Ford Falcon Wagon BA question

Alan, check our www.redbook.com.au for details of models and prices (based on private sales - will be a bit different at a car yard).

A newer model only is only of greater value when wanting to sell. If keeping for a long time, go for the lesser kilometrage if condition is equal.

Motherhen

The year model is designated by the build plate (03) doesnt matter when registered.
Yes they are a reliable smooth vehicle
I think you can do better than 12500. It is a reasonably good price for a wagon but they just cant sell cars at the moment and if you play hardball I reckon you could probably say let me take it for 10500 and I'll sign a purchase order they'd do it especially if you start walking away. if not they will at least give you their lowest price. they prob only paid 6-8 grand at auction.

Check for service history all fully stamped as instrument clusters can be changed warranty is not a big selling point for me a lot only do what they have to.

Hope you get something out of this.

Hi Alan.
Whichever vehicle you decide on please have a prepurchase inspection done by either a motoring organisation or someone recommended by the organisation before commiting to the vehicle. I have seen so many "lemons" over the years. As stated the built date is the year model. These vehicles are resonable for reliability but can have some issues. Front brakes and rotors wear fairly quickly. The power steering hose can leak at the pump causing damage to the alternator. Some are prone to differential noise/wear.The Automatic Transmission should have been serviced at least twice by that mileage, especially if it has been used for towing. At that mileage it is possible to have oil leaks.I think a later vehicle from a government auction would be a better purchase especially as it will have some factory warranty left which tranfers to the new owner. Hope that helps and good luck. Bob.

Hi Alan. All the replies to your questions are very valid, and there isnt much more that I could add except bargain hard especially near the end of the month as thats when the salesman has to reach his budget. Then I would get a compression test done on all six cylinders and if they readings are all fairly close to one another, then take it. I would get the Auto box serviced and have the bands adjusted to ensure smooth up and down changes. Assuming that all is well with the vehicle, then you cant go far wrong with the purchase. I`m in Perth and 90% of all taxis are Ford wagons and sedans. They clock up and average of 240,000 km a year and have to traded in after eight years = 1.9 million Km. So provided you service it regularly I dont think you will have any major problems. Good luck with your purchase

Hi Alan,
1) 12/03 would be a 2003 model
2)Taxi's use the Ford over the Holden because the Ford engine is better suited to LPG especially the dedicated gas engine which is factory set up for gas and not just added on.
3) Only had to claim a faulty fuel guage on mine and it was fixed under warranty no probs.
You get a lot of car for the money with these Fords and there are so many around i would go for the dedicated gas model as they have a great torquey engine and cheaper to run than a corolla.

Alan good mate of mine has a car yard and I was talking to him only last week about BA s. He reckons last of the au111s are a better 2nd hand bet as they gave a lot less trouble. He reckons the ba was rushed on to the market because the au was not selling well, and because ford was broke skimped on mechanical develpment. Lovely engine though. Ba values have crashed because a lot of dealers are wary of them, lots arround now for $10000.00. Check private car sales on CAR SALES.
Cheers Pete

As others have said, can only praise the vehicle. My wife did not want a wagon, but with a growing family did not really have a lot of choice...she now loves it.

As for price, we picked up ours last year, a 2004 XT with 110k on the clock for 11,000. You should do better than that.

I also inquired about a cargo barrier, and he threw one in as they remove all from vehicles before selling and have a stack lying around... maybe worth asking if you require one.

Great car, smooth, economical (10.8- 13/100). My only peave is that the XT comes with front only electric windows.

We've had a few BA's in the family, in fact we still have 3 of them. The early one had the brake shudder problem that was evident under consistent braking, like coming down from Mt Hotham and pushing hard and working the brakes. The others, including the one tonner have had no issues at all. One has done about 180,000 the other about 140,000 and the one tonner about 85,000. Then the BF, kind of a facelifted BA but a bit more than that and now the FG which is great. I think the BA's had an issue with the transmissions and the cooling system but it never happened to any of ours.
Fords lose value pretty quickly as all the young street racers go for the commodore, we have had a VZ one of these too. However the ford has a great engine, more power more torque and in a usable rev range. It is much more driver friendly with the controls and you get a lot for your money.
Without seeing the wagon your looking at it is hard to guess the value. I would walk in with about $8000 in cash and start from there. There are thousands of BA/BF's around for sale so that coupled with the current financial worry hype thing makes it a buyers paradise. The one tonner is an 05 and i think it had minor upgrades from earlier ones and it has been great so far and worked pretty hard hauling loads and general building business vehicle abuse.

Might add to check with ford as well as the BA"s have an issue with front brake lines streching and end up tearing away leaving you in a very dangerous situation. Ford do know of the problem but because its only happened to a few they havnt done a recall BUT if you take it to them for servicing and mention it they are changed free of charge. Also being reports of brake failures on the territory's. It has been mentioned over the last few months in fridays telegraph in the motoring section. Cant believe this has not been a full recall by ford. WHG................

Thank you very much for all your very helpful replies.


I have printed them out and have passed them on to him.

Once again, thank you.

Alan.