Buying a used S40

[mortz1]

Hi there i have been looking to purchase a used S40 1999 1 owner ( fleet car ) with service history ...very clean car looks well looked after...however looks are not everything approx 69k on the clock ..my question is what should i be looking at mechanically at this car......as is have been burnt before...

cheers

[roy chu1]

How much is this s40?

69k wouldn't be anything to worry about providing the car has been well looked after.

Look in the cars for sale section, you can get a comparison of prices.

good hunting, let us know what you chose.

Roy

[Dan F]

Hi mortz1.

What model is it and what engine type/size.
We need to know these things before any advice can be given.

Cheers,
Dan.

[mortz1]

THE S40 is on the forecourt for £4999 1.8i it does look mint i looked at another, similar miles on the clock but a lot of scrathes and came with a doggy smell that was going for £4499 with not too much history...
many thanks for the replies though ! ohh it's a saloon

[Dan F]

Hi.

Is it the 1.8i 115bhp model or the 1.8i 125bhp GDi Mitsubishi engined model?
have a look at the engine, the GDi engine is obvious!
I would go for the one with the best history and the one that goes the best (hopefully that will turn out to be the same car ;-) )
Only you will know which is right for you, but the one that LOOKS like it has been looked after the most, probably will have.

What mileage have they got on them? Lowest isn't necessarily best, as a car that is, say, 3 years old and has done 20,000 miles a year will have invariably done those miles on the motorway, and as anyone who knows cars knows, that is the best and least wearing environment for a car. The same car with only 15,000 miles on will have only done 5000 miles per year and will have been subjected to stop start driving and wouldn't be wearing so well.

The GDi engine would be the one to go for (performance/economy) but takes a little extra looking after as it is a bit more specialist.

Hope you find the right car.

Cheers,
Dan.

[Dan F]

Hi.

Is it the 1.8i 115bhp model or the 1.8i 125bhp GDi Mitsubishi engined model?
have a look at the engine, the GDi engine is obvious!
I would go for the one with the best history and the one that goes the best (hopefully that will turn out to be the same car ;-) )
Only you will know which is right for you, but the one that LOOKS like it has been looked after the most, probably will have.

What mileage have they got on them? Lowest isn't necessarily best, as a car that is, say, 3 years old and has done 20,000 miles a year will have invariably done those miles on the motorway, and as anyone who knows cars knows, that is the best and least wearing environment for a car. The same car with only 15,000 miles on will have only done 5000 miles per year and will have been subjected to stop start driving and wouldn't be wearing so well.

The GDi engine would be the one to go for (performance/economy) but takes a little extra looking after as it is a bit more specialist.

Hope you find the right car.

Cheers,
Dan.

[Dan F]

Oops, 2 replies.....Don't know what happened there, got an errorpressed enter and BAM, two replies.....
Never mind.

[mortz1]

it's the 115 bhp engine

[mortz1]

oh and the one with the doggy smell i believe has 96k on the clock

[Dan F]

Hi.

The 115BHP car has the Volvo engine and it will be fine, it doesn't have the top end power of the GDi unit.
It will be cheaper to maintain though as it isn't as complex a unit.

Volvo retuned their own engine on later models to output as much power and subsequently dropped the GDi from the range.
The GDi is *very* frugal if driven softly as well, but if you like to drive hard then it will probably use a little more than the Volvo unit.

Hope your shopping goes well.

Dan.