Recommissioning a car

[[TW]Fox]

But you have a 3L diesel, no? OP has a 1.5L.

I think i get where you're coming from though, he could get a BMW 530 diesel, but he isn't likely going to do that. We are talking about the 3L omega, and his current car...

10 grand a year is a lot of money to spend on fuel. It's so enormous that a more efficient car could literally pay for itself.

My point isn't that he should get the same car as me, more that doing 50k a year in a 20 year old 3 litre petrol Omega is a ridiculous prospect which makes absolutely no sense.

It's probably a less nice place to be than a Ford Focus these days.

Mileage rates generally drop after the first X thousand a year too.

 

[Akagi]

My diesel Octavia paid for itself in fuel savings in about 5-6 months/15,000 miles

 

[The Running Man]

I could understand it if the old car was cool and fun like a 200sx or pulsar or a Monaco vxr8 but an Omega?

 

[Akagi]

I could understand it if the old car was cool and fun like a 200sx or pulsar or a Monaco vxr8 but an Omega?

Careful, OP likes Omegas. He is an Omegasexual.

Also I'd much rather do big miles in an Omega MV6 than a 200SX. 50K a year in a 200SX sounds miserable. And, frankly, impossible.

A good point raised though... If you're going down this route OP, why not get something more luxurious to eat up the miles in. My Celsior (LS400) would get 35MPG on the motorway and that had a 4.0 V8.

 

[The Running Man]

Careful, OP likes Omegas. He is an Omegasexual.

Also I'd much rather do big miles in an Omega MV6 than a 200SX. 50K a year in a 200SX sounds miserable. And, frankly, impossible.

A good point raised though... If you're going down this route OP, why not get something more luxurious to eat up the miles in. My Celsior (LS400) would get 35MPG on the motorway and that had a 4.0 V8.

Fair enoygh I just suspect there's other cars I would prefer to drive from either a performance or modern comfort perspective

 

[vanpeebles]

Probably better to add fire and push it into a ditch.

 

[Scania]

50k a year in a 20years old petrol V6 Omega? - I think you’ll be doing a fair proportion of that mileage in something else anyway - whatever courtesy car you get when the Omega is in the garage, again and again.

There’s a very good reason the motorways aren’t full of similar age vehicles doing the same thing....

I get the love for the Omega, and recommission it by all means, but to then expect 50k p/a reliably out of it is highly unlikely to happen and frankly a bit of a daft idea (says the man who looked an another e38 last weekend.... )

 

[mccarf]

Recommission it and save it for your days off. Ruining a car you really like seems pointless, especially when you have diesels on the drive can use instead.

 

[Akagi]

50k a year in a 20years old petrol V6 Omega? - I think you’ll be doing a fair proportion of that mileage in something else anyway - whatever courtesy car you get when the Omega is in the garage, again and again.

There’s a very good reason the motorways aren’t full of similar age vehicles doing the same thing....

I get the love for the Omega, and recommission it by all means, but to then expect 50k p/a reliably out of it is highly unlikely to happen and frankly a bit of a daft idea (says the man who looked an another e38 last weekend.... )

I'm sure issues will crop up, but I don't think its the impossible task you are making it out to be!

It is after all -not- an E38.

Recommission it and save it for your days off. Ruining a car you really like seems pointless, especially when you have diesels on the drive can use instead.

Depends on whether the daily miles could be made more enjoyable by driving the Omega.

Plus I have a feeling 233 is going to keep the thing forever, and he is well versed in using cars until they are on 400K~ miles, just perhaps not old ones.

 

[[TW]Fox]

I'm sure issues will crop up, but I don't think its the impossible task you are making it out to be!

It is after all -not- an E38.

Yea it's definitely not a large rear drive 3 litre saloon car designed and built by Germans for cruising autobahns.

Wait, hang on...

 

[Akagi]

Yea it's definitely not a large rear drive 3 litre saloon car designed and built by Germans for cruising autobahns.

Wait, hang on...

Put your BMW hard on away.

An E38, while cool, is a hideously complicated and now quite old car with a million more things to go wrong (which will go wrong) than an Opel. Not to mention the fact that they are harder to work on and parts prices will be much higher.

 

[[TW]Fox]

I think you underestimate just what the Omega was.

Here is a hint: the only Vauxhall I've ever liked

 

[vanpeebles]

It had a poor v6 that was full of plastic parts.

 

[Akagi]

I think you underestimate just what the Omega was.

Here is a hint: the only Vauxhall I've ever liked

I've never really looked into it so you're probably right. I always assumed it was just a RWD Vauxhall made from Vauxhall bits. A replacement for the Carlton.

e; Well I just read the Wiki article and there was absolutely nothing noteworthy written there, I cannot be bothered to look further afield so feel free to tell me why its special.

 

[[TW]Fox]

It's not special, but it isn't a Corsa either.

 

[Akagi]

Nor is it a 7 series though.

In terms of complexity and number of potential, overly complicated, points of failure.

 

[[TW]Fox]

What's so complicated about an E38 versus an Omega?

Conventional sprung suspension, 6 cylinder petrol engine, rear diff, various bits of mid 90s electronics, automatic gearbox. Similar level of complexity to an Omega.

Some of the BMWs even had GM gearboxes...

 

[Akagi]

I was mainly thinking about the million or so computer controlled systems and electronic weirdness which means almost all of them get sent to the scrap yard with a christmas tree of lights on the dash.

Or maybe they aren't that bad and the E65 was where it all started to go wrong.

I'm scared to own one but I'm not scared to own an Omega. Maybe I should be scared of owning either. Or not scared of owning an E38.

I've watched too many YouTube videos of people buying old 7 Series' and deeply regretting it I guess.

 

[Howard]

Back in the 1990s the Omega would have been the ideal car for pounding the motorways day-in, day-out. But fuel costs aren't what they used to be, and Omegas weren't known for their sterling reliability even 10-20 years ago, let alone now when everything is even older and weathered and worn out.

I have always had a soft spot for the car, but I'm not sure it's the right tool for this job!

I don't think it would have quite the potential to bring on destitution as the E38 as I'm sure the BMW's under-the-skin construction and technology is complex and more sophisticated, but still.

 

[snapdragon69]

Had an R-reg (1997) Omega Elite 2.5 TDi from around 5 years old to 11 years old. It was one of the best cars I have had and was not unreliable*. The only letdown was the BMW M51 engine which while peachy smooth, economical and fast for the day, was terribly unreliable and fragile*.