Well, the red VSE seems to be well behaved in the majority of it's tasks. It's needed a few odd jobs doing but I think that's because it's not had preventative maintenance don't for a long time, only the necessities.

Since having the car I've ordered:

2 Air springs
PAS Pipe
Full service kit
Oils for full service including gearbox, transfer box and both axles.
LPG Reducer Refurb Kit - Wish I'd spoken to Simon before ordering this!
LPG Reducer
Plug Leads
Aux Belt
Both Idlers & Tensioner
Coolant Pipes for throttle body and radiator return
Heater Matrix O Rings
Tailgate Struts
Bonnet Struts
ABS Accumulator
HEVAC Repair Ribbon & Bulbs
2 Lambda Sensors
Wipers
Headlight Wipers

There's no particularly massive item there but they all mount up so I'm hoping I can get 6 months from it before I have to spend money on it again! It is a P38 though so it won't be. ha ha.

David.

I seem to be getting through loads of little jobs on the red VSE at the moment.

There's been a little bit of a whirring noise coming from the front end of the engine since I got it so I decided I'd bite the bullet and replaced the belt tensioner and both idler pulleys, the difference is superb, it's so quiet now.

The new plug leads are fitted, it wasn't as bad a job as I was expecting as I last did this job on a THOR Discovery 2 which was horrible. On the THOR P38 there's a lot more room down the back. The new leads clip into the existing cable guides on the rocker covers too which is nice as it helps keep it neat.

David.

Well, due to a lack of space/time and other obligations, I've decided I need to thin down my collection of cars.

I really don't need 2 VSE's, I've decided I'm going to keep the Alveston Red car which means that the Oslo Blue VSE is going to be up for sale.

So... the car...

It's a 2002 Oslo Blue Vogue SE with 114k miles on the clock. This car is not immaculate, it would tidy up with some preparation and some paintwork. The front and rear bumpers need painting and that would tidy the car up massively.

The car was unfortunately written off a couple of years ago. The owners wife left it in Neutral rather then Park and it rolled into a bollard damaging the bonnet, N/S headlight and front bumper. The bonnet was replaced with one the right colour, the headlight has been replaced, and the bumper has been replaced too but the paint job on it is awful and needs respraying.

The windscreen needs replacing as well as it's cracked.

The interior is all present however the underside of the dashboard needs putting back together as it was dismantled to get the blower motor out from under the steering wheel when it packed in. All of the unique green VSE woodwork is present and complete and in good condition.

The sat nav works and knows where the car is, the radio powers up but the speakers don't work and the DSP menu is missing from the headunit so I'm guessing it needs a new Amp.

However, all the bad bits aside, this car does have 1 major advantage... the engine... the engine was brand new 5,000 miles ago and was supplied by RPI engineering. It is wonderfully quiet, and runs brilliantly. It's had a new radiator as the return spigot snapped off it when it was being worked on, the water pump was replaced recently as the bearings were knackered, at the same time, the aux belt tensioner was replaced as well as there was a slight grumble from the bearings.

The EAS valve block was rebuilt last summer when I got the car as well. The car has a tow bar fitted with twin electrics. Apparently this was fitted before the car was taken off the road and was never used.

I know what the car owes me and I've got a feeling it's probably more then what it's worth...

What does everyone think the car is worth?

I've also got a 1999 DSE that I'm going to be selling too.

David.

A key question is the category of the write off David. Cat C or Cat D? How much MOT left?
The RPI engine is a plus- even though it's an RPI (who are legends in their own lunchtime for their inflated prices and skills in publicising their excellence and slagging off other engine builders wares), a documented low miles top hat motor will be worth strong money.
Is the warranty still active on it and is it transferable to the new owner?
The missing DSP amp (£700+ to replace) counts against it on the originality stakes.
The insurance write off will remove potential investment collectors from your market, so you'll be left with enthusiasts.
Average prices obtained for average condition complete original Batch 4 VSEs recently are around £2k to £4k. In the condition yours is in, it would be around £1.3k to £2k, but the low overall mileage would add some to that, the motor some more.
My estimate- middle £2000s- and if you broke it you'd probably get that for the engine alone.

Just checked the HPI report for it, it's a Cat C write off.

Apparently the insurance were going to repair it but the owner at the time was being totally unreasonable and wanted it to go to his own bodyshop where the cost of repair was significantly more then the quote from the insurers bodyshop so they wrote the car off.

I bought the car without asking about the warranty on the engine so can't answer that one, would assume it doesn't.

The car currently doesn't have any MOT on it, I could attempt to get an MOT on it but with the crack in the windscreen I don't think I'd be very successful, it also needs Marty to sort the ABS ECU out for me too.

If someone offered me £2k for it, it could go tomorrow, it owes me about £2,400, I know I'm not going to get all that back on it but could just do with clearing some space at the moment.

David.

If you believe in the RPI engine and have documentation to back up that it is what you've been told it is, why not swap the engine with your red one? A weekend's spannering and the red one has a nice fresh engine.
Now if you were tempted to break the blue one, I happen to know of someone who would buy the door cards and loadspace trim panels off you :)

The blue one is a bit too good to break, damage repair notwithstanding. I've not driven it but having driven the red one I'd say there's not a hell of a lot wrong with its engine, it's ridiculously quick ;-)

The Thor will always feel quick, compared to the GEMS. Different TPS mapping giving much more "oomph" with small initial movement of the loud pedal and better low down torque curve. GEMS revs a bit more freely at the top end though (but that could be down to the Tornado mapping).

Well, due to work and other things keeping me busy these days I've not been on forums for a while.

The red VSE is performing impeccably at the moment. She passed her MOT without any advisories and has done a fair amount of towing recently too.

She's not spat her dummy at all and seems to be doing everything I ask of her as soon as I ask her to do it. Definitely one of the good ones.

I've still not had time to touch the Blue VSE yet or finish the DSE but things need to change and I need a clear out for my own sanity as much as anything!

David.

Loving this thread!!

Gives me inspiration for My Vogue non SE lol

Any updates on these beauties ;)

Wouldn't mind a few interior pics ;)

Apologies for the delays... time is a rarity these days.

The Blue VSE has indeed found a new home now. I believe the chap who bought it owns CNS4x4 but I'm not sure. If I'm right, chances are it's away to be broken.

The red VSE has one annoying issue that I'm about to start another thread on, otherwise, there's little to report. I treated the red car to 4 new tyres and the wheels balanced the other day and it's made some difference to the car. She's not done 1000 miles since May but in the snow we had last week she went straight into service and never missed a beat.

David.

Same the blue VSE might be broken up!

The Alveston red VSE is a lovely looking car.

Does it have the red carpets?

Here's a few interior pictures as you requested :)

David.

Oh that rowan cherry wood is beautiful, as is the red carpet!

That has to be the cleanest P38 interior i've ever seen!

Lovely..

Would love to get mine upto that standard one day!

Damn, I’m gonna have to clean mine now,, wish I’d hadn’t looked at pics, lol

Very very nice! congratulations :)
Is that the original gear knob?

The interior needs a good clean in those pictures. I’m going to get the leather cleaned and treated when I’ve got time.

The car would have originally had a cream leather gear lever, however on the original bill of sale for this car shows an expensive optional extra for the walnut gear lever.

It’s a really nice car to be fair. Needs a couple of bushes but other then that drives perfectly.

David.

The gear knobs are still expensive now 20yrs on, I paid £150 for mine, hand brake sleeve will be about the same, there are supposedly OEM ones for sale cheaper, but there a different colour.

Well, this isn't directly Vogue SE related, however, the DSE that I've been working on when I've had time for the last (to embarrassed to say how long) finally rolled out of the workshop today!

Suffice to say the last time it say daylight was over 12 months ago!!

For some reason the air suspension isn't coming up this time, the last time I had it running in the workshop the suspension came up without any problems. Today, it's not lifting it up at all.

I've parked it on the drive next to the Vogue SE for now until I can get my pressure gauge back that I leant to someone to find out why it's not coming up. The compressor is running and the valve block is clicking away for it's just not lifting.

David.