Hello
Has anyone got got an older 626 2.0 16v with verh high miles, just wondering if buyong in really good shape buy miles at 135,000 is a complete waste. FSH one owner with reg oil changes.
seems fine but tappets slightly noisy.
I guess the question is were they built well? I think same engine as probe?
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Personally I think you need to treat this as a throwaway car. It may look very nice with all the buttons but there is no value in it if anything major goes wrong.
Even if it is in as new condition, its age and mileage will always count against it.
How much is he asking?
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It's 15 years old. At 135k it's done 9k per year - low miles in other words. If this sort of mileage puts you off then you need to be looking at cars of half this age and probably more than twice the price.
That said, if it's up for anything more than £500 with a year's MoT, walk away because as Hugo has said, if anything significant that's not ordinary wear and tear happens (and maybe if it is) the car will almost certainly be scrap.
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4 years ago I was offered an H reg 626 2.0L saloon in VGC at 60,000 miles for £600.
As I understand the chap got the £600 he was asking locally without any problems at all. I thought it was a bit cheap at the time but he was offered only £400 for trade in.
David, in the light of this though I would probably limit the price to £300 MAX.
H
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Hugo, I think you're right but I deliberately estimated it a little high because I'd rather suggest paying £500 for this, if it's a good one, than steer the poster towards a £300 car from a dealer which will be almost entirely profit margin and very, very little car... (It's quite possible this is from a dealer, rather than a private seller).
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I see where you're coming from David.
We don't actually know if its from a dealer though, or have I missed something?
My stance on this is that you decide on whether the car fits the bill, then decide where to pitch the price.
If its a private sale and it's basically worth £300, then that is what I would pay, unless I felt it was advantageous to me to pay a little more to secure the car.
If it's a dealer, then you have to ask youself "Why am I buying this car from this dealer? Why is he selling it at that price?"
Unless it's a dealer that specialises in cheaper cars, the chances are with that mileage he has had it as a trade in, and probably given around £200 if that for it. Even if he bought it through the trade as a straight purchase he probably paid a similar amount for it. So why is he looking at say £300 margin? I very much suspect that A2B will get no warranty at that money. The dealer will simply honour his legal obligations and that will be that.
So, assuming for sake of arguement that it owes the dealer £200 (which I doubt) I see little justification to line his pockets with an extra £300, when there are other reasonable much lower mileage cars out there for the £500, which can be picked through at leasure. As an example my neigbour sold a nice L reg Rover 416 for £500 a couple of years ago. Mileage, 82K IIRC.
Having said that, I see your logic. Getting a good car, if it is, and paying a little extra for this one, could reduce the risk of him buying a lemon elsewhere.
H
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I agree with everything you've said; I just deliberately set the maximum price high so we can talk the car down, if you like, to allow for the possibility that it might be from a dealer, etc. (although anything below £1k is generally best bought privately IMO).
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Hi Guys,
I should explian a little more. It is GTI coupe ( very very rare). To most people nothing special perhaps but to me it is unusual and therfore I am interested.
What I'm worried about is how long the 2.0 16v 155 BHP engines are good for if well maintained. This one has been but there is now just a little tappety noise.
I relaize that it can be fairly expensive to replace all 16 valves and want to avoids that.
I figure replaceing would be about £350 for tappets.
Saying that if it went for another two years i would say reasonlable value.
Really what I'm getting at, is the tappet sound detrimental to the engine or just anoying?
There is no obvious oil burn and a complete full service history with regular oil changes.
Is 130-140 just too much mileage or what?
Thanks
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I see.
How much are you being asked for it?
Looking at the mileage alone, I could not condemn the car. However for a few quid would it be worth taking along someone that knows the car/engine?
The most I've ever personally known anyone getting out of a petrol is 200K. That was a Carlton 1.8i.
If the car is cheap enough that you could afford to write it off or sell it for spares or repair I would be tempted. However, if not then you would need to tread more carefully. I'm not saying don't go for it, just make sure you know what you're getting into.
H
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I'd say that the 626 is one of the most under-valued cars in the UK. They are well engineered, reasonably rust-proof, and drive beautifully. For some reason they are hated in the UK, and the very nice 1991 'H' 2.2i 4WD I had over there for four years lost most of its value before I left for NZ. It was a pity, as it was streets ahead of competition from Sierras, Vectras etc.
The 16v 626 engine should give good life well beyond 135,000 miles if it is maintained. A good high performance oil will usually help noisy tappets, and as long as they quieten down after a few minutes, there's no harm done. The coupe was fairly rare, and there are a few over here, usually called a Capella C².
Spares for them are certainly available from New Zealand, and much cheaper than in the UK, with about a week delivery time.
That series of cars, coupes and estates ran from about 1988 through to 1995. They were also badge-engineered in Australia and New Zealand as Ford Telstars. I bought a Telstar estate in 1993, sold it to my brother-in-law in 1997 when I went to the UK, and he still has it. No problems, running nicely at around 300,000 Km. That had the 2.0 12 valve engine, incidentally. They were the de-facto repmobile in New Zealand,and I doubt if you could have sold a Sierra or Vectra in the same market. Down here people like their cars to last more than five years.
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