Looking at an AUII Fairmont Ghia

BrisVegas · 19-12-2011, 11:21 AM

Hi Guys,
Long time listener, first time poster in this section! I am looking to buy a second car as my wife has picked up work 30km out of town (mostly highway) next year. Only have about $4k to spend and have been looking around at the various options in used cars. Whilst I'd love a low km small car, they just don't exist in my price range. There are plenty of AU shape Falcons and Fairmonts around though. Geez they depreciate fast!

Anyway, a mate of mine has a 2000 AUII Fairmont Ghia 4.0 auto with 240k on it that he is selling for $4k. It's Meteorite with black leather. It's got a couple of issues (ball joints, exhaust, weeping steering rack) that he is having fixed to get a safety certificate, but I think it's reasonably straight.

redbook value on these is $3,800 - $5,400 private sale with 165,000 - 275,000 km, so I think the price is right.

I'd appreciate your thoughts on what to look out for on this particular car and what sort of fuel consumption it would give on 80% highway driving, real world etc. Is it worth putting it on injected LPG ?

Thanks in advance for your help. I've never owned a Falcon, but have several Fords over the years (Escort, Focus, Fiesta).

gcg2503 · 19-12-2011, 11:32 AM

Sometimes AVG fuel consumption on the 6 cylinders is over 18 litres per 100!

Reset the trip computer and go for a cruise to see if yours needs attnetion

I drove a couple of AUII Ghia's and both had very high fuel consumption figures. Usually Oxygen Sensors need replacing

My Dad's old AUII Ghia suffered from the same problem

In the end I went for the AUII XR8

Great cars the AUs

BrisVegas · 19-12-2011, 12:15 PM

Thanks for the tip. Is replacing the O2 sensor something I can do myself, or is it a mechanic visit? He said it's been getting around 13l/100 in town, which seems highish, but hopefully it would be 10 or better on the highway.

JC · 19-12-2011, 12:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BrisVegas

Thanks for the tip. Is replacing the O2 sensor something I can do myself, or is it a mechanic visit? He said it's been getting around 13l/100 in town, which seems highish, but hopefully it would be 10 or better on the highway.

13s around town for the 6 is pretty good. Highway usage should be between 9 and 11 (depending on whether highway is flat or not, 100 or 110 etc).

$4k for an AU2 ghia is a realistic price - I'd get it, as not much goes wrong with the good old AUs (even high kms ones). Around 250k km, the transmission might need to be replaced, but if it's been serviced all it's life, it should also be good for another 100+k km.

LPG injection (at $4k+) is probably overkill for an AU I6 - far cheaper to get a mixer ring setup for around 60% of the injection cost.

BrisVegas · 19-12-2011, 12:32 PM

Thanks JC. Given the current owner is replacing the exhaust shortly, would it be worthwhile putting a freer flowing system on it, at least a 2.5" catback? That might help the economy a touch.

rowan194 · 19-12-2011, 12:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BrisVegas

Is replacing the O2 sensor something I can do myself, or is it a mechanic visit?

If you have a large ring spanner set (I think it was 24mm) you can unplug the sensor, feed the cable through the ring spanner hole, then undo the O2 sensor with the spanner.

May also be able to do it with an adjustable wrench, but it could be a bit difficult to swing it in that area. Really depends how hard it was tightened on by the last person.

If the planned exhaust work needs the manifold off it will be easy peasy to replace the O2 sensor with the manifold out of the car.

Regarding consumption, I think it's the Ghia's VCT engine which drinks more fuel than the standard Falcon/Fairmont I6? Before my Fairmont (not Ghia) started playing up average consumption (in suburbia) was about 13.5L/100km, but it can easily go below 10 on a highway trip.

SSVPom · 19-12-2011, 07:58 PM

You'll struggle to get the average consumption around town below 15l/100km, I never did!! Great car though and I miss mine to this day, so if you get it with the basics covered by a new road worthy then you'll have comfy cruiser that should be pretty reliable transport.

Replacing the Oxy sensor and an ECU reset would be the first port of call in my opinion, as well as an oil and filter change.

BrisVegas · 19-12-2011, 08:59 PM

wow, I didn't realise they were that bad on fuel. My (diesel) Pajero gets 11l/100km at worst around town and is usually around 10 on the average. I was thinking that a Falcon would have been much the same. Perhaps I should be looking at smaller Jap stuff after all...

Jimmyd · 19-12-2011, 09:01 PM

AU1.5 Fairmont Ghia VCT open highway at GPS indicated 105kph

In real world - 80% highway/city average 12-13l/100ks, includes the occasional squirt of the loud pedal. Only mods 2.5" cat back and minor inlet mod to remove the 55mm restrictor in the inlet

BrisVegas · 19-12-2011, 09:06 PM

Thanks Jimmy. 859kms. How many litres is that calculated on?

rowan194 · 19-12-2011, 10:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BrisVegas

Thanks Jimmy. 859kms. How many litres is that calculated on?

Would have to be a full tank, and certainly not a typical reading. ;)

63L/8.59 (100's of km) = 7.33L/100km!!!

**Polyal** · 19-12-2011, 10:28 PM

I could get my old EL Ghia down to 6-7 on the highway...if there is one thing the I6 does well is cruising, its built for it.

A good mixer setup is an option, but personally id never go back to mixers after having a SVI.

A good brand mixer isnt overly "cheap" and with liquid injection coming in Vapour systems seem to becoming good value IMO...just less hassle (yeah yeah properly setup mixers can be good too).

As for the O2..if yout not confident then when you get it serviced just supply it, any decent mechanic shouldnt charge you extra while its in for a service.

AU Mont · 20-12-2011, 08:52 AM

steering rack, exhaust & ball joints would see a bit of coin spent so 4k isnt such a bad price

the gearbox holding up would be luck of the draw as my father-in-laws AU futura has over 300,000km's heavy towing and still shifts perfect, but he does drive the car very carefully

VCT fuel consumption is a *****......... after changing all fluids, filters, plugs, sports exhaust, intake mods etc. my VCT with 100,000km's did 13.2L/100km around town but on the highway it was a little better @ 9L/100km

BrisVegas · 20-12-2011, 12:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AU Mont

VCT fuel consumption is a *****......... after changing all fluids, filters, plugs, sports exhaust, intake mods etc. my VCT with 100,000km's did 13.2L/100km around town but on the highway it was a little better @ 9L/100km

I'll admit, I didn't realise they were so bad. I don't want it to be so bad that we won't drive it due to it's thirst.

Ultimately, this car will be my wife's decision. I got to choose the last couple of cars. She's already concerned about driving a 6 cyl with the higher rego cost and physical size of the thing to park etc. If she decides that the economy is a problem, that's the end of that.

sbcb · 20-12-2011, 12:30 PM

I recently traded an AU1 V8 Ghia that would sit around mid to high 13s/100km all town and get under 9 cruising open road with family and boot full. I preferred it to my current ride but I think that was because it was an 8. It had exhaust and K&N filter to help it along and I think the V8 had slightly taller gearing compared to the VCT 6 but its fuel economy compared closely to a VCT Ghia I had also previously owned.

4ford · 20-12-2011, 01:26 PM

I've had a 2001 (non VCT) AU2 Fairmont 6 for the last 9 years, with around 183K now on the Odo.

Not many mods, pretty standard really, but I do all the work on it myself!

For your info on decision-making...
1/ my wife drives this car more than I do.

2/ we are currently showing around 9.3 L/100k on the display, which includes ALL driving, I haven't reset that reading for literally years!

3/ I run mine on 95/98 RON and with that it seems to idle and perform noticeably better than on the 92 stuff, which is what I initially used.

4/ yes, I do change the plugs once a year, recently changed the O2 sensor, and clean out the (washable) air filter every (5,000k) service, but also it has the standard exhaust system and the trans has been serviced only once during my ownership, 'bout 4 years ago, and operates faultlessly.

Just for your reading pleasure......

Cheers 4ford

BrisVegas · 20-12-2011, 02:34 PM

Thanks for the feedback. This is all good info, which will help in the discussions.

AU Mont · 20-12-2011, 05:00 PM

as mentioned not much goes wrong with them that isnt easily fixed. The main things are perishables found in all cars like power steering pump, leaking steering racks, radiators etc.

ive owned 2x AUII Fairmont ghia's, only changed to the other to get into an 8, even though the VCT went a little better imo

For the money, i think the AU ghia is a great overall package. Certainly better than a worn out late 90's 4 banger. Yes women generally hate (sometimes refuse) to drive large family sedans, but it will be 2nd nature to her after only a couple weeks of driving as is with any new car purchase

Cant go past the charcoal interior

BrisVegas · 20-12-2011, 05:20 PM

^^ That interior is schmick! The one I'm looking at has a fair bit more wear and tear than that and has some blemishes on the paint etc too. Not biggies, but stuff that shows it's had a full life!

Bushbasher · 20-12-2011, 05:27 PM

I have a VCT Fairlane and live rurally so 80% of my driving is highway and as long as you're a throttle squeezer and not a stabber then the VCT isn't that thirsty. I run LPG with a mixer and have no dramas and average around 450km to a tank......... which costs me a whole $40 to fill so that's less than $10 per 100km travelled (@ 110-115kph highway) Compare that to $1.40p/l for ulp 92 @ 65L per fill and you're up over $90 a fill to get 650km to a tank average which comes to about $14 per 100km travelled. Let's say you can manage 700km to a tank, that's still $13 per 100km. Now do the same calculations for a Corolla and see how much you're paying to travel 100km and I know which car I'd rather be driving because unless the Corolla can match the AU at minimum I'd still be driving the Fairmont for the extra comfort, space and safety. The only down side to driving the Ford is having to buy 2 extra spark plugs and a bit more oil at service time. A VCT Fairmont is lighter than a Fairlane and in suburbia you should be paying less for gas than I do so those numbers will be even better. If it was me, I'd get the AU, put a LPG mixer setup on it and get the rebate then enjoy the ride. Also consider that if the missus hits a stray bit of suicidal wildlife or idiot not paying attention, which car would you rather be in, An AU or a Corolla/Hyundai/Kia etc,etc.....?

Bushbasher

Mr Hardware · 20-12-2011, 05:43 PM

FTR Bushbasher i average $8.4/100klms on LPG in the falc, $16.80/100 if i ran it on petrol, and about $10.50/100klms in the Corolla.

That being said if i was comparing a corolla that was AU-era not FG-era then i'd be looking at about 20% higher consumption, just like an AU consumes about 20% more petrol than an FG does.

BrisVegas · 21-12-2011, 09:16 AM

Looks like our 2nd car plans have been scuttled. Got the tax refund this morning, but it got wiped out by a number of bills, kids tuition stuff, pool fence and the credit card. :-(

Only positive is that we've cut up the credit card. We're starting off a new savings plan, so might revisit the 2nd car idea in a few months if the one car isn't workable.

Thank you all for your advice. I've learned a fair bit about Falcons lately and still think the AU2 & 3 are fantastic buying if we're in the position to do so again soon.

smoo · 01-01-2012, 04:43 PM

Even though you aren't looking at buying anymore I'd thought I'd add there is a bit of mis info in here, 18l/100km in a I6, farrk me what is wrong with them... The only time I've had any of my Falcons fuel economy that bad was towing close to 2 tonne, even my old BMW 540i V8 wasn't that bad towing.
I've had a few I6s and average about 11-12l/100km around town.
I've had my Fairlane VCT for a month now and only put some decent miles on it over new years, 100kmh cruise control, best was 7.6l/100km, worst was 9.7 pretty much all highway but keep in mind NZ highways (if you can call em that) usually have fckn steep climbs. Still have to put 1000km on it tomorrow but am impressed with fuel economy so far.