What should I do with my 2008 Ford S-MAX?

We have a 2008 Ford S-MAX Titanium diesel auto with 100,000km on it. I have been looking around for ages at alternatives. In your view would we be better to sell this car now while it is still relatively young or would we be better to hold on for another couple of years?

I do not want to end up in the situation where no garage will give anything for it as it is too old and I do not want to have to spend loads to maintain it now it is getting older.

By the way what would I get for it as a trade-in or private sale? It is ours from new with full service history.

Thanks,

Andrew

Andrew Kelly (Limerick)

Mar 2012 Filed under: family car

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Expert answer

Hi Andrew,

First of all, the relatively straightforward stuff. There are less Titanium models around than LX and Zetec so it's worth a little more. Autos are quite rare as well so it's not easy to accurately predict the value. However, we reckon you could advertise it for €16,999 as a private sale (and accept a little less) and expect an offer as low as €13,000 in trade-in. Bear in mind though that you should focus on the cost to change if you're going down the trade-in route.

Your car is already at the high end of the mileage range for S-MAXs of that age and if you plan on continuing at the same rate then it may well make sense to change now before the car loses all appeal for dealers - as you've pointed out. 

Hope all that helps.

Shane O' Donoghue - Complete Car Adviser
@Shane_O_D