Help me with my first car (again), please!
Discussion
I posted on here about a month and a bit ago about buying a first car, at the time I had my eye on a Volvo 360, but the car was sold before I got to it and left me devastated.
Luckily, the granda of a friend is selling a ‘93 Granada MK3 Scorpio (hatchback), with the 2.0 8V petrol unit (unfortunately paired with a 3 (pretty sure) speed auto box).
Car is unbelievably clean in terms of body work and interior (all the usual suspect rust areas are spotless) so that isn’t a worry, but I’ve read that the engine and gearbox can be less than reliable, and the gearbox should apparently last about 70-80k miles (car has 87k on original gearbox).
Within the time of me being interested in the car, the expansion tank split (luckily it was the original one so putting it down to age) which makes me wonder if this is the time when everything will be needing replaced.
Does anyone know of any common problems I need to look out for and how I could spot these?
Any help is greatly appreciated
Tl;dr: What are the problems with a MK3 Granada 2.0 i a?
Luckily, the granda of a friend is selling a ‘93 Granada MK3 Scorpio (hatchback), with the 2.0 8V petrol unit (unfortunately paired with a 3 (pretty sure) speed auto box).
Car is unbelievably clean in terms of body work and interior (all the usual suspect rust areas are spotless) so that isn’t a worry, but I’ve read that the engine and gearbox can be less than reliable, and the gearbox should apparently last about 70-80k miles (car has 87k on original gearbox).
Within the time of me being interested in the car, the expansion tank split (luckily it was the original one so putting it down to age) which makes me wonder if this is the time when everything will be needing replaced.
Does anyone know of any common problems I need to look out for and how I could spot these?
Any help is greatly appreciated
Tl;dr: What are the problems with a MK3 Granada 2.0 i a?
To be fair, their Achilles heel, much like any old Ford will be corrosion. If you're reporting that the body is solid, then there won't be too many other issues to worry about really.
The engines are solid, and if it's the DOHC variant then it'll be timing chain equipped too, so no belt to worry about. I know they aren't immune to head gasket failure, but that's just pot-luck.
The gearbox and rest of the drivetrain will be very under stressed by that powerplant too, so should be fine providing the transmission has had a couple of oil and filter changes in its life.
The engines are solid, and if it's the DOHC variant then it'll be timing chain equipped too, so no belt to worry about. I know they aren't immune to head gasket failure, but that's just pot-luck.
The gearbox and rest of the drivetrain will be very under stressed by that powerplant too, so should be fine providing the transmission has had a couple of oil and filter changes in its life.
I think the timing chain guides can fail on them, so the lack of timing belt isn't a magic bullet for zero problems, but they're largely solid and fairly simple things.
Pity it's an auto, I had a manual one years ago, and it was actually a bloody good car. Cavernous boot, pretty civilised, and not at all bad to drive really.
As said above, it's rust that does for old Fords, so if it's ok on that front, there's not a whole lot negative to say.
Pity it's an auto, I had a manual one years ago, and it was actually a bloody good car. Cavernous boot, pretty civilised, and not at all bad to drive really.
As said above, it's rust that does for old Fords, so if it's ok on that front, there's not a whole lot negative to say.
Thank you everyone for getting back to me,
I checked insurance and it won’t exactly be cheap but it’s manageable and a price I’m willing to pay to float around in a big leather armchair!
Glad to hear not much can go badly wrong, but I’ll check for the timing chain guides and hoses.
This sounds like a stupid question, but would I be right in assuming that hoses aren’t that big a job to fix?
I checked insurance and it won’t exactly be cheap but it’s manageable and a price I’m willing to pay to float around in a big leather armchair!
Glad to hear not much can go badly wrong, but I’ll check for the timing chain guides and hoses.
This sounds like a stupid question, but would I be right in assuming that hoses aren’t that big a job to fix?
Everything should be pretty straight forward on a car of that age, although that does depend on the experience you have, or the help you can get from someone with experience. The worst bit if it has not been used a lot will be all the little things that have failed or will fail when dragged back into daily use. That being said go for it, and ask questions here as someone will know the answer.
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