Right, so after the initial excitement of the purchase of the early Opel Manta-B, this was quickly quelled by SWMBO who, upon seeing such fine automotive conveyance stated that it was an 'old man's car' and wouldn't be seen dead in it. Right! Probably didn't get on her best side as my Jag xj6 3.2 sport has been on the drive for the last 6mths waiting for me to sort its various electrical issues.
So the challenge was on to obtain something that we would both drive and would get me back into her good books. So I did what every self-respecting vehicular chod lover would do and bought an 'old man's car'
I place the blame firmly on Galahad's shoulders for this one. If he didn't live so close to me, then I wouldn't be compelled to purchase such fine Gallic exotica. Whilst idly browsing on here for nothing in particular I happened upon the sale ad for this. I've never had any particular desire to own a Safrane, but I felt a bit sorry for it just sitting in the yard and the armchairs looked comfy so thought I'd have a look. I've had a few cars from Galahad before so knew that there probably wouldn't be too much standing in the way of 12mths ticket. It fired up nicely, drove in forward and reverse, so that was good enough for me.
Safely ensconced in my mates garage, I asked him to cast his eye over it. The response "you've bought worse" delighted me and the car was dispatched post haste to the local MOT station where my choice of vehicle provided much mirth as being a Renault dealer they fondly remember these being the devils car when new Last laugh was on them when I had a phone call later that day informing me that 12mths ticket was now mine and without any advisories.
Fresh battery installed as the knackered one from my jag wouldn't suffice, it was time for first proper drive, It has got to be one of the noisiest and slowest big diesels I've ever driven (my old clio mk1 included). Now, bearing in mind the Safrane was Renault's flagship back in the day, its competitors were the Mercedes e300D, Peugeot 605, Ford Scorpio and Audi A6 2.5 tdi. All of these used fairly refined engines designed for cars. Not for Renault though, no, they decided that the most refined engine for the flagship of their range was the Iveco 8140 S8U found in other such luxury vehicles such as the 1994-1998 Fiat Ducato and 1997-2010 Renault Master.
However, I love it. Yes its a bit battered, but all of the electrics work, the leather is in good nick and even the infamous AD8 autobox works as it should. I'll be gradually sorting the bodywork issues and generally tidying up. Want to try and get my hands on a set of the RXE alloys as they look better than whats on there at the moment.
To the pics
So the challenge was on to obtain something that we would both drive and would get me back into her good books. So I did what every self-respecting vehicular chod lover would do and bought an 'old man's car'
I place the blame firmly on Galahad's shoulders for this one. If he didn't live so close to me, then I wouldn't be compelled to purchase such fine Gallic exotica. Whilst idly browsing on here for nothing in particular I happened upon the sale ad for this. I've never had any particular desire to own a Safrane, but I felt a bit sorry for it just sitting in the yard and the armchairs looked comfy so thought I'd have a look. I've had a few cars from Galahad before so knew that there probably wouldn't be too much standing in the way of 12mths ticket. It fired up nicely, drove in forward and reverse, so that was good enough for me.
Safely ensconced in my mates garage, I asked him to cast his eye over it. The response "you've bought worse" delighted me and the car was dispatched post haste to the local MOT station where my choice of vehicle provided much mirth as being a Renault dealer they fondly remember these being the devils car when new
Last laugh was on them when I had a phone call later that day informing me that 12mths ticket was now mine and without any advisories.Fresh battery installed as the knackered one from my jag wouldn't suffice, it was time for first proper drive, It has got to be one of the noisiest and slowest big diesels I've ever driven (my old clio mk1 included). Now, bearing in mind the Safrane was Renault's flagship back in the day, its competitors were the Mercedes e300D, Peugeot 605, Ford Scorpio and Audi A6 2.5 tdi. All of these used fairly refined engines designed for cars. Not for Renault though, no, they decided that the most refined engine for the flagship of their range was the Iveco 8140 S8U found in other such luxury vehicles such as the 1994-1998 Fiat Ducato and 1997-2010 Renault Master.
However, I love it. Yes its a bit battered, but all of the electrics work, the leather is in good nick and even the infamous AD8 autobox works as it should. I'll be gradually sorting the bodywork issues and generally tidying up. Want to try and get my hands on a set of the RXE alloys as they look better than whats on there at the moment.
To the pics
