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Mondeo purchase

Good morning,

I am thinking about buying a Mondeo. I'm thinking perhaps an 08-09 plate, as I can't afford anything younger ;)

The principle reason for buying it is that there is plenty of space in the back and boot for children, push chairs, etc.

I have had a read on the internet and I think three quarters are diesels. The 2L seems to be recommended. I have test driven a 1.8L and

2.0L diesel and found the 1.8 was ok most of the time but the 2L seemed nippier when accelerating. Do you think this is the one to go for? Or does anyone have experience of the petrol or automatic models?

I quite like the idea of an automatic but I guess that would be at the expense of higher road tax and fuel economy.

I've had a look on Amazon and there is no Haynes manual for the Mondeo after 2007. They have done one for all previous models, so I hope one will be on its way soon. In the meantime, is the car similar to the earlier versions? Would an 07 book cover most things?

The tyres on all the ones I have seen are 215/55 16 V rated, which seem to be £120 per corner. Could be expensive if I need four at once but I guess that's true of all cars.

Any hints or tips about the cost of running them and what to look for? I've seen a couple with dings on the doors. The garage says they will remove them before collection but I wish they would remove them now. I would be happier buying a car where I could see the dents had gone, rather than one where I am told they will be gone. They are not deep and the paint is not broken, so hopefully they will come out. There are one or two paint chips on the edge of the rear bumper though but the salesman did tell me "it is a second hand car sir", perhaps I am expecting too much.

TIA

Reply to
Fred
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great till they go wrong, then expect some eye watering bills. 50 plus on the fuel side. I would buy an auto, but try it first as it is different feel to traditional auto.

Reply to
Mrcheerful

Unless you do more than 12k miles per year, don't even consider paying the premium for a diesel.

There are plenty of Mondeos around, no need to faff about getting repairs done to a sub-standard one.

MBQ

Reply to
Man at B&Q

Why are the bills so much? I was thinking since they were so common, parts would be plentiful and cheap and I didn't think the Ford name carried as much premium as other makes?

Will try to test drive and auto. I'm curious when you say it has a different feel.

TIA

Reply to
Fred

manuals suffer with dual mass flywheel faults: 1000 pounds to fix. injector failure is common: 1000 pounds is a common price to fix. drive belt pulley falls apart : 100 quid upwards. Tyres don't last long . discs and pads are almost an every service item. reverse switch fails . handbrake cables are a regular job. they do suffer from a/c bits failing too.

the auto box down change is odd: try rolling the throttle off as you come up to a lower speed limit, traditional autos would just go quiet and the car rolls gently on, not these, it changes down and gives you engine braking, odd when you first drive it, no doubt you get used to it.

Reply to
Mrcheerful

On Mon, 15 Aug 2011 14:11:47 +0100, Mrcheerful dribbled:

A guy I know has a 07 plate transit with 80k on it, always serviced properly, looked after etc. It has one of these DMF diesel motors in it. He bought it to tide him over while his other van was having a new engine fitted.

It's had clutch/DMF problems - very expensive, over £1300 IIRC, injector problems, now it has a turbo actuator problem that's been quoted over a grand to repair.

I wouldn't touch a modern diesel Ford with someone elses..

Reply to
Mike P

the engine itself is very powerful and quiet and internally reliable, but the bits surrounding it seem to be the problem.

Reply to
Mrcheerful

Stop. You are putting me off ;)

Is this £1000 main stealer price or £1000 local independent garage price?

I guess sometimes engine braking would be useful but other times not. I guess neither system is perfect. Will test drive it and see.

Reply to
Fred

The problem is there are so few petrol ones about that you don't really get any choice. All the ones on the forecourt the other day were diesel, so I didn't have a petrol one to compare the price with.

I wonder about the comparative running costs: diesel is about 4 pence per litre more around here but the car does more mpg, so I guess this balances out. I think the diesels fall into lower tax bands too.

Reply to
Fred

In message , Fred writes

Cheap as chips! 6 years of Mondeo, about 30,000 miles:

Mondeo 1.8 Zetec Satnav Car Purchase August 2005, 9 months old, 10,000 miles

Service (Jan2006) £152.00 W/Screen washers £44.00

Service Jan 2007 £172.00 New battery Sep 07 (AA) £62.99 MOT + Steering Greased £50.35

Service Jan 2008 £229.00 MOT Oct 2008 £53.10

Service Jan 2009 £98.99 MOT/Rear Subframe Bushes Oct 2009 £303.00

4 Pirelli P600 Tyres Dec 2009 £284.80

Service/Disc Pads Jan 2010 £322.98

MOT Oct 2010 £54.85

Service/Wheel bearing/Brake Fluid change + New Wiper Blades Jan 2011 £360.00

2 New ABS Sensors Feb 2011 £168.00

Total maintenance bills = £1796

Less than £300 per year... 8-)

Reply to
Gordon H

Is your one a diesel? the bits you list are 2356. which is almost 400 per year

Reply to
Mrcheerful

In message , Gordon H writes

I don't think that £1796 is particularly good for 30,000 miles of motoring.

Reply to
Paul Giverin

Thanks, that has reassured me a bit. I'm not sure about the tyres though, I think they are probably £100 per corner now, but that would be true of any car, not just the Mondeo.

Reply to
Fred

It's not /that/ bad, especially as it includes servicing, MOTs and tyres

- about £1200. I'd be happy.

Rob

Reply to
Rob

Autotrader web site. Like for like a diesel can be up to =A32k more expensive due to the percieved benefits.

It's the maintenance cost/mile you need to worry about, especially if you are doing a low mileage. DPFs are now required to be replaced at certain service intervals on some cars. My local indpendent has seen loads of problems with EGR valves on diesels. The filters for their forecourt pumps now get clogged up due to all the crap "eco friendly" bio-shit they add to diesel.

MBQ

Reply to
Man at B&Q

On Tue, 16 Aug 2011 19:02:00 +0100, Paul Giverin dribbled:

My last 15k have cost me £1050 not including fuel.

That includes *buying* the car, taxing it, insuring it, sticking new front discs/pads/tyres on it and a couple of oil and filter changes.

Reply to
Mike P

Unless you do (say) 30K miles a year, it's not the miles that matter, it's time that takes its toll.

Or so I think.

Reply to
Kostas Kavoussanakis

On Wed, 17 Aug 2011 20:25:12 +0100, Kostas Kavoussanakis dribbled:

I kind of agree. My car is 9 years old, has 196,000 miles on the clock. Doesn't ever appear to have needed anything other than oil changes, two cambelts, brake pads/discs and tyres over that mileage.

It needs new front arm bushes this year for it's MOT. I'll do them myself, but it will be a pain in the bottom.

Reply to
Mike P

In message , Mrcheerful writes

Petrol, and my calculator must be faulty. ;-)

Reply to
Gordon H

It's all main dealer servicing, BTW, and the only non - Ford part used was the rear wheel bearing.

Reply to
Gordon H

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