Hello I'm About To Get A Galaxy

[les64]

Hi

 

I'm Les. I'm about to buy a galaxy. It's a 1.9 td ghia 2004, 04 registration. Not sure as yet whether it's a 115 or 130. Car is advertised as 115 but when I put in registration to check out insurance costs, it comes up with 130, so will be checking that one out as I'm not sure who's right.

 

Have read several posts, including the link to "parkers" website which was very informative. Thanks to the poster.

 

Does anyone have any idea where I can find out a what is standard on this specification. I thought cruise control was standard on Ghia's but this one doesn't seem to have it?

 

Cheers

Les

[searcher]

Hmmm, a Ghia of that vintage should have cruise fitted i would have thought.

As to whether it is working or not is another question

[NikpV]

yes it should have cruise = if its not working then I suspect that the first thing to check is the switch on the brake pedal - may have 2 there

[les64]

Thanks for the responses - will be going to have another look at car soon, so will have a closer inspection. From memory couldn't see any controls on steering wheel (I presume that is where they should be). Don't suppose anyone has an old 2004 brochure lying about which would have a detailed spec. Not sure whether I trust 2nd hand car salesmen ! Hope I'm not getting ripped off. Will let you know how I get on,

[NikpV]

look at the left hand stalk - it should have a button on the end and a slide switch close to the end on the front for the cruise control

[les64]

Hi again

 

Thanks for all your help - went to view the car again today and yes it does have cruise control. I think after the research we have done on the car we knew more than the salesman. We are really keen to buy the car and will be going back later in the week or next week for final inspection after they've cleaned it out and fixed a few things.

 

I took with me a checklist of things to look for from www.usedcarexpert.co.uk which was great. All but one thing was in order. I'm just hoping someone who knows a thing or two about cars can help me out with this.

 

On usedcarexpert.co.uk - one of the engine checks they recommend is the oil. They say and I quote "Is there plenty of clean oil? If the oil is black rather than golden brown it needs to be changed and suggests the car has not been recently serviced ".

 

I queried this with the saleman. He said it had been serviced last week and showed us the service history stamp. I said that didn't prove anything. He said there is no way it would have been stamped if it hadn't been done and it was common for oil to be black. So in the space of the car being driven 4 miles and sat in a garage for a week - the oil changes from golden brown to black. I'm no expert, but find this hard to beleive. He rang the garage (same company) who had completed the service and they said, it was common to be black, when it's a deisel engine.

 

I'm not sure if this is true or not and would appreciate any advise on this.

 

Also whilst we were testing things, the service light came on (it hadn't come on during the 7 mile test drive we completed 1/2 hour earlier) and it said "service due in 1600 miles". He fobbed us off by saying "it always comes on and it's just they forgot to switch it off when they last serviced it". Again, surely this would have been on at the start of the test drive if it was from something that should have been reset last week, or perhaps they didn't service it and service is actually due in 1600 miles. I don't want to call anybody a liar, but these couple of issues are nagging at me, especially when I'm about to part with thousands of pounds. We really do want and like the car (kids are currently squashed in audi a4, eldest squashed between two cars seats !) but just want to make sure we can trust what is being said.

 

Hoping someone can advise me re the oil.

 

Lesley

[stevie m]

Hi Lesley, I too have had that happen to me when i have took my gal for a service. I have looked at the oil when i have got home and wondered if it had really been changed because it had been black. I did however see that closer inspection of the oil on the dipstick there was a yellow tinge to it and the viscosity (dont know if i spelt that right) of it was thicker. I looked to see if the oil filter had been changed and i saw that it was, so i put it down to them not lifting the car slightly when emptying the oil out as i'm sure i read on here that for best results you should. In the past too i have picked up my gal and found that the service miles hadn't been done. The service is due every 10,000 miles and when it comes close to being done it counts it down. However to me that does seem to be serviced early ? Although as you are buying it from a garage maybe they thought it was best to have it done as they would be asked about that buy a buyer when they seen the service counter on. If you find that it has been done then get them to reset it. :unsure:

[mumof4]

you can reset the service light yourself.A lot of places will forget to reset it.

 

and yep, the oil can turn black pretty quick if all the oil hasnt been drained properly.

 

we do have a checklist on here somewhere for things to check on a galaxy.did you check the sills to see if thay had been crushed?

 

if they stamped the book and it hadnt of been serviced, and something went wrong and it turned out they had stamped the book fraudulently, then they would be in deep dodo.

 

a lot of places will service a vehicle before they sell it on, to minimise anything going wrong whilst its under warrenty, plus a lot of places throw a lot of bumph away that comes with a vehicle when its part ex etcc..like receipts, the only thing they will keep is the service book.as receipts show whats been done to the car :unsure: whereas a service book shows its been serviced and not what has been repaired on it.

 

check that the undertray is on the car, as some garages forget to put them back on and not every car owner will check it is there.

 

we all check the major things, but dont forget to check the simple things like all the seat belts work correctly, etccc..

 

welcome to the forum if i havent already said it :blink:

[Smilge]

Hi Lesley

 

As far as the oil's concerned it will go black very quickly compared with a petrol engine. I had a very similar experience with a Mondeo I bought and the Master tech informed me that they service the car before they MOT it and that involves an emissions test where the engine is run until it warms up so they get an accurate reading. He said that even in this short time the engine oil will have gone black due to soot produced by the diesel engine and is quite normal; another reason for changing the oil more periodically on a diesel. Ask them to reset the service interval indicator as you'll probably find this was an oversight. Another thing I would ask is does the warranty cover the air conditioning and if you can, purchase a years warranty as the Galaxy is generally quite expensive to repair.

 

Enjoy your new car.

[searcher]

Yup i agree with the above comments about the oil going black quickly.

It might be worth checking that they used the correct oil though.

The engine you have only likes one sort of oil. 505.01 so if they can prove that is what they used then dont worry about it being black.

[gregers]

hi les welcome to the forum,

as bleeno has advised i would defo negotiate a decent warranty when you finally make an offer for the car,and get the air con included when mine failed recently i was quoted 800 quid to have the compressor replaced(luckily my mechanic found that it wasnt fubard)but my warranty didnt include the air con,

1 more thing make sure it has the correct tyres fitted,ie reinforced.

[les64]

Well we now own our very own Galaxy !!!!!!

 

It a 2004 Ghia, full leather and dvd pack - kids think it's great. 3 of them, no longer squashed in an Audi A4, the eldest was usually in the middle squashed between a big car seat and a booster seat !

 

It's making a funny noise when we stop, sounds like a jet engine winding down ! Not sure if it's some type of pump ?

 

Lovely to drive, although very different to the Audi, feels like I'm driving a van. My other household car is a Micra, so bit of a difference going from one to the other. The clutch bites immediately on the Galaxy - very different to what we are used to.

 

Les

[insider]

It's making a funny noise when we stop, sounds like a jet engine winding down ! Not sure if it's some type of pump ?

Don't worry about that - it means your auxiliary booster heater is working! Check the forum - plenty of references to this.

[gregers]

congrats on getting your car les,did you manage to negotiate a decent discount and warranty?

[les64]

Didn't manage to get a decent warranty - 30 days !!! so we're now on day 31, so let's hope there's no problems !!

 

Thanks for the info re the booster - peace of mind.

 

Does anyone know anything about load covers - can these be added at a later date, or built in as optional extra when purchasing car from new. Conscious that if I want to remove back seats and travel with luggage, then everything is going to be on display ?

 

Les

Edited April 9, 2008 by les64

[NikpV]

yes you can add a load cover later - get the cover from ebay and the brakets etc are about

[searcher]

I thought that a dealer had to give a minimum 3 month warranty unless advertised as sold as seen.

[gregers]

i think that is right UNDER THE SALES OF GOODS ACT.