Unexpected family wagon - 2006 4.4V8 Vogue (going in blind!)
Discussion
The fuse was lit by a passing comment from Mrs Bolide... "now that our son's at his new school, I'll need an SUV to blend in with the other Mummies...". Until that fateful Friday, the Third of September, I had only observed these vehicles from afar and with increasing curiosity. It seems to attract the collective interest of the esteemed Barge thread and I've been following the thread on Alec e's TDV8, which looks the part, too.
I then spotted a 'spot' by Kayess5 on the barge thread and showed it to Mrs B in the evening, as we were retired to bed (bad phone browsing habits paid dividends!).
To my surprise/horror, she responded favourable... then we slept.
The next morning, I stuck a call into the seller and spoke with him. He came across as being fairly straightforward - he's a van trader that took it in as part ex and thought it's worth selling. Single owner from new, everything works yadda yadda... and he was based in Walthamstow, which is quite the trek from Wimbledon on a weekend.
The washing machine effect subsequently followed, as I exhibited a humiliating example of a failure to recognise an FFRR (by pointing out an oncoming and 'similar looking' Land Rover to Mrs B, only to be corrected by her!), was chastened into believing that she'd rather have a sleeker, more modern 4x4, such as an Evoque (she isn't a hairdresser, either, btw) and was then told that she'd never drive it and that, oh, she'd never fancied one anyway.
After a languid dept store brunch in Wimbledon, we soon found ourselves in a position of being child free, due to last minute playdate request... Mrs Bolide instructed us to go shopping. En route to Waitrose, I found and played Harry Metcalfe's review of the TDV8, in which he utters the memorable line at 20.23... "...think of it as an everyday Bentley and then you won't go far wrong"
Well, that didn't put Mrs B (!) off, so we reversed out of the price Waitrose parking space in which we'd found ourselves (close to the entrance to shorten our walk, as is de rigeur for supermarket car park gamesmanship and headed to E17... more to follow
I then spotted a 'spot' by Kayess5 on the barge thread and showed it to Mrs B in the evening, as we were retired to bed (bad phone browsing habits paid dividends!).
To my surprise/horror, she responded favourable... then we slept.
The next morning, I stuck a call into the seller and spoke with him. He came across as being fairly straightforward - he's a van trader that took it in as part ex and thought it's worth selling. Single owner from new, everything works yadda yadda... and he was based in Walthamstow, which is quite the trek from Wimbledon on a weekend.
The washing machine effect subsequently followed, as I exhibited a humiliating example of a failure to recognise an FFRR (by pointing out an oncoming and 'similar looking' Land Rover to Mrs B, only to be corrected by her!), was chastened into believing that she'd rather have a sleeker, more modern 4x4, such as an Evoque (she isn't a hairdresser, either, btw) and was then told that she'd never drive it and that, oh, she'd never fancied one anyway.
After a languid dept store brunch in Wimbledon, we soon found ourselves in a position of being child free, due to last minute playdate request... Mrs Bolide instructed us to go shopping. En route to Waitrose, I found and played Harry Metcalfe's review of the TDV8, in which he utters the memorable line at 20.23... "...think of it as an everyday Bentley and then you won't go far wrong"
Well, that didn't put Mrs B (!) off, so we reversed out of the price Waitrose parking space in which we'd found ourselves (close to the entrance to shorten our walk, as is de rigeur for supermarket car park gamesmanship and headed to E17... more to follow
Edited by bolidemichael on Sunday 5th September 09:22
I would suggest buying a good diagnostic tool, the IDTool is the one really, and learn how to use it.
Nearly everything on these is easily sorted if you can diagnose and stay on top of things.
Too many mechanics don't know how to do that properly, they stick a scanner on and then throw parts at it till it sorts it.
9 times out of 10 it can be sorted with a really cheap fix and an hour of diagnosing things.
Great cars, I have owned a few. Enjoy!
Nearly everything on these is easily sorted if you can diagnose and stay on top of things.
Too many mechanics don't know how to do that properly, they stick a scanner on and then throw parts at it till it sorts it.
9 times out of 10 it can be sorted with a really cheap fix and an hour of diagnosing things.
Great cars, I have owned a few. Enjoy!
LazyMechanic said:
I would suggest buying a good diagnostic tool, the IDTool is the one really, and learn how to use it.
Nearly everything on these is easily sorted if you can diagnose and stay on top of things.
Too many mechanics don't know how to do that properly, they stick a scanner on and then throw parts at it till it sorts it.
9 times out of 10 it can be sorted with a really cheap fix and an hour of diagnosing things.
Great cars, I have owned a few. Enjoy!
Thanks... now that we are building a 'fleet', it may afford me the confidence to tackle some items myself. Can you link me to the diagnostic tool that you recommend?Nearly everything on these is easily sorted if you can diagnose and stay on top of things.
Too many mechanics don't know how to do that properly, they stick a scanner on and then throw parts at it till it sorts it.
9 times out of 10 it can be sorted with a really cheap fix and an hour of diagnosing things.
Great cars, I have owned a few. Enjoy!
These are great and at the age where they are generally well understood. There’s a reason the posh farmers are running them.
Make sure the battery is good - an unbelievable amount of faults are due to flat or failing battery
Check the boot floor and ECU compartment for water ingress - they all leak
iCarsoft is good to buy for diagnostics
Check the rear sills for rust
Buy some fibre optic bypass cables. Bypass everything to do with ICE as its all ancient and just drains battery - sat nav, cd changer, Bluetooth.
That’s the best spec one they made IMHO - NA Jaguar engine is smooth, powerful and reliable. Good luck with it.
Make sure the battery is good - an unbelievable amount of faults are due to flat or failing battery
Check the boot floor and ECU compartment for water ingress - they all leak
iCarsoft is good to buy for diagnostics
Check the rear sills for rust
Buy some fibre optic bypass cables. Bypass everything to do with ICE as its all ancient and just drains battery - sat nav, cd changer, Bluetooth.
That’s the best spec one they made IMHO - NA Jaguar engine is smooth, powerful and reliable. Good luck with it.
After an hour and a half, we arrived in Walthamstow.
The journey wasn't too bad. Racing feisty uber drivers and ethnic locals is par for the course outside of genteel SW London, so it kept me entertained, as did the recently released Fatboy Slim album.
As we pulled up, my first impression was summarised by the marque parked in front of us.
Undeterred, I soldiered on and called the seller. The vehicle was parked in the chap's garden rear, with access from the road.
It seemed clean to me and the thing that stood out was that it was shod with four good Continental M+S tyres, with even wear and decent tread depth. Any good bargeiste acknowledges that this is a key metric and after this, I relaxed. He had left it cold in order to start it in my presence and all seemed in order.
Some seemingly cosmetic rust on the arch lips
He told me that the vehicle was one owner and with good provenance, these are most of the hallmarks of a golden deal on the barge thread; it was surely, too good to be true.
After a look around, we went for a test drive, in which I initially sat in the rear. I was (pleasantly) surprised to see that it had heated rear seats.
We stopped mid-way and I jumped into the driver's seat. Playing with the buttons, the air con seemed cold, the sat nav told me that I was in Esher, then in the correct location, then in Esher, once again. The suspension raised to all three settings without fuss, the mirrors folded and to my delight, I spotted a heated steering wheel button. I also clocked a heated windscreen, in addition to the heated rear. So, toys galore.
Driving back to his place, all seemed fine and dandy, with the exception that the brakes can squeak when coming to a stop. He waved this away as a consequence of having stood after a valet...
I looked around once again; some marks on the body work including a touched up mark where it had been keyed and there is the occasional scrape on the extremities, which seems commensurate to the age and mileage.
There wasn't too much to kick, after that. The engine seemed clean, though hard to inspect properly, no evidence of oil or fluid leaks. There are a couple of new looking components. A hose/tube running towards the engine block and the anti-freeze bottle looks new along with fresh fluid. I hope that pink is the correct colour!
There was a bit of hairy blag from the seller. Upon inspecting the paperwork, it transpired that it was two owners, though effectively one as a Mr and Mrs owned it from new with the transfer of ownership after ten years, which coincided with the removal of a private VRN. Additionally, there was no real evidence of work undertaken after 2010, as the owner new someone local to whom cash was paid for a service and work, with no i stamps in the service book. This irritated me but then again, is expected for a guy whose business is van sales. Irrespective of this, he told me that the guy was a good owner that maintained his vehicle well and against all sensible commentary on PH and received knowledge, I agreed that the evidence is that there is little obvious deferred maintenance on the vehicle.
Part of the reasoning behind the purchase, besides the whimsy of a seemingly sporadic purchase, is that potential for towing. This vehicle has no tow bar fitted, which would surely mean less habitual wear and tear... surely?
I knocked him down a little, transferred the money and we were on our way home.
I'll cover the visual and identified condition of the vehicle in the next post.
The journey wasn't too bad. Racing feisty uber drivers and ethnic locals is par for the course outside of genteel SW London, so it kept me entertained, as did the recently released Fatboy Slim album.
As we pulled up, my first impression was summarised by the marque parked in front of us.
Undeterred, I soldiered on and called the seller. The vehicle was parked in the chap's garden rear, with access from the road.
It seemed clean to me and the thing that stood out was that it was shod with four good Continental M+S tyres, with even wear and decent tread depth. Any good bargeiste acknowledges that this is a key metric and after this, I relaxed. He had left it cold in order to start it in my presence and all seemed in order.
Some seemingly cosmetic rust on the arch lips
He told me that the vehicle was one owner and with good provenance, these are most of the hallmarks of a golden deal on the barge thread; it was surely, too good to be true.
After a look around, we went for a test drive, in which I initially sat in the rear. I was (pleasantly) surprised to see that it had heated rear seats.
We stopped mid-way and I jumped into the driver's seat. Playing with the buttons, the air con seemed cold, the sat nav told me that I was in Esher, then in the correct location, then in Esher, once again. The suspension raised to all three settings without fuss, the mirrors folded and to my delight, I spotted a heated steering wheel button. I also clocked a heated windscreen, in addition to the heated rear. So, toys galore.
Driving back to his place, all seemed fine and dandy, with the exception that the brakes can squeak when coming to a stop. He waved this away as a consequence of having stood after a valet...
I looked around once again; some marks on the body work including a touched up mark where it had been keyed and there is the occasional scrape on the extremities, which seems commensurate to the age and mileage.
There wasn't too much to kick, after that. The engine seemed clean, though hard to inspect properly, no evidence of oil or fluid leaks. There are a couple of new looking components. A hose/tube running towards the engine block and the anti-freeze bottle looks new along with fresh fluid. I hope that pink is the correct colour!
There was a bit of hairy blag from the seller. Upon inspecting the paperwork, it transpired that it was two owners, though effectively one as a Mr and Mrs owned it from new with the transfer of ownership after ten years, which coincided with the removal of a private VRN. Additionally, there was no real evidence of work undertaken after 2010, as the owner new someone local to whom cash was paid for a service and work, with no i stamps in the service book. This irritated me but then again, is expected for a guy whose business is van sales. Irrespective of this, he told me that the guy was a good owner that maintained his vehicle well and against all sensible commentary on PH and received knowledge, I agreed that the evidence is that there is little obvious deferred maintenance on the vehicle.
Part of the reasoning behind the purchase, besides the whimsy of a seemingly sporadic purchase, is that potential for towing. This vehicle has no tow bar fitted, which would surely mean less habitual wear and tear... surely?
I knocked him down a little, transferred the money and we were on our way home.
I'll cover the visual and identified condition of the vehicle in the next post.
mmcd87 said:
These are great and at the age where they are generally well understood. There’s a reason the posh farmers are running them.
Make sure the battery is good - an unbelievable amount of faults are due to flat or failing battery
Check the boot floor and ECU compartment for water ingress - they all leak
iCarsoft is good to buy for diagnostics
Check the rear sills for rust
Buy some fibre optic bypass cables. Bypass everything to do with ICE as its all ancient and just drains battery - sat nav, cd changer, Bluetooth.
That’s the best spec one they made IMHO - NA Jaguar engine is smooth, powerful and reliable. Good luck with it.
A welcome and helpful post. I'll be needing the collective wisdom and beardage of PH with this purchase, may the Gods of Bork look upon me favourably. Make sure the battery is good - an unbelievable amount of faults are due to flat or failing battery
Check the boot floor and ECU compartment for water ingress - they all leak
iCarsoft is good to buy for diagnostics
Check the rear sills for rust
Buy some fibre optic bypass cables. Bypass everything to do with ICE as its all ancient and just drains battery - sat nav, cd changer, Bluetooth.
That’s the best spec one they made IMHO - NA Jaguar engine is smooth, powerful and reliable. Good luck with it.
The battery was recently replaced by the previous owner (who also MOTd it in August) and I spotted that it is a Yuasa. I know that this is a reputed brand for motorcycles and I presume that it is the same for cars?
I lifted the spare wheel and there was a trace of water in a circular protrusion, but not much else. There was accumulated dirt surrounding an exposed loom that I'll have to brush away, however.
Fibre optic cable bypass... I'm an interested luddite... could you possibly elaborate as though you were addressing a ten year old?
I'm glad Mrs B "needed" one of these
I have no need for one and will probably never own one but it is on my bucket list (no idea why it just is) I can live with following your progress via this thread and experience the whole pleasure pain thing from a safe and wallet surviving distance
Top purchase it looks brilliant for three and a half bags
I have no need for one and will probably never own one but it is on my bucket list (no idea why it just is) I can live with following your progress via this thread and experience the whole pleasure pain thing from a safe and wallet surviving distance
Top purchase it looks brilliant for three and a half bags
Thanks, CM, MC, BC. I've never seen Mrs B take an interest in a vehicle as she has done with this! She drove it for the first time yesterday to it's (new) natural habitat of Waitrose and seemed to get on fine, though she still concedes ground to oncoming traffic in a 50/50 situation. 
My arguments about 'owning the road space' were given short thrift... the one where I mentioned start/stopping a three tonne vehicle with a belting V8 coating an arm and a leg in petrol worked for her
My arguments about 'owning the road space' were given short thrift... the one where I mentioned start/stopping a three tonne vehicle with a belting V8 coating an arm and a leg in petrol worked for her
Edited by bolidemichael on Monday 6th September 10:51
What a bargain!
There is nothing quite like a FFRR in my opinion, the thick pile carpets that you would find in a Bentley and a mix of utilitarianism.
The build quality is unsurprisingly not the best, you will be lucky if that is just surface rust in the arches. Get this treated before winter.
The coolant is meant to be pink- it is OAT as per Ford/Jaguar.
Enjoy!
There is nothing quite like a FFRR in my opinion, the thick pile carpets that you would find in a Bentley and a mix of utilitarianism.
The build quality is unsurprisingly not the best, you will be lucky if that is just surface rust in the arches. Get this treated before winter.
The coolant is meant to be pink- it is OAT as per Ford/Jaguar.
Enjoy!
Nice car OP, I'm on my 2nd L322 now and they are a lovely thing for wafting about in. I would agree with the previous posters comments about diagnostic tools, they can save you a fortune in the long run but on the whole mine have been very reliable cars.
One thing to check though is the brake lines. The rears run down the nearside sill and are hidden by a protective cover so don't get inspected at service/MOT time. One of my lines failed due to corrosion at about 10 years old with a major loss of fluid. Worth inspecting yours to see if they are dangerous. The front brake lines are also covered by the wheel arch liners and are known to rust behind the liners too.
One thing to check though is the brake lines. The rears run down the nearside sill and are hidden by a protective cover so don't get inspected at service/MOT time. One of my lines failed due to corrosion at about 10 years old with a major loss of fluid. Worth inspecting yours to see if they are dangerous. The front brake lines are also covered by the wheel arch liners and are known to rust behind the liners too.
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