Cheap dual fuel Ford Galaxy - good idea? | Ford Galaxy News & FAQs

Hi,

My girlfriend is looking at buying an N reg 2.0 dual fuel converted Galaxy.

The people selling it quoted her £1,500, and she haggled it to £1,250 due to high mileage of 145,000.

It seems in good condition and engine idling fine, running fine.

Just wondering is this excessive mileage for this car, and should she avoid buying it?

Thanks for your help, Dave Castro.

Hi Dave,

Some cars go on for 250,000 miles and people love them because they give them no trouble; they become like a pet.

But other cars start to go rapidly downhil as they near 100,000 miles.

There are a million factors such as how it is driven and serviced, what kinds of roads it is used on, whether its near the coast (salty air leads to rust) or in the city (where speed bumps punish the suspension) or along the motorways with very little braking or hard driving (so the 'high' mileage is hardly an issue).

So I cannot say whether this car is going to be unreliable because of the high mileage.

But dual fuel cars are not as the manufacturer intended so that won't help reliability (but that will be true of any converted car).

I think a better question to ask is, "What's the best car £1,500 will buy me?"

Our magazine reveals that you could buy lots of newer cars:

• Ford Ka from 1999 (a smaller car and engine is good for the environment and your pocket)
• Ford Mondeo or Vauxhall Vectra estates from 2000 (an estate is often as practical as an MPV but cheaper)
• Kia Sportage from 2000 or a 1998 Kia Sedona with less than 90,000 miles

A 1998 car has to be a better bet than a 1994 car...

Matt