Any car of this sort of age and mileage is close to the end of it's life. Cars of this sort that can still pass an MoT are worth £500 - £600. You should consider cars at this end of the market to be 1 year throw away purchases. If it runs fine for a year and passes another MoT, well that's a bonus.

It might have a leak. Did you look for signs of such underneath?? On the other hand it might be burning oil - if the rings are worn it might burn a little constantly but not enough to fail a MoT.

At the end of the day, you're at the risky end of the market. It might run fine and just need oil top up once a fortnight. It might run fine for 9 mnths and expire. If that happens get what you can scrap and buy another.

It's bound to need some repairs at some point. Then you have to consider whether to repair or scrap. If the repairs are easy mechanical stuff and not too expensive (and the car otherwise proving ok) then it may be worth it. Repairing an old car is usually way cheaper than buying a new car. Or view it as a stop gap while you save up to move into the £1500 bracket.

Salesman? £600 ? The car must be worth zero (or less) if a salesman thinks it will only sell for that much. Buy it if you don't mind fixing any problems.

I test drove a Zafira Automatic today, it seemed to drive ok.

From experience:

1) Auto boxes are "sealed for life" according to GM. Aisin-Warner (who make them) reckon that biannual fluid changes are de rigeur. I'll bet the fluid's well past it's best. If it doesn't slip on 3rd upchanges when hot, you might get away with draining and refilling with Dexron IIID or higher (no need for GM's overpriced snake oil with regular changes, go with the Aisin recommendation). You can only drain half the fluid in one go, so several cycles are required to get it fully refreshed. After doing that, do a drain/refill (half change) every year. Once the filter's clogged, it's toast. The filter is internal and can only be changed by stripping the box so, if the fluid's already black, run away as removing the box requires dropping the subframe. On the plus side here, the 1.8s don't break auto boxes with alarming regularity like their 2.2 and oil-burning counterparts do.

2) See if it "hunts" when idling. If it does, the EGR valve is toast and these are a tad pricey for what they are.

3) Check that the cambelt's been done recently and that all the pulleys and the water pump were replaced at the same time. If not, it'll need to be done or redone and that's a pricey job.

4) The engine itself is bulletproof, although I suspect that the valvetrain will be rattling nicely on startup with those miles, nothing to worry about.

5) Electrics. Check that the central locking works and fires normally all around, also all 'leccy windows, lamps 'n such. These things are terribly prone to breaking the wires in the rubber boots to the doors and tailgate. The tailgate one can short the demist into the C/L loom and fry the C/L ECU (choice here is eBay and OP-COM or a very, very large bill).

6) Brakes. The autos eat front disks for fun. Check they're ok. Rears last ok, but swapping pads will mean fiddling with caliper wind back tools.

7) Check the remote keyfob works reliably. Open it and check that the battery compartment is OK. The switches degrade and the battery is held in with two little placcy tangs, which break. Also make sure you get both the car and radio codes. GM will want their pound of flesh for disclosing these later.

8) Fuel consumption. Your bank balance is going to hate it. That old Ecotec 1.8 isn't the most economical thing made of around that size and the auto box doesn't do it any favours in this department.

9) Spare wheel. This sits in a sling under the rear floor. Check it's there as these are often nicked. If possible, lower the sling, remove the wheel and check it. Being exposed to the elements means they can rot through and the tyre often perishes.

10) Suspension clonks at the front are almost invariably the antirollbar drop links. Cheap and simple to replace and nothing to be concerned about. Creaking over humps will be the antirollbar bushes which cannot be replaced without dropping the subframe. A noise you'll have to learn to live with if present. Wheel bearing noises from the rear are almost invariably actually tyre noise. These things really don't like unidirectional tread patterns.

11) Oil. At that milage it's more likely burning it than leaking it. Look for blue smoke on cold start :-)

12) Check it warms up promptly. Thermostats don't last long on these. The GM 'stat is an all-in-one part with the housing and temp sensor and costs a bit. You can get just the 'stat bit and a new sealing ring from the usual parts suppliers far more cheaply.

13) Male torx bolts are everywhere on the thing.

14) Exhaust. Comes in three bits, none of which are cheap. Run the engine and stick your hand over the tailpipe. Listen for blowing noises. Run away if there's anything coming from the downpipe / cat section at the front. Official GM exhausts are pricey, aftermarket ones fit like a donkey's hind leg.

I think that's pretty much it off the top of my head.

On the plus side, it is one of the most practical objects ever made and rather well screwed together for a GM product. They also seem pretty much immune to structural rust. Older ones should come with the dog guard net thing sat in a pocket under the rear seat squab, which it sounds like you'll want. GM penny-pinching made that an optional extra on later models.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask. I ran a '99 one for four years until very recently and got to know the thing pretty well.

Edited by TeeCee on 30/07/2013 at 11:53

Em, oil leak. I'd say this car had some neglect, 1.8 engines are pretty good so you could try buy it since its not that expensive but I would say test drive it again. I had 1.8 Zafira A and it was bullet proof, used to take it out 1-7 times a day and it would take harsh accelerations when needed easily. Car is bit of rolling ride, but can't expect it to be up to standards with modern cars, Zafira A is 19 years old so its pretty good.