Mondeo vs Focus reliability

Yes. High mileage, high volume rep-mobiles have always been the bargain of the second hand car market, with their massive depreciation. I've bought several myself. There is also a huge supply, whilst smaller "family" cars generally hold value better (being cheaper to run, hence more desirable), so are worse value second hand.

Just like any second hand car, really. However, they are usually in better condition, as the miles will largely be motorway ones and they are usually relatively young. They are usually well maintained by the lease companies, too. And reps can't afford to thrash them all the time like they used to, as their livelihoods depend on their licences.

Christian.

Sorry i know its not answering your Q, but where you purchasing from and how much? sounds like something that would be ideal for me. is there somewhere that specialises in stocking the above?

I haven't found anywhere in particular, I've just started browsing through the adverts in autotrader trying to decide what to buy in about a month or so when I get another years NCB and a new MOT for my current car.

I've spent the last couple of days looking at prices, and here is what i've found if it is of any help to you.

Taking the WhatCar/Parkers prices as a guide for a 51 plate

2.0TDi Zetec Mondeo vs a 1.8TDi Zetec Focus gives the Mondeo being about 1k more expensive for average mileage. However the mondeo depreciates at about 600 pounds per 10k miles vs 400 for the focus, so they break even at about 80k

But when it comes to available cars, the focuses seem to split into high mileage low-spec estates which are probably ex field-engineer's cars, and low mileage high spec private cars. Which is why I was thinking about the mondeo as they have much better kit as standard, it's just depends on whether the amount saved on getting a +100k mondeo is likely to be eaten up by repairs later on.

I'm not sure that really answers your question either, but no doubt someone else will have some extra advice.

-Mark

Apologies for being a lazy git but for a 51 plate 2.0 TDI Zetec whats the going rate (if you have the info at hand)

The advertised price would be about 7500 at 40k miles from a dealer.

-Mark

The early TDi's are cheap because they are alot less desirable than the far quieter and more responsive TDCi.

Find one of those would be my advice.

Tim.

This is all *IMO*, but when I had a Focus Zetec loan car, I hated it.

I was expecting something as well put together as my (2 year older, 29k miles more) Mondeo, but it wasn't.

The 1.6 engine was totally gutless, the interior wasn't put together very well, the high up driving position and flabby suspension made it feel top heavy and felt like it was swaying around.

The seats were uncomfortable.

IMO, it was not much better than the Ka I had as a loan car before it.

Go for the high mile 2.0TDCi Mondeo, in a Ghia spec if possible. YKIMS.

Pete.

AOL! Ex-fleet cars can be an excellent buy. One minor point to bear in mind is that the resale value is likely to be a fair bit lower - this isn't really an issue if you plan to keep the car for any length of time though.

I have no experience of the Focus, but read rosy test reports when it came out; some said it was the best car in its class. So I'm quite surprised that it should turn out to be a duffer. Makes you suspicious of glowing test reports for big-name cars.

I've been driving for more than 40 years. I've owned and driven *lots* of cars - new, old, everything in between. I have never previously kept a car longer than a couple of years.

I've had my Focus from new. It is March 1999 registered and I have no intention of changing it. Earlier this year I thought I'd check out whether other manufacturers had caught up. I had test drives in a few. The only one I thought might be OK was the MK5 Golf, so I hired one for a weekend. What a disappointment! I couldn't wait to get back in my Focus. I'd buy another in an instant if this one got stolen or wrecked.

The OP who hated the hired Focus he drove must surely be in a minority.

Chris

Not anymore so than you being in a minority because you disliked the Golf. Thank god we all have different tastes or we might all being driving around in brown Allegro's. Each to their own. Personally I hate the styling of the Focus. It has bland written all over it.

Steven.

.

Quite possibly. BTW, have you driven either?

No, That would mean we all had *no* taste :-)

< choke - cough - splutter>

What! Rewind to 1998. Remember the Escort. Golf MK4. Astra. How on earth could the styling of the Focus be seen as bland in that context? Controversial perhaps. Maybe ugly. Bland? No!

Now, the New Focus could be mistaken for almost anything I'll grant you.

Chris

Yeah I've driven both. My dad has the focus and I'm not that overly impressed with it. Don't get me wrong I don't hate it or anything but I just think it is a run of the mill car and fail to see why it gets so many "great" right ups. My mate has a golf and I'm much more impressed with that compared to the focus. But at the end of the day it is just different tastes.

As for your statement "What! Rewind to 1998.............." I think you answered your own question there. 7 years ago yeah the focus might have been different. But things have moved on and for me it just blends in with everything else.

But what do I know about looks, I drive a 5 year old Laguna :o(

Steven.

In message , Pete Smith writes

"IMO" noted ;)

I've had my Focus for 6 years now and it has been brilliant. Build quality is superb and it looks and feels like new inside. Its a 1.6 too and its certainly not gutless. The suspension is first class. I've got the LX which has got softer suspension than the zetec and I don't have any problems with mine.

As for the Ka, the missus had one of them for 5 years and there is no comparison with the Focus. When I bought another car for myself, we sold her Ka and she got my Focus.

I wasn't attempting to ask a question! I was challenging your statement that the design of the Focus was bland. To my mind, that is the last criticism you could aim at it.

Yes, of course! It was so outstanding at the time of it's release that all the other manufacturers have had to catch up!

:-)

Here's a tip. The guide prices are a guide, and a guide only, and can be well out. Get yourself registered on AutoTrader.co.uk, and do nationwide searches for cars. Get one in the best condition that you can at the best price. If you *particularly* want a higher spec one like a Ghia X, then only look at the adverts for them. Also consider that the 1.8TDi Focus might be a bit crap. It's not a *bad* engine perse, but in several different engines of that type I've heard of the oil cooler cracking, which is a big PITA as most people will tell you that it's the head gasket, and then later quote you about £2k to fix it, leaving you with the bill for taking the head off, leaving you with a non-running engine, when putting washing powder in the coolant along with lots of flushing would have cured it. Only get the TDCI ones, but if you're considering a TDI Focus, either get the TDCI Focus or a Golf TDI, as the engines are immensely better. Golfs will be more pricey though.

Mileage needn't be an issue if it's something that's not known for having problems at high mileage. Find out if Mondeo TDCIs have any issues at high miles (150-200k) because that's the sort of mileage you'll probably be running it up to. Have a look at the "user reviews" type section on parkers.co.uk and also at peachorlemon.co.uk. This'll give you a good ideas of generally which models are problematic and which ones tend to be trouble free. Stack the odds in your favour and get something that's got a rep for being trouble-free. If that's the case, then high mileage isn't an issue, but don't fall into the trap of paying over the odds for it. The vast majority of cars out there are way overpriced because there are mugs out there who pay those prices, or who genuinely believe that their J reg Sierra they're wanting to part-exchange really is worth £950. Do a nationwide search on autotrader for a few different models, and use the lowest price there as a target price to pay.

With cars as common as Mondeos and Focii, you may well get it just as cheap (or possibly) cheaper by hunting out the lower priced private ads, and with a private sale you've got the advantage that if you deem the seller to be honest, you know exactly how reliable it's been, and what's gone wrong, etc etc.

Yes, and right now we're living in 2005, where it *does* look bland, because other manufacturers have caught up in terms of styling, and against them it doesn't look anything special. Plus, there are so bloody many of the things out there, that the effects of anything particularly ground-breaking about its design have been well and truly numbed.

Yes, I've been doing that. I was only using those as examples because they are probably the most comparable models, and the parkers prices mostly match up with the prices listed in autotrader.

I would probably end up going for a top condition LX model as they are pretty well specced anyway, and are quite a bit cheaper. A few of them seem to have added extras as well, without the extra price of the Zetec or Ghia badge.

To be honest, having driven 3 different types of focus in the last year, I can't really say I'm a great fan. But when weighing up the various options, it seemed to be the best choice from a practical point of view. But after seeing the mondeo prices, and finding out that they wouldn't be much more expensive to insure, it seems to make a much more attractive option.

I didn't know about that one, I'll have a look. Thanks

-Mark

It's all relative & subjective.

It's an order of magnitude better than my old Yugo, or Mk 5 'scrote, but compared to my Mondeo Ghia, it's not as nice.

It was plasticy inside, I could see bare metal around the doorframes, and the seats weren't as comfortable and supportive. They were just like normal Fiesta seats (as seen in my gran's old 1991 Fester "Popular", compared with the almost-bucket ones in my car.

All the buttons, vent controls & things have chrome effect trim in mine, but the Focus was all just plain plastic.

The doors closed with a "clang". The Mondeo ones shut with a "Thud"

Regarding the "gutless". I'm used to the performance of the TDCI 130, so of course a 1.6 will appear gutless! The gearbox also sounded like the same whiny one they put in the old Fiesta (the one that you could tell it was a Fiesta without even seeing it).

The ride height seemed to be higher, which I didn't like, and I *really* didn't like the centre console.

I could have had a real Friday Afternoon car, but this is the 2nd one I've had, and they didn't seem dramatically different).

Pete.