Price Advice Please

[Mauser]

Hi

 

Been offered a V plate 99 2.3 Galaxy ghia, this has done 102K,

The seller can only produce ford stamped service history up to 47000k, but the car looks and drives superb even with the high mileage.

 

Would the lack of service history be a concern and what effect would it have on the asking price.

 

The dealer advertised with FSH at

[italiastar]

Have a look at Auto trader online - http://www.autotrader.co.uk and Exchange and Mart to get an idea on prices. I had a quick look and it looks about right. Remember that petrol galaxies are 2 a penny so you've got a lot of choice. Bear in mind the fuel consumption which will probably be between 20 - 25 mpg (can anyone please confirm this) - during my test drives I got 18mpg from an Auto at about 50 MPH. The Alahambra / sharan 2 litre engines are pretty sluggish and also drink. The best is diesel, but good ones are more difficult to find than hen's teeth and watch out they haven't been used for cabbing.

 

Good luck - your certainly in the right place for advice.

[Richmond]

Sounds a bit pricey to me from what I've seen. The potential for expensive repairs seems endless, so the lack of FSH is a concern. The sophisticated engine management and so on can mask quite serious faults until they become catastrophic (or so I've heard). Would it be a good idea to have a diagnosis done before buying if you can? Do the RAC etc inspections include that?

[Guest gmathews]

I paid

[HJT]

Wouldn't touch it without a full service history. As has been mentioned, petrol Galaxys are plentiful. It pays to shop around.

 

Howard

[ridway]

Fuel consumption 2.3 petrol DOHC, 22-25mpg school run tescos etc. 25-27mpg hard motorway driving. 30mpg careful steady long runs. 32-34 if you really go for the planet saving driving style ( but its hard work).

 

Rich

[Mauser]

Some good news,

Now have proof of the 80,000 mile service, not really a service as I expected, just oil and air filter, oil + spark plugs from Brooklyn Ford ?. I don't have the service spec so is that correct for 80K ?. Cannot find anything else between this service and the current 102,000 :lol: .

History of car is Ford owned it for 47,000 miles and then sold it to a company who had it serviced as mentioned, air con was re-gassed last year =

[NikpV]

What about cambelt changes, facelift versions (at least the TDI) need 40K changes of cambelt, Thought that pre facelft versions needed 60 or 70K cambelt changes- does the SH include any changes. If not I would walk away (buts that just me)

[ridway]

Was there a version made with a belt? Am I correct thinking that the cam belt is in fact a cam chain on the 2.3 DOHC petrol? Therefore if it runs quietly it should need no attention?

 

Rich

[Guest nimrod]

Its as Ridway says 2.3's run a timing chain

[Ivor_E_Tower]

Sounds like it should be fine then (famous last words...). Most "official" services by main dealers seem to consist of little more than oil/plug changes, pollen filter change, infrequent air filter change and loads of checks (eg brake pad wear).

I would suggest that the lazy seatbelts are just one of those things and unless they are so bad as to fail the MoT (and I'm not sure that slow retraction is a fail, any MoT Testers out there?) I would not worry about them.

As to an impending service - take it to a good local garage or independent - from my experience I would recommend Lex/Nationwide autocentres (and RAC members should get a discount on servicing), ask them to do a full major service informing you of brake pad wear etc. They should also be able to tell you what other work may need doing soon. If you're patient and approach the staff in the right way, you should even be able to speak to the guys who actually work on the car to hear first-hand of what they think. Get this done ASAP after taking delivery, so if there is anything major, you can go straight back to the selling garage and claim unroadworthy/major defects etc which you want them to sort immediately. - However, hopefully this won't be necessary.

 

I did something similar in 1991 when I bought an 18-month old Rover 820 with about 46,000 on the clock. It turned out to be probably one of the most reliable Rovers ever made!

[Mauser]

Thanks for the advice lads,

I am sure also that thr 2.3 DOHC has a chain drive not belt :). Slight hydraulic tapet rattle @ idle was only noice from engine bay.

Will post as soon as I get the car :), was going to go for local Ford dealer service as to to try and salvage the service book and have the missing stamps added.

Cheers and thks again for the info.

Mauser (AK Simon)

[NikpV]

Oops shows my ignorance of petrol variants - apologies :)

[Mauser]

Well got the car tonight..... but now got 2 problems :D. First is there is a knocking sound under the front wheel area maybe engine bay over small bumps at low speeds, I guess you cannot hear them going any faster <_<. Sounds like a loose spanner inside the engine compartment... but no spanner.

Second is the seat belt on the passenger side, the dealer didn't fix like he said so any idea's how the best way to sort this ?, it doesn't retract fully, it looks like its being over stretched at some point maybe someone holding TV in fron t seat lol.

Anyway any advice on either would be appreciated :D.

On board computer said 20 mpg eeeeek.

Cheers Mauser

PS nice car all the same :D, no where to hide the jump leads and road maps, any idea's ?.

[Guest Idris]

for what its worth, I paid

[Ivor_E_Tower]

Knocking sound is probably the front anti-roll bar drop links, had same problem when I bought mine. Should get the dealer to fix this under warranty, it's quick and simple to do. Jump leads should store in the rear wheel arch next to the jack, behind the side panel trim. Maps should store in the glove box or door pockets (or, if you have them, the map pockets on the back of the front seats).

[Mauser]

Doesn't really sound like a knocking more of a rattle <_<, as I posted more like something loose under the hood ?.

Thanks for the advice on storage as well.

Cheers Mauser

PS will have a look @ the weekend when its dryer and hopefully warmer.

[Topbloke]

best place is the cubby holes under front seats, rattle could well be antiroll bar links, try searching for previos threads, congratulations on joining the forum and welcome to fuel guzzling petrol galaxies

[Mauser]

Wow found my original post, well those who said they wouldn't touch it with a barge pole were wrong lol. She has been great gone through a few drop links and that's it in 5 years car has been great never missed a beat apart from wire breaking in auto transmission tunnel the other day :P.

Hope your all well etc :(.

[Lyle Waters]

Christ, thought this was a wierd post till I read the dates.

 

Fine cars are they not. Had mine over 5 years now and well happy with it...