Ford S-MAX - Need to buy an MPV. High mileage?

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Fri 14 Sep 2012 17:00
Ford S-MAX - Need to buy an MPV. High mileage? - ChrisLon

I need to buy an MPV big enough to seat 2 large teenagers and a car seat. The only cars we have found that fit the bill, and that we even vaguely like, are the S-MAX, Galaxy and the Renalut Grand Scenic.

The options are:

1. Renault Grand Scenic 1.5 turbo diesel, 61 plate, 10,000 miles, around £11,500 - low running costs, still in warrranty, but concerns about reputation and reliability. A bonus is the back seats can be used, albeit tightly, by an adult.

2. Ford S-Max Titanium 2.0 turbo diesel, 09 plate, 100,000 miles, around £9,000 - slightly more expensive to run but not to bad, no warranty but ful service history as ex-lease. Back seats are tighter than the Renault's but the middle row has more room.

What do people advise? What are the risks with buying the high mileage car?

Edited by ChrisLon on 14/09/2012 at 17:01

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Fri 14 Sep 2012 17:19
Ford S-MAX - Need to buy an MPV. High mileage? - redthemusiclover

I'd personally buy the S-Max. Build quality and electrical niggles still don't fill me with confidence with Renaults. Or I'd go down to Addison Lee car sales in London NW1 and see what sort of ex-private hire Ford Galaxy TDCi I could drive home in. That's what I did a year ago, and I paid £7750 for a 91000 mile Galaxy TDCi Auto with full history including the all important timing belt change at 65000. It's never skipped a beat since then, returns 44 mpg and I can get it serviced and MOT'd for £150 all in. I'm sure someone will be on here in a minute to tell me the DPF/EGR/DMF is about to fail and cost me big bucks, but there's no sign of anything expensive looming yet.

Let us know what you decide.

Steve

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Sat 15 Sep 2012 15:10
Ford S-MAX - Need to buy an MPV. High mileage? - ChrisLon
Thanks Steve. I really like the size and refinement of the SMax, but budget dictates buying a high mileage one and that fills me with uncertainty.
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Sat 15 Sep 2012 17:41
Ford S-MAX - Need to buy an MPV. High mileage? - redthemusiclover

I certainly understand that - however the important bits of a Galaxy and an S-Max (and a Mk4 Mondeo) are the same, and there are enough high mileage examples of these out there for you to pick a good 'un. I'd certainly place more faith in Ford/Peugeot's diesel engine expertise than take my chances with Monsieur Renault.

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Sat 15 Sep 2012 18:17
Ford S-MAX - Need to buy an MPV. High mileage? - Dabooka

I certainly understand that - however the important bits of a Galaxy and an S-Max (and a Mk4 Mondeo) are the same, and there are enough high mileage examples of these out there for you to pick a good 'un. I'd certainly place more faith in Ford/Peugeot's diesel engine expertise than take my chances with Monsieur Renault.

I thought the 1.5 Renault diesel was helad in high regard? Isn't it used in the Qashqai and a zillion other 1.5 diesel engined cars?

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Sat 15 Sep 2012 19:04
Ford S-MAX - Need to buy an MPV. High mileage? - tyro

At the moment, I'm thinking about the pros and cons of getting a high mileage car, and I am finding this old thread helpful: http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=82734

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Sun 16 Sep 2012 11:47
Ford S-MAX - Need to buy an MPV. High mileage? - unthrottled

I thought the 1.5 Renault diesel was helad in high regard? Isn't it used in the Qashqai and a zillion other 1.5 diesel engined cars?

And the latest Mercedes A class.

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Sat 15 Sep 2012 21:03
Ford S-MAX - Need to buy an MPV. High mileage? - tanvir

£11,500 would get you a nice low mileage s-max... do you have a lower budget for the s-max than the scenic because of the difference in running costs?

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Sun 16 Sep 2012 10:00
Ford S-MAX - Need to buy an MPV. High mileage? - Happy Blue!

I have a 2009 S-Max Titanium with all the bells and whistles (and I mean all of them) together with the 140bhp TDCi engine and slushbox. 36,000 miles.

Has been pretty much totally reliable. One minor warranty repair (of a grommet) and a couple of minor electrical 'issues' that fixed themselves after an overnight on the drive.

I would totally recommend especially after a week in the snowy Alps with a rented Scenic, which I did not enjoy anywhere near as much as the S-Max.

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Sun 16 Sep 2012 12:17
Ford S-MAX - Need to buy an MPV. High mileage? - Collos25

A 100k is a lot of miles the average lease car gets very scant service the renault is still under warranty cheaper to run and in a couple of years still worth something unlike the ford which will be an old car with exeptionally high miles.

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Mon 17 Sep 2012 00:07
Ford S-MAX - Need to buy an MPV. High mileage? - ChrisLon
Thanks again for all the advice. The prices were just examples of what I'd found. The budget is really about 10k max including what I manage to get p/ex for my 2.2 EX Civic.

I'm coming to the conclusion that a 100,000 mile car is a good bet for someone expecting to do below average mileage over the next 3 years or so. I've done nearly 60,000 in my Civic in 3 and a half years which means if I bought an S-Max with 100,000 miles on for £9,000 it would be a 160,000 mile car in three years and worth very little. The Renault Grand Scenic on the other hand would, if bought at 2 years old for £9,000 with 20,000 on the clock, become a 5 year old car with 80,000 miles and worth maybe £4,000. So my head says go for the Renault, but my heart says buy the S-max because it's the better car.

Edited by ChrisLon on 17/09/2012 at 00:15

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Tue 18 Sep 2012 11:11
Ford S-MAX - Need to buy an MPV. High mileage? - logan5

I've got a 2006 Galaxy which we bought at 30K miles in 2008. It's now done nearly 90K without a single problem. Still runs as good as the day we got it.

S-Max is a bit more sporty, but the Galaxy has far better headroom as well as in the back row. Can easily get 7 adults in there comfortably.

If that S-Max has been pootling up and down the motorway then it should be pretty sound. We have a 320d BMW touring we bought new in 2006 which has hardly done any miles in comparison to the Galaxy (34K). The 320d returns about 32mpg while the Galaxy returns 56mpg.

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Tue 18 Sep 2012 11:18
Ford S-MAX - Need to buy an MPV. High mileage? - unthrottled

The 320d returns about 32mpg while the Galaxy returns 56mpg.

Really?

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Tue 18 Sep 2012 13:55
Ford S-MAX - Need to buy an MPV. High mileage? - logan5

Yes, but please bear in mind that it is mainly used for short journeys (school runs, supermarket etc). The Galaxy is used for work each day (~18 miles each trip) mainly along dual-carriageway.

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Tue 18 Sep 2012 21:03
Ford S-MAX - Need to buy an MPV. High mileage? - Xileno

Renaults built between 2000 and 2004 were the ones that earned the poor reputation for the company. A Scenic this new will be as good as any mainstream car.

It was the early 1.9 engine type F9Q that had the reputation of blowing its turbo until changes were made in June 2003.

The 1.5 never experienced this problem beyond any normal occurence that can occur with any make.

The biggest problem with this Scenic is that the Grand is a big vehicle and the 1.5 is only just about adequate. The Scenic really shines with the 2.0 dCi or the brilliant new 1.6dCi.

But really you're not comparing apples with apples. If you're looking at the S-max then surely the Espace should be on the shopping list?

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