Hi all,
I'm new to the forum and am living close to Swansea and thought I'd introduce myself. At the moment I'm driving a BMW E39 530i Sport but am looking to sell up in favour of a Legnum VR-4, and I'm after a bit of advice if possible!
I've tried searching on Google but can't find the info I could do with, so wondering if any of you guys might be able to help!
I've had two Japanese cars before - first was a '98 Nissan 200SX (S14a) modded to around 260bhp, the second was also a '98 200SX (S14a) modded to about 270bhp). I sold the last one around the middle of last year.
The 5er that I drive at the moment is pretty quick, but it has a very refined engine (3.0 straight six) and manages 28-30mpg on average. Now I know I'm not in the market for a VR-4 for the economy, but what do you find you average? How 'tuneable' are these cars? I ask because with my 200's, they required simple mods like de-cat, straight through exhaust, filter, and boost increase (1bar) and that would transform the car into a flying machine! Is it the same principle with VR-4s?
Also, where do I shop around for insurance? I'm 24 right now, 25 in December, I have 7 Years NCB with no points and the car will be garaged and only doing about 3-5k per year - am I going to get raped by Mr Insurer?! As a comparison, I'm paying £550 a year for my Bimmer and that's a group 17 car. The Bimmer will do 0-60 in 6.9 secs - how does that compare to the VR-4?
Also, what mileage are these cars capable of? I do all servicing myself. What should I look for when buying one, and what sort of problems am I likely to come up against during ownership?
Sorry for all the questions, I am getting really excited about going back to a turbocharged jap monster!
Cheers,
Jon