Looking at an '89 V8

[Aleksander Mierzwa <alex@matrix.pl>]

Hello List,

I've always wanted to own a V8, but they were just plain too expensive for
me. Well, this weekend I found an '89 one on the local used car lot that
eventually falls into my price range. The car is a German import and has
160k km on the clock. During a brief inspection I found several problems
with the car and I hope our V8 gurus can clarify some things to me:

1. I think it needs new bomb. The pedal gets stiff right after shutting the
engine off and with the engine running if I press the brake pedal hard, I
can feel vibration. I looked under the hood and the bomb looks exactly like
the one on the 5K. Is this the same part as the 5K bomb?

2. I counted four braided oil lines. I understand two of them are for the
oil cooler, what are the other two for? All of them have badly corroded
clamps and have to be replaced immediately.

3. The brake pads warning light stays on. I bet it also needs the rotors.
Are the UFO rotors still insanely expensive?

On a positive note, the car starts and idles good (I haven't driven it yet)
and it doesn't seem to have any leaks. The paint looks old with many small
scratches, which makes me believe the car wasn't imported as a wreck and
repaired cheaply, which is the biggest problem with used cars in Poland.
They ask $8900 for the car, but being into the used car market here for
several years and knowing how difficult it is to sell an old yet exotic
luxury car and assuming the owner knows about the problems and has most
likely been quoted $$$$ to fix them at the dealer, I think I could get it
for as low as $7000, which would be a great price given a beaten up '84
5K/100 is worth $3000 in this country. Well, I'm probably not financially
able to buy that car right now, but on the other hand... getting a slightly
out of tune car and fixing it myself might be the only way for me to afford
a V8. Any comments?

Aleksander Mierzwa
Warsaw, Poland
mailto:alex@matrix.com.pl
87 Audi 5000CS turbo (mine)
88 Renault Medallion wagon (mom's)
91 mountain bike (just in case both cars broke at the same time :-)