Technical Stilo Advice for a newbie

[MrJaffaMan]

Hi All, apoligise if this is in wrong place but I need advice on a potential purchase via ebay,

Been wanting to get a Stilo 3dr for a while but last time I had the money ended up with a Mondeo , now I found a Stilo on Ebay and the guy wants to straight swap cars as Im looking to downsize but the car has a few issues though it drove ok when I had a look at it yesterday.

Ebay Item Number : 190514862978

I would appreciate some soundish advice from present Stilo owners.

thanks in advance

 

[Modette]

Im no expert but I have a 1.6 and we also have two 1.8s. My biggest worry would be the gearbox on a car with that mileage. I had to replace mine last year and it only had 75k on the clock, cost me just under £900. I would suggest paying very close attention to the gearbox when you test drive, its a common issue on the 1.6, I just didnt know until after I bought mine. I would say that £1200 is reasonable as long as the gearbox is ok.

 

[jdm89]

Hi All, apoligise if this is in wrong place but I need advice on a potential purchase via ebay,

Been wanting to get a Stilo 3dr for a while but last time I had the money ended up with a Mondeo , now I found a Stilo on Ebay and the guy wants to straight swap cars as Im looking to downsize but the car has a few issues though it drove ok when I had a look at it yesterday.
Ebay Item Number : 190514862978

I would appreciate some soundish advice from present Stilo owners.

thanks in advance

Any 'issues' in my mind will need more close attention than 1 test-drive. Though the faults or mentioned, there could be a fault that shows itself after a longer journey and the owner is keeping it quiet. Buying privately can be difficult sometimes as people aren't always honest - have you done a history check etc and actually seen all the relevant paper work / service history etc?

Also, if you want a guide for what the car is worth, take a look at http://www.whatcar.com/valuations/ and put in the relevant details there. It'll give you an idea of what you should pay for the car in full working condition.

I'm always careful with private sales too...at least with dealers, while you might pay a little more for the car, they have to be up front about the car specifics by law (including things like damage / insurance losses etc). Privately you're not bound by law to divulge insurance write-off information.

So to sum up (sorry for long post) - as FionaB says above, gearbox is a must-check - for a start does the gear stick flick back to central neutral position without being pushed? Find out when the cam belt was changed too? And also if you have any doubts, get an HPI check done for all of £5 or whatever it is for a basic check.

Personally I think £1400 is a bit high for an '02 that has done 112,000 miles, but thats just me - by comparison I just spent £4500 on an '06 Sporting which has done 30,000 and is in perfect working order...

 

[Davren]

Hi, Welcome to the FF.

114,000 miles is high for a petrol car. £1200 is expensive for a 9 year old Stilo with that mileage.

From his history, he has bought lots of car parts suggesting to me that he is able to fit them so why hasn't he fixed the few niggles, for the airbag fault, he says "its very easy to fix"

If the engine fault was caused by a coil pack failing (as he says) and all 4 were replaced in 2007, the fault warning would have cleared itself by now.

Early 1.6 Stilos have a major problem with the gearbox differential exploding. If it hasn't been replaced or modified, that problem could be yours.

Another major expense at that mileage could be rear axle bushes.

 

[Modette]

This sounds a bit like a disclaimer to me:

Please note this little lady is now 9yrs old so there is the usual stone chips and wear marks, and not brand new showroom condition! Mileage is currently 114k but will go up as in daily use.

Its the same age as mine and I dont have any stone chips. I dont have the best luck when it comes to buying cars so maybe I am just paranoid but that mileage would have me heading for the hills. It also say thats the cambelt was done three years ago and its done a load more miles since then, not sure how often they are supposed to be done but perhaps its due again?

 

[MrJaffaMan]

Gearbox seemed fine to me though the gearknob decided to come away from the gearstick.

My main issues are not the mechanicals more the engine management light and the airbag warning that show up on the display, are this common problems with the stilo or should i walk away. the seller said that the coils were repalced in 07 and he recently replaced another.

 

[jdm89]

Gearbox seemed fine to me though the gearknob decided to come away from the gearstick.

My main issues are not the mechanicals more the engine management light and the airbag warning that show up on the display, are this common problems with the stilo or should i walk away. the seller said that the coils were repalced in 07 and he recently replaced another.

To me you should be more worried about things like gearbox and cam belt etc...Stilos are really common for air bag warning light issues...engine management is a bit different and could be a number of things but he should have had this checked out himself really before trying to sell it? To me, if its got all these faults and he is trying to sell it, it'd suggest he's trying to get out of a hefty repair bill...I wouldn't give him more than £1000 for it in that condition.

 

[Modette]

My sons 1.8 has the airbag issue and we used to have a 1.2 that also had the issue, it may be easy to fix in some cases but neither of ours have proved to be easy. We sold the 1.2 on with the issue and the 1.8 concerned is off the road right now waiting for my son to pass his test .

However its not an MOT failure and you can shut it up each time you start the car so its not driving you nuts beeping all the time so not a major big deal. That issue alone wouldnt deter me from buying it.

 

[MrJaffaMan]

This sounds a bit like a disclaimer to me:

Please note this little lady is now 9yrs old so there is the usual stone chips and wear marks, and not brand new showroom condition! Mileage is currently 114k but will go up as in daily use.

Its the same age as mine and I dont have any stone chips. I dont have the best luck when it comes to buying cars so maybe I am just paranoid but that mileage would have me heading for the hills. It also say thats the cambelt was done three years ago and its done a load more miles since then, not sure how often they are supposed to be done but perhaps its due again?

tbh the bodywork is ok on the car, the cambelt was done at 80k with reciepts to prove, plenty of paperwork with the car, having a read on the forum the airbag fault is common, the seller says that the emc light just needs resetting as he changed coils himself.

 

[jdm89]

My sons 1.8 has the airbag issue and we used to have a 1.2 that also had the issue, it may be easy to fix in some cases but neither of ours have proved to be easy. We sold the 1.2 on with the issue and the 1.8 concerned is off the road right now waiting for my son to pass his test .

However its not an MOT failure and you can shut it up each time you start the car so its not driving you nuts beeping all the time so not a major big deal. That issue alone wouldnt deter me from buying it.

By the end of 2011, any dash light could end up being an MOT fail

....including the dreaded airbag warning light

 

[Davren]

If the engine fault was caused by a coil pack failing (as he says) and all 4 were replaced in 2007, the fault warning would have cleared itself by now.

.

 

[MrJaffaMan]

.

He never had the car in 2007 but the receipts show that this was done, the engine management light recently came on and he changed coils again himself but hasn't had the system reset.

 

[Davren]

The system doesn't need resetting, Once the fault is fixed, the fault warning will go by itself after 3 clear starts of the engine. If a fault warning is still showing after 3 clear starts, then there is still a fault.

 

[MrJaffaMan]

Thanks all for the advice, My heart wanted the car but my head has come to its senses and i have decided not to get the car, I will carry on looking for the stilo for me.

 

[jdm89]

Thanks all for the advice, My heart wanted the car but my head has come to its senses and i have decided not to get the car, I will carry on looking for the stilo for me.

There are plenty of nice ones about!! I'd consider a JTD over a petrol too by the way if that helps? JTD engines are really nice, and fairly quick too Autotrader is your best bet as a starting point and as I said a dealer is probably a better place to start too as they'll be upfront with everything...glad your head won this decision though