ENGINE

Checking the coolant system is vital as the Cologne V6 is prone to cracking its heads if it runs too hot. Overheating also grows the chances of the fibre fibre timing gear shattering. Other possible issues are a noisy valvetrain arising from a lack of oil changes and the oil pump failing due to wear in the hexagonal shaft that drives it from the distributor. Unfortunately, there’s no way of knowing if the shaft’s become worn, so bank on changing it on a car’s purchase. Pierburg carburettor is prone to wear in both its throttle body and auto choke mechanism, while the fuel-injected cars suffer age-related problems, particularly regarding the air flow meter. Blue smoke and any knocking are bad news and if you’re looking at an estate, it’s worth noting that exhaust back boxes are getting very hard to find as are petrol tanks for injection models.