I'm going to be in Vel Satis heaven...

R9UKE · Unread post by **R9UKE** » 17 Jan 2011, 21:37

If you know me at all, you'll surely know of the love I have for the Vel Satis. It is, without a doubt, my favourite car of all time.

But anyway... they also seem to be absolutely plagued. Whether it be gearbox failure, smokey turbos or just the usual Renault electrical gremlins, they are falling fast.

Last one I bought was a turbo failure, it cost me £500. The one before was a gearbox failure, it cost me £250. I thought these were one offs, but no. It's happening to A LOT of them. Here's just two of this weeks batch:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/2002-Renaul-Vel-S ... 4156187b1c

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/2002-RENAULT-VEL- ... 19c265d628

I'm having images of myself in three years, surrounded my broken Vel Sati and completely bankrupt. Bring it on

andmcit · Unread post by **andmcit** » 17 Jan 2011, 21:43

Yep, you're stark raving mad!

From someone that's surrounded by nearly working unsellable but
interesting / odd / quirky / unique (delete where appliccable) old French cars
and who's practically bankrupt,

DON'T DO IT!!

Andrew

Citroenmad · Unread post by **Citroenmad** » 17 Jan 2011, 21:49

I know what you mean! They look more appealing as their value plumits.

Their slightly ugliness makes them appealing for some reason, i like them, very much. However, if i would buy one is another question, a bit like an Alfa for me, id love one, but what about the hassle of owning. I know Citroens go wrong sometimes, but most of the time they work!

Did you watch the ancient TopGear episode with Trinny and Suzannah as the star guests? They said somehting about Jeremy giving car advice to Suzannah, she ended up with a Vel Satis which she said she loved. Trinny said it looked like a coffin!

If only my memory was this good at remembering useful things!

R9UKE · Unread post by **R9UKE** » 17 Jan 2011, 21:49

andmcit wrote:Yep, you're stark raving mad!

From someone that's surrounded by nearly working unsellable but
interesting / odd / quirky / unique (delete where appliccable) old French cars
and who's practically bankrupt,

DON'T DO IT!!

Andrew

LOL!

Exactly what I'm aiming for

R9UKE · Unread post by **R9UKE** » 17 Jan 2011, 21:51

Did you watch the ancient TopGear episode with Trinny and Suzannah as the star guests? They said somehting about Jeremy giving car advice to Suzannah, she ended up with a Vel Satis which she said she loved. Trinny said it looked like a coffin!

If only my memory was this good at remembering useful things!

Yes! That always counts as a good argument for people who think they're ugly... a fashion queen had one. I heard that it was the 3.5 V6 as well

andmcit · Unread post by **andmcit** » 17 Jan 2011, 21:58

Well, at least do something I've found out the hard way THEN!

Have a 100+ odd if you must but why not try adding a bit of variety rather
than falling into the trap of constant duplication (different colours doesn't
count as 'different enough' BTW!).

It starts quite modestly, I had 3x Gs and Cx, and the next thing you know
people are knocking on your door asking if you're interested in having their
unwanted car off them (yes really!). So. Chris you'd better watch out; x4
or is it 5 C5's, and BAM, the next thing you know it's a Funerals and Weddings
car fleet...

Andrew

R9UKE · Unread post by **R9UKE** » 17 Jan 2011, 22:04

Very, very good point. One of each engine type will do, wouldn't like to have one type of car outside the front door. I'll throw a few Xantias and BXs in there to mix things up

Citroenmad · Unread post by **Citroenmad** » 17 Jan 2011, 22:06

Wow, a 3.5, really? Thats quite a picture! Though i do remember her saying her Corsa had a big engine, that was a 1.4

I can't imagine what it must be like having 100+ cars, i cant picture it. Surely you would need a whole room for the key racks alone

Ah, i wont fall into that trap Andrew, 3 of the C5s are our daily cars and the 4th is for sale. I only own two cars, which is more than enough for me at the moment.

R9UKE · Unread post by **R9UKE** » 17 Jan 2011, 22:41

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/ ... ?logcode=p

Sorry, how much??????????????

Unread post by **CitroJim** » 18 Jan 2011, 06:10

They depreciate like big Citroens

Wonder what automatic gearbox the 3.5 Vel has? Now if it was a ZF 4HP20 I could take a stab at what the fault is....

It could be a bargain but remember the gearbox will cost at least as much again to repair even before labour is taken into consideration...

Toby_HDi · Unread post by **Toby_HDi** » 18 Jan 2011, 07:04

CitroJim wrote:They depreciate like big Citroëns

Wonder what automatic gearbox the 3.5 Vel has? Now if it was a ZF 4HP20 I could take a stab at what the fault is....

It could be a bargain but remember the gearbox will cost at least as much again to repair even before labour is taken into consideration...

Alas not.

Apparently it is made by Aisin Warner, A Japanese company. Their coding is AW55-50SN. Renault designate it SU1. Used in Renaults, Nissans, Volvos and GM vehicles

Citroenmad · Unread post by **Citroenmad** » 18 Jan 2011, 08:01

R9UKE wrote:http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/ ... ?logcode=p

Sorry, how much??????????????

Wow, has someone there not noticed its a big Renault and therefore not worth much!

XantiaDaveEire · Unread post by **XantiaDaveEire** » 18 Jan 2011, 10:41

Citroenmad wrote:
R9UKE wrote:http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/ ... ?logcode=p

Sorry, how much??????????????
Wow, has someone there not noticed its a big Renault and therefore not worth much!

The decimal point is in the wrong place

It should read £799.0 $\:D/$

Citroenmad · Unread post by **Citroenmad** » 18 Jan 2011, 19:26

XantiaDaveEire wrote:
Citroenmad wrote:
R9UKE wrote:http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/ ... ?logcode=p

Sorry, how much??????????????
Wow, has someone there not noticed its a big Renault and therefore not worth much!
The decimal point is in the wrong place

It should read £799.0 $\:D/$

That could be whats happened!

lexi · Unread post by **lexi** » 20 Jan 2011, 18:11

Aisin bought over Warner long time ago. Toyota own Aisin and most if not all auto box in Toyota are Aisin.......certainly in the Landcruisers. Nissan use Jatco boxes in general as they own the company.

However Jatco boxes are even in Freelander models.

Aisin boxes have a reputation for longevity. Usually plain old Dexron as well.