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Bangernomics revisited

lordsummit

Moderator
So the big question, when to stick or twist??

Vicky Volvo has done 30,000 jolly pleasant miles, got a few advisories last MOT, inner steering arms and a wishbone bushing. Also needs a new cam belt, auxiliary belt, and possibly a pulley or two down there. A new drivers seat would be good as I’m starting to think the previous owner must have been a tad on the porky side. She’s due a service, did very few miles last year. I’m looking down the barrel of at £1000. Intending to ask my friendly garage if there’s any other incoming they can see. She’s had new brakes, batteries and one or two other bits and bobs.
Tripped over today a Ford C-Max with 24k on it. It’s a 2007 2.0 litre auto. Looks like a new one. Before I even look closely at it I’m fearing it’s the infamous Powershift unit. They want £2200 for it. Better the devil you know? Or dance with the devil in pale moonlight?
 
Not always.

Big bill on an old crock is often the thing to see it off. My Jag went to the great recycling plant in the sky 18 months back and I picked up a 59 plate Hyundai Sonata with only 54K for 2G'S from one of the local banger fettlers.

Fords can be an absolute nightmare if you get a bad one but 2007 is old enough to expect all the major bugs to have been discovered and ironed out.

24K is ridiculously low for the age, particularly if it's a diesel. If it's a one elderly owner from new job you can't go far wrong. Those are where the best bargains are to be had.
 
Low miles on a Diesel can mean blocked particulate filters so check previous MoTs.
I'd avoid Diesel anyway it's the fuel of the devil.
 
So the big question, when to stick or twist??

Vicky Volvo has done 30,000 jolly pleasant miles, got a few advisories last MOT, inner steering arms and a wishbone bushing. Also needs a new cam belt, auxiliary belt, and possibly a pulley or two down there. A new drivers seat would be good as I’m starting to think the previous owner must have been a tad on the porky side. She’s due a service, did very few miles last year. I’m looking down the barrel of at £1000. Intending to ask my friendly garage if there’s any other incoming they can see. She’s had new brakes, batteries and one or two other bits and bobs.
Tripped over today a Ford C-Max with 24k on it. It’s a 2007 2.0 litre auto. Looks like a new one. Before I even look closely at it I’m fearing it’s the infamous Powershift unit. They want £2200 for it. Better the devil you know? Or dance with the devil in pale moonlight?
Was 30,000 a typo
 
Stupidly-low miles on an old car isn't always a blessing; 1500 miles/yr it means its only pottered to the shops and back, or church once a month, or something; it has spent a lot of time just standing, cold, might only have had an oil change or two in all that time as a result of low miles, & you might have to warm it up to the idea of being driven! Oh yeah - check the sidewall date codes on the tyres - are they original at that low milage - if so, right there goes more than half the £1K you wonder about spending on the 'old' car... 24k miles and 14yr old tyres not an impossible mix IYSWIM.

Ford + auto automatically suggests it's going to be thirsty in my limited experience; once you reckon on the costs of changing cars - ins/tax (get caught for two car-months overlapping now due to dvla rules) etc- if you like what you have, 'know its foibles - is spending that £1K on it really so expensive? (as @Guinnless 'point above, really) it's 3p a mile for the journey so far, and might usefully double its life with you.

But if the C-max does things you want or like more in any aspect, well why not.
 
if so, right there goes more than half the £1K you wonder about spending on the 'old' car... 24k miles and 14yr old tyres not an impossible mix IYSWIM.

This is a brilliant point. Thanks. So far the Volvo has had two brake callipers, discs and pads at the back, the inboard handbrake rebuilt, an engine mount, battery and a track rod end. I’m just conscious of throwing money which is a little tight at the moment due to their being no concerts/shows to work on/play in into a money pit. I’m preparing to ring my preferred Volvo fettler and ask him to cast a glance at it and see what he thinks. If it’s worth spending the money I’ll do it. Have also found a rather nice looking Honda CR-V, 60k and within budget. A 2l petrol, with a new MOT and no advisories ever! I enjoyed my previous Honda, it was the most bullet proof car I’ve ever owned.
 
A Volvo you know is a fine thing. Perhaps your favoured fettler could give you a menu of priorities on anything found, if that helps;

For myself - I think I'd look twice at the Honda before I would at the Ford
 
CR-Vs are great. Ours was trouble-free and very well put together. I recommended them to a friend & he bought one, the same story. He's now given it to his son, who's a vet and does lots of travelling. He loves it too.
 
I’ll ponder that. Plenty of them about. The one I saw was in Birmingham it turned out. Rather a big schlep in these times especially if it turns out to be a nail.
 
Skip the auto Ford, its an awful box in an overly heavy Focus in drag with crap mpg and a steering rack that falls apart if you go lock to lock with it.
 
Three years ago I bought an 02 plate Suzuki Wagon R because it was dirt cheap and I thought I could make a few bob on it. I liked driving it that much that I kept it and it's just sailed through its mot again with one advisory, some surface rust on the rear brake pipes. I use it solely for going to work and back and it does that job admirably. It's not everyone's cup of tea but it's a great town car and with its upright stance I can get in and out of it easily.
 
Stick with the Volvo

If you must change a Focus is a good motor. Go manual, newer with higher mileage though.

My 1996 Saab still manages the MOT every year.
Bought in 2006 with 60k on the clock
 
I drive a 2007 diesel Passat with 130k on the clock. Had it MOT’d last week, one advisory about the tread on the rear tyres. Very reliable and I get mid 50s MPG on a reasonable drive. Given the mileage I’m doing at the moment it’s staying.
 
There's a used car dealer in Needham Market who has a really good reputation for selling no-nonsense cheap cars. He does all warranty work himself, and because of that he doesn't, as a rule, sell turbodiesel cars, as there's not enough time in the week to do all the warranty work they'd demand. A couple of mates have bought Focus 1.6 petrols from him. For their commutes, great cars. Not fast, not refined, but who cares?

For the record, and in my opinion, the turbodiesel issues are very often experienced with cars that just aren't used as intended. Short journeys of less than 20 miles or so will kill various parts before their time. When buying a used one, there's no way of knowing whether it did mostly short or long journeys, no matter what the rest of the car tells you.

Japanese cars are fine, but... a Honda fan at work is having his loyalty to the brand tested because the cost of genuine spares is sometimes obscene, and pattern parts often don't work.
 
I run an 07 1.8 focus, 68k on the clock. It replaced a mk1 that I had from new and kept till 220k, the mk2 is nowhere near as good a car.
 
How old is Vicky the Volvo? If 15 years plus, £1000 on repairs is too much. You could be naughty and neglect the cambelt. It's a big bill, £300-400 minimum, and it won't fail overnight. If you are doing low miles and it's only just due, maybe you feel lucky for a year or 10k miles. If it breaks, the thing is scrap, but it's worth £500 with a fresh MoT and £150 with none. Maybe you could roll the dice on the belt and just do the MoT essentials. If that's under 300, I'd be taking a punt on it.
 


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