21 replies to this topic

[hhhugues]

Hi, i'm looking to buy either a second hand 5 year old (ish) mondeo or focus estate. The two cars i have seen so far have similar power (both tdci 115, i believe mondeo is a 2.0, focus a 1.8), and i can't decide which is best. The mondeo is much better equipped, but then i realise that running costs on a focus may be lower, and it has a slighlty more modern feel...

Can anyone tell me about their experiences with these cars, and whether they know if the running costs really do differ ? (cost of parts / servicing / mpg etc...). Also do they differ much in terms of reliability ?

Thanks !!!

[jeebowhite]

Best value for money, is the Focus, you may get a little less in the form of features, but as reliability is concerned - the focus is (generally speaking) an excellent car. However, if there is little price difference in it, then I would always recommend the Mondeo. The maintenance costs are not too different, the MPG and performance are very close overall, baring in mind the slight engine differences, however I dont know much about the 2.0 Mondeo with a Diesel Particulate Filter? so maybe others can comment.

Other than that, there will most likely be higher tax applied to the mondeo, but generally speaking (if its the second to last shape that we are referring to on the Mondeo) - I had a friend who had it, and only got rid of it, because he fancied a BMW - surprisingly, he got back in his mondeo within 3 weeks

[btmaldon]

I must agree fully with Jeebowhite. He is usually right.

The only other thing you may want to take into account is the size. The Mondeo Estate by most standards is big, with a massive load space. I didn't buy one because it would not fit in my garage and there was no way my wife wasd going to drive what she described as a tank. The Focus Estate has the largest load space in that range of cars and is only a few inches longer than the Hatchback and may therefore be a little easier to live with.

[jeebowhite]

I must agree fully with Jeebowhite. He is usually right.

awww shucks Thanks lol

The only other thing you may want to take into account is the size. The Mondeo Estate by most standards is big, with a massive load space. I didn't buy one because it would not fit in my garage and there was no way my wife wasd going to drive what she described as a tank. The Focus Estate has the largest load space in that range of cars and is only a few inches longer than the Hatchback and may therefore be a little easier to live with.

As bt said, it really does depend on what sort of space you have. Are you looking at the Mondeo hatch or estate?

[hhhugues]

thanks a lot for the replies ! i am referring to estates in both cases. the car sleeps in the street so it doesnt matter too much about the size, though i can see that a focus estate has dimension that may make it easier to live with especially when driving around town.
I enjoyed driving the one i tried, i thought it felt a bit more nimble than the mondeo, but it was really stripped down in terms of equipment. not even a trip computer or outside thermometer !

also i am referring to the second to last shape, yes, thats all i can afford unfortunately.

do you also happen to know much about the mondeo tdci 130 6 speed, in terms of running costs, added performance, reliablility (for example, could the gearbox be more fragile, parts availibility etc... ) ? is it worth looking out for one of those if i wanted to go the mondeo way ?

Finally, what would seem like a reasonable price for a 80,000 miles car on a 55 to 56 plate ? it seems the focus tends to have similar price tags for similar year / mileage, if not slightly dearer...

phew, i think thats it !

thanks !

[jeebowhite]

I enjoyed driving the one i tried, i thought it felt a bit more nimble than the mondeo, but it was really stripped down in terms of equipment. not even a trip computer or outside thermometer !

also i am referring to the second to last shape, yes, thats all i can afford unfortunately.

If you wanted a bit more to the car (facility wise) it may be worth just keeping an eye on the market

do you also happen to know much about the mondeo tdci 130 6 speed, in terms of running costs, added performance, reliablility (for example, could the gearbox be more fragile, parts availibility etc... ) ? is it worth looking out for one of those if i wanted to go the mondeo way ?

Focus is more my strengths, but the car itself for running costs tends to be around the 18p a mile on fuel (this is from memory). Servicing, is about £50 more dear than the focus (or you could do a service plan anyway?), but as services vary between dealers, I would say an extra £50 is probably a fair bet. As for maintenance, the car in parts availability is as strong as the Focus, so you lose nothing there. The gearbox, I havent heard too much on, but hopefully the ratio's on a 6 speed, should save wear and tear on the gearbox, so I cant see any problems with the Gearbox / Clutch over the focus. You just have to make sure that both are in good condition when you buy the car.

General maintenance fees for parts - well its a ford, its going to cost - just not as much as an Audi! - Overall I would say you should expect to pay around 15% more for parts overall, dealer dependant. Otherwise you could end up paying very little different to the focus maintenance

Finally, what would seem like a reasonable price for a 80,000 miles car on a 55 to 56 plate ? it seems the focus tends to have similar price tags for similar year / mileage, if not slightly dearer...

Probably around the £5000-£5500 mark (shouldnt differ to much in the expense between hatch and estate!). for example, my 56 plate zetec climate 110ps 1.6 focus (hatch) was traded in for £4000, and is now reselling at about £5995, it had 71k on the clock! If its not that low for the Focus, you could maybe barter it down to close to that range. As for a Mondeo, I would guestimate around £6000 - £6500 for a high spec.

Best thing to do is look around on Autotrader, and Fords website for Used cars. you can then get prices of individual cars, use that to work out an average, and when you go to a dealer / independant, you can then use those numbers to barter the price down if they are higher. I did this with my Cee'd and saved about £700 in total

[hhhugues]

thanks a lot for the info

yeah, i need to do more research on auto trader.

the car i've seen were actually under the 5000 mark, tough reduced from about 5250 in the mondeo's case.

So did you have any problems with your focus ? how come you ended up trading it for kia ?

[itsrelfy]

Hi

I ran a 2 litre tdci 130 for two years it was a hatch though, but it was utterly bullet proof, well mine was anyway. I bought an 05 plate with 61,000 on the clock in 2007 and sold it last year with 115,000 miles on the clock. Nothing went wrong. Ill be honest when i bought it i bartered a new dmf and clutch into the deal rather that trying to get money off, as these do or did have a tendancy to wear out. But as i say nothing ever went wrong. It was a joy to drive and i mean a real pleasure, in some ways I prefer it to my 09 fiesta zetec s, it just had a feeling of absolute solidity, nothing ratteled, knocked or anything. I loved it.

Adrian

[hhhugues]

Thanks for that ! i may well look for one of those, then again, the 115 version i tried was pleasant enough to drive anyhow.

Would you say the car still had a lot of life left in it when you sold it ? there's one for sale really near my house for just over £3,500 but it has 105000 miles on it, so i'm a bit worried it would be a risky buy...

oh, and another point of detail: do you know when the cam belt was changed on yours? i've been told its 100000 on the focus but it would be useful to know for mondeos too.

thanks !

[itsrelfy]

Hi

TDCI 130 has a chain cam not a belt so as long as its serviced it should be relatively problem free. When i sold mine it felt brand new. Im not joking tight as a drum. It did do mostly motorway miles so nothing too stressful but I couldnt fault it. The only reason i sold it was because i went from driving about a hundred miles a day to zero as i got a job close to home so i could walk. Mine was the ghia x model, cruise control, auto lights, heated leather seats that were 8 way electric adjustable, climate control and a cracking sony stereo and over 600 miles on a tank. If I sound like i'm a fan thats cause i am!!! and I suppose the best thing is you can afford to be choosy because there are loads of them.

Btw the thing with the 115 is depending what year you are going for it only has 5 gears where the 130 had 6, although I believe this was changed on the later models. Could be wrong though.

[hhhugues]

Thanks again for the info. I've already got my eyes on a few mondeo's (115 and 130), but what i'm really trying to work out is whether it's worth shelling out to get a car with reasonable miles on it (ie 70 to 80000 ish) rather than get one with higher miles (100000ish is the most common) and save about a grand.

But yeah, you're right, there's loads of them and they tend to be always priced similarly according to mileage rather than spec, so it's really a matter of finding the best compromise.

6 speed box rather than 5 is tempting, but then again the economy figures are pretty similar apparently so i'm not that fussed really, however the 130 is in a different insurance group isn't it ?

[jeebowhite]

thanks a lot for the info

yeah, i need to do more research on auto trader.

the car i've seen were actually under the 5000 mark, tough reduced from about 5250 in the mondeo's case.

So did you have any problems with your focus ? how come you ended up trading it for kia ?

Sorry about the delayed reply...

I had a few problems with the Focus, from failed alternators at 40,000 miles, water pump at 39,000, Battery (fair enough!) at 60, appauling excuse for locking wheel nuts, meaning I had to have the wheel and nut ground off the car. Fuel Filter housing corroding through (65,000 miles). I just started to lose trust in the car, plus the pain in the ace Diesel Particulate Filter (I didnt want to shell out for it). I had a few other pathetic problems inbetween, I just got bored and lost trust in the car, and gave up with it. Thought with my luck in cars, if something goes wrong, I want something with some guarantee that if it fails - I wont have to pay out a fortune! - Kia offered a 7 year warranty, and I was buying a car that was only 1 year old so it made sense!

As for your last post, consider that if you do buy a car with reasonable miles - you need to make sure that the likes of the DPF filter, and / or the Timing belts are done before you buy the car - do this and you will get a steal! otherwise, you will be buying into problems. however, diesels can go on for over 250k miles so even buying a car with 100k+ on the clock you still could get a very good car. As long as the major 7 year / 100k miles service has been done (specifically Timing belts and DPF's) then you should be fine!

[itsrelfy]

Hi ya

The Mondeos are between group 9 and 10 on insurance depending on model, lower specs are 9, higher specs like my ghia x are 10.

Also Im almost certain they dont have the particulate filter.

I dont think a high miler will make much difference as said before there are hundreds, just make sure its got all the stamps in the book, I guess the only thing with high mileages maybe worn interiors although again mine was fine. Also I guess things like the suspension may be a bit more tired but if it drives and feels ok then it probably is.

Cheers
Adrian

[hhhugues]

Hi again, thanks for all your comments !

Still without a car, but I just tried the mondeo 130 for sale just behind my house, and i'm really impressed by how it drives. It looks in really good condition in and out. The only thing that slightly worries me is what you said about the DMF. The car has 105000 on it and no indication that the clutch has been changed yet. It has all the stamps from the same garage, but no detail of what work was done on each service.
It did feel absolutely fine when i drove it, but i wouldn't really want to have to fork out about £600 to change the clutch/DMF in the first year of ownership ! Do they really have a short lifespan ? How can you tell its on its way out ?

Hi ya

The Mondeos are between group 9 and 10 on insurance depending on model, lower specs are 9, higher specs like my ghia x are 10.

Also Im almost certain they dont have the particulate filter.

I dont think a high miler will make much difference as said before there are hundreds, just make sure its got all the stamps in the book, I guess the only thing with high mileages maybe worn interiors although again mine was fine. Also I guess things like the suspension may be a bit more tired but if it drives and feels ok then it probably is.

Cheers
Adrian

[Dave the Horse]

I have just bought a July 2006 115BHP TDCI Mondeo Zetec with full Ford history and a complete printout of evertything replaced on the car from 15,000 miles. It has done a very big 154,000 miles (25k per year) but drives very tight, you wouldnt know it had done the mileage. Had DMF and clutch done at 130k. Body and seats in great nick - was leased to an insurance company and looked affer.

Only thing I dont like is the engine is a bit "clattery" in idle - not sure why or if this is normal (sounds like a Transit!) - its fine once revs are up and drives smoothly. Great MPG - does 60 to gallon on motorway no trouble so impressed.

Paid £2,300 for it and happy its a good buy as its had all the stuff that goes changed, had new pads/disks in March, 3 near new tyres, new PS pump. Looking at its print out history though its had 3 clutches in total plus 1 DMF!

Good look in your search - there are too many to choose from which although nice makes it difficult to decide on one.

Dave