Looking for an RS2 RHD

[hysteric]

Hi all. Thanks for all of the great info on this forum. I am looking to buy my first RS2 as a weekend car (I walk/train to work). I have two qeuries really I was hoping you may be able to help with.

1. Do you know of an enthusiast seling his RS2 RHD, and if so please PM me? I would want to buy from somebody on this forum for many reasons - but I am a classic/cult car enthusiast and would want to by from somebody who shares that love for these cars.

2 What are the basic checks one should carry out before buying or is my only recourse to get a specialist to have a look at it as advised in another thread?

Any advice is apreciated, slightly apprehensive about the mpg, but for a weekend car, I remain blisfully ignorant!

I am not looking for a garage queen, I firmly believe these cars are meant to be maintained and driven, and so would like a solid car, no accident damage and a good history. I realise these cars sell for anything up to £15k, however I am not looking to spend anything anywhere near that.

I look forward to hearing from anybody on this forum and thanks for reading! Oh, I am based in London.

Cheers.

[alastairg]

£15 K for cared for & sorted car is about right. I spent £17K 5years ago & have spent at least the same sorting it ! Buy cheap at your peril. Most need suspension brakes & bodywork issues addressing.

[hysteric]

hi alastair, agreed - buy cheap at my peril, but if the chassis is straight, no accident damage and has regular servicing, everything can be put right. don't get me wrong, I am not looking for a resto job, but I cannot afford that much - does that I mean I should not own one of these fine cars ?

may I am being naive, but hey - I am an enthusiast and can offer something to a seller that maybe some people cannot - the car will be looked after and not broken up into bits for parts!

i remain hopefull !

[sonny]

http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C67450/

[alastairg]

hi alastair, agreed - buy cheap at my peril, but if the chassis is straight, no accident damage and has regular servicing, everything can be put right. don't get me wrong, I am not looking for a resto job, but I cannot afford that much - does that I mean I should not own one of these fine cars ?

may I am being naive, but hey - I am an enthusiast and can offer something to a seller that maybe some people cannot - the car will be looked after and not broken up into bits for parts!

i remain hopefull !

Yes it can but it will cost. I guess I am trying to say that you need service evidence of certain items been addressed above & beyond routine service items to ensure you do not end up having to do them during your ownership.
Take your time & get evidence of work done to suspension, brakes & lower door bodytrim. Ideally 6k oil changes & second cambelt change (on age not mileage)
Goodluck they are worth it

[hysteric]

hi alastair, agreed - buy cheap at my peril, but if the chassis is straight, no accident damage and has regular servicing, everything can be put right. don't get me wrong, I am not looking for a resto job, but I cannot afford that much - does that I mean I should not own one of these fine cars ?

may I am being naive, but hey - I am an enthusiast and can offer something to a seller that maybe some people cannot - the car will be looked after and not broken up into bits for parts!

i remain hopefull !

Yes it can but it will cost. I guess I am trying to say that you need service evidence of certain items been addressed above & beyond routine service items to ensure you do not end up having to do them during your ownership.
Take your time & get evidence of work done to suspension, brakes & lower door bodytrim. Ideally 6k oil changes & second cambelt change (on age not mileage)
Goodluck they are worth it

That's really good advice, I was just about to ask the question - thanks! Aside from suspension, brakes and door trim, are there any things to check for? Such as engine rebuilds (top or bottom end), rust or such things for a 140k-ish mile car.

Thanks again for the advice!

[trevithick]

Leaks around the boot area!
Mines got 146k and mechanically/ bodywork very good, just make sure that the right parts have been used.
I recon it's worth paying that extra for a known good car, looking at the service history on mine they can swallow money. Just remember 15k will look cheap in a couple of years time, look at what happened to the Lotus Cortinas.
Good luck
T
ps what about this one ? got to be worth a look http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/894757.htm

[alastairg]

Rust at the front wing where the bumper meets the arch & over time rubs through the galvanisation. Apart from that only damage repair (untouched stonechips included)
Other items I have done are propshaft central bearing, radiators, aircon piping,wheel bearings, handbrake, boost hoses, various water hoses, PAS pump, seat bushes, arb bushes, various relays, afterrun coolant pump, MAF, various engine sensors (oil temp & pressure coolant temp inlet air temp), thermostat, rear diff mount, DV, N75/WGFV. topmounts & lambda
Thats in addition to all new dampers subframes suspension brakes (big red upgrade) door trims.
Not many have needed engine rebuilds. Mine had a new short engine block prior to my ownership under extended Audi warranty (reason unknown). Lucky for me.

Look for a car with a pile of receipts.

[alastairg]

Leaks around the boot area!

Mines got 146k and mechanically/ bodywork very good, just make sure that the right parts have been used.
I recon it's worth paying that extra for a known good car, looking at the service history on mine they can swallow money. Just remember 15k will look cheap in a couple of years time, look at what happened to the Lotus Cortinas.
Good luck
T
ps what about this one ? got to be worth a look http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/894757.htm

Not sorted yet ?

[trevithick]

I stalled it by taking the drain plugs out of the lid.
Next weekend task if it ever stops raining ( I'll try and get it done before Goodwood).

Mine came with folders full of history, as many would know, I've had a lot of old / interesting motors over the years and the RS2 is one of a kind by far so they're worth the effort.
Cheers
T

[hysteric]

Thanks for the information guys - much appreciated ! It may be that I will require the help of somebody on this forum if looking at a car not owned by a forum member !

Quite a daunting list !

[hysteric]

Leaks around the boot area!
Mines got 146k and mechanically/ bodywork very good, just make sure that the right parts have been used.
I recon it's worth paying that extra for a known good car, looking at the service history on mine they can swallow money. Just remember 15k will look cheap in a couple of years time, look at what happened to the Lotus Cortinas.
Good luck
T
ps what about this one ? got to be worth a look http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/894757.htm

Thanks mate. Unfortunately the advert has been withdrawn!

[scillyisles]

Alaistair pretty much sums up the main items and his costs for putting things right tallies with mine.
Looking back over my ownership bills since I bought the car from new, the items that have cost the most are brakes and suspension, followed by A/C pipe replacement, tyres, cambelt changes (just done mine again based on age as Alaistair suggests so the car is now on its third cambelt.)
Recent items done have included a brand new auxiliary radiator as the original was disintergrating and if you touched it the metal fins turned to powder.
Hysteric your original post mentioned that you wanted to pay much less than £15K and provided the car was not accident damaged then things could be put right. The problem with these cars is that a lot of the parts prices to put things right are not cheap and are restricted availability which is further compounded by the specialist labour costs needed to fit them.
In summary, I don't think your economics stack up as buying a car for much less than £15K will almost inevitably lead to a refurbishment cost in excess of purchasing a good one at £15K. Furthermore even if you purchase a good one at £15k you still need to budget for significant running costs as the car if driven or not will still need suspension , brakies and tyre consummables.

[DickyC]

Have you considered a replica, hysteric?

http://pistonheads.com/sales/1048603.htm

Yes, it's a replica, but it's still a hell of a lot of car for your money.

[darkhorse1210]

Hysteric

I can offer a slightly different approach to some on here (I like doing things the hard way!).

I bought my 137k miler for £9,750 following a full AA inspection. There were definitely many 'advisables' on the report but nothing apart from 'handling' and 'air con/heating' problem that were in the serious bracket.

The handling problem I narrowed down to incorrect tyre sizes (you will find many comments about this on this forum). Once I fitted the correct 225/25/17s the 'handling' problem has disappered. £430 for a full set of Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetrics did the job (it had 245s on there before)

So far had all the fluids changed (PAS, Brake, Oil, Coolant), cambelt changed (with tensioners and water pump) and new main radiator fitted (sourced from 4ringspares on EBay for £150). I had the auxillary radiator (the front, top rad) 'blanked off' on the advice of my specialist, not seen any overheating issues since then.

Front discs and pads fitted (I'd recommend going down the red stuff pad route as mine are a tad sqeaky).

The car had a turbo rebuild at 130k so that was one thing not to worry about.

The car still has a few issues to put right. The heating system does not work and it needs a new rear wheel bearing but total cost for me so far (purchase price + new parts and labour is about £11.5k). I'm not saying this won't cost me £15k in the end but by then it should be a minter.

My advice is demand service history, and most importantly find a reasonable priced specialist who knows the car...in the long run this will save £0000s.