V40 in Cardiff area wanted (or advise)
 

Hello,
It's my first post in the forum, I have however already read some helpful bits here and there which I would like to thank you for!

I'm looking to get myself my first V40. A relatively well kept one would be ideal since I have virtually no mechanics experience, my dad back in Gothenburg however worked for Volvo before retiring and will probably coach me on Skype if simpler things need fixing. I'm looking for a petrol engine and manual transmission, I won't drive enough for a Diesel to be worth while. 1.6/1.8 preferably.

I did look at one in Cardiff a few days ago but it had done 189.000 miles and had the Mitsubishi GDI engine (which I have understood you should avoid). Would the miles + engine put you off it?

There's also one in Abergavenny, which has a very short MOT but not the Mitsubishi engine and low mileage. It needs some work on the passenger side door and had an advisory about the rear tie rods last year so I imagine they might need replacing.

Any advice or tips is appreciated!

Thanks!

Don't be overly put off by the Gdi (mitz) as a well looked after one is a dream to drive, however a neglected one is basically spares. Mine is running well at 200,000+:thumbs_up:

Avoid the GDI like the plague, there a nightmare to work on and expensive for parts. In fact I had one in for breaking on Tuesday with 79000 on the clock with no compression whatsoever so only a few generic parts came off the car and it was shredded! The 2.0 petrol is a good engine, better on fuel in reality than a 1.8 and the 1.6 has no power at all

Thanks for your replies and tips regarding the GDI engine.
However, I ended up spending a bit more and getting an 05 V50 instead. Only because I found one from a seller who was genuine. It's a minefield buying a used car, you hear one fantastic story after an other about people falling in comas etc. Basically bought a car from the first person I felt I could trust (his wife was a police :) ).