Potential Purchase - High Mileage VR4 - Advice please.

[ariddell]

Hey Guys,
Very new here and looking for some advice on buying a VR4 Legnum, i have seen a couple and wanted your advice on acceptable mileage.

I have seen one on Autotrader near me with 120,000miles on the clock with a replacement engine fitted 40,000 miles ago and am not sure if i should be running very fast away from it in the opposite direction? Normally i wouldn't think twice about looking at a car with this sort of miles but as this one has had the replacement engine and is fitted with an LPG conversion i am slightly tempted. I would be trading in a high mileage grandpa mobile Jag XJ8 which has started to turn into a bit of a moneypit so i am reluctant to take on anything else that is likely to require major work. Oh and i am also only looking at keeping it for 6-9months before i emigrate next year to warmer a climate...

Anyone know more about the history of this car if you have seen it on Autotrader (blue and the only one listed as having LPG), or got any advice on if i should look further at getting it inspected etc? The other options i have seen on the net have been from Keighley Trade centre up in Yorkshire who have a few at a decent price, anyone had any dealings with them?

Cheers

Al

[Nick Mann]

The high mileage in itself is not necessarily a problem. I would be put off by that car for several possibly unlinked observations.

1. LPG is an unknown quantity on a VR4. Several people on this site have talked about it, but fundamentally we are too scared about gambling the life of the engine on lower running costs. (These aren't the cheapest cars to run!)

2. The engine replacement.

As I said, these may be unlinked, but the only engine replacements I know of have been on tuned VR4's. Even if the event are unlinked, if someone is desperate to pay less for fuel, have they penny pinched on the engine transplant? It would have to be very cheap for me to buy it, infact, so cheap that Mo would buy it to break it first!!

As for KTC - that garage has been talked about many times on these forums. Do a site search and you should find a bit of info. In summary, the cars are cheap, the service is poor, buy with your eyes wide open and you may get the bargain rather than the lemon.

[bernmc]

At that mileage, make sure you've set aside a grand or two to correct potential problems. Make sure the purchase price reflects that.

They seem to be pretty strong cars, but they're expensive to fix.

[Louis]

HI,
Might be a bit obvious this one, but check that this is a vr4 and not a Galant with a vr4 engine put in it, usual questions , how long have they had it etc. If high mileage a mitsy service history is a definite bonus, the vr4 is serviced every 4500 miles (bear these costs in mind) Also if auto / triptronic, these boxes may only last about 100,000miles.
On the up side they are a lot of fun and quite subtle, cheers Louis