Im thinking of getting shot of my 416 i.e (yes the dreaded k class one with the dodgy cylinder head) As i do quite a lot of miles (50 a day) Would rather not get a new car but thinking of maybe a 3-4 year old mondeo with around 50k on the clock.. Anything to worry about or they ok? Looking to spend maybe 3k? Or can you recomend anything else?
The slightly older than 3 or 4yr old Mondeos were very expensive for clutch replacement, so do your homework on whether it's relevant for a particular buy. A friend was recently quoted £800 on a '99. Cam belts let go and wreck the engine but newer ones have a chain cam drive. I wouldn't buy an older Mondeo for these reasons mainly, so again make sure yours has a chain.
Alternative? A 2.0 Nissan Primera from 1997 to 1999 and you'll have plenty of change out of 3k. You won't get anything more trouble free, it's still 5 star rated for reliability in What Car? magazine. No cam belt either. I get about 6mpg more than a 1.8 Mondeo doing a similar journey at work, 3mpg more than a 1.8 Focus doing the exact same route. It also accelerates better. Personally, I find them very comfortable as well on a long trip, no backaches. The Focus looks nicer though, but P11 Primeras don't look too shabby if you put alloys on. Harder to find than a Mondeo though.
In message , SteveB writes
I agree that the clutch replacement on the Mk2's can be expensive but £800 is just someone having a laugh. It can be done properly, including the subframe alignment for £400.
The cambelts are not prone to letting go on the post 98 blacktop engines. The recommended interval is 100k miles and they do seem to go the distance. I'm not saying that you will never get the odd premature failure (nine times out of ten its the tensioner) but there is no particular problem with these engines.
I think the OP was looking at Mk3's anyway.
If you are doing 50 miles a day then you're into diesel territory.
The best around are the peugoet/citroen in terms of cheapness to buy/run. If you're just look for a cheap workhorse then theres loads of Xantia's knocking about with 100K+ miles. If you want something better built and willing to pay a premium then Audi/VW are better
If you get a decent high mileage diesel then the days of worrying about mileage will quickley disappear.
My Laguna 1.9dTI is now 6 yrs old with 160K miles. It looks just as good as one with 50K miles. It does 80+ miles a day.
If you are in the market for a 3-4 year old Mondeo then I assume you mean the current shape model. The TDCI model has a peugeot designed engine so it should be okay.
A quick search of Autotrader for a £3k new shape diesel Mondeo means a mileage of something like 150000m. No diesel Golfs at all in a
Not necessarily a worry, as long as it's got a service history. It'll have been repped up and down our fair motorways for most of its mileage. Is clutch replacement still a nightmare on new shape Mundanos?
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