L322 4.2 s/c

So, seriously thinking of going for a 4.2 s/c to replace the trusty p38.
Now, I've seen on another forum that they're very heavy on petrol?
Are they any worse than the 4.0 thor in mine? I would have thought that if anything they were slightly better (better gearbox and more efficient engine)
They seem to start around 6.5k for one that looks OK but is misfiring on gas so I'd give that a miss to a few around the 8-9k mark with around 100k miles or more on the clock.
So, at 100k miles and with a budget of 8k..... Ish, am I likely to get a good one or a pup?

I'm sure you seen this one, £6k potentially and just down the road
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2005-Supe...426604?hash=item2a8534582c:g:hwgAAOSwZeVY8iVS

Puppies can be sorted.

myfirstl322 said:

I'm sure you seen this one, £6k potentially and just down the road
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2005-Supe...426604?hash=item2a8534582c:g:hwgAAOSwZeVY8iVS

Puppies can be sorted.

Click to expand...

Yeah, I've seen that one but I might not be ready by the time it's sold. I actually thought that was the one with the dicky lpg but I was wrong.
If I can get my merc sold, it's definitely on the radar.
This post was more to see if there were any major problems and whether the fuel economy is as woeful as some seem to suggest.
Thanks anyway

Just got my 4.2 S/C a couple of weeks ago and so far I have been very surprised by the fuel economy! I was expecting to be paying about double what I would have with my 3.6 TdV8 but it is nowhere near that bad! Tbh for my weekly mileage i don't this it will be any more than £10 and when I drove it back from Oldham I was around £85 which isn't far off what I was in my diesel one so although I'm not ruling it out i think I might be ok without the LPG conversion

The 4.2 S/C is so smooth too and when you do out foot down that V8 grunt and Supercharger noise is sublime

I was actually going to suggest contacting BigDave given his recent acquisition, no need now.
Encouraging stuff Dave

myfirstl322 said:

I was actually going to suggest contacting BigDave given his recent acquisition, no need now.
Encouraging stuff Dave

Click to expand...

Yeah I can't praise it enough tbh, always had diesels but this really has made me think about sticking with petrol going forward

This reminds me of vid I recently watched on YouTube which centred around Henry Ford and his new fangled flathead V8 in which the whole block was cast in one piece (utter witchcraft in 1932), anyhoo, long story short, everyone believed it must consume twice the fuel.....

It don't work like that.

In the real world my S/c 2007 gives us 16mpg with the wife using it everyday to school about 2 miles down the road. However, last weekend I took my son down to Malvern for his Bronze D of E expedition and we averaged 28mpg driving steady. After having driven diesels over the last few years having a petrol again is a revelation, sooo smooth, quiet and refined with an exhaust note to make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up, and with the power delivery of a supercar. The 6 speed box is an utter delight and the uprated Brembo brakes shed the enormous weight without drama. Downsides.. Well tyres are expensive at £300 a corner and I would dearly love to change the radio/satnav for something more modern but saying that it receives digital tv fine and has dvd / playstation in the headrests which the children love. Best Car by far I have ever had... saving up for a 5.0 S/C. If buying try and get a facelifted model 2007 ish as the build quality improved considerably.

£300 a tyre!!!

Hi All,

My 4.2 S/C is a November 2005 model so only £229 road tax per year. I was looking at tyres this week and you can get Continental, Michelin & Pirelli for about £240 each fitted if you shop around.

As for the fuel economy, we also have a petrol Citroen C8 that does 24 mpg at best so frankly haven't bothered to do a scientific study of mpg. However, we had a round trip from York to London and back last weekend and at £100 for petrol it was worth every penny. To roll through London traffic in the comfort of an arm chair and virtually float up the M1 as if travelling 1st class in a jet, how can you put a price on that.

Back home and my wife also uses the car every day for the school run. The car seems to thrive on being driven not standing on the drive.

Sure there can be some expensive garage bills but that can happen with any second hand car you buy. The car we bought is absolutely solid underneath with only the front and rear bumpers having been professionally re-painted. We also had a good crawl underneath to find virtually no corrosion the running gear or exhaust. Lets face it the 4.2 is unlikely to be a farmers choice but it doesn't hurt to check. A file full of receipts is often mentioned by other members who rate that above a "Stamped" service book.

Good luck with your search, hopefully, we'll be seeing your new car pics soon.

Tricky.

I think it might be a while before I get one. I had a buyer lined up for the merc but they changed their mind and working away a lot means it could be a while before it gets sold.
Once the merc is sold then the hunt will be on and then the p38 will be up for sale too.