General Thoughts on a 1.6 Marea.....

[scoobydohadafew]

Had a 2001 X Reg Marea 1.6 SX all week, with the view to bying it. It's only for work, we have our main family car for kids etc.

But I am impressed with this car, it's only becuase my car is getting repaired and the garage gave me this to tide me over....

Couple of things, it's done 80k, sometimes when I change from 2nd to 3rd gear I get a slight crunch, only if Ive accelerated away and maybe gone up to about 5000 RPM.....lower and it seems OK.

What MPG should it be getting, I feel it does use a bit of fuel up, are they heavy on fuel?

I got a light come on the dashboard, its a red circle with 3 lines each side, it only flicker son and off from time to time, it looks like a brake warning...its not the one with the ! in the centre....


It's very solid, faster than I would have thought a 1.6 would be and smooth. I do like it, never thought I would, but it's a good car.

Thanks, any comments much appreciated

 

[Renegade_8]

It should be very light on fuel, I would not buy it at any price with these faults. They have almost no resale value so starting shovelling cash into a what may prove to be a money pit is a mistake IMHO. It's a bit diferent for some of us on here who have owned our Mareas for a long time and know them well.

 

[jug]

crunch selecting 3rd is the synchromesh, it wont get any worse if you dont abuse it, but it certainly wont get any better either. replacing the gearbox is the only way to fix it.

mpg isnt great on the 1.6 in a bravo, it must be worse on a marea, so if you get 30mpg be thankful.

the brake warning light is for the front pads.


the marea is a real bargain, and a lot better than most people would expect.

 

[Tomasso]

One extra word - lean forward and look into the front left wheel well - if you see a dangling wire that touches the body or any other metal part, this can be the reason for the warning light. I've had that - cut the wire and throw it away - everyone should check their pads avery now and then anyway.

 

[Renegade_8]

That is realy odd Jug, as my Son in Law had a 1.6 Weekend for about a year and got really good mileage out of it, better than 35 MPG using it heavily loaded. Our 1.8 is just outstanding never below 37MPG which is one reason we have kept it for so long. Usually poor fuel consumption means engine problems, hence why I would not buy the car.

 

[windtunnel]

I have had mine for 2 years now 65,000 miles I have found it fast and has never let me down,all I have had to buy in 35,000 miles is an exhaust,4 tyres and a the cam belt replaced,I drive 30 miles each way to work and regular long european trips at fairly high speed,I never get less than 450 miles from a tankful which is around 40mpg.
I would buy another tomorrow

 

[cpt_spalding]

I concur with the frugality (is that a word?).

I got 36mpg on average from my Weekend 1.6. The only problem I had with mine over 8 months was that it didn't like going head-on into the front of another car.

That killed it really...