Franx

Right.
I need something fairly decent sized, to cart all the windsurfing stuff around (Not a big fan of roof racks...) and once the Range Rover's gone, I'm after something fairly nippy, decent handling, not too high insurance (which rules out impreza wagon), and a good bit of space, whilst not being too thirsty.

I've seen ex Police T5s going quite cheap (the 850/V70 one, I'm thinking of here), at a few grand, so I'm thinking either a police auction/specialist, or find a decent Legacy - maybe a Leggy turbo, but I'll have to look at the insurance first.

Any thoughts or other ideas?

Chris.

billythekid

where are you in the UK?

A mate of mine sells ex-police cars.

For a T5 you are looking at 2500 to 4000 depending on condition and age.

You could get something like an Omega Mv6 estate also - about 3500 ish.

fatherpierre

That rules out the T5 straight away.

tallsteve

Legacy Turbos are pretty steep on insurance - my '93 Turbo is group 16 or 17 I think...

On the plus side, you can pick them up (that age range anyway) for not a great deal of dough - and they are good fun!

Maybe a 5 series touring? The older shape ones might be good VFM now.. What about a (non-blinged up) Lexus LS400?

Aaquil

I'm selling my Legacy Turbo if your interested. It has quite a few mods and as you are a Scoobynet member I could do you a good deal. My problem is the Insurance, bad postal address, no garage, no drive. Otherwise general in good condition.

Aaquil.

jtabraham

Hi
My wife has a V70 T-5 ex police car. It has now covered 196,000 of which we have done 60,000. I have no complaints with handling at all. It has not cost me a penny in upkeep, bar the usual servicing and brake pads. The tyres still last longer than my scooby.
We have had 7 adults and luggage in it and it still pulls like something not right.
I dont think their is another car in this class which is as strong or reliable, and can still nail the kids to the seats when you want to play.
It is quicker than the scooby from 100 up and thats fully loaded.
Hope this helps.
Jt

Franx

I'm in Liverpool at the moment.
I was planning to spend around £1500-2500, once I've sold the Rangie.
I might just phone up about insurance for both of these on tuesday, once this everlasting holiday's over, (not that I had a day off), and see how much it'd be. Legacy Turbo would be nice, as it's a bit bigger than the Impreza GL I had before, and a fair bit more pace as well
I'm tempted to get a cheapish sport or 2L GL, but they're a bit hard to come by in that price range, so Legacy's probably better.
I do like the T5 though, especially at that price

Franx

Right.

The insurance for the Leggy Turbo is looking like around £700 (10 month accelerator scheme, Admiral), but I can buy the car for around £1500-2000.

T5 insurance comes in at around £660, (same thing), but the car costs over £2500.

Decisions....

Can anyone tell me what mpg they get in a legacy turbo estate?
What are the general running costs like? Do they compare well on reliability?

5-series touring - I've never had a BMW before, so I've really no idea what I'd be looking at, but my parents had a lot of volvos & I had a scoob, so I'd rather keep it simple Nice cars - although insurance is nasty as well

Ta
Chris.

tallsteve

My Leggy Turbo is a saloon, but I can get about 30-31mpg on a run (at about 80mph and a few full boost blasts!). In and around London I'd guess the MPG at about 25.

General running costs, mines been fine. Get one with the cambelt done recently and you'll avoid a large bill. Other than that it's the same in real terms (and in reliability) as a Impreza Turbo.

Only thing with the Legacy is the modding bug - I've had mine for a year and have kept it standard (aside from 16" wheels) but Backbox and de-cat centre section are probable arrivals soon.

Steven

billythekid

My mate is in Manchester - PM if you want info

ylee coyote

Saab 9000 aero
loads of space ,loads of pace (limited to 155 unfortunately )
and it will do 30 -35 mpg easily
and it has the best seats in the planet
And its easy to tune for pennies
Unburstable engine ...
and its different....

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

'and it will do 30 -35 mpg easily'

Cough, B*llocks, cough

No way, my brother in law has a 9-3 2.0 non turbo and that doesnt do thirty to the gallon so how the hell you would get 30-35 out of a heavier 230 bhp car is beyond me, used to get 24 from the T5, even on a run it wasnt much better.

ylee coyote

because it is turbocharged and has the cleverest engine management going...
the turbo makes it more efficient and this car has looooong gearing...
I have seen over 40 on a long run (driving like miss daisey I admit )
the 9-3 is the same weight btw

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

My Fiat Coupe has Bosch Motronic which is meant to be pretty up to date and it does 24 mpg !

Aaquil

Franx

I have sent u a PM. Pics of my Legacy Turbo Estate if u are interested.

Regards
Aaquil.

Franx

Thanks for that. Received.
I'm just thinking....do I sell the Rangie, do I buy a hugely modded Legacy, Do I buy nothing, do I find a T5......
Legacy seem the best bet at the moment, as the purchase cost is lower...
Wait until I've found someone to buy my Landy first, then I'll be back in the market

CrisPDuk

I own a Legacy (saloon unfortunately, or you could have bought it) & have driven a mates T5 (ex police, co-incidentally), both are similar in straightline performance, fuel economy & comfort, but when it comes to all weather, all surface practicality the scoob has the volvo beaten fair & square. On anything other than smooth dry tarmac the volvo gets all confused trying to put the power down & spins front tyres away for fun, which at £120 a corner soon gets expensive.
The Volvo is also quite a bit heavier, especially in the nose, which consequently puts a greater general wear on things like brakes, tyres, shocks etc.

As far as fuel economy goes on a motorway run, sticking at sensible speeds, say 85ish you should get low to mid 30's all day long, as both are off boost at that sort of speed & are modern multi-valve engines. Get them round town however, and if you get 20mpg you're doing bloody well

One other point to mention is that the T5 is a lot better known within the criminal fraternity as a fast motor with a big boot, hence I would suggest it is the more likely of the two to disappear of your drive to be used for a ram raid
However, speaking to the guy I normally buy my bits off, this seems to be changing, in our area (South Cheshire), a lot more of your drug dealer criminal types are switching to Leggies, as they are less conspicuous than Impreza's/E36 M3's, etc to the local law enforcement community, but can still outrun an area car

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

but when it comes to all weather, all surface practicality the scoob has the volvo beaten fair & square.

True

The Volvo is also quite a bit heavier,

the 850 was c 1420 kilos, cant imagine a Legacy, same size with 4wd is lighter ?

Franx

I was thinking that.
Probably not much in it.

I might have to wait a while now anyway. Sell the Rangie, then wait a while until I can afford something slightly better.

Reason is, I got an insurance quote on the net for a Leg Turbo, & it came out as £6-700 - very good, I thought. Phoned them up later on, & they said they had no bloody record of that quote, & the best they could do was £1100, which was a bit more than I had in mind. Trying to keep it below £900ish for the moment.
That's just flippin' great, I thought... In fact, I think that happened to someone else on here as well. Really pissed me off though

CrisPDuk

Jacko, I was under the impression that the 850 was heavier than that to be honest, it must be that big iron block over the front wheels that makes it feel that way. The leggy saloon is lighter though, IIRC it weighs in the region of 1350kg.

Franx, that quote sems a it high, mine is only £650, with six bonus points & a mad wife on it. Through Axa.

Franx

I am only 22 - but I thought it should be a bit lower, as my Range Rover insurance is £590 fully comp with 1 yr ncb & no points - a specialist 4x4 policy, admittedly, but it is a 3.5 litre V8, with similar amounts of power to the volvo & scoob.
I might have to resort back to my original idea of the Scooby pickup (Brat/MV). 370 quid insurance, & the windsurfing stuff should slot nicely in the back

CrisPDuk

How many miles are you planning on doing, if you get an original, pre-94 turbo, you could probably get it onto a classic policy, if you keep the mileage below 4k. My XR4x4 Sierra is about £220 p/a

Nowucme

As mentioned above what about an Omega.

I'm gonna sell my MY00 Impreza and buy a decent towing car soon. My shortlist is Omega, Forester (Jap import?!), Legacy (?).......don't want to spend more than 3-4k.

Billythekid - your mate got a website??

Franx

When I had the impreza, it was around 10k per year, but I was having to drive from Liverpool to Aberdeen & back 3 times a year, which won't happen any more.
Rangie uses too much fuel for me to go anywhere
But after june/july, I'll probably be on a fairly limited mileage - but I think 4000 might be pushing it, as it's around a 35 mile round trip to work at the moment, and it adds up pretty quickly - that's without the other trips I'd do with the scouts & that kind of thing.
Are there any old Legacy turbos around though? I've never seen any of that vintage.

At the moment though, I've just put myself on a lower budget than I could get an omega for. I might just get some old heap to get me to work. Volvo 240 or old scoob or summat, just until I get my job back over the summer.

tallsteve

There are quite a few Pre-94 Legacies knocking around - including my one! Think there are a few for sale on Scoobynet at the moment, not sure if you could get them on a classic policy but it's worth a try I suppose.

Renegadeshania

Ive had my 93 Turbo wagon for nearly a year now an i havent had any probs as yet just a few little niggles- ie rear window wiper ceased when i got it but easy job to repair an my airflow meter packed in but that was only 60 quid to replace.As for economy I live in Hull an dont do a huge amount of miles but round town i get roughly 64 - 74 miles on a tenner.But saying that i would not swap it for anything ! Performance is pretty good i havnt modded it yet an me insurance is about 480 fully comp Swintons.
Hope this helps u decide
Steve

DaveMiddleton

Some years back I attended a Club 89 track day and was taken out by Tim Harvey (BTCC works driver) in a Volvo T5 estate.
Believe me, there is nothing wrong with the handling of that car in the right hands. He was seriously quick and tended to emphasise the difference in skiil level of a REALLY good driver against most normal drivers.