Need some Car advice from Aussie members.

Well, after 8 glorious years and 312,000 kilometres, my Volvo V40 blew it's head gasket.

So, I'm after a car. I have my sights on a Ford XR6, either BA MKii or BF.
These cars are 10 a penny and therefore in my budget of $5k, for a decent car with good features and safety etc.

I'm not going to get into the Holden/Ford debate.
I just prefer the road stance/look and interior of the xr6.

I'm doing my research and the early BA's had Transmission Cooler/radiator and rear brake hose issues.

Any members on here have experience with the BA/BF Fords and willing to offer advice??

PS - Every taxi in NSW with 500K+ on the clock is a BA/BF Falcon, so they are doing something right!

Not a BA or BF
Cost me $1900, with rego till Nov 2015, 1999 AU 4 Ltr 6cyl. 5 speed manual , 332000 kms on him, drives perfect. Id guess it has highway KMs on it. Ive had to get aircon compressor replaced and still sorting a slight rough idle. Probably needs coil pack replaced. The usual rough idle is a manifiold gasket leak. Mine might be a bit off but its not stalling, and idles fine 90% of the time. Runs perfect under power and cruising.
The "Barra" twin cam 4 ltr is a good motor, but so is the single cam. Its a matter of finding something, preferable stock without the butt thrashed out of it and make sure it has been serviced all its life regular.
Good thing to do with 2nd hand car, service it full as soon as possible,and take it to a good mechanic (not ultratune) for a good look over.
But test driving it should indicate whether or not its smooth or needs work.
overall, and this is 8 years extensive automotive experience talking (jap import, standard automotive, speed shops, drag, rally, circuit race service), generally if its an Australian built car , its designed to handle Au conditions. As for between Ford/Holden, they all have their good points.
Japaneses cars are very good as they are designed to handle extremes, as in Japan, it can get very cold and very hot. Again, there are lemons everywhere, expect some possible repairs on any car.

Depends if you want compact, like a supra , or room, like a Falcon or Commodore.
Engines, the Supra 2J is and excellent motor, billet bottom end, very strong.
The commodore buick V6 has proven itself.
Same with the 4 ltr ford engine.
The subaru flat 4 has been around for a long time, again, good engine.
One thing I will mention, whatever you buy, warm the engine up for a few mins each time, especially in the morning or if its been sitting for more than 4 hrs.
Ive been to engine workshops and oil seminars. Because of fuel injection, people stopped warming up engines because they would run fine first go, unlike a carby motor. So engines wore out very fast. So developments in metals, for pistons and rings and bearings as well as oil developments helped overcome this.
Best thing is STILL, warm it up.
Taxis are running fairly steadily and run gas all the time, they are regular serviced and engines warmed up before use most times. They are not thrashed and LPG gas is cleaner than most fuels.
Thats why they last 500,000km or more.

Thanks Guys. Great advice. I have to say I am not a fan of Subaru's at all. Every d#$khead in the UK had a "Sooby" and it put me off buying one for life.

I just like the look of the XR6 and they seem pretty solid after the BA sorted it's early issues.

Things I know to watch for are:
Worn Diff bushes (Noise at the rear over bumps)
Short and stretched brake hoses at the rear (Recall fixed most)
Trans and Radiator combination cooler - Split in lower radiator could mix fluids and kill the Trans - Most owners fitted a separate cooler or changed fluid more often than 20K interval
Warped Rotors. (Pulsing brake pedal)

If a car I find has none of the above issues then I'm onto a winner I think.

Thanks again - And cheers for the call @bsft - Appreciate it!

I have an 05 BA XR8 and it's been pretty good though not the cheapest car to run.
It's pretty common for door actuators to break. If it happens to you, you can buy the little plastic gears for $15 on eBay and change them yourself rather than donating $400 to Fords Friday afternoon drinks!

Just closing off this thread with an update. IT"S ALIVE!!! The Volvo is back on the road.

Suspected I had blown the head gasket, I thought to myself, before it goes to Car heaven, I'll strip down the engine and just take a look.
Drained all the fluids and the Oil and Coolant all looked quite clean.. Not mixed at all.
Several compression tests later and a change of Coil Packs and she fired up and is running just fine.
Seems my coil packs were giving up the ghost once the engine was under load and dropping down to 1 maybe 2 pistons!

Took it to my local mechanic just to make sure, and she got a clean bill of health and he cleaned the injectors and intakes just to be sure.

Time to put another 312,000kms on her!

Beawdy mate! If it anit broke, dont fix it, unless you are a car modfiying nut, then theres no hope.