Faults:

Full service history by the police (all oil changes done); there were lots of faults. Wear and tear items aside (brakes, suspension, tyres, etc) there were the following:

Timing chain replaced, a common weak spot on these cars. Very expensive but worth it.

Interior was a mess, holes drilled in the dash where police items used to be.

Window cranks stiff, replaced with electric windows anyway.

Leak in boot.

Clutch needed replaced, and differential.

There was more, but I bought it as an ex-police project car so knew what to expect.

General Comments:

An ex police Senator 24v in white, no luxurious, all the CD model extras like electric windows were non existent, but the car had the most important part - a looked after 24v engine and manual gearbox. I planned to use it as a drift car, but decided it was too good for that, and decided to make it a project car to return to a road cruiser.

Fitted electric windows and alloy wheels after all the mechanical work had been done. Leather seats were also sourced, but hard to come by even back in 2002 when I was doing it.

The car has such road presence; being a rare car it is amazing the amount of people who know and respect what they are, always got asked about it when out and about. Best thing about this car is driving it. Handling is surprisingly good, though a bit much body roll. Rear wheel drive means you need to be careful in wet weather. Manual gearbox is fun, but the car suits an automatic. Performance is amazing, effortless when the dual ram system kicks in. About 7 seconds to 60 mph and it will go onto 150 mph. Expect 25 miles per gallon at best however.

Had it about 9 years and put decent mileage on it, sold it on as cosmetically it was a bit rough, and being white the rust spots really started showing. Wanted to move on to other projects, just got bored with it at the time. I do miss the car now, enthusiasts are holding onto these old Senator's as there are not many left; looking back I wish I kept mine.

Faults:

Radiator leak, and coolant pipe.

Cruise control and air con stopped working, along with two rear electric windows.

Surging on acceleration traced to faulty sensor and breather pipe.

Wear and tear such as brakes, exhaust and tyres when it needed them.

General Comments:

The 2.6 Senator is not the fastest, though it does have the same "Dual Ram System" technology that is in the bigger 3.0 24v model. So lots of torque and a relaxed rather than fast drive, though when you need to overtake, believe me this thing moved quick when it needed to effortlessly.

Comfort of the CD model is as good as it gets - all leather and electrics all round. You could not ask for more from a car of this time period. On the outside the car looked great in dark metallic blue with multi spoked alloys and a rear spoiler.

To drive the handling was sloppy, especially when compared to my previous Mercedes. But it's not as bad as you might think, and oversteer was easy to induce for fun :)

It was written off in an accident in around about 2010 when it was 16 years old and I had put serious mileage on it, and despite the problems above, I would say it was a reliable car, and I miss it dearly. Would love to have another, probably look for a 24v model, as they seem to be cared for now in the hands of enthusiasts, but there are very little of these cars left on the road.