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Thread: Does anyone know the history of this Legnum?

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    Does anyone know the history of this Legnum?

    Hey all,

    I'm a new member here and me and my brother are looking into getting our first 8th gen VR4. He owned an 8th gen 2.4 GDI beforehand, but it's time that we start 'playing' with the real thing.

    We're from Bulgaria and there's currently an auto 1997 Legnum up for sale here. It's actually been up since 2013, and I checked that the last time it had its MOT and insurance paid in the UK was late 2012. So I'd guess up until then the car would have been driven in the UK, and maybe the owner was a member here or some of you might know this car's history.

    Anyhow, originally he was asking for 3000 quid back in 2013, keeping in mind that he transported the car from the UK to Bulgaria which is more or less 1800 miles, so that automatically adds to its price. Now, after two years, he dropped it down to 1600 pounds, which is just in our budget.

    Hence why I want to first check with you fellas and see if anybody knows anything about this car.

    Here's three pics of it (taken from its online add).

    Click image for larger version. 

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    Atik's Avatar

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    Fairly unique styling with the front fogs, numberplates and the colour effect wheels. I definitely do not recognise it from here though.
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    It doesn't ring any bells, but I will have a think and let you know if I come up with anything.

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    Hello again,

    I got some up-to-date pictures from the fella who's selling the Legnum. At first glance it seems that it suffers from the typical Galant disease; rust around the fenders, a few bumps and scratches around the bumper and so on. Those are more or less fixable with a few quid, but I noticed a few worryingly odd things around the engine bay. I'll attach a few pictures with some notation; I'd appreciate it if you can maybe suggest what could have happened. I'm guessing heavy rust around the strut pillar mount, which was then covered up with that goo thing. Also you can see something has been done to them, because the strut bar has been removed and put back in place in the wrong manner. Also you can see that part of the radiator body has been covered up with something, maybe welded or glued with something. Not sure what that is about. But I think a replacement radiator from a normal Galant can be switched out.

    There's also a NOS sticker on the side fender, but I don't see any tubing or nitrous bottles lying around, so I'm guessing it ain't 'shot' . Oh and one last thing, he said the mpg (out of urban areas) can go up to to 10L/100km or 23.5 mpg. In city, he said it can go down to 21L/100km or ~11.2 mpg, which seems waay to much for a car with two turbos and 320 bhp (or so he claims, says it's got chip tuning and whatnot).

    Thanks for reading and I'll be glad if you more experienced folks can chime on this, maybe give an opinion or two on what this beast may hold.

    Click image for larger version. 

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    Nick Mann's Avatar

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    The strut brace - only the silver bit is fitted the wrong way round, the red bits are fitted correctly.

    Strut towers - I would guess that you are right about the sealant hiding some rust. It will be difficult to know if the repair has been done well without more research and a good look.

    Radiator - yep, some kind of dodgy fix. Stock radiators are prone to cracking along that part of the rad and they are the same fitment as non-turbo galants. The V6 radiator is identical to the VR4 item.

    Fuel consumption - seems in the right kind of ball park. I used to average 17-18 mpg on my commute which was a mix of stop/start traffic and 70mph dual carriageway.

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    Righto.

    In the case that we do get the car, first thing would be to take it to a body specialist (or whatever he's called) and see how well the 'rust repair' has been done. If poor, maybe welding some new sheet metal on there would be a good idea; this car's already so heavy that a bit more metal wouldn't hurt !

    All that is stopping us now is that I first need to sell my own car ('97 Mitsubishi Eclipse, the one from the F&F). It's the non-turbo version with the measly 150 hp. I've had my fun with it but it's time to move to something more, and bigger to. Can't fit (comfortably) more than 3 people including the driver in it!

    Thanks again and I'll post updates on any new revelations.

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    A quick check shows:


    "This registration was first registered during the period August 1996 to July 1997.

    The registration was first registered in Chelmsford."

    First part is probably general info on plate and year and doesn't mean the car was in the UK at this time.
    Second part is the relevant part, the vehicle was registered in Chelmsford, (and given the age related plate, but no info on when it was registered in the UK.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Kryndon View Post
    Righto.

    In the case that we do get the car, first thing would be to take it to a body specialist (or whatever he's called) and see how well the 'rust repair' has been done. If poor, maybe welding some new sheet metal on there would be a good idea; this car's already so heavy that a bit more metal wouldn't hurt !

    All that is stopping us now is that I first need to sell my own car ('97 Mitsubishi Eclipse, the one from the F&F). It's the non-turbo version with the measly 150 hp. I've had my fun with it but it's time to move to something more, and bigger to. Can't fit (comfortably) more than 3 people including the driver in it!

    Thanks again and I'll post updates on any new revelations.
    I would be asking myself why are the first lot of photos different from the last set?

    IE There are some things ringing alarm bells for me like there are some differences between the set like the dent in the rear bumper, little lights missing on the front Etc Etc.

    I personally wouldn't touch it as the money you would spend fixing it up could go to buy something already better

    That's my opinion & the way I would go as I have bought cheap vr4's that have not been looked after & after spending another small fortune on it the car was still not right

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    I totally understand where you're coming from, but the situation me and my brother are in is quite the pickle.

    The first set of photos are different because they were taken two years ago, when the car was initially imported from the UK to Bulgaria (where I'm from). So the car ad is from 2013. Back then the price for it was 3100 GBP and it did not have the fender rust or bumper dent. However, the person who is selling it recently told me that he's been driving it every winter, which explains the further wear and tear.

    Currently we sort of have a deal with him; he dropped the price over the years and he agreed to sell it to me for 1600 GBP. But like I said, I first need to sell my own car to get that money, so it could be a few more days (or even months!). Also that is the only VR-4 currently being sold in my country, so it's our only option. Otherwise taking another from the UK, paying all the road taxes and also the fuel costs, it would end up costing more than buying this one specifically.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Kryndon View Post
    I totally understand where you're coming from, but the situation me and my brother are in is quite the pickle.

    The first set of photos are different because they were taken two years ago, when the car was initially imported from the UK to Bulgaria (where I'm from). So the car ad is from 2013. Back then the price for it was 3100 GBP and it did not have the fender rust or bumper dent. However, the person who is selling it recently told me that he's been driving it every winter, which explains the further wear and tear.

    Currently we sort of have a deal with him; he dropped the price over the years and he agreed to sell it to me for 1600 GBP. But like I said, I first need to sell my own car to get that money, so it could be a few more days (or even months!). Also that is the only VR-4 currently being sold in my country, so it's our only option. Otherwise taking another from the UK, paying all the road taxes and also the fuel costs, it would end up costing more than buying this one specifically.
    But you would more likely have a car in decent condition and that it was fit for purpose without uncertainties about future problems...

    For a car in such a bad condition, a price closer to £1000 or less would perhaps be expected - strut tower repairs are concern - radiator can be replaced but rough repair raises issue of how catastrophic was leak and damage to engine...

    It may be an exaggerated concern but I would want much lower price or avoid it...

    Do you have funds for current and future poss extensive repairs...?

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    You've got a point, but this car will be more of a project/weekend car than a daily driver. I mean it will still get driven, but not so regularly that you would need to rely on it 100%. So we do expect it to have problems now or further down the line, and will put effort/money into it, of course. Even if you buy one in pristine condition, it would be foolish not to expect things to break and not have to spend more money on a ~20yo car.

    Then again there is an alternative. I'm actually studying in the UK and I guess I can keep my eyes open to any potentially good deals on any other VR4s. But like I said, transporting the car over 1700 miles would be a hard and expensive task.

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