Looking to buy a late 1990's TDI one of these two. Is there a difference between the Sharan and Galaxy in build quality? The Fords always look tatty to me....
any other reason to pick one over the other?
Many thanks.....
Edited by Pugugly on 29/04/2009 at 18:33
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No real differences in build and both were consistantly near the bottom of satisfaction surveys, so if I really wanted one of these vehicles, id go for neither and get the Seat Alhambra which would be cheaper :-)
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Should be no difference in build quality as they were built in the same plant in Portugal using VAG components. The main differences are trim items, the nose and tailgate.
Late 90s means you'll be looking for a MkI I guess, I'd be going on condition rather than whether it's a VW, Ford or SEAT. Can't say the Ford looks tattier, they all look the same to me - some good, some bad.
Watch out for taxis and cars that have been hammered by kids.
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All three variants were built down the same assembly line in the same plant.
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Cheers, to be honest I loathe them but we need a large cheap frugal people carrier and I can't think of anything else that fits the bill. Keep trying to convince myself about an early Sedona but theres so many horror stories I dare not!!
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What's your budget if you don't mind me asking?
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budget - cheap, around £2500..pref less
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A quick scan on Autotrader reveals lots more Fords than VWs and SEATs. Guessing the Ford sold much more initially. Like for like the VW still seems to command a small premium too. Diesels in this price bracket are a bit leggy too. Much better value to be had if you go petrol - but then you're looking at 25mpg downhill with the wind behind you - depends on what usage you have in mind I suppose.
This one looks good :
www.heathrowdiesels.co.uk/27337/showroom.htm
Petrol priced at £1950. More bang for your buck but more toys to go wrong too.
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I have owned a 110 TDI Galaxy from June 1998
Bought as an import, could not get an Alhambra which would have been my preference.
The car is economical, a genuine 42.5 mpg in the winter, 45mpg overall in the summer.
Verifed mileometer against motorway marker posts, brimmed tank over thousands of miles.
Anyway, air con packed up at some stage, wires to the driver door broke a couple of times.
The main problem appears to be the gearbox ( in common with Audi?)
It suddenly sticks in gear, happened at 50 or 60k the first time, stripped down nowt amiss rebuilt = perfect.
on the second ccassion the local VW / Audi independant said simply lube the point where the shafts enter the gearbox, squirty forklift oil aerosol being ideal.
Eccept at 198990 she is playing up again. & prob beyond econ repair
HOWEVER
Still origional exhaust and clutch. incl for local work and towing
& I Only replaced the alternator ( origional) Christmas 2008
And BETTER than a VW/ Alhambra
REASON
The water pump is driven by an aux belt NOT the timing beat as per VW
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PS
Seats still in really good nick
and ORIGIONAL radiator and head gasket
I ran her on tractor oil too the first few years changed oil and filter every 5000 though
Now on semi synth every 10,000
minor crankshaft oil leak, only a nuisence
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The diesels in all three makes are VW.The petrol engines in the Galaxy are 2.0/2.3 DOHC-one of the best engines ever made by Ford.(2.8 4WD was a VW motor).
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thanks all, some good info.
Marc, I agree that the petrol ones are good value. Any low mileage galaxys seem to be petrol eg the heathrow car. Thing is, I do a mixture of urban and trips and don't want an 18mpg car when I'm driving in traffic. I see from another thread you drive a 2.3 auto - does it go as low as circa 18mpg? and 28mpg seems to be as much as you can hope for?
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I have owned a 110 TDI Galaxy from June 1998 And BETTER than a VW/ Alhambra REASON The water pump is driven by an aux belt NOT the timing beat as per VW
But I thought all variants shared the same VW TDI diesel??
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2.3 4 speed auto - Computer says the car does about 22-23 mpg average on cold school runs, trips to town etc. On a fast motorway run the onboard computer reports about 28 mpg.
Aircon (cc) is permanently on all year round. It works very hard to keep the car cool in summer.
Edited by Marc on 29/04/2009 at 18:45
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