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Is Buying An Old Very High Mileage S-Max A Massive Gamble?


98ti
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Hi all, first post here, sorry in advance because it's probably going to be long!! I've signed up because I'm really interested in looking at an S-Max or Galaxy.

We have three kids, one is in a baby seat and one in a booster so our Vx Vectra just isn't cutting it any more. We're going for 7 seats so the kids can bring a friend along on days out etc. We're planning on buying a big tent this year so boot space with the seats down has to be decent.

My problem with car buying is that I'm poor lol. I've got £6k to spend and won't spend a penny more, I don't want to add finance so that's all I have to play with..... trouble is, I'm doubting that it's gonna be enough to see me in a Ford. I'm being cautious because it's taken a while to save the cash and the car will need to last for a good 4 years.

After looking at a lot of other MPVs the only other option I'd go for is French, which I'd prefer not to tbh. I personally think the best of the French is the the C4 Grand Picasso but it's let down a bit by only coming with a 110bhp 1.6HDi manual, the rest are semi auto crap. Still a nice, functional family car that happily keeps up with traffic, even if it's a bit dull.

So, to the point!! There are plenty of 06/07 S-Max's out there for £6k but they're all carrying a lot of miles. There's one I'm considering taking a look at but it could be an epic mistake. 06 2.0tdci Tit 138k :blink: recent clutch and dmf, cam belt and water pump, recon turbo. I don't know how it's gathered those miles, could be lots and lots of shopping! Hopefully not.

Now, in my mind that car "could" turn out to be a better buy than a 90k car, a lot of the expensive jobs have come and gone so they should be good for another chunk of miles. The concerning things are suspension/bushes, gearbox, electrics and general wear and tear. I'm fortunate that I do all of my own work so labour costs are generally very few and very far between.

If anyone can offer some advice on buying old high mileage S-Max's or Galaxy's I've very much appreciated it.

What would you do in my dire situation? :D

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nothing wrong with buying a high mileage car! when i bought my 55/05 forfour it had 69,000 miles on the clock and it was 5 years old. carnt really say anything about my mums 55/06 focus as it had 30,000 miles on the clock and it was 5 years old

i know its not a ford but my uncle has a 06/06 reg honda civic 2.2 CDTI and its done 150,000. he's owned it from day one and has spent nothing on it other than service, tyres and brakes, and the only major thing that failed was the exhaust manifold cracked and that was replace under warranty.

my only tip would be is to make sure its got service history and receipts to back everything up.

parts will fail at any mileage, the clutch could go at 30,000 miles or 130,000 miles. poo happens

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I had. A 9 yr old 90k car with nothing but issues gave it up at 110,000.

Avoid at all costs a high mileage car they're going to run into issues one way or another especially if you want to keep it a while.

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Thanks guys.

Yesterday afternoon I was hoping to view the 07 model I mentioned in OP (I did say 06) but it didn't happen. I'm going to run over there later and have a look. I know it has recent history but I didn't really have time to dig further on the phone. If nothing else it'll give me an idea of what a 138,000 S-Max looks and feels like.

James, I don't think avoiding high mileage cars at all costs is really necessary to be fair. I'd rather drive a fully serviced 3 year old 100,000 mile motorway car than a 3 year old 20,000 town car (especially on today's roads). To each their own i guess.

Your 9yr old car with 90k sounds like a good example of what happens when they've just been pootled round to school or spar and back for the entire lives.

I just wondered if there's anything sinister lurking under an MY07 S-Max.

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Potentially if your going for a young age with mainly motorway miles you will be ok.

I'm jus going off experience.

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high mileage cars could be a good option as the parts that are likely to go could well have been replaced. If you get one with lower mileage, say 60-80,000 the parts on the car could be near the point of having to be replaced, so could end up costing more.

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I had. A 9 yr old 90k car with nothing but issues gave it up at 110,000.

a 9 year old car with 90,000 on its back aint high, thats average. anything more than 12,000 miles a year id consider high on a petrol. on a diesel id consider a 3 year old car with 60,000 on its back average anything more and its high

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hi matt,ive had my smax for around 16 mths now and i bought mine with 100k on the clock mines an 08 titanium.its now got 106.5k

full history etc etc.i paid 8k for it.

on mine cam belt needs doing at 10 years or 125k.

dont go down the french route,

im assuming your looking for either a smax or a mk3 galaxy.

i ask as you should be able to pick up a very nice example of a mk2 galaxy fully loaded for that money as these cars do hold on to there prices,especially from dealers.

its always a gamble buying 2nd hand but take your time in doing your research and im sure it will pay dividends in the end.

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