Need Advice on Buying a Used Ford Ikon 1.6 Petrol

[ss80]

Hi,

One of my friend is quite famous for the last one year for his never ending hunt for a good used car. After a long time, finally I suggested him a car which I drove yesterday.

Ford Ikon 1.6 Petrol
2000 model
Second owner
Bottle green colour

+ves:
1. Straight forward owner - talks only facts & doesn't hide anything about the car.
2. Good headlamps (saved 5000/-)
3. Very powerful engine
4. Gear shifts are smooth & clutch is soft (no issues with clutch at all)
5. AC works but it needs gas top up I guess
6. No major rusting etc
7. No mods on the car - driver driven till a year back
8. Engine bay is almost stock
9. No MIL light
10. Electric boot release works well, no Rattling at all!
11. All power windows are stock & works fine
12. This is a ZXI model I guess, so factory fit PW, fogs, defogger are still working


-ves
1. Paint is faded in many places (rear quarter panel, doors etc)
2. 2 out of 4 tyres are bad immediate replacement is a good thing to do
3. Engine although is powerful, it is quite noisy (or should I say noisier than Palio, swift, Ikon 1.3 etc)
4. Carpet is torn, seat covers need replacements
5. Power steering oil leaks from the rack & pinion set up (near firewall), but there is no noise etc while using the steering
6. Front bumper needs replacement
7. A mild dent in one of the fenders
8. Idling varies sometime -seems more like a clogged fuel line issue
9. Already driven 93xxx kms

Asking price by the owner is around 90K. Is it worth it?

 

[ss80]

Here are a few pics of the car


will try to upload 2more pics (internet speed is sluggish as of now)

 

[ss80]

Saw one more Ikon today!





Also today saw one more car, it is a single owner car below are the details

Ford Ikon 1.6 Nxt Petrol (top end) with OEM alloys
Owner - A college in Vijaynagar, Bangalore
Contact Person - someone known to the principal
+ves
Top end model with factory fit alloys, PW, rear defogger, HPS & AC
Very few dents (dry dents - needs no repainting if that dent is removed) & hardly any scratches
Fantastic engine, great Power & amazing clutch life (still left in it)
Comprehensive insurance valid till Oct 2013
The looks are so good, its quite tough to be cautious while checking the rest of the car
Drive shafts are also still in good condition
All 5 tyres are of good year brand about 8months old
Accident free chassy (no rust & no welding)
Factory paint - no touch ups at all
Windshield also in fantastic condition (minor scratches)
OEM alloys make the car look much younger than its actual age.
The best looking Ikons I have seen till date

-ves
1. The person interacting is a guy who's not the owner of the car, in case of any issues in near future we have no individual to contact.
2. The driver side locking lever is broken, hence cant be opened from inside
3. Oil leak from the tappet cover (see below pics) & the age of bolts on the tappet cover are different, hinting that the cover was opened & may be the damage inside is too big to repair hence they just put it back without fixing it.
4. Oil leak is so much that it has fallen on the RH drive shaft as well (so drive shaft boots will be giving up pretty soon)
5. AC is a joke, no cooling at all & very minimal power loss (it was raining outside & there is not enough chill to even prevent the fogging on windshield)
6. Only driver seat cover is in pathetic state (rest of the seats are in great condition)
7. Although tyre condition is great - the manufacturing date is not there on any of the tyres!
8. Front left strut is leaking oil
9. Bonnet holding rod is very lose (something missing I guess)
10. Rear doors are too stiff
11. Dikki door wont close easily, we got to bang it real hard
12. Tail lamp damaged on RH
13. dumb ICE - you can barely hear at 22 volume
14. No windshield water at all (motor works though) - shows the amount of care the driver had towards this car.













Asking price 1,05,000/- transfer will be done by the seller.

The above car was too good to resist, my friend fell instantly in love with this car & waited for my nod to go ahead. But somehow I had a strange feeling that something's not right about the car, I have no logical reason for this strange feeling I got about this car.

Also would like to know, approx cost of such repairs on a Ikon (the oil leak part). Any info will be highly helpful.

 

[350Z]

Ford Ikon 1.6 is a driver’s delight but at the same time, this car is notorious for expensive upkeep and gas guzzling habits. The second model although looks decent from the appearance but the number of issues show that it wasn’t keenly maintained. Price for the first one can be negotiated a bit and settled for around Rs.70,000. If not, keep the search on. You’ll find several lesser run and well maintained models in the second hand car market. By the way, is there a specific for considering only the Ikon?

Drive Safe,
350Z

 

[ss80]

Thanks for the valuable advice Sir.

This friend of mine is on the hunt for a car with AC, Power steering, Petrol car (without lpg) & if possible even power windows. He is more likely to fall for an alto Lxi which I hate to the core just for the crazy prices in the used car market.

Usage: Less than 200kms/month
Drivers: Single driver in whole family
Main focus: ICE, long drives, AC
Mileage: Least concerned since usage is so less.
Power: He is ok with even Alto/Zen, but I am trying my level best to get him a good 1.6, 4Cylinder, about 90+HP car. He already owns a 200cc pulsar & I know that a small car cant really keep him happy for a long time. Hence this hunt is more focused on 1.6ltr engines

Out of all the 1.6 sold in India (as far as I can remember), Ikon was the most successful in its times.

Ikon 1.6 - Only issue is spares prices
Palio 1.6 - The fiat spares are a nightmare (most of my known people are opposite to me, they hate fiat, I love Fiat)
Baleno 1.6 - Sky High costly SGP parts (not a good car to maintain
Esteem 1.3 - Finding a good condition (not modified) stock car is very difficult
Zen - MPFi models cost upwards of 1.4lakhs here & most of them are thrashed already

Anyday I feel a Ikon 1.6 (if refurbished) is much better, cheaper to own & drive than a fast selling mileage oriented hatchback. Also Ford cars are sturdy, usually good suspension, somewhat 2steps higher than a Maruti from the same segment.

 

[draneeshpm]

Dear ss80,I'm owning a 13 year old Zen,I have been maintaining it religiously,believe me you would be scared to know about the maintenance of it.Having a Figo also,my advice would be to refrain from buying an Ikon that too 14 years old,unless he is willing to spend around 50k to bring it back to good shape.Ikon is one of the most notorious of the Fords to maintain.

 

[konkantrip]

Please check the maintenance part of the vehicle. Maintaining a maruti vehicle is any time cheaper as compared to a ford. I have a Maruti Zen 2005 MPFI CNG fitted model, done 50K recently.
I service it regulary on 5K kms my bill was never beyond 2 K. Please check the same with ford. It should happen that your friend is spending a huge amount on servicing after buying the vehicle

 

[ss80]

Thanks for the inputs, I had a detailed conversation with my friend (after reading your posts) & we came to the conclusion that 30K (what we initially assumed) will not be enough to give the car a major service once we buy the car & hence we are still on the look out for any (good engine) car. Ikon is at the last of the wishlist (only the 1.6)

 

[CRACING]

Hello ss80,

Can I know how long does your friend wanna keep the vehicle?

i.e if you buy this 14 year old vehicle, its next stop will be scrap or exchange if welling to buy new car.

A vehicle life is 10 years max that too a well maintained car and less then 80k km run. so after 10 years nightmare will start.

I would advice you to buy less then 8 years old car incase you use it for 2 - 3 years so you can sell it for good price. i.e 2004, 2005 or even 2006.

I know they cost more but you will be happy with it. I mean your friend.

Recently my friend had bought matiz of 2001 year for 60k and on short drive, its exhaust pipe got broken and fell down. Later within a month he gave the car on exchange and bought new alto 800. Said he got a good price on exchange but I don't believe him.

Buying a cheap and best new car is also good idea. i.e alto, alto 800 or wagon r. Yes it costs more but you will get good price when selling and no worries with maintenance since it comes with free services and warranty.

Not just money, satisfaction also matters! Good luck.

Thanks...
Best Regards