Before the buying - Tips, decisions

[Skittles]

Hello,

I'm looking to buy used C-Max II, 2012-2015 (before the facelift).

I have two kids, one dog and one wife. We all like the looks of the car, reviews are good, and this one fits our budget.

We do about 10-15k km per year, 85% in the city (home - kindergarten - work), short distances (under 10km per drive), and travel couple times per year with our dog.

I'm currently driving Suzuki SX4, 1.6 petrol, and all my previous cars were petrols. I understand most of these C-Maxes are diesel, and I still have mixed feelings about that, but it's not a hard no.

 

So what would be the best engine option? What to look out for? What to avoid? Manual or automatic?

I'm used to stick, but automatics can be nice. Not a preference tho. I'd rather save some fuel if the consumption is noticeable, or avoid some extra services.

 

I know I must have cruise control. I've seen you can buy just the buttons, and I've read that you can plug them and activate the option via pc.

Is this true, and does it depends on general trim level? Like if I don't have electric rear windows, the car is ***** and there is no chance that I can just add cruise.

 

Or things like keyless entry, push to start, folding mirrors, navigation, bluetooth, DRL... ?

What is possible and rather easy/affordable to add so it can be ignored when selecting the used car, and what is a deal breaker?

Just for the calculation assume there is a C-Max scrapyard nearby and labour is free.

 

It would be great to get some feedback, inputs, advices from current and past owners. Sorry if there's lots of questions - I just know that whatever I buy now, I will drive it for the next 5 years at least, so I wanna make sure it's the right one.

 

Thank you for your time to read all this, and extra thanks in advance for any reply!

 

Cheers

[Hostahousey]

I own a 2016 Titanium 1.5 cdi auto. This is the first auto I have owned, but after this car I would not go back to manual trans. My car has most of what you are after its consumption is very good , Town driving around 42/45mpg long runs around 47/52 mpg. Hope this helps.🙂

[Eric Bloodaxe]

I had a 2013 pfl C-Max Titanium X (bought as a Ford Direct car with 4,000 miles) after a Focus Mk 2.5. We thought it would be a useful vehicle for us as we are frequently lugging "stuff" to/from our static caravan and do a lot of cottage breaks also.

It was a nice car with lots of kit, but we didn't get on with the procedure for rear seat folding/removal  to accommodate big loads, in fact we felt the Focus with its folding rear seat squab was easier to use.

My Mrs appreciated the higher seating position and it was decent to drive, though again, imo, the Focus was better from the drivers perspective - it just wasn't my sort of car I guess!

Ours had the 182ps 1.6 petrol which I think was wasted in that car, I think a 2.0 diesel would have suited it much better.

 

[Skittles]

Thanks for the replies!

Eric, why do you say it was wasted in that car?

[Eric Bloodaxe]

3 minutes ago, Skittles said:

Eric, why do you say it was wasted in that car?

The 182 really only shows an advantage over the lower powered (150ps) version of the 1.6 ecoboost once you get beyond 4,500 rpm. That's ok in a Fiesta ST, and I suppose you could drive a C-Max that way, but I don't think it's that type of car. To me, it suits a relaxed driving style for which a torquey turbodiesel would be ideal. (I didn't specifically go for a 182 btw, I was just looking for a petrol and that one came up at a decent price.)

 

[pragmatix]

IVe got the newer model with the 1.5tdci  so cant really comment on things to look out for, all I will say is that for a mpv it certainly is fun to drive mine doesn't get pootled about and I can see off most cars down the twisty bits, 26780 miles at an avg of 47.6 mpg that real not trip computer mind that says 47.4 .

Mines a grand Cmax I never use the second row of seats in fact really don't use the rear seats most of the time, the rear is taken up with dog crates, but when I do I find the flexible seating arrangement really easy to deal with, the sliding rear doors are great for loading the dogs in.

Versatile car that's still fun.

 

[Hostahousey]

23 hours ago, Hostahousey said:

I own a 2016 Titanium 1.5 cdi auto. This is the first auto I have owned, but after this car I would not go back to manual trans. My car has most of what you are after its consumption is very good , Town driving around 42/45mpg long runs around 47/52 mpg. Hope this helps.🙂

Yes agree with Pete, we my wife and I like the higher seating,  and I also find my 1.5cc  120bhp engine nippy enough,  and as stated mines auto.

[Skittles]

Just crossed my mind while watching used cars, is there a chance that I can do facelift on pre 2015 models myself?
Like if i get the bumper and headlights, will they fit with the rest of the car and the hood?
Is it bolt off bolt on?

[Hostahousey]

Don't really know , but I think you may have problems with the grill. I seem to remember there's a strip dividing the front grill.

[Eric Bloodaxe]

16 hours ago, Skittles said:

, is there a chance that I can do facelift on pre 2015 models myself?

Not looked too closely into this, but afaik you're looking at front bumper, headlights, auxiliary lights and associated wiring, bonnet. Don't know if anything is different beneath the bumper, e.g. crash bar. Unless you were lucky enough to find undamaged panels in the right colour, there's a fair amount of painting required. If you fancy a project, fair enough, but if it were me I would simply put the cash towards buying a facelift version in the first place.

[Skittles]

Yeah, perhaps down the road, but no facelift then now.

What do you think about 1.6 petrol ecoboost 150hp engine in 2012. model? Is it a good match for me?

[pragmatix]

20 hours ago, Skittles said:

Yeah, perhaps down the road, but no facelift then now.

What do you think about 1.6 petrol ecoboost 150hp engine in 2012. model? Is it a good match for me?

Maybe best to ask in general  or the focus group