I may be looking at buying a saff, ideally a 4x4, over the next few weeks to use as an every day car. I havnt got as clue what to look out for on these cars at all, so just wondered if anyone can point me in the right direction or give me a few things to look out for please??

Are there any common rust/rot spots I need to look for??

Id prefer a 4x4 but may consider a 2wd. Are 4x4's generally more desirable than the 2wd's?? Im looking at spending no more than £5000 ideally but may pay a bit more if I cant find a decent one for this money.

Thanks in advance, Rich.

 

http://www.rsownersclub.co.uk/CosworthBuyersGuide.pdf

 

Thanks for that mate. Thats a great help!

 

 

Ok ive been to see a couple and one was a bad car and one pretty good in my opinion.

One was a early g reg 4x4 with 97k up for £3750. Rotten arches, crunchy gearbox and poor interior.

The other was a k reg 4x4, with 127k in white with full ford service history with 1 previous owner. That was up for £4795 but was smoking badly. Im 99% sure it was the turbo, so maybe £750 to sort the job, making it £4750 to buy including the new turbo. It has the cloth interior which is far better than the leather in my opinion, and has also had a full rebuild about 10k miles ago.

Does this sound like a good buy at £4750, bearing in mind that the bodywork is near perfect with no rust what so ever? The car is white which I think is one of the better colours too.

Any thoughts and opinions on this??

 

yeah sounds ok mate........my advice is if ur not sure what ur looking for GET SOMEONE WHO DOES go with u for a good look over im sure a few people from here will be willing to come out and have a gander with u

 

L K under the rear arches they rot real bad there, usually between bumper and the body hav a real good look and poke around cuz road dirt can cover it up, can rust around the filler cap, chassis rails and check under the side skirts as they trap water and rot the sills! looka around the window seals and around the sunroof if spots of rust are appearing its more than likely its rotting inside out, u may think u can rub the outside down and get rid of it but if its started from underneth the panels its terminal! Ive recently bought one but had a look at a good handful and most wer rotten! unfortuately its something most of us ford owners got too deal with

 

If your after an every day runner. I would go for a standard 4x4 (roughly 220 BHP). Ive just picked up a mint one for £4500, one owner from new, full service history Etc. For that kind of money you can pick up a really good standard one. If your after more mods you'll have to pay a bit more to get a good one. Just take your time in looking for one.

Always look for rust in the wheel arches, but to be honest most of them will have some rust.
Also look for smoke, on start up from cold and when reving, blue or white smoke isnt good.

And always get a HPI Check.