What To Look Out For?

[Phaedrus]

Hi, This is my first post. I've tried searches for "problems", "faults", "checklist", etc, but can't seem to find anything. I apologise in advance for what is probably another of endless "I might want a Galaxy - please help me" questions.

 

I guess a forum dedicated TO a particular model of car may not be the best place to ask what the bad points about that car are, but after a lot of web research and having been in numerous Galaxy/Alhambra taxis, I already know why I DO want a Galaxy. I'm trying to see if someone other than honestjohn.co.uk can tell me why I DON'T, as if honestjohn's appraisal wasn't enough to put me off.

 

http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/index.php?url=...bycar/index.htm

 

My budget puts me in the 97/98 market. Preference would be a low mileage, 1.9TD GLX, but I can find 2.0 petrols far more easily, so a GLX 2.0 would also suit. The bigger engines aren't an option.

 

My priorities are...

 

1. Reliability.

2. Low running costs.

3. Versatility.

4. Comfort/driving.

5. Passenger safety.

6. Security.

 

We're being steered towards Toyota Picnics by the garage we've always dealt with and trusted, and I do like them, but the Galaxy seems to have more room, comfort and versatility. Given that the Picnic is a Toyota, and that my #1 priority is reliability, my head is telling me that the Picnic is the car for me, but the Galaxy is a much more attractive option from a passionate perspective.

 

Picnics & Galaxys go for around the same money here (Dublin) for a given year, so purchase cost isn't a relative deciding factor.

 

My situation is 5-piece family (me, wife, 6 year-old boy on a booster seat, 3 year-old girl on a booster seat, and a 7 month-old baby currently in a removeable baby seat, but soon upgrading to a larger fixed seat), occasionally carrying a couple of the kid's friends here & there, occasionally need to carry some band equipment (large amps/speakers, etc), couple of camping trips a year in Ireland - the usual family sort of stuff.

 

I want a Galaxy, but I think I should get a Picnic.

 

Not really into any of the other MPVs, and please, no-one mention Scenics. Mine has just blown it's head gasket and will cost

[Andrew T]

Is a Galaxy reliable ? - depends on your definition. In terms of leaving you stranded at the roadside it's probably about average, but you are likely to encounter problems with water ingress, the wipers, spare wheel holder, MAFs and auxilliary heaters on the Diesel. All of those can be fixed relatively cheaply with the advice youi'll find on here so your big worry should be the expensive to fix Air conditioning. If you're after problem free motoring, you're far more likely to find it in the Toyota.

 

BTW, If you're after a petrol the 2.3 has the same fuel consumption as the 2.0 but is about 25% more powerful.

[mumof4]

Hmm...My diesel hasnt had too many problems in the 3 yrs we have had it, though any problems seem to all come at once.Wipers, yes problomatic but easy to fix..again the MAF....we have assumed on here that it goes at around the 50k miles mark..that is an easy fix...water ingress i have as yet to encounter that problem, Air conditioning, i have seemed to got away with that aswell as no probs there either.

 

I like the Gal and the kids like the space and comfort.

 

I cant say why not to get one as i havent had as many probs as others have.

[bus_boy]

Outside of aircon and any performance issues that could be traced to MAF (Mass Airflow Fangelator) you need to check some basics....

 

Have you got at least 2 keys for it?

Do all the electric windows work?

Do the wipers sweep ok on a dry screen?

Has it got Service History? [Has the cambelt and tensioner been replaced if needed? (Not reqd all models)]

 

..remember low mileage for a diesel is anything under 100,000 ;)

[teresa]

only problem mine has had is the water ingress in drivers footwell and usual a/c not working ;) (think it needs refil) ;) but considering ive had it 8 months only thing its cost me is the fuel so i think its reliable

[Guest MATT jr]

weve had few small faults with ours, but has never left us stranded.

 

all though we all moan, the galaxy, overall, is a good car.

 

MJR

[Guest jonno1972]

As above we've had ours about 3 years and its never left us stranded. A few minor faults but nothing very expensive. The TDI seems to be very economical as well. We looked at lots of MPV's before settling for the Galaxy and I must say its the best car I've ever owned.

[broom broom]

our 1997 Galaxy has been with us 5 years and to be honest although i've had a few problem none of them have been major shes never let us down engine wise and the most a garage bill has cost us so far is

[JDF]

 

My priorities are...

 

1. Reliability.

2. Low running costs.

3. Versatility.

4. Comfort/driving.

5. Passenger safety.

6. Security.

 

 

We have a MK1 2.3 petrol Galaxy (1998) for just over a year now, and have been very very pleased with it.

 

1. Reliability.

Touch wood it has been very reliable.

Had a few minor problem most of which came with the vehicle :-

 

i. Central locking didn't work when we got the car, turned out to be a loose wire in controller under front passenger seat.

ii. Interior clock had water damage to the LCD numbers, replaced with second hand one off ebay for

[delboyt]

top car

i got the 2.0 glx petrol p reg 1997

comfort is brilliant

petrol around town 26 mpg

30 ish motorway depending on how it's driven

remember it's a big car so it's not gonna fair to good on fuel (petrol)

but you get the luqury in place of the fuel if you get what i mean

tops for motorway driving as the visability is good &

the kiddies got loads of space to play in

i got 3 kids 15 14 10

we usually forld the middle seat of the middle row

down for them to use as a table to play on.

brilliane for taking the inlaws aswell as the rear (3rd row) can easily take an adult unlike

a lot of other mpv's

 

reliability is fine we found

had her for 3 yrs & only once

let us down due to a faulty spark plug.(my fault for not changing them)

if your gonna buy one then make sure it's been looked after

& it's the 7 seater version not the 6 seater.

check the aircon works

if it don't have air con leave it alone & get on with air con

as it's a greenhose in the summer months.

it also helps demist the windows in the winter

 

 

i give the gal 10/10

sorry for any spelling mistakes & poor grammar

 

forgot to mention

the speaker grills are about

[Masked Marauder]

Don't forget to kick the tyres, it makes you look like you know what you are doing.....

 

But seriously, just factor into your budget that something will need fixed....

[Cathy]

I currently own two Galaxy's - a 1998 2.0l Aspen and a 1998 TDi Ghia X. ;)

 

If you can find one - go for the diesel. :blink:

 

The ecomony is far greater, at least on mine. The petrol returns around 25 MPG, :blink: whereas the diesel averages 40MPG :blink: - even better on a run up the motorway, on a recent business trip, I ran for 650 miles without fillig up, at an average MPG of 46 MPG - for a big car that's fantastic. :blink:

 

Hope you enjoy the galaxy as much as my kids and I enjoy ours! :blink:

 

Cathy

[strouf]

I think Toyota's are much better quality cars than Fords, and the Galaxy is not among the best of the Fords (made in Portugal). Then again you can't drive a car you don't like , just because it was a better deal ! I would go for the Toyota Previa...

[Bigjeeze]

I think Toyota's are much better quality cars than Fords, and the Galaxy is not among the best of the Fords (made in Portugal). Then again you can't drive a car you don't like , just because it was a better deal ! I would go for the Toyota Previa...

 

 

I would agree about the quality- However the Galaxy is not a Ford it's a VW/SEAT . Toyotas are very reliable - just not as good and plain boring!!

[El Dingo]

I think Toyota's are much better quality cars than Fords, and the Galaxy is not among the best of the Fords (made in Portugal). Then again you can't drive a car you don't like , just because it was a better deal ! I would go for the Toyota Previa...

 

 

I would agree about the quality- However the Galaxy is not a Ford it's a VW/SEAT . Toyotas are very reliable - just not as good and plain boring!!

 

Exactly! My wife asked me which is the most reliable MPV, and this is probably the Toyota Previa. The local taxi company use both Previas and Galaxys, and they told me that the Previa is much more reliable. All the evidence, such as Honest John's car-by-car breakdown (appropriate name when discussing the Galaxy) points to the Previa being the sensible choice.

 

(However, I'd rather have a Galaxy than drive around looking like a dick.)

 

:D

[Phaedrus]

Thanks a lot for the replies, folks. Truly apreciated, specially as it now looks like we will be going for a Galaxy or a Sharan rather than a Picnic. We don't like the Previa style-wise and most of the engines seem to be either 2.2 or 2.4 deisels - we don't want an engine over 2-litre: road tax is really high in Ireland.

 

We had a look at a few Picnics over the weekend and spoke with our regular local dealer/service garage. We weren't overly impressed with the Picnic, having been in a few Galaxies to refer impressions against. He actually recommended a Galaxy over a Picnic! Or at least, he didn't diss the Galaxy when we asked about it as an alternative.

 

A couple of comments he did make were these:

 

The petrols are harder to hide clocking than the deisels, but petrols won't be as likely to have been taxied.

Deisels are more likely to have been taxied and clocking is harder to spot.

60,000 - 80,000 miles on a petrol (the type of mileage bracket my budget puts me in) is getting on a bit and problems could be just round the corner.

Ford engines are not as strong as VW engines, and despite the Ford being a newer 16-valve unit, the older 8-valve VW is stronger/more reliable. Apparently the Ford engine can be prone to head gasket failure? Anyone aware of this or heared of it?

 

I'm taking a half day today to go and look at one Sharan (1998, 2.0 petrol, 79,900 miles, GL-model (I suspect this is a mis-print - VW's base model is CL), asking price

[Andrew T]

The 2.0 petrol unit in the sharan is completely different to the Ford unit, being the old 2.0 8v unit shared with the Golf, Passat Octavia et al. It's a unit with a strong reputation for delivering high milages but has a cam belt rather than the chain that the Ford uses, so make sure it's been changed on a 98 model (I think it's due at 60k/5 years).

[El Dingo]

Head gasket issues are common to the VW 2.8 VR6 engine I believe.

[Phaedrus]

This was a 2.0 8-valve VW model, timing belt changed at 63,000 miles, according to docs. It was a bit tatty inside, with missing cubby & ashtray lids, driver's electric window didn't work, reasonably-well repaired light damage to the rear, cracked windscreen, rear air ventilation wasn't working, 3 speaker grilles were broken, missing trim bits here & there, rear light lens broken, a bit of blowing from the exhaust, and most importantly there was a gearbox/clutch noise when changing from 2nd to 3rd and from 4th back into 3rd - like I hadn't pressed the clutch pedal in far enough. I deliberately pressed really hard but the noise was still there. It happened on my wife's spin too.

 

I put all this on a list which the sales guy photocopied, agreeing to fix everything on it before sale, in addition to a full service. I insisted that he give me details of how the crash damage (invisible unless you're looking for it) was received - there have been only two owners, and the 2nd was their customer (traded the Sharan against a newer Galaxy, aparrently), so it should be easy to find out.

 

I'm thinking that it's not the car for us. We did like it, but there seem to be too many questions over it. That said, if everything on the list is fixed/addressed before sale, I might be happy enough. FWIW, they came down to

[gregers]

bloody hell and how much are they giving you to take this heap off of there hands :huh: seems to be an awful lot of damage,do you really think the dealer will cure all ills?knowing hes still got to make a profit on it,i would personally walk away from this one(but thats my opinion).im assumming in your neck of the woods gals are like rocking horse poo,but dont rush in,theres been an x reg sharen in my local dealers for just over a year its now down to

[El Dingo]

bloody hell and how much are they giving you to take this heap off of there hands :huh: seems to be an awful lot of damage,do you really think the dealer will cure all ills?knowing hes still got to make a profit on it,i would personally walk away from this one(but thats my opinion).im assumming in your neck of the woods gals are like rocking horse poo,but dont rush in,theres been an x reg sharen in my local dealers for just over a year its now down to

[Andrew T]

It sounds more like

[dakster]

The problems you are aware of may be only the tip of the iceberg....

repaired accident damage and potential gerabox problems - no thanks.

If the owner couldn`t be bothered to replace broken speaker grilles (less than 2 quid each) do you really think he`s looked after the more important items?

Look at some more and I`m sure you will find a good one.

[Phaedrus]

Thanks again, folks.

 

We dropped that Sharan fast. You guys are all correct - what else would be lurking under the skin. Isn't it easy to get sucked into just the convenience of going for one of the first cars you look at?

 

We've found a 55,000 mile (genuine), one owner, 1.9TDi 1998 Alhambra. No air-con, no CD player, no sunroof, no seat-back trays, but REALLY clean, FSH, and it's from the same dealer that sold it to it's original owner and serviced it. Expensive at

[Andrew T]

I thought all Alhambras had Aircon - or are the specs different over there ?