Gliptone leather products are Very good. If you do a search, Naranto has a few "before & after" shots of his 9000.
Regards,
M.
Regards,
M.
Finally got my car - 98R 2.3T Anniversary
Hi everyone,
First off, thanks for all your input and help on the previous thread I started about Aero private sale pricing, that was very useful indeed. I never actually got to see the Aero we discussed, as it was sold before the weekend arrived. Gotta be quick I guess!
Anyway, went down to Bristol to see, and subsequently buy, a lovely Anniversary instead. It's a two-owner manual 1998R 2.3 FPT with FSSH, Aero-style alloys, 96k on the clock, black with black interior, and has all the usual Anniversary extras like leather, half-wood steering wheel etc. It's in above average condition, bodywork is very good, interior OK but a little bit dirty and tired, something that will soon be rectified with a hoover and some elbow grease I ended up paying £3700 for it.
All the tips I've read here were very useful in test-driving and buying the car, so thanks again. Couple of first impressions for anyone interested:
GOOD
As it's one of the last, it has the full-tilt 225bhp turbo engine. Far as performance is concerned, all I can say is "wow". And then perhaps, "wow" again. I'm a bit speechless. I was expecting it to be reasonably quick, but (and I appreciate that I'll get used to it) on first impression it goes like the proverbial bat out of hell. This is one party trick I will not tire of anytime soon
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Apart from the above, usual 9000 positives apply. Very, very comfy and roomy, ACC is excellent and so easy to use, and the heated seats are a godsend when driving wife to work on winter mornings.
NOT SO GOOD
OK, coming from a 5-series, the initial driving impression is of a very, very fast bus. Steering is pretty lifeless and, in my opinion, over-assisted, especially around the centre. That does make for relaxing motorway cruising, so it's not too bad, but it doesn't inspire confidence when cornering.
The ride is pretty unforgiving, particularly on rough West London streets. Again, no big deal, and the upside is there's no body roll when cornering, but a "waft" car this is not.
There are a few rattles from the interior in various places, but I think I can sort some of them out, and it's not big deal really anyway - easy enough to live with.
QUESTIONS
So, all in all, I'm well pleased with the car, just hope it won't break. If anyone's still reading, I have a couple of questions:
1. I'm not interested in upping the power (yet ) but what difference would poly bushes etc. make to the steering and handling? Also what other general suspension/handling oriented tweaks would you recommend?
2. It hasn't got a CD player - can anyone recommend a cd-only unit that slots in under the radio, or a changer in the boot? And if yes, what do they cost and where can I get them?
3. The leather seats look quite tired, but I'm sure they'd come up great if treated with something. Can anyone recommend a suitable leather refresher product?
Sorry to ramble on so long, just wanted to share the experience, so to speak. Delighted to be back in a 9000, especially on as nice as this. I'll post some pictures if anyone's interested, soon as I get it cleaned up etc.
First off, thanks for all your input and help on the previous thread I started about Aero private sale pricing, that was very useful indeed. I never actually got to see the Aero we discussed, as it was sold before the weekend arrived. Gotta be quick I guess!
Anyway, went down to Bristol to see, and subsequently buy, a lovely Anniversary instead. It's a two-owner manual 1998R 2.3 FPT with FSSH, Aero-style alloys, 96k on the clock, black with black interior, and has all the usual Anniversary extras like leather, half-wood steering wheel etc. It's in above average condition, bodywork is very good, interior OK but a little bit dirty and tired, something that will soon be rectified with a hoover and some elbow grease I ended up paying £3700 for it.
All the tips I've read here were very useful in test-driving and buying the car, so thanks again. Couple of first impressions for anyone interested:
GOOD
As it's one of the last, it has the full-tilt 225bhp turbo engine. Far as performance is concerned, all I can say is "wow". And then perhaps, "wow" again. I'm a bit speechless. I was expecting it to be reasonably quick, but (and I appreciate that I'll get used to it) on first impression it goes like the proverbial bat out of hell. This is one party trick I will not tire of anytime soon
Apart from the above, usual 9000 positives apply. Very, very comfy and roomy, ACC is excellent and so easy to use, and the heated seats are a godsend when driving wife to work on winter mornings.
NOT SO GOOD
OK, coming from a 5-series, the initial driving impression is of a very, very fast bus. Steering is pretty lifeless and, in my opinion, over-assisted, especially around the centre. That does make for relaxing motorway cruising, so it's not too bad, but it doesn't inspire confidence when cornering.
The ride is pretty unforgiving, particularly on rough West London streets. Again, no big deal, and the upside is there's no body roll when cornering, but a "waft" car this is not.
There are a few rattles from the interior in various places, but I think I can sort some of them out, and it's not big deal really anyway - easy enough to live with.
QUESTIONS
So, all in all, I'm well pleased with the car, just hope it won't break. If anyone's still reading, I have a couple of questions:
1. I'm not interested in upping the power (yet ) but what difference would poly bushes etc. make to the steering and handling? Also what other general suspension/handling oriented tweaks would you recommend?
2. It hasn't got a CD player - can anyone recommend a cd-only unit that slots in under the radio, or a changer in the boot? And if yes, what do they cost and where can I get them?
3. The leather seats look quite tired, but I'm sure they'd come up great if treated with something. Can anyone recommend a suitable leather refresher product?
Sorry to ramble on so long, just wanted to share the experience, so to speak. Delighted to be back in a 9000, especially on as nice as this. I'll post some pictures if anyone's interested, soon as I get it cleaned up etc.
1 - 20 of 31 Posts
Hi Surfgreen,
Congrats on the great buy!
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It really does sound great.
For the leather, you could try gliptone leather cleaner and conditioner available on elkparts.co.uk
Good Luck,
Neel.
Congrats on the great buy!
For the leather, you could try gliptone leather cleaner and conditioner available on elkparts.co.uk
Good Luck,
Neel.
2
Hi Surfgreen,
I`ve got also a 1998 CS FPT 225bhp. Not a Anniversary, but a great car.
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Do please post some pictures. Do you have the super aero`s alloys?
btw, i replaced the ARB bushes by poly-ones and you can really noticed the difference. less understear i mean.
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Gr,Daking
I`ve got also a 1998 CS FPT 225bhp. Not a Anniversary, but a great car.
btw, i replaced the ARB bushes by poly-ones and you can really noticed the difference. less understear i mean.
Gr,Daking
2
Hi Surfgreen
I have to agree with the 'very fast bus' impression. It was all the clunkiness of the switches that made that impression for me...but its all part of its individual character and I love it. The bus impression is re enforced by its low speed handling around tight city streets. But its on the open road where your just pushing it a bit on the corners that it really turns into a different car, in my opinion anyway. Give me some open back roads...crackin'
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. I have changed the rear antiroll bar bushes, the front suspension rear wishbone bushes and the engine torque arm bushes to poly.
The rear a.r.b bushes improved the cornering with no down side.
The poly engine bushes gave noticable cabin shake and increases the squeaks and rattles, but makes the engine feel more responsive and also got rid of that feeling that every component of the drive train was slamming from taught to slack when ever changing from accelerating to coasting and back....and it REALLY made adaptation cut outs far less stressful as it no longer felt like something was going to break. In hind site I would probably have gone for one poly bush and one rubber though.
Rear wishbone bushes....at first I was a bit disapointed as although there was a big reduction in wandering and being wind blown it really didn't change normal driving all that much for me. It wasn't until I tried flying a few tight corners at speed that I really noticed a far more direct and accurate feel to the steering
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. Down side..fair bit more noise and rumble and a few MORE squeeks and rattles.
Kev
I have to agree with the 'very fast bus' impression. It was all the clunkiness of the switches that made that impression for me...but its all part of its individual character and I love it. The bus impression is re enforced by its low speed handling around tight city streets. But its on the open road where your just pushing it a bit on the corners that it really turns into a different car, in my opinion anyway. Give me some open back roads...crackin'
The rear a.r.b bushes improved the cornering with no down side.
The poly engine bushes gave noticable cabin shake and increases the squeaks and rattles, but makes the engine feel more responsive and also got rid of that feeling that every component of the drive train was slamming from taught to slack when ever changing from accelerating to coasting and back....and it REALLY made adaptation cut outs far less stressful as it no longer felt like something was going to break. In hind site I would probably have gone for one poly bush and one rubber though.
Rear wishbone bushes....at first I was a bit disapointed as although there was a big reduction in wandering and being wind blown it really didn't change normal driving all that much for me. It wasn't until I tried flying a few tight corners at speed that I really noticed a far more direct and accurate feel to the steering
Kev
4
Not on Surfgreen's black interior it would'nt be
Surfgreen,
Gliptone
Poly arb bushes and Abbott front wishbone bush kit
As for CD, then if your existing head unit is CD changer compatable just put a standard 10 disc mutliply stacker in the boot, I've got mine fixed to u/side of the hinged boot floor.
Oops sorry about that - I should have read his original email closer
Hi again all,
Thanks again for all the comments, I'm constantly surprised about how great this forum is
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Looks like I'll be buying that Gliptone stuff from Elkparts, by the sound of it - that seems to be a unanimous vote. The leather is OK but just needs some care, so I think it'll come up really well. Only difference from the cream interior versions is that part of the seat cover is alcantara, or some sort of suede. Guess it's the shoeshop for stuff to fix that up
Rear ARB bushes also seem to be regarded as a sensible upgrade, so I'll look into that soon as there's a bit less of an ebb in my wallet! As for the ride quality, I probably do have the sports suspension if that was an option originally. No matter, the various upgrades sound interesting anyway, particularly taking into consideration the car's mileage.
Finally, with regards to CD players - the radio has a "source" button, and is, according to the manual, ready for a CD changer. How "ready" is that? If I buy one, should there be connection points in the boot or something like that? Sorry if I'm being a bit thick about this, never done anything like it before
Once again, thanks for all your advice and opinions, it's absolutely brilliant.
Thanks again for all the comments, I'm constantly surprised about how great this forum is
Looks like I'll be buying that Gliptone stuff from Elkparts, by the sound of it - that seems to be a unanimous vote. The leather is OK but just needs some care, so I think it'll come up really well. Only difference from the cream interior versions is that part of the seat cover is alcantara, or some sort of suede. Guess it's the shoeshop for stuff to fix that up
Rear ARB bushes also seem to be regarded as a sensible upgrade, so I'll look into that soon as there's a bit less of an ebb in my wallet! As for the ride quality, I probably do have the sports suspension if that was an option originally. No matter, the various upgrades sound interesting anyway, particularly taking into consideration the car's mileage.
Finally, with regards to CD players - the radio has a "source" button, and is, according to the manual, ready for a CD changer. How "ready" is that? If I buy one, should there be connection points in the boot or something like that? Sorry if I'm being a bit thick about this, never done anything like it before
Once again, thanks for all your advice and opinions, it's absolutely brilliant.
Andy - that's not sad at all, I'll let you know how I get on. Think I'd quite enjoy that nice leather smell myself, morning OR evening
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1 - 20 of 31 Posts
