Zafira help please..

tanith

Right I see what you mean , sorry I misread your post...

gabyjane

Thanks for the replies.

Ok quick reply as just rushing out then going to view it.

Noted r.e cambelt and water pump will try my best to barter.

Spare wheel again never thought of so thanks will check..how much for a replacement..a tyres cost?

Seats again yes good point, they may be an older couple but never trust anyone eah! ill have a look.

Not sure if petrol or diesel although does that matter too much..the one thing i wouldnt be keen on is it if it automatic but may learn to live with it?! also the type..i.e club etc not sure but have reg now so will just check.

Thanks x

Rolandtheroadie

M8 just got the cam belt and water pump done on a 1.6. £300 and that wasnt the main dealer.

gabyjane

Hi,

Well went to see it and took it out, he drove as im useless at new cars! It was so quiet and no bangs whistles or odd noises (and im one to notice trust me!) i asked about everything on my list and he was very willing to show me anything and everything which was good..everything works and is in really good nick. Dd checked out the back for me and gives it her approval..apart from she doesnt like the seat covers!!
The engine looks clean and fine and went in and checked receipts..full service history and all looks ok..but he seems genuinally oblivious that no cambelt has been changed and i think assumes it was done with the engine..i stupidly didnt say anything but am going to call him again in the morning and mention i have rung the garage so hopefully he will knock some off..what if he deosnt though..are we mad still buying it? apart from that (and its quite a big apart!) its a great car. We drove along a wide back road and he put his foot down to show me the speed and it felt like we were on a rollercoaster..maybe my MG isn't that fast but lord this went like a rocket me and dd were laughing our heads off!!

Anyway its had a full check by me..miss picky so am now trying to juggle funds as all in diff accounts..how do people normally pay for these things? no hope once we have bought so would i be stupid to give him cash?

thanks for your help.

gabyjane

scotsman4th wrote: »

M8 just got the cam belt and water pump done on a 1.6. £300 and that wasnt the main dealer.

Thanks..see knocking the £200 would make me a lot happier just not sure he is going to..ahhhh..looks like is was last done it 07..i think but maybe 02..cant remember now..its a risk us buying it with it not done but still a very nice one for the age so? someone help me!!

Keeping_Positive

I find the Zafira quite easy to drive as you are in a higher postion so dont worry to much about that. I personally love the Zafiras I have had and the kids do to. If you do buy make the cam belt a prority.

bigjl

It's a bit pricey for a nine year old Zafira, have a look on Autotrader as when I did a quick search I found 186 below £3000 within 60 miles of my house.

You haven't said which spec it is, or the engine size, these are important questions, don't buy it because it is convenient and it has had seatcovers fitted.

These where one of the biggest selling small MPV's in the UK, don't jump in too quick.

Tough I wouldn't give much more than £1500, unless it has leather, alloys and one of the larger petrol engines fitted. The DTi isn't too bad from a reliability point of view, but it is an old design and is therefore a bit noisy, and slow.

We have about 40 of the older 2.0DTi Autos, they aren't too bad, they seem to be fairly resilient to abuse, the Met Pol have some 1.8 petrol ones and they haven't had major issues with them, all Zafiras have a blind spot caused by the A pillars, though the older ones are slightly better, don't fixate on mileage, just make sure it has lot's of history and if you don't know much about cars then get an AA/RAC inspection done, remember that when you buy from a dealer you can normally get them to do a cambelt/waterpump as part of the deal, you also have some legal recourse in the event of any problems.

If the seller won't negotiate then walk away, he needs to sell that one, you don't have to buy that one, you have the upper hand not him.

Here are some adverts as an illustration of prices.
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201036367597494/sort/priceasc/usedcars/price-to/3000/model/zafira/make/vauxhall/radius/60/postcode/rm191lh/page/2/quicksearch/true?logcode=p

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201036367437739/sort/priceasc/usedcars/price-to/3000/model/zafira/make/vauxhall/page/3/radius/60/postcode/rm191lh/quicksearch/true?logcode=p

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201036367610686/sort/priceasc/usedcars/price-to/3000/model/zafira/make/vauxhall/page/4/postcode/rm191lh/radius/60/quicksearch/true?logcode=p

gabyjane

Keeping Positive thanks for your reply..nice to know they are nice to drive etc, this one seemed very smooth etc..far better than our MG actually which cost way more!

bigjl thanks for your reply. Ok being sensible i actually expected the inside to be not great at all..2 of my friends have them and tbh theirs are trashed..this is suprisingly clean and tidy and obviously well looked after BUT the car engine and how it runs is important to me so yes the cambelt must be addressed. The price i thought was pretty good tbh, i know it is old but there really arent many near us that i have liked for various reasons and the mileage seems lower than most. Travelling to view/buy one is out of the question really as one dont have the time and 2 dont want to waste the petrol as may as well pay a bit more so not really occured to me to look much further than a certain distance and had no luck.
The old engine did 75k and this one about 20k so far..will as said address the cambelt prob tom morning but IF we buy it whats the worst that can heppen other than the belt go and it be off the rd? do you get warning or does it go and just ruin the car.

It is a petrol 1.6 club btw.

Thanks x

vikingaero

gabyjane wrote: »

IF we buy it whats the worst that can heppen other than the belt go and it be off the rd? do you get warning or does it go and just ruin the car.

It is a petrol 1.6 club btw.

Thanks x

If the cambelt/tensioners/pulleys fail you'll have one dead car needing another new engine which could cost more than the car is worth.:eek:

benham3160

vikingaero wrote: »

If the cambelt/tensioners/pulleys fail you'll have one dead car needing another new engine which could cost more than the car is worth.:eek:

Not always, assuming this is just a 1.6 EcoTec, then personally if I dealt with a belt-snap with "donked" valves, you could either replace the valves (parts aren't that expensive,) or a scrap cylinder head for £50.

Needn't be a new engine, especially on something as "bread and butter" as this. The old Vaxuhall 1.6 engines where freewheelers interestingly, if the belt snapped you just stuck a new belt on, and off you went again.

Regards,
Andy