreciation in nearly 2 years of motoring!!! I reckon with a bit of haggling I can get him to a price to change of £150-£200.
So, thats my news for tonight, i'll let you know how I get on tomorrow.
Cheers
Wayne
What MPG are you getting from your 2.5TD?
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Where is your imagination?
All you need is a trailer and an Omega.
PS the extra child will have to be given up for adoption unless it is young enough to travel in the trailer. :y
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What MPG are you getting from your 2.5TD?
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Going from the on board computer which I try to reset every time I put £30 in it its normally showing early 30's by the next time I refill. I know these arent wholey reliable but its all I got.
Wayne
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Where is your imagination?
All you need is a trailer and an Omega.
PS the extra child will have to be given up for adoption unless it is young enough to travel in the trailer. :y
Well I do have a caravan ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
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Going from the on board computer which I try to reset every time I put £30 in it its normally showing early 30's by the next time I refill. I know these arent wholey reliable but its all I got.
Wayne
Isn't it TB's old chipped one though? :-/ :-/ If so the MID will be a load of ballcocks ;) ;)
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It is TB's old girl, so yep, your probably right!!!! Not sure if the Lucida will be any better on fuel, im guessing not, but it should hopefully be close.
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having 4 kids myself (thankfully grown up now youngest is 15) i have owned,previa 2.4gx,lucida 2.2td,galaxy 2.3 auto,citroen c8 2.0hdi....i have had on hire ..fiat multipla,espace 2.2td,kia sedona 2.9td,zafira td..and i worked for a company that had galaxy old shape auto diesels then replaced em with manual new shapes....i would say out of all the people carriers i have drove the lucida was the worst..it was slow and troublesome...the petrol one was entirely different and did somewhere in the region of 50k + miles with only a split header tank ..if you can live with 20 mpg i'd get a 2.4 petrol...galaxys are great my 2.3 was a good motor but again only did about 20-22 mpg...the diesel auto's all had gearbox problems..and the later new shape one's i think suffer from injector failure as go most mondeo's
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warning!!!
the 2.2lucida is very very prone to blowing headgaskets,
autoboxes dont last and for a diesel the fuel consumption is terrible!!! plus they are extremely slow and noisy on a lng jorney, insurance wll have to be a specialist as theyare and import, personally i would steer clear but i hope you get a good one mate!!
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For more boot space, lose the bose shelf, and just bolt the amp to the parcel shelf.
Even so, sounds like you need an MPV, as the Omega is only designed (thus insured) for 5.
It would appear that the Previa might not be the ideal option, so do your homework, and be aware of the difficulties/expense of insuring imports. And part differences for when it needs bits.
Economy - I reckon the TD mid overreads by around 15% when chipped. I've had it read a trip average of over 50mpg on a run, but urban driving with a TD auto crucifies MPG. Day to day, I used to manage (genuine, measured by fuel in and distance travelled) around 33mpg, MID used to read around 37mpg
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I have no idea about what your changing too, but my initial thoughts are everything looks ok on surface, and decision is being made on present circumstances. However, from whats been said, it seems even further home work needed therefore let your head rule your heart.
Best of luck :y
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Thanks for your thoughts people. Well I have taken the plunge and parted with my (pretty small) deposit this morning.
I took it out for almost 2 hours, and apart from a couple of small issues (anti roll bar bushes and a slight exhaust blow) it really was tip top. Yes its not as fast as the Elite, it may be a little juicier (although it didnt seem it this morning) and the sound of an old 4 cyl diesel is no match for my silky 6, but the pros far outweigh the cons in my case.
With regards to insurance, you will not believe me when I tell you this, but fully comp, parked overnight on the street with £200 excess and £100 vol excess is only £298 a year. Iirc the Omega was closer to £470!!!!!
Managed to get £800 for the Elite against it and lets be honest, would anybody really have expected anything over £450 (163,000 miles, large crack in the screen which only bloody happened a couple of weeks back, 2x borderline tyres and starting to look a bit rough around the edges)
So thats that, not sure when im getting it but hopefully it will be later this week.
Can I just take this oppurtunity to thank everyone on here for the past two years, it really has been a blast. Special thanks to Lee (wellung666)for all his help, and TB for selling me the old girl in the first place.
Im not disappearing for good, just may not be on here quite as often thats all.
Au Revoir
Wayne Squealey Healey
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Sounds like you've made the decision you feel is correct for you and your family... I wish you well with it and don't be a stranger :y :y
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i think this is a first...... a complaint about the boot size of the omega :-? :-?
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Squealey - all the best for the future, and hope your new bus serves you well?
Mrs Squealey still got the Audi with the knackered turbo?
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Seems kind of weird, Tractor/Project TB2 not being on the forum any more :-/
Weird.
;D
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You never know... it may come back with it's new owner!
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i think this is a first...... a complaint about the boot size of the omega :-? :-?
It's not so much the size of the boot, it's more the depth under the parcel shelf Bose tray and the way it really hinders access for anything a bit bulky. The actual length of the boot is great, there aren't many cars for the price that you could fit a double luxuriant in length ways.
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How the he'll did pushchair become luxuriant???? Bloody know it all spell checker!!!!
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i think this is a first...... a complaint about the boot size of the omega :-? :-?
It's not so much the size of the boot, it's more the depth under the parcel shelf Bose tray and the way it really hinders access for anything a bit bulky. The actual length of the boot is great, there aren't many cars for the price that you could fit a double luxuriant in length ways.
Yeah, the Bose shelf makes a surprising difference to usable space in the boot...
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well good luck with the new motor mate :y :y :y
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Thanks People
And Jaime, with regards to the Audi minus turbo, That went around april last year, never got it working in the end. Stuck it on Ebay with a buy it now of £400 and it went within a couple of hours, wish I'd asked for more. The girl who brought it drove up from Leighton Buzzard and was well happy. So was I, I'd only paid £200 for it 30 months earlier!!!
She, or rather I've, got a Polo SDi now. 2000/W, 132,000 miles, goes like a dream, 450 miles for £35 fuel and the best part was I was given it for free by my brothers rather wealthy boss.
Wayne
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I was thinking about Tractor!, and came across these pics...
http://theboy.omegaowners.com/oofpics/project_tb2/mar09/
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Wow TB, Squealey inherited an immaculate bargain there! what a smashing looker & obviously much loved & pampered by you! :y
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Wow TB, Squealey inherited an immaculate bargain there! what a smashing looker & obviously much loved & pampered by you! :y
Kosovans! ::) ;D
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Wow TB, Squealey inherited an immaculate bargain there! what a smashing looker & obviously much loved & pampered by you the Kosovans! :y
Fixed that for you Phil ^^^^ ::) ::) ;D ;D
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Needs must m8 family comes first and all that good luck with it tho.
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Needs must m8 family comes first and all that good luck with it tho.
Roughly translated for those of us out of our teenage years...
Needs must mate,family comes first and all that, good luck with it though.
There are reasons why our guidelines say no mobile/text speech, and to try to use some punctuation - the written word is notoriously difficult to read, both for humans and for computers ;)
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Hope the Lucida is going well, I ran one for a year or two some years ago.
Couldn't be beaten on the people and luggage carrying side - seating permutations were great fun while the kids were young!
No great shakes to drive, but very easy with auto and high driving position.
I don't think it was especially economical even with diesel but probably on a par with anything else in the class.
I suffered the h/g problem which I was pleased to let someone else fix - the engine is very well buried - but not a cheap repair.
Best of luck with yours.
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had our estima (94 plate) 9 years now and can say it has been one of the best buys ive had. Paid 5k back then for auction grade 4.5 with 34k on the clock. Ours is the 7 seater moonroof option. Dont believe all the old cr*p about "grey imports" either, though there are still those who will try and charge you the earth for parts there are some very reasonable and good parts dealers. Got ours because with 5 kids we needed a car with space and the import version was both higher spec and also diesel.Economy wise they arent great (they are on the heavy side!) and tbh if I use it for work I probably spend slightly less using my 2.5v6 miggy. True, there is an issue with headgaskets but invest in a mason alarm and it'll help forewarn you of any potential problems. For me, ours has been a great car. As with here, I thoroughly recommend you join the TEOC forum as have always found them both very friendly and helpful. For spare parts I always use bbc spares. There are a lot more of them about now so this helps parts wise. Yes they are getting on a bit but Toyota build quality is good and with prices so low you get a lot of car for the money. :y
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Well, im just over two weeks into being an ex-omega owner and must say I really really love the new found freedom the Lucida has given us.
Driving wise, compared to the Elite, it is pants. Its (a lot) slower, noisier and the handling is on par with a boat. But I went into this with my eyes open and knew this would be the case, plus swmbo is the main driver so it isnt a major concern to me.
Its general condition is still surprising me. I have so far (touching a load of wood with crossed fingers ;D) had no nasty surprises. It starts on the button and has a really smooth diesel lump (although it could do with more sound proofing) and it is HUGE inside (8 in it the other day with a single and a double pram and still space to spare!!)
Fuel wise, we have covered about 800 miles in it so far and although its not as economical as the Elite, its in no way a disgrace (I would guess an average 27mpg). But when you think on a few of these journeys we would have had to use two cars, then it starts making more sense.
The biggest downside I have discovered is constantly being overtaken. The Elite used to be comfortable cruising at 70+, this is more comfortable at 55ish, so I have become the old man on the road (but I get to give company Jag XFs and Mercs a spanking every week so I dont really care ;))
So, i'll still be coming in to see you lot. The teoc website is ok, but there can be days between replies so doesnt seem even slightly as busy as this great site.
Thanks once again everyone for all your help over the past few years, I cant begin to tell you how much help youve been. :'( :'( :'( :'(
Wayne
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Glad your new wagon is suiting your needs.
After going out for a spin with Omegatoy yesterday, it got us talking about the old tractor ;D
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Well how time flies! Been checking out my old postings and discovered this goodbye post from me all those years ago so I thought I'd give you a bit of an update.
We still have Bertie Bus and 60,000 km's later he has honestly been a revelation. We have had such amazing value for money from him and I'm sure should swmbo and I get divorced then he'd be higher up the settlement than the kids!
We have moved house twice and not needed to hire a van, I help neighbours with moving large items, we regularly take out more than 6 people and he tows my caravan brilliantly.
Costs? Well he had a new radiator 18 months ago for £80, new rear shocks last year for £35, and two sets of front a/r bar links for about £30, and other than regular servicing, that's the lot!!
Mpg wise I was on a real economy drive the other day driving 100 miles to clacton and I somehow managed a truly calculated 36mpg. But this is not the norm and I usually struggle to get 28mpg.
To drive is exactly like previous comments, not great for the most part with overlight steering, massive body roll, skinny tall tyres with no grip whatsoever and a tad noisy. It's not happy at anything over 65 mph too.
But it's honestly such a great car and I would say has saved us a fortune in not having to take two cars or not hiring vans. My wife has promised that when the time comes for him to die she wants him placed in our back garden as a plaything for the kids. Personally I would love to treat my missus to a full 'custom my ride' for it. Why can't discovery do that over here???
And the best part is it's probably worth more now than when we got it!!!
Cheers all
Wayne
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Why would anyone want to drive 100 miles to Clacton ? :-\ :D ;D............the only good thing to come out of Clacton is the A120. ;D
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Cheap holiday, and to someone living near Boston anythings got to be an improvement!!!
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. Why can't discovery do that over here???
they did, Tim westwood hosted....
it was diabolically, painfully, totally frigging awful...... and canned very quickly.
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Why would anyone want to drive 100 miles to Clacton ? :-\ :D ;D............the only good thing to come out of Clacton is the A120. ;D
I was just about to say the same thing. ;D