Cheers Mick! I will put up a proper post about returning the car from a Cat D lying forlorn in the salvage dealers to a very nice low miles 2010 lookalike, soon as I get chance.

Cheers for the posts guys.

Its going to take some saving. I did consider a wrap as it could be taken off and you dont have to tell the dvla.

Maths wise it seems to stack up as follows

Car currently worth £20k ish with a following wind
Would cost £4k for conversion and about £5k for a full spray job.
So effectively in for. £29k to give me a car worth £24k.

But i would have a car in a 2010> colour, the cheapest of which is currently at £32k with similar miles.

Swmbo maths would say no way.....

Im not so sure it would be a bad idea. If i bought a 2010 it would soon be worth 25k (say 2-3 years) so im out 7 k of the extra 12k, Where as the facelift would be worth 20k in 2-3 years having lost only 5k on its current value so im out 9k. But ive had to pit in 3 k less to start with so im only out 6k...... Man Maths always will find a way......  There is nothing that can't be fixed with a hammer😜😜
FFRR 4.4 SDV8 Autobiography Santorini Black.
KIA E-Niro 4+
2021 Discovery 5 D300 MHEV commercial

I agree with the man maths plus projects make you feel good - its a man thing

Can you post a picture of your car as is ? Martin has made it very easy....

You could even go for a L405 Colour like "Firenze Red" with a black roof

I predict sleepless nights and much pillow hopping ahead  Present :2008 TDV8 HSE
Gone Audi A5 2.7TDI
Gone Discovery 3 HSE
Gone Mercedes CLK
Gone Range Rover 2.5 DSE

Hmmmmmm Havana is lush!

Havent got any decent shots in the gallery Gaz, will take a couple when it stops lambing it down. But you are right complely forgot about the 2013 colours... There is nothing that can't be fixed with a hammer😜😜
FFRR 4.4 SDV8 Autobiography Santorini Black.
KIA E-Niro 4+
2021 Discovery 5 D300 MHEV commercial

That's some man maths!

A £4k facelift seems like a perfectly sound project and leaves you with a great car you know and trust. Maybe to then "subtract" from your bank balance the cost of a re-spray or to opt for a wrap at a "fraction" of the cost of an actual re-spray doesn't quite "add up"... in non man maths terms

I'm torn between a full 2010 facelift or just sourcing a "proper looking" solution that near as damn it replicates the revised headlights (as I really like the car as is). £4k would probably seem justifiable. Touching £10k would probably not, but each to their own

I agree Ryan, dropping 10k in to is is probably foolhardy but 4k would be reasonably sensible with a bit of a touch up in places.

However the point of man maths is to render the stupid ideas plausible.

The bodyshop is on standby to do the touching up and is waiting for the car when i dont need it, and it is booked in next week to have a new track rod end fitted. So it should be good for the winter, and i will have time to put some pennies in the pot and get some modernisation done in the spring.

Havana mmmmmmm. Now who else will have an l322 in that! Damn you Gaz thats going to give me some things to think about! There is nothing that can't be fixed with a hammer😜😜
FFRR 4.4 SDV8 Autobiography Santorini Black.
KIA E-Niro 4+
2021 Discovery 5 D300 MHEV commercial

Something I'm thinking about too......

Does anyone who's had a conversion done have any issues with getting them insured? Present* 2006 Santorini SC Vogue SE.
Gone* 2006 4.4 AJV8 Zermatt Vogue.
Gone* 2004 TD6 Bonatti Vogue.

No shouldn't be an issue once you use all genuine parts. Present :2008 TDV8 HSE
Gone Audi A5 2.7TDI
Gone Discovery 3 HSE
Gone Mercedes CLK
Gone Range Rover 2.5 DSE

hongkongphooey wrote:

Something I'm thinking about too......

Does anyone who's had a conversion done have any issues with getting them insured?

Most insurance want to know A, is it done properly? Engineers report (otherwise known as an MOT) and B, can it be repaired if bumped? Yes if using all genuine parts as we do (but not all converters do )

As well as what Craig says, there might be a train of thought that if someone can afford to buy, run and properly convert a RR, given what might result in a negligible premium increase/ if any at all, they should tell their insurance company about an obvious "modification" so as not to risk invalidating the policy for reasons that might also include the consideration that if 2010MY conversion was done and the car was later stolen, an insurance company might feel that the upgrades have made the car more desirable and at further risk of theft, hence they might not pay out if they had not been told about the conversion?

Good point, well made sir

My last 06 SC with full 2013 Overfinch conversion used to cost me £8 extra per year to insure... Not worth not telling them

My experience: I deliberately obtained my quote/ accepted insurance by phone- I found that the online quotes don't like accepting modifications. I was with Swift cover online last time, with my 53 plate 4.4 petrol paying £396.
When it came time to cover the S/C, I began by checking the online comparisons and found Esure were coming in cheaper thean others, so rang them. When we got to the bit about modifications, I first told them about the LPG: it always surprises me this, but the lady on the phone had never heard of it! Surely sitting in an insurance co contact centre you would know what an LPG conversion was about. Heyho. She went off to speak to somebody, came back to me in about three minutes, and told me it was an acceptable modification- no mention of any need for a LPG cert etc. Then I told them that I had upgraded the front and rear lights to later RangeRover units, and upgraded the front bumper to match the later headlights. This caused more scratching of heads, but she said it was probably a 'body modification' and she entered this on her computer. One more question was asked: do any of the modifications improve, or are intended to improve, the performance of the car, to which I answered no.( cos they don't)

I expected the premium to jump up; imagine my pleasant surprise when she came back with a quote of £336 - even more surprising, as I had looked at an online quote from them of £356, without any modifications. I asked her to run through the quote again, just to be sure- one driver only, age 50, 9 yrs NCB, 4.2 S/C, excess of £300 plus voluntary excess of £200. With the mods, £336. Paid the lady, one happy motorist. After paying, I told her that it was cheaper than their online quote: she told me that this sometimes happens, no explanation though.

Regarding the colour change: I told DVLA about it , no dramas, they just alter the database and issue a fresh V5. When it came to insurance, I gave them the registration number- this is compared to the MOtor Insurance Database (MID), which is largely populated from DVLA records anyway. This makes obtaining a quote easier in lots of respects; you just give the insurer your reg no and they have the exact spec in the system already.

Smal sting in the tail: maybe you get what you pay for with cheaper insurers: when I swapped my plate on to the S/C, they charged me - get this - £56 to reissue the paperwork. If I had been online, this would have been about £10 or even free.

Still happy overall with Esure though.....