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We have been looking to sell our 2001 Holden Barina which has done 149,000km in order to get a bigger family car that will accomodate our carseat well.

An older friend is wanting to downgrade from her 2001 Ford Mondeo which has done 202,000km is in a very tidy condition and with good service history. She has suggested a straight swap.

We are getting our mechanic to check the vehicle to see what he thinks. Are we getting a good deal? We are a one income family and if we sell our car instead we will not be able to put in any extra money in order to buy another car. Also what could go wrong with the Mondeo and what would be the cost for repairs?

Ultimately you will be swopping into and older car with higher mileage. This is not ideal. At 200,000km you can expect to spend some money on maintenance and repairs and the risks of something major going wrong, like a transmission failure, are higher. Price wise the cars are at a similar value but due to the mileage and year you will be downgrading. You should rather hang on to your vehicle until you are ready to buy a car with lower mileage.