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Post by ds23efi2cv6 on Feb 21, 2005 22:39:00 GMT
Hello everyone. My name's Chris. I'm seriously considering at some point purchasing a P5 coupe but know very little about them.
Ideally I would need one that's in very good condition as I'm no mechanic but not concourse.
Any idea how much I would have to budget for?
Where's the best place to start looking?
Any other help would be much appreciated.
Regards
Chris
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Post by glennr on Feb 21, 2005 23:02:38 GMT
Hi Chris, prices can vary across the board. For example I paid £400 for mine but that is a restoration project or you can go to the other end of the spectrum and pay £10,000 click the link to see what I mean. www.duncanellison.co.uk You can pick up (in my opinion) a good example but expect to pay at least £3000+. If you subscribe to the Take Five magazine they have a cars for sale section. Do you know much about the fault points of these cars? Regards GlennR
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Post by richard eglinton on Feb 22, 2005 10:16:40 GMT
I just clicked on the link.The 3.5 shown is an absolute beauty,the best I've ever seen.Nobody seems to have got at it and it must have an interesting history.Wonder where it has been since 2000? Probably worth every penny of the asking price Richard Eglinton
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Post by richard eglinton on Feb 22, 2005 10:34:30 GMT
Just realised that there are other p5bs on that site.As the cars seem to be very original and the photographs are good,the images should provide some help (and inspiration) for restorers. Pity the white Coupe has lost its sill trim. Richard Eglinton
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Post by ds23efi2cv6 on Feb 22, 2005 14:00:25 GMT
Thanks for the advice everyone. It seems that for a really nice one through a dealer, perhaps £7500 to £10,000 is the market price. That'a bit out of my range.
Do you get many good ones privately coming through the club and if so what sort of prices do they charge?
Regards
Chris
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Post by David on Feb 22, 2005 14:27:45 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Feb 22, 2005 16:57:04 GMT
The P5B is an ideal car as spares are readily available and not too expensive but if you want ANY classic car and you are not mechanically minded you have got to sort out a reliable mechanic to look after it properly for you.
Its highly recommended that you find him/her first and even better to take him/her with you to inspect a prospective purchase.
Its best NOT to be in a rush or buy the first one you see - most ignore this and do come unstuck.
Join the club and read Take and see you local rep - not all P5 owners are in the trade or have grease under their finger nails although a good may are!
What part of the land do you live?
These are truly fine cars and if you buy the right one you do not have to be too mechanically minded to look after them
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Post by Chrissy Boy on Feb 22, 2005 20:11:55 GMT
Hello everyone,
thanks very much for the advice. I live in Lichfield, Staffs so if there's a mechanic or garage round these parts that anyone can recommend I'd appreciate it.
I certainly won't be rushing into buying anything. I've got a Citroen DS that I bought a couple of years ago, and although I was very very fortunate in finding a good 'un after going to view one on my own without any help or guidance, it could have been a very different ending after listening to other peoples sob stories and horror stories at various rallies.
I was talking to a restorer today and he said if i want a top notch one then I'm looking at £10,000 minimum. He said I might be very lucky and drop on one for a lot less, but the chances are anything less than this sort of money and I'll inherit a lot of problems, including the dreaded rust. If that's the case, then I certainly won't be buying one in the immediate future, but like I say, I'm just getting my bearings for the car and everything that goes with it at the moment.
I certainly don't need rampant rust but is £10,000 a realistic price?
Kind regards
Chris
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Post by richard eglinton on Feb 22, 2005 20:21:06 GMT
You get what you pay for and the cars shown on that dealer site, especially the Burgundy saloon, represent the best around although if you look closely you can see why the most expensive car is several thousands of pounds dearer than the cheapest one.It's all in the little details. The problem with p5's is that there are so many horrible bodged ones around that look reasonable on the surface but have major body structural problems and poor interiors. I don't know what your budget is but be prepared for loads of problems if you pick a bad one. Sorry to be a bit negative but my advice is to push the boat out and get a good one. Richard Eglinton
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Post by Deleted on Feb 22, 2005 20:48:30 GMT
:)You may then be near enough for the Central Midlands pub meet. Try to join the next one if its held in March
£10k is steep but even if its worth the money it will not stay like that without proper maintenance and this is required even if its not used very much.
With care you should get a good one for between £2-4K - prices are low but the V8 Coupe for some reason commnds the premium prices. At that price work will be required at some stage.
At this price these can and often are bodged. They may also not have been restored to original detail how much this bothers you is your choice but someone will surely point out that your coach line is 1/8th out of line and white plastic instead of Silver Birch handpainted.
Fortunately the club caters for all members cars and even those without one who can only hope to have one one day. There are a lot of P5 in the Midlands but many are hidden away most of the time
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Post by Alistair on Feb 23, 2005 13:13:00 GMT
Chris,
I've been viewing P5B coupes for a few months, and have actually been after one for about thirty years! Finally I have one within my grasp. I decided that I want to use it as my only everyday car, and am having it restored. To have a good donor car stripped down, re-sprayed, new chrome work and completely renovated costs about ten grand. (I am using David Green as my agent in this). Everything I see as a 'safety or reliability' issue I am aving done too, which pushes the price up a little. To avoid the much vaunted problems of fuel vapourisation in the fuel pump, I'm getting an electric pump fitted in the boot. The V8 engine is excellent, but I suffered overheating problems in my old P6 - so I will be getting a Kenlowe fan. I'm getting halogen headlamps put in too. Also (for my own gratification) a modern stereo/CD and door speakers. I should end up with a coupe slightly more reliable than the original, that looks perfect, for less than a new Ford Focus! Takes a while to get the thing build though, be warned. I have seen excellent P5Bs advertised at around the eight thousand pound mark. I would reckon if you are patient, you can get a very nice one for well under 10k. Rambling ... sorry! Alistair
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Post by Deleted on Feb 23, 2005 17:11:47 GMT
:)Glad to see I am not the only one to use a P5 as daily runner. The upgrades are essential - but an upgrade core rad is the first step and then a Kenlowe - if you still have the original you will get reliabity problems and overheating. Also change all hoses especially the ones to the rear heater as they will probably be the originals which should have been changed a number of times but very often thet are overlooked. Do not forget that the sysatem is at high pressure and you can lose the coolant fast and ruin the alloy engine or as minimum blow one or both of the head gaskets
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Post by Chrissy Boy on Feb 23, 2005 21:32:15 GMT
Thanks for the advice again everyone. I reclon it's going to take 18 months at least before I'm in the position to seriously start hunting for a really nice P5B, so in the meantime I'll just keep reading the posts on the website and try to learn what I can and throw in the odd question or two.
Regards
Chris
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Post by RICHARD EGLINTON on Feb 25, 2005 19:54:31 GMT
Too late for the Duncan Ellison cars, they are all sold to some lucky new owners who will only have to put some decent crossplies on to complete the correct look. ;DThe white coupe has disappeared possibly for a new sill trim. Richard
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