Purchasing early Arnage - Red Label or T? - Advice Please

Frank Hopping · Joined: 14 Aug 2017 Posts: 2

I'm actively seeking an early Red Label or T c 2002/3 with up to c 60k miles and £25k to spend. I've seen several in my price range and prefer the T's quilted leather and turned dashboard, not to mention the additional 50 BHP.

However, having sought out several buying guides and spoken with the local specialist who would look after it, the T seems to have more of the expensive problems with camshafts and head gasket problems compared to the 400hp car. I'm aware of the suspension, subframe and alarm issues affecting both models. but these are more obvious during and inspection and test drive, so Caveat Emptor

In the experience of Arnage owners on here, do you agree, or is it just down to the FSH and proven maintenance on any given example Question

Christopher Carnley · Posted: Mon Aug 14, 2017 1:51 pm Post subject:

An inspection by a fully qualified agency such as Royce Service in Surrey beats any FSH, stamps and signatures may not tell the truth.

Remember it is a 15 year old car, full of bells and whistles. Nice car all the same.

Frank Hopping · Joined: 14 Aug 2017 Posts: 2

Thanks for the response Christopher

I'm making sure the stamped FSH is supported by invoices and contacting the relevant garages to confirm the work where possible. I'm seeking evidence of the replacement metal head gaskets for the Red Label and camshaft & tappets for the T / R. If not, then that's c £5k or £10k respectively of work to factor into the purchase price so I understand.

These are the key issues for me and it seems I risk gasket or camshaft replacement depending on the year up to the 2007 update when these problems were resolved by Bentley

AskerBrowne · Posted: Thu Nov 23, 2017 2:46 pm Post subject: Arnage T tappets

The propensity for earlier Arnages to chew up their tappets is not unknown but the T is possibly more prone to the problem than the Red label. The problems is well documented on the Pistonheads buying guide, and has been extensively covered in this forum too.

My understanding is that it is not just a head gasket problem, but goes back to the metallurgy and design of the tappets. The 'cure' involves replacing the tappets with a roller design. Buying a car from 2007 ensures that the problem has been engineered out.

Sorry about the tardy reply - I fell out of love with the website for a while.
David.