Do I Buy A Mk3 Mondeo?!

[gj1982]

Hi

I'm currently driving a Ford Puma - nothing wrong with it and drives very nicely. However I'm used to driving a bigger car and so am thinking of a change. I want something fairly cheap but with lots of toys and things and it seems I may have fallen for the mk3 Mondeos! I like the idea of the 6speed box and a bit more economy out of a diesel engine too. (Before the Mondeo I was considering......ahem... a Renault Laguna!?!)

After looking at some forums and things I'm starting to have second thoughts - I always thought Fords were pretty reliable and fairly cheap to replace parts when things go wrong - am I dreaming?

I have a bit of cash to spend, but not crazy money - I certainly wouldn't be able to pay hundreds to find things if I bought an instant dud car.

I guess I'm after thoughts and opinions, and perhaps a bit of reassurance?!

Many Thanks

Gavin

[SamandMark]

Hi

I'm currently driving a Ford Puma - nothing wrong with it and drives very nicely. However I'm used to driving a bigger car and so am thinking of a change. I want something fairly cheap but with lots of toys and things and it seems I may have fallen for the mk3 Mondeos! I like the idea of the 6speed box and a bit more economy out of a diesel engine too. (Before the Mondeo I was considering......ahem... a Renault Laguna!?!)

After looking at some forums and things I'm starting to have second thoughts - I always thought Fords were pretty reliable and fairly cheap to replace parts when things go wrong - am I dreaming?

I have a bit of cash to spend, but not crazy money - I certainly wouldn't be able to pay hundreds to find things if I bought an instant dud car.

I guess I'm after thoughts and opinions, and perhaps a bit of reassurance?!

Many Thanks

Gavin

Hi Gavin,

I'm not experienced in giving this type of advice, I'm sure you won't be waiting long for someone to come along who knows more than me, lol. However we have had 6 Mondeo's and to be honest, I wouldn't look at anything else now, even though we are having problems with our current one. I guess its just the same as any other make of car, they all have there problems. All the best in your search though.

Sam and Mark.

[rojariggs]

After looking at some forums and things I'm starting to have second thoughts - I always thought Fords were pretty reliable and fairly cheap to replace parts when things go wrong - am I dreaming?

Looking at any forum for any make of car is going to give you a skewed view of the world. Most people come onto forums because they have a problem or want to dicuss problems. The remainder tend to be enthusiasts. Some are both!

The majority of people who are enjoying problem-free motoring don't come onto internet forums which means looking at a forum will always make things look worse than they are!

As for buying advice, the best general advice is to make sure that you like and can afford any car you are considering and that it meets all your criteria for ownership (shape, size, running costs, etc). Once you have a shortlist then do your research - I'm guessing this is the stage you are at?

There are plenty of good and bad examples of every car on the market out there - One think I can guarantee you is that there is no make or model you can buy where you can guarantee that you won't have a problem!

Have a look round the Mondeo section of the forum, see what specific advice people offer you on here and have a nosey about on sites like Parkers and Honest John and get a feel for what kind of problems you need to look out for and whether they are likely to be unsurmountable should they happen to you.

Typical Mondeo Mk 3 problems to look out for are:

• Wind noise from front and rear door seals and water leaks through lower front door seals
  
• TDCI 130bhp engine may suffer from starting problems and uneven idling or may misfire. Also reports of the smoking and of high oil consumption, which may be turbo oil seals
  
• Spate of clutch and dual-mass flywheel failures on 2003 built 2004 model year TDCIs. Starting problems with diesel may be due to impending clutch failure.
  
• TDCI injectors seem to be very fuel sensitive. Many have needed to be cleaned or replaced after 3-4 years and circa 60,000 miles.
  
• Check inside edges of the bottoms of all doors of 2000 - 2003 cars for paint lifting and corrosion because the wax sealing between the door frame and skin can fail.
  
• Check for corroded rear brake pipes where they pass over the fuel tank (an MOT failure point).
  
• Check rear suspension bushes which can become loose in the attachment points (an MOT failure point) and used to require a new subframe costing £300 - £500 to replace.
  

[Z3 MON]

Hi Gavin,

Firstly remember not all mk3 mondeos have a 6 speed box so make sure you check.

Remember Ford mondeos are very popular and they have sold so many that there is bound to a few with issues but its not really that large a % that have had issues. Look on any owners club for any car and it will appear they always have problems, after all how many posts do you see saying: hi just thought i would let you all know that again this morning my car was fine.

Most issue are not serious or expensive at all its just everyone seems to point straight to injectors. To be honest most issues can be resolved using the following steps: full service, change fuel filter, run BG244 through, dont use.!Removed! diesel, reset ECU ( handheld fault code readers £25), or recode of injectors (£100) its very rare that the injectors are actually screwed, its just Ford trying to change everything till it works again.

Best bet is check the following:

Is the red light on for diesel

Is the engine already warm when you got there

Is it idling rough

When reving does it feel rough

Is there rust on the bottom of the door

Are any panels wonky or have big gaps

Is there a strong smell of diesel

Does it take time to start.

If the answer is yes to any of the above, walk away.

Always do a hpi check.

Hope this helps,

Dave

[pragmatix]

Good advice from the above, I will add look at many buy one, that way you will build up a knowledge of what a car should be like, I think I looked at 11 before I bought the one I have, my first Mondeo, it was a learning curve but cost nothing, where as buying the wrong car costs plenty.

When you have found the car you think you want get an independant engineer to look it over, the AA do this you dont have to be a member about a £100.

If like me you ask the dealer if he will let an engineer look at it, and he refuse's move on

[Bigdaddycain]

Some great advice above!... I have to ask though... What's BG244?

[gj1982]

Thanks for the advice guys! Lots of things to go with there. I guess my first mistake was to go straight into the problem forums before buying a car. It's like looking up symptoms on a health website or something - I got convinced that any Mondeo I buy will be plagued with the things I've read about! Silly really...

I think it comes partly from the fact that all the Mondeo's within my budget are high mileage - 120k -130k. I've never bought a car with that high mileage before so got paranoid!

Once again thanks for your input :)

[Z3 MON]

so long as you service it regularly and dont use cheap fuel they should just keep on going :)

BG244 is a diesel engine cleaner:http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BG244-Professional-Grade-Diesel-Injector-Engine-/200701469611?pt=UK_Vehicle_Oils_Lubricants_Fluids&hash=item2ebabd63ab

[pragmatix]

Dont worry about the milage as long as its been looked after there should be no major probs, the Duraatorq engine is strong hell it gets used in a transit and does huge mileages

[gj1982]

Can I just ask what is classed as cheap fuel? Is it dependent on where you buy it? TO be honest I've not really considered it before, I just fill up at a station nearby when its needed!

[Z3 MON]

supermarket fuel

[pragmatix]

I use ASDA's or Morrisons and have no probs what so ever

[gj1982]

I remember when I used to work at Morrisons, I would always see the Texaco trucks supplying Morrisons with their fuel. Would it not be the same as Texaco garages? This is a whole new thing I had no idea about!

[Z3 MON]

ok some of them do share i know the two to avoid are TESCO and SAINSBURYS

[gj1982]

OK after reading more and more on forums (which I shouldn't really do) I'm almost being put off buying a mondeo! Which is a shame as I really like them. But are other vehicles at this age mileage (+100k) really that more reliable?

I'm a big fan of interiors (its where I spend most of my time with a car after all) and from all the cars I've looked at the mondeo seems to come out on top.

I've been advised to go for Mazda 6 or Toyota Avensis, but they look kind of bland, interiors are pretty awful, and I;ve seen their fair share of problems too.

I don't even know why I;'m writing this really, just venting I guess, hoping for some kind of epiphany!

[pragmatix]

Mazda 6 has the same probs as the mondeo, same car in reallity

[Z3 MON]

These engines are bullet proof, but you have to remeber the volume of them that are sold compared to the alternatives, there is a reason they sell so many, but of course when so many are sold you are bound to have some with problems and being such a big seller it looks like more have problems than equivilant makes/models but in reality percentage wise, its more likley that less mondeos have issue.

There are three things people go on about:

1) Injectors (anywhere from a reset on the ecu £150ish to new injectors £1000+)

2) Aux belt, tensioner and crack pulley (around £400)

3)EGR valve (£80+fitting)

Firstly its rarley ever the accutall injectors, usually just a ecu recode to injectors or can also be number 2 or 3 which make people think its a injector issue. Alternitavley it just needs a good service or as i said before some BG244 to clean the injectors out.

Secondly the crank pully will make a druming and knocking like noise as if the big end has gone. all it is is the pulley making everything on the belt knock and bang on the side of the engine. You usually dont get any symptoms when driving only on idle. This is expensive (ive just found this out myself) and costs around £475 from ford but ive got a mate at a garage who can do it for £370. a large portion is labour of moving the engine to get to it.

Thirdly EGR valve. can usually be removed and cleaned with the inlet manifold, if the valve has actually failed then its about £80 for new on plus fitting, alterntivley you can blank it off. this will make it seem down on power and produce lots of smoke.

hope this helps

dave