2 Local Fronti's Advice Plz

[Riz]

Evening guys hope your all enjoying the beautiful summer weather. Finally found a Fronti being sold locally at a local garage now its a

2004 VAUXHALL Frontera 2.2 DTi Limited Olympus
73,000 miles
2 owners
Part leather
Colour coded bumpers etc
No Sunroof ??
£3950
I think this is quite pricey any opinions .

I went along to see it this afternoon took about 30 seconds for it to turn over and when it did the engine was shaking about as if its was not bolted down . The engine ran for about 30 seconds then conked out while on idle the salesman had to come over again and start it and again it took him about a minute to turn over choking to start??? Got the Fronti started with the bonnet open and was shocked at the amount of play in the engine shaking . It sounds noisey as hell actually it sound just like what my 2.2 petrol sounds like at present .
Am supposed to go back tomorrow to test drive it but not to keen with the time it took him to turn it over on a nice warm day could understand if it was snowing or were in minus weather conditions . COULD

THIS BE A PROBLEM WITH IT NOT TURNING OVER QUICK ENOUGH??

Also rust spots have started to appear along the bonnet and the rear doors floor sills when opened.
Also what should i look if i decide to go for it mechanically ??
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Secondly have come across this one again 2 miles from where i stay .

2003 VAUXHALL FRONTERA 3.2 V6 Sport Olympus 3dr Special Editions Private Seller

This one is the 3.2
private sale
30K on clock
£2k
Also i noticed it does not have the Sport logo on the quarter panel as the A series 3dr did ??
Relability etc ????


Would like as much advice or knowledge from owners of either of the 2 models as not wanting to make the same mistake twice as i did with my 2.2 B series Fronti petrol.

Cheers

Riz

[James Bass]

I'd personally go for the V6. More power than you'll ever need and won't use that much more fuel than the 2.2 petrol you're used to. The 3dr B series wasn't badged Sport I think. So Olympus is the actual model. Also the V6 has considerably less miles on the clock and is cheaper to boot. Just check when the timing belt was last changed. I think they're fairly bullet proof other than that....unless you hand it over to AndySD1. He can kill anything.

[Rifleman]

Definately give the first one a wide berth mate, it sounds bad and way too much money.
3.2 is a fuel drinker, and most of them get converted to LPG for this reason. But if you are good with that then, as Jim says, check the service history and when it was last done.
Is this from a dealer or private seller mate? Where about?

[xscottxjx]

I'd also go for the v6 out of these two and I can't believe the cheek of the salesman still trying to sell that 2.2 in that condition!
Use the money you save buying it to fuel up for a while.

[Rifleman]

Riz, what model are you looking for and how much are you looking to spend?
I may know of a B series 3.2 5 door with LPG going up for sale in Livingston.
Silver in colour and it is automatic. No faults that I know off.

[jimmybhoy]

Before i got my V6 I went to see a 04 plate , previously only seen it from a distance in passing the garage. When i finally got into see it. the first thing i noticed was the price tag £5 off £4000. No way was i paying that, i didnt look any further.( i think the later diesels with the V grill also have the expensive fuel pump!) I then found a Vgc 51 plate V6, which i decided to buy and put a gas kit on still saved £1300 and got a more powerful vehicle out of it. I was just about to put a link to a nice 53 v6 swb when i noticed its the same one your looking at. Dont know where in Scotland you are but there is also a 54 2.2 petrol in cumbernauld for £3200 ono [linkurl=] http://www.gumtree.com/p/cars-vans-moto ... p/84371377[/linkurl]

[colley]

Riz I am selling my 3.2 v6 swb manual
I only want £1500 for it.
As for mpg my swb will do 25mpg all day long
If you do look at the one near you ask to see mots or service history to prove the mileage as the clocks get changed regular in the b series

[AskDean]

i would go for the v6 and then spend the differnce gettin git converted to lpg as i get 230mile round town for £42 at 77p a litre and on a long run i get 23mpg so equivently to 46 on petrol and i know bigdaz said the gas was69p a litr at the morrisons near him so i know it is cheaper up in scotland.

would be alot more fun and a you will make back the cost of the lpg conversion in about 1 years if you do about 6
12000 a year like i do as you only pay half the price of the petrol.

[RatCav]

3.2 for sure. Also as people said use the difference to get a LPG conversion and save money on fuel. That 2.2 DTi sounds like a dog ... way over priced even for an immaculate one with no mechanical isses ... also the bad starting sounds as if the pump may well give out anytime soon as it may be running dry due to poor fuelling ... new fuel pump on these is an expensive bit to replace on an already over-priced truck.

[locospit]

V6 every time, I have a V6 and my fiancee a 2.2 petrol, fuel economy difference is about 3mpg.

V6 got loads of power and will definitely make you smile when you press the loud pedal down hard !