Hi Everyone,
I need to get a bigger car soon, when my third child will be born. I've owned a 1995 9000CS 2.0i since 2001, in which time I've put
130.000Km's on it, totalling 340.000. That car is virtually written off, though it's running great still... Unfortunately the 9k has only two 3-point seat belts in the back seat. So I've been looking around for a nice 9-5 wagon, 1999 to 2001 maybe, preferring an automatic, leather, maybe LPG fitted, 150.000 to 200.000Km's, there are plenty around, at a 8500 to 12.000 Euro price range, so within my budget. I never really looked for younger models, but now the local dealership has a traded in 9-5 Vector wagon 2.0t automatic from january 2003. It has 293.000Kms on it (that's 70.000/year), has been running on LPG since 2005. The cylinder head has been revised, distribution was replaced already. It has one previous owner, it's been sold new by that same dealership, maintained by the book, regular oil changes, and so on...I've test driven it, and apart from the automatic, which had some hick-ups, and the info display said it needed additional coolant, it ran wel. The dealer offered me a great price, including 6 months warranty, trading in my 9k, at a price below any decent '99 to 2001
9-5 wagon I've seen. I'm tempted to take the offer, only the high mileage on the 9-5 worries me a bit. I'm looking for a reliable car for the next 4 years or 150.000Km at least.The 9000 has been very reliable in that respect, at virtually no cost, apart from 1 alternator and the AC pump, some tyres and so on, but never really giving me any trouble. Will I be getting the same reliability at this high mileage form the 9-5, that's my big question, of will it be a regular shop visitor...
Any thoughts or advice appreciated... Thanx NF