What To Buy

[gazza007]

My brother-in-law has decided after many trips in my Alhambra that it is the ideal car for him as they now want to foster 1 or 2 children and already have 1 child.

They are on a tight budget & will have about 8K to spend. I've had a quick look for them and you can get a Diesel facelift Shalaxy about this price, downside is that they are high milage. I personally don't think that is a problem for a diesel as we know that they can go on forever as long as you have the maintenance & service details. On the other hand you can get a good low mileage pre-facelift Alhambra which seem better spec'd that the Ford & VW.

My personal pref is to go for a later model with PDI engine but ensure that all is OK especially the AC!!!! and try and get a 12 month warranty that will cover all items.

 

Anybody have any experience or thoughts??

 

Get fed up of being the taxi!!! :lol:

[Ivor_E_Tower]

I'd buy as new as possible (post-facelift rather than pre-) and not worry about the mileage, as long as you say, that all servicing has been done, especially cam belt changes.

[Guest rusty]

Hi there,

 

I have just bought a Jan 2001 (X Reg) Post face lift Galaxy which had 83000 in the clock.

 

I had the following considerations ....

 

I was not worried about the mileage as I only do about 8-9000 a year and so the mileage would come back to average fairly quickly.

 

The damage was only superficial. A few scratches, worn front mats and door handle coating rubbing off. Cost me about

[gazza007]

Cheers Rusty,

 

What did you pay for the car & Warranty?

[johnb80]

Until this Galaxy (which was brand new) I have always bought young high mileage vehicles. The upside of this is that usually they're company cars, most miles done on the motorway which means little wear, serviced with no expense spared. The only downside is that they usually need smartening up but thats no big deal. I bought a 2litre Granda Scorpio Estate with 105,000 miles on it at 13 months old. I had a small rip in the leather repaired and the whole car valeted. The car was used first by me, then by my wife and then moved onto one of my engineers. The total mileage when it was sold was 418,000 miles. The total cost of running it came to less than

[Andrew T]

I've just bought a 3 year old Galaxy 2.3 Ghia privately for

[Dave-G]

B) The facelift models are a better ride :(

 

The dashboard has cubby holes where the "dinner-plate" was

 

They're more stylish

 

I'd rather have a very high mileage "currentish" model than a very low mileage old model

 

and several other reasons I just cant think of right now....(just got up)

[Guest fredt]

and several other reasons I just cant think of right now....(just got up)

let me add to your list Dave :D

they have that stupid shaped clock in the middle of the dash B) ,they have door handles that peel, the cubby holes on the dash are prone to sticking shut! they have the cup holders stuck above the radio and CC panel :( clever place to stick a container of liquid above a major electronic componant B) they dont have ashtrays or bins in the rear doors, they have some of the ugliest rear lights available on a car today :o they only have one rear power point in the boot! and from your experience Dave, rather large bits falling off them is a regular occurrance! is your engine undertray still there? B)

[Dave-G]

B) yup it's still there,BUT,I aint let it near a main dealer since the new gearbox :(

 

point taken about your other issues, but i still greatly prefer the newer models looks and feel

 

I seem to recall that yours is a pre-facelift? soz about that, but you'd probably revise your opinion if you'd had a facelift model for a while B)

[johnb80]

jealousy can be soooooooo cruel :(

[Guest rusty]

Hi there

 

 

[MatTdi]

I agree with you guys go for a new high miler, if you can find and ex co car thats not too mangled then go for it.

 

I bought my Alhambra SE PD 2002 51 plate with 78k on the clock as an ex fleet car, cheap, imaculate on the outside and low wear on the inside :D full service at main dealers

 

Only problem I have had is that the dreaded aircon..... although I hace found the parts on Ebay to fix it myself for the princely sum of

[Dave-G]

:D Anyway, I quite like my rear lights :D

[gazza007]

Cheers everyone for your views.

Ps I think the lights on the Sharan now are hideous.

[iainkirk]

In 2 years and another 80-100,000 miles, I will be selling mine at 3yrs old with 120-140,000 miles on it.

 

God knows what I'll get for it!!

 

It's a virtually standard 115 Ghia in Machine Silver.