V50 2.0D Sport Buying Advice
 

Hi all,

I am due to go look at a 2006 V50 2.0D Sport this evening from a private seller and was wondering if anyone could offer any advice on things to look out for.

Bit about the car;

06 reg
125k miles
Full service history
12 Months MOT

It has sailed through all m.o.t's except the most recent one (3 weeks ago) where it needed £800's worth of work which seems to be front wheel bearings and also shock absorbers amongst some other bits.

They are asking for £1500.

My main concerns are the following;

- DPF Filter, i mainly do short runs but with the odd long journey (100-300 miles once a month) should this have been changed by now? likely to cause problems?
- Cam belt, not sure if it has had it changed but i take it should have been done by now
- Clutch, how reliable are these? take it is an expensive repair with the DMF

I do about 12k miles a year which probably leans more towards a petrol, however the things attracting me to this car are the price which seems pretty good and also extra space/comfort would be good coming from a Peugeot 207.

Any advice much appreciated.

"125k miles"
Seems to be low for that age. Just pay attention to the general interior state of the car, it should give you an idea about the actual mileage.

"it needed £800's worth of work which seems to be front wheel bearings and also shock absorbers amongst some other bits."
That is lucky; you'd have to change the shock absorbers yourself otherwise. Take a look at brake disks and pads. Additionally all the fluids will need to be changed (you can never know when it was changed last). I would also look under the car checking for rust and have the paint thickness checked.

"They are asking for £1500. "
Right after a 800 gbp service? Seems fishy.

"- DPF Filter, i mainly do short runs but with the odd long journey (100-300 miles once a month) should this have been changed by now? likely to cause problems?"
According to the manual, the car will notify you when the filter is close to full and will run it's automatic clean-up. What does short run mean for you?

"- Cam belt, not sure if it has had it changed but i take it should have been done by now"
It was not changed. Your car is right at the mark where that service is needed. I did it on my D3 engine, it cost me 270 gbp just for the labour cost; I asked them to replace the water pump too (just the belt and pulleys would have been much cheaper). I bought the parts from autodoc myself.

"I do about 12k miles a year which probably leans more towards a petrol, however the things attracting me to this car are the price which seems pretty good and also extra space/comfort would be good coming from a Peugeot 207. "
Well you can buy this car with petrol engine, if you prefere.

EDIT: the belt change was for my '11 D3 engine, it could be very different for you.

Belt on these is 10 years or 150K so should have been done on age 3 years ago.

As posted above, cambelt 10years 150k.
Clutches, I paid about £350 for an Luk clutch kit, with slave cylinder and dual mass flywheel, then paid around £200 labour for fitting. Mine slipped due to leaking slave cylinder. That was around 18months ago, my car is an 05 model and just clicked 120k.

Dpf, check the car even has one. My car doesn't.
I think all 2.0d models with dpf use the Eloy's oil set up, which have a separate oil tank mounted above the beam on the rear suspension, in the centre. Check the 8th digit of the vin number, should be either a 3, 4 or 5 relating to the euro emissions rating. 3 won't have dpf, 5 will have dpf, 4 is a bit of a lottery.
I think oil top up is 32k and dpf unit replacement is 75k, so if present should have had one replacement and need another in 25k, or just over two years time for your mileage.

Check inside edges of tyres as prone to wear. Check external temperature reads correct on dashboard as this affects heating controls/Aircon effectiveness, and fuel mixture I believe. Check stereo functions as these can be tempremental and refuse to eject or play cd's and are coded units to each vehicle, no replacing them from used eBay units. Check heated seats work. Check headlamp washers work. Starter motor and alternators are not the most durable items. Suspension bushes don't tend to last much past 50k unless poly bushed.

I have a 2005 2.0l D sport which I've had about 6yrs now. Bought it with 126k and is now on 184k. Everything on engine is original apart from cambelt and filters and i think the clutch is original too! Apart from normal wear and tear eg tyres, suspension, bearings etc, its been faultless. Mines a euro 3 and has no dpf so enquire to see if this one has? Also make sure everything works like air con, stereo/CD player, and all interior electrics.