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Hi Jack,
What do you think of this car ( 2001-2003) 250 V6 GT. Any known issues and how easy are they to service bearing in mind they weren't sold here NZ New. I was attracted by their 4 out of 6 fuel rating and their power output. On the face of it seems to be a perfect car- my only challenge is to find one owned by an accountant in their mid 40s rather than a teenage boy racer :)
Be very wary of models with the Extriod CVT transmission. We have heard of cases where the cost of repair exceeds the value of the car, and cars have been written off due to being uneconomical to repair.
Be cautios of the 4/6 fuelsaver rating too. It is possible to achieve good economy from most cars fitted with a CVT transmission if driven VERY carefully, as it will always be revving at the optimum efficiency. However, bury your boot just a little, and they flare and rev hard, causing high fuel consumption.
Another problem is with the Neo DI engine (if fitted). They are enclined to carbon up.
Thanks Andrew,
I'm looking for an economical car with enough power on the open road. So far the cars I've had a look at have red flags like CVT trans, D4/GDI engine and cooling system problems (BMW, Fords)
What do you think about the Toyota Will VS. Its an intersting looking car with 140kw ouput from a 1.8 engine. Only 4000 were made so will there be issues with finding parts even though they are built on the Corolla platform.? The low suspension and the weight of the car makes me think it would come off worse for wear in an accident.
Lastly there are some good deals on Fords and the 3 series BMWs on trademe. From the posts I read here looks like they have issues with engine bay plastics and there cooling systems. Push come to shove would you go for the BMW 3 series over the Ford (either Focus or Mondeo). Seems to be heaps of the BMWs around so I 'm sure I could bargain down the price. On the other hand I had a Ford as a work car and it was an excellent drive and was pretty reliable.
By the way my price bracket is $8-10K so would be looking at early to mid 2000s models
Plastic fittings used in the cooling system can become brittle with age, however in all other respects the BMW is pretty good. You don't say where you are located, but many specialist repairers such as BM Workshop in Auckland suggest a planned maintenance and replacement regime to keep the cooling system in reliable condition. Transmissions etc give very little trouble.
The Mondeo and Focus, if kept well maintained seem to be OK too. We've heard stories of expensive repairs on manual models with the dual mass flywheel in the event of a clutch failure, but other than that, maintenance and a known service history are the key to reliability.