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I am helping my son buy his first car. We have looked at a 1997 Ford Mondeo with 120,000 km's on the clock for $3,000. The timing belt needs to be replaced and the registration is due to expire. The other car we are considering is a 1992 Nissan Pulsar travelled 180,000km's for $3,500.

We thought the Mondeo was a good buy but a friend said the Nissan would be more reliable and cheaper to fix.

What are your thoughts?

Melanie

From the "Ask Jack" archives - 14 December 2009

I would intend to agree with your friend in that the Mondeo could be a higher risk and the Pulsar may be the more reliable and cheaper to run overall.

I think the Pulsar (16 years old) is overpriced however and at 180,000km's it's highly likely maintenance costs will start to increase regardless of the vehicle's overall good reliability record.

Regardless of what you buy make sure the car has a Warrant of Fitness not more than one month old. This is a legal requirement unless you agree to accept the car without a new WoF which is high risk for any new owner in my opinion.

At times sellers will try and off-load their vehicle with a current WoF knowing it will not pass the next inspection especially with older and high mileage vehicles.

At least with a fresh WoF you are getting some form of inspection and peace of mind on critical structural and safety items.