Is this car worth it?

Thought one of you experts could let me know if this seems like a good deal or not:

1995 Ford Liata
140,000 on the clock
85,000NT

Thanks in advance,
Brian

I picked up a 1996 VW golf from the original owner with only 60,000 on the clock. And the original maintaince book and manuals…etc. For 62,000 n.t.

Mordeth, that’s an impressive purchase.

I’ll get the bluebook price (wholesale) and post it up for the 95 Ford Liata in the morning. However, off the top of my head, it’s probably not worth much more than 40k to a dealer. The milage is pretty high for the year as well.

Is this car being offered from a dealer or a private party?

PS: Mordeth, I notice you’ve got your crotch-rocket up for sale in the buy and sell forum…Get your price out of the clouds, and I’ll see what I can do to find you a buyer. :wink:

It’s a private sale. Apparently it’s in greatm condition, but what do I know?

Brian

OK, the blue book for the 1995 Liata.

Manual transmission: 30k

Automatic: 50-70k depending on options.

Retail from the dealer would be in the area of 100-120k.

Hope this helps…

MJB

I’d take a higher mileage vehicle that I know has had no serious accidents and has a good service history over a low-mileage one that’s 來歷不明 anyday of the week…

I don’t know why, but despite the heavy advertising campaign the Liata never sold very well. That should depress the pricing, just being unpopular.

Good deal. I’m looking at picking up a VW sometime soon.

Well, it’s manual. And the air-bags need to be serviced which would cost about 40,000 n.t. (so I just disconnected them). It’s been in a couple of accidents…but you can only tell by looking close at the paint for those little bubbles. The auto locking doesn’t work, and one of the window motors is going.

But it’s still a good deal considering a used car dealership offered to buy it off of me for 100,000 n.t. the day after I bought it for 62k.

Thanks heaps guys.

Brian

You can but my '95 Ford Aztec if you like Brian. It has 90,000Km. I just had it resprayed, has new tyres and brakes. It has been an absolutely problem free car for the 5 years I’ve had it. I get it serviced about every 5 to 7,000 KM. It is very clean inside. The Aztec is a 3 door hatch. Since I’m going to have two more kids I need a bigger car.

[color=red]Threadjack alert! Threadjack alert! [/color]
Fox, you old dog, you. Congratulations man! :bravo: :bravo: :bravo:

Wait, don’t tell me this is old news. Oh well, at my age I can expect a little short-term memory loss.

You’re having twins? Fox, you old dog you. Congratulations man! :bravo: :bravo: :bravo:

Well my mother in law is buying the car for us I think. It’s in the bargaining stage at the moment where, as far as I can tell, it has been for a couple of weeks. It’s at 85K now, and my MIL is working on 60 or 70, I think. She’ll probably get it too. She’s pretty damn good at the bargaining.

Thanks Fox. Maybe if this one falls through I’ll subtly suggest it., How much are you asking. Congrats ont he twins too.

Brian

Well, it’s manual. And the air-bags need to be serviced which would cost about 40,000 n.t. (so I just disconnected them). It’s been in a couple of accidents…but you can only tell by looking close at the paint for those little bubbles. The auto locking doesn’t work, and one of the window motors is going.

But it’s still a good deal considering a used car dealership offered to buy it off of me for 100,000 n.t. the day after I bought it for 62k.[/quote]

I heard don’t know if this is true though that parts for VW in Taiwan are very expenisve when compared to parts for say Toyota that are made locally. IS this true and if so what would you be paying % extra on average per part?
I want to buy a VW but the wife says its too expenisve for parts

It is true…VW parts are among some of the most expensive on the island, which is why it’s relatively easy to find cheap used VW’s here.

Listen to your wife and buy something domestic…Even BMW parts are cheaper than VW in Taiwan.

[quote] I heard don’t know if this is true though that parts for VW in Taiwan are very expenisve when compared to parts for say Toyota that are made locally. IS this true and if so what would you be paying % extra on average per part?
I want to buy a VW but the wife says its too expenisve for parts [/quote]

Yeah, but keep in mind that most VW parts have their Taiwan ‘clone’ counterparts as well. Their is a little box that makes the initial spark that goes to the center of the distributor cap…? Anyway the box died…and I went to the nearest shop and they replaced it for roughly 800…later when I was at VW I asked them how much it would cost there…and they said about 1500. A new motor for the electric window would set me back 8-10k. Don’t know how much that would cost for a Toyota.

[quote=“Mordeth”]
Yeah, but keep in mind that most VW parts have their Taiwan ‘clone’ counterparts as well. Their is a little box that makes the initial spark that goes to the center of the distributor cap…? Anyway the box died…and I went to the nearest shop and they replaced it for roughly 800…later when I was at VW I asked them how much it would cost there…and they said about 1500.[/quote]
Let me give you a little warning about this.
One of the wife’s girlfriends bought a used Lupo and was driving it for about 3 months. One day she parked it outside for 20 minutes and came back to find it smoking from under the hood, and then burst into flames. Some building security guard put it out with a fire extinguisher before it spread past the engine compartment. The fire turned out to have been caused by a generic fan that had been grafted in, the wires just cut and twisted together for lack of the proper connector… She’d bought the car for 200k, and got 20k for the salvage.

An ignition coil on an older car is going to be a generic component with no bottom to the price. Guess why they don’t use those anymore… Old Golfs are great, but I wouldn’t buy any VW made in the last decade. Since Lopez went on his spree there, quality has been a real albatross at VW.

I actually think that qulaity has improved a lot. I’ve got a passat that is now 3yrs old with 80k on it - not a single thing has broken.

Parts are $$$, but in line with other imports.

You want cheap parts, go Susuki and Ford. I once replaced my entire rear transaxle for an escudo for 5,000 at the dealer no less.

[quote=“Elegua”]I actually think that qulaity has improved a lot. I’ve got a passat that is now 3yrs old with 80k on it - not a single thing has broken.[/quote]I’m glad for you, but that’s not the buzz in the marketplace. A lot of gnashing of teeth about electrical components failing, like ignitors. There are so many of those going bad VW cannot keep up with the demand for warranty replacements.
They are generally nice cars when they go right :slight_smile:

wonder is this limited to the ones made in Mexico

At home we always had VWs… Golfs, Passats, Ventos but all diesels and German built. The one thing I did notice was that a in the earlier models they used 1.6 L diesel engines which were to small for a diesel engine. Head gaskets blew twice and one time the head got warped, and then the timing belt broke one time requiring a new (reconditioned) engine - that was my fault however. Then they moved it up to 1.8 or 1.9L

Other than that the only problems we have were wheel bearings, universal joints, and heating plugs. Main thing was that it would start in the morning. No idea about petrol VWs or automatic VWs

Thanks Sandy and Brian.

Probably about 100,000 for the car Brian.