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        General >> Give/Need advice to/from others >> Buying question
        
(Message started by: Stewart on Apr 5^th, 2009, 9:44pm)

Title: Buying question
Post by Stewart on Apr 5^th, 2009, 9:44pm

Hi, im currently looking about for a nice big estate car for doing lots of miles in. Naturally drawn to Scorpio's as my dad owned a 2.3 16v Ghia estate when I was younger and I really liked it! Was pleasantly surprised when I noticed a while back that Scorpio's are in my price range.

This just caught my eye on autotrader (http://search.autotrader.co.uk/es-uk/www/cars/FORD+SCORPIO/Ne-2-4-5-6-7-8-27-44-49-53-61-64-67-103-133-146-236,N-55-240-4294964625-4294967050/advert.action?R=200914331865134&distance=7&postcode=SW1E+5JL&channel=CARS&make=FORD&model=SCORPIO&min_pr=&max_pr=&max_mileage=&vehicleYearOfManufacture=1996&vehicleRegLetter=P). Would appreciate anyones opinion on this, as from the short time i've been looking at this site i've realised you're a pretty knowledgeable bunch!

I realise you can't tell a good'un from a bad'un from an internet ad so a general what to look out for in buying one would be awesome :)

Title: Re: Buying question
Post by Waglet on Apr 5^th, 2009, 10:19pm

That one is a 24V. You gonna be OK with the insurance on that? The leather trim is not my favourite colour! Gotta be black! The chap selling it is a trader so probably wont know the history. Try private as the owner should have more info. Check for rusty arches and on 24V models try and start it from cold and listen for timing chain rattle. Oil changes are essential so make sure its had plenty....no service history...walk away.

Title: Re: Buying question
Post by Highlander on Apr 5^th, 2009, 10:56pm

Hello and welcome :)

Have a read at this :

http://www.fordscorpio.co.uk/advice.htm

that covers most of it, Test ALL the electrics and make sure everything works, aircon, heater, windows. you wont really be able to test the heated screens and mirrors just now ;)

Make sure all the dash lights come ON do the self test and go off, ABS, TC, oil light, charging light, airbag light, coolant level etc.

As its an Ultima it should have the dipping passenger mirror when you select reverse and the dimming rear view mirror (make sure theres not a large bubble of liquid inside the glass)

As Waglet says listen for a chain rattle on startup if its cold and make sure its got clean oil, 24v's suffer badly from oil neglect.

Also check the bottom of the radiator, (make sure you're not looking at the aircon condensor) they can balloon on the 24v and the vanes will push down, eventually bursting, a genuine Ford 24v rad will cost you £300 plus, although you can fit cheaper ones ;)

Check the autobox carefully make sure the oil is ok, level ok, use the method shown :

http://www.fordscorpio.co.uk/autogearbox.htm

E (economy) is the default
S (Sport) will hold the gear changes until you hit 6000rpm to keep the engine in the power band

* is snow/ice/mud setting basically disables 1st gear so you pull away in 2nd to avoid wheelspin.

the O/D button on the side of the gear selector shaft will disable top gear if you press it and show a green OD light on the bottom left of the instrument cluster.

Estates suffer from corrosion on the rear chassis between the rear spring mounts and the subframe mounting, should be ok if its just been mot'd but have a look, you never know ;)

Also estate rear shocks are expensive, sometimes needing replaced because of worn bottom bushes.

When warm the 24v should idle around 650-700rpm but a dirty MAF make it sit higher.

Temp gauge should sit steady, slightly above half way.

If you can get hold of an obd scanner or know someone who can do it for you then its worth its weight in gold, if someone on here is close and can do it for you they can check the condition of the cats etc

If the seller wont let you scan it dont buy it

Oh p.s. expect 20-25 mpg from a 24v ;)

Title: Re: Buying question
Post by Stewart on Apr 5^th, 2009, 11:40pm

on 04/05/09 at 22:19:27, Waglet wrote:

Already seeked out some quotes and although it's not pretty (only 19) it's just affordable! Surprisingly the 2.3 16valve is only ~£70 less annually!

Totally with you on the interior colour, my dad's one was dark bluey velour with black dash and I reallly liked it. On the plus side though, the leather seats look even an even nicer place to be than the velour ones!

Not too many estates available at that price range, but i'll definitely keep an eye out for private sellers, cheers.

Title: Re: Buying question
Post by Stewart on Apr 5^th, 2009, 11:49pm

on 04/05/09 at 22:56:34, Highlander wrote:

Hello and welcome :)

Have a read at this :

http://www.fordscorpio.co.uk/advice.htm

that covers most of it, Test ALL the electrics and make sure everything works, aircon, heater, windows.

Make sure all the dash lights come ON do the self test and go off, ABS, TC, oil light, charging light, airbag light, coolant level etc.

As its an Ultima it should have the dipping passenger mirror when you select reverse and the dimming rear view mirror (make sure theres not a large bubble of liquid inside the glass)

As Waglet says listen for a chain rattle on startup if its cold and make sure its got clean oil, 24v's suffer badly from oil neglect.

Also check the bottom of the radiator, (make sure you're not looking at the aircon condensor) they can balloon on the 24v and the vanes will push down, eventually bursting, a genuine Ford 24v rad will cost you £300 plus, although you can fit cheaper ones ;)

Estates suffer from corrosion on the rear chassis between the rear spring mounts and the subframe mounting, should be ok if its just been mot's but have a look, you never know ;)

Also estate rear shocks are expensive, sometimes needing replaced because of worn bottom bushes.

If you can get hold of an obd scanner or know someone who can do it for you then its worth its weight in gold, if someone on here is close and can do it for you they can check the condition of the cats etc

If the seller wont let you scan it dont buy it

Wow thats a lot of stuff, thanks for all the info.
One thing i've noticed so far about the Ultima is how many electrical gizmo's there are to test!

Interesting about the rear chassis corrosion - had never heard of that.

I have the OBD-2 software but no lead yet. Will probably order one off ebay soon if that's the best place?

Also, i've noticed a lot of the Scorpio's for sale are down London way. A fair trek from NE Scotland! On the upside one of my best mates has just moved down there, so a good excuse to get a cheap flight down, look & possibly drive back. A major downside being not being able to bring along a trusted family member/mechanic friend for the test drive to stop me falling in love with a wrong'un!

Did check out the for sale section on this forum as i'm pretty convinced a member of here will have a better looked after car.

Does anybody know if Scorpio's closer to me [NE Scotland] come up for sale often? I'm yet to spot one after several weeks looking fairly regularly :(

Title: Re: Buying question
Post by Highlander on Apr 5^th, 2009, 11:52pm

Oh your up here??

Aberdeen?

yeah they come up for sale here but i usually buy them all }{

Mr. floppy from Dundee has a 2.0 estate for sale, dunno if he still has it.

heres the link

http://www.fordscorpio.co.uk/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl?board=cars;action=display;num=1237125248

Title: Re: Buying question
Post by Stewart on Apr 5^th, 2009, 11:55pm

on 04/05/09 at 23:52:06, Highlander wrote:

Oh your up here??

Aberdeen?

yeah they come up for sale here but i usually buy them all }{

Mr. floppy from Dundee has a 2.0 estate for sale, dunno if he still has it

Yeah that's the one. You up here too?

Hehehe, leave some for me! ;D

2.0 might do. Think I might need the extra power of a larger engined one though.

I have ambituous plans of taking the car across the alps in the summer if I can find one in time. Is this as crazy idea as my folks seem to think?

Title: Re: Buying question
Post by Highlander on Apr 6^th, 2009, 12:00am

No i'm down in the Central belt :)

Doesnt sound a crazy idea to me, after all, Hannibal did it on an elephant so I'm sure a Scorpio would be a lot more comfortable ;)

Are you going to be towing?

Title: Re: Buying question
Post by Stewart on Apr 6^th, 2009, 12:06am

on 04/06/09 at 00:00:37, Highlander wrote:

No i'm down in the Central belt :)

Doesnt sound a crazy idea to me, after all, Hannibal did it on an elephant so I'm sure a Scorpio would be a lot more comfortable ;)

Are you going to be towing?

;D
Not towing, worse - sporting equipment on the roof!

Could be a thirsty trip! But if all goes to plan, there will be 4 people in each car therefore the damage will be split 4 ways.

The 2.5td Scorpio's seem to fetch a bit more of a premium, placing most above what i'd like to pay. However I did read several times on the web that those engines have one of the highest tolerances for being run on biodiesel/recycled veg oil. However, since learning how technically advanced these cars are, it seems a bit of a sin to be feeding them that..

Title: Re: Buying question
Post by Highlander on Apr 6^th, 2009, 12:10am

I run mine on used veg oil :)

I'd look for a 2.0 16v estate then, they have a great diff ratio if you're going to be fully loaded and have a roof rack on top causing drag.

Plus you'll get at least another 10mpg over a 24v which on a trip over the Alps might add up ;)

Title: Re: Buying question
Post by mijfife on Apr 6^th, 2009, 6:06pm

Hi Stewart & welcome to the forum :) I run my TD on filtered veg oil and it loves the stuff ;D Never had any issues with starting from cold and even with 157k on the clock, the engine is still sweet. The 24v will definitely be a lot quicker though......... ;)
As for Highlander buying them all, all's I can add is that I had to drive down to Lincolnshire to get mine ::)

Cheers Jim

Title: Re: Buying question
Post by Highlander on Jul 4^th, 2009, 1:44pm

Stewart you still after an estate?

Theres a diesel for sale in Ayrshire on ebay