Buying My First Mondeo Mk4 Mondeo 2.2 Tdci Titanium X

[reima]

Merry Xmas all

i hope i,m posting in the right place for advice and your experience in buying a mondeo:

I,m thinking of buying a mondeo 2009 plate with 65000 miles on the clock:

3 owners

09 Plate

65K Miles

Ford Mondeo 2.2 TDCi Titanium X

FFSH - last service was 55K

MOT PASS - MARCH 16

£6100 - there is flexibility marginal

Latest MOT Pass but noticed some previous advisories and fail which could be costly:

Reason(s) for failure:

Nearside Headlamp aim too low (1.8)

Offside Headlamp aim too low (1.8)

Advisory notice item(s)

Nearside Front brake disc worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened (3.5.1i)

Offside Front brake disc worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened (3.5.1i)

Nearside Rear brake disc worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened (3.5.1i)

Offside Rear brake disc worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened (3.5.1i)

Front Brake pad(s) wearing thin (3.5.1g)

Rear Brake pad(s) wearing thin (3.5.1g)

Under-trays fitted obscuring some underside components

Engine covers fitted obscuring some components in the engine bay

Vehicle's internal headlight adjuster altered to recheck lights

I have spoken to the owner and mentioned the following:

had the car for only 8 months and been sitting for 3 months and no longer needs it due to relocation in city,

i mentioned about the pitted discs but he said its not something hes sorted as hes not done anything since he purchased from dealer.

i was thinking of getting RAC inspection, he said its great condition and hes fine with inspection (he has owned nothing but fords and mentioned that flywheel on mk4 is no longer needed to be replaced but hes not sure).

he mentioned that he replaced the turbo pipe and has a spare in boot (ford one is weak and made out of silicone) - not sure what he means.

he has the low battery notification issue (with fob i think) but everything is normal and hes not had the need to take it to the dealers for anything since the short term ownership.

Please let me know your thoughts everyone about the the overall value, the costs of addressing those advisories if not addressed and this low battery notification and its costs to get it fixed if needs be and also if its worth getting the RAC or if any memebrs nearby to help with inspecting one of these?

Thank you all for taking the time to read this and also for getting back to me.

[reima]

any member that can help me with viewing and their expertise on the car would be great and i,m based in central london and the car is somewhere near Richmond park.

[mondeo161]

Hi Amer. I am not a qualified mechanic/technician but I do a lot of work on my own and other cars. The disks and pads all round should be changed but if you are not able to do this yourself then obviously the labor cost would mean a big increase in the bill.

The under body trays should just need re fitting correctly or replaced if they are damaged. One again replacing them would incur a cost.

I would haggle on the price.(Scottish so it's in my nature) :D and a RAC or other inspection might be worth the cost.

My son drives a 60 plate focus and had an ongoing issue with starting and the keyless fob losing contact with the car. (That turned out to be the car battery required replacing)

I also get the odd (battery Low) warning on my mondeo and also similar to my son's on occasion. so I would suspect that the car battery (Not Fob) might need replacing soon.

[reima]

hello mondeo161

thanks for getting back to me, i can get mintex parts all in for £171 but labour i imagine £100.

Kwikfit just quoted me £530 to do all discs and pads - lol

i,m not sure about the costs of the trays.

yeah after speaking to the owner seems he will drive a hard bargain to be honest so i can probably see a max price decrease by £150 which in long run isnt great to be honest but if i,m there with cash could be another story lol

battery wise i,m looking at another £70 worst case scenario, ideally i want to do as minimal as possible if i get it. also the rac thats another £175

so i,m thinking more about it or i can wait for the right one and snap up a bargain, this one does tick a lot of boxes terms of colour and features.

i did ask him to send me more pics but nothing yet.

thanks

[TheDominator]

The good news is that while there are a load of advisories that will probably cost a bit to fix, they would probably not reappear and you would've likely had to do them at some point during your course of ownership anyway- brakes always need doing eventually.

I can add to the under trays advisory though, we had that advisory on our old BMW X1 and apparently it does not signify anything damaged but is there to say that some parts may not have been accessible to check. An MOT must be a visual check and therefore the under trays cannot be removed possibly hiding potential failing points. Often garages don't bother putting the advisory down but some do and shouldn't separate this car from any others.

As above, get an RAC/AA inspection or if you have a trusted garage nearby book it in for an inspection there, take a test drive and it will probably be fine- it does have full service history after all.

[reima]

much appreciated TheDominator

in my experience nothing there is serious, but i,m thinking about the costs side of things against the price of the car. but my feeling are mixed about it io'll text the owner again to get those photos for the inside of the car as i feel this is the decider for me to go and see the car.

and yes it does have Ford FSH.

which is a big plus for me and last one was done at 2014.

[reima]

hi all

got some pics from the owner, the boot rubber liner looks like it has come off but my concern is the boot it looks like it seen a lot of water, i,m thinking water leak, also isnt this a known issues with mondeos?

Thanks

[Dave May]

I have owned my Mondeo 2.0 TDCI Ghia X Estate Tiptronic Automatic since new and it has not had any serious problems at all. I would recommend that you do not rush in and purchase a manual model but to wait for an automatic. You will not regret having an auto and would never go back to a manual car after the auto experience. The tiptronic gearbox also has the manual mode where you can manually change gear yourself by touching the gear stick up or down or by the + and - buttons on the steering wheel. Also its a good tow car as you can hold a gear on manual mode.

My car has now done 170000 miles with no problems at all on the auto gearbox. The 2.0 TDCI engine is also a brilliant design and reliable. I have had a few cutout faults which I managed to fix myself and at 155000 miles I had the injectors reconditioned which again was very easy. With any faults on cars you have to have confidence to fix yourself, think if a garage can do it you can too and save lots of money.

Discs and pads are very easy to do yourself and very low cost, but make ramps using 4 X13 foot secondhand scaffold boards £5 each. ( See photos on pinned write ups ).

If you view the 2 pinned write ups at the top of this forum "How to change the Alternator" and " Flashing Glowplug and cutting out" you will get to know a few faults and how to fix them.

Best Regards

Dave

[BenMurphy43]

I currently own a Mondeo myself, it's true what the owner has said about Ford using cheap weak pipes.

Personally the car you're looking at will need a service which could highlight few or no faults (which is a gamble to take).

A family member of mine recently bought a 2008 Mk4 with 80-90k on the clock and he needed his flywheel & clutch replacing which didn't come cheap £800, he purchased his car when a service was due which highlighted his failing flywheel & clutch.

Roughly 4 months after I purchased mine my EML flashed up indicating a DPF failure, after having the car lifted by a friend of mine I personally checked the fuel lines from/to the DPF which had disintegrated thanks to Ford using cheap weak pipes again (so anybody with a DPF fault on their Ford please check these fuel hoses as I have seen Ford charge over £90 just to hook to their computers! I also know a guy who had his whole DPF replaced and hoses which cost him a fortune!

Ford also quoted me £240 to change these hoses which cost me £20 from a family friend (obviously he's a mechanic)

[reima]

Hi all

Thanks for getting back to me and took your advice on board.

I think your right in terms of the potential additional costs for service etc. also I prefer manual to be honest, but automatic will be considered for the right price and spec for sure.

I found another car at the independence dealer and looks bit more promising, I have done an MOT check and returned this:

No Advisories at all

MOT history of this vehicle:

Test date18 December 2015 Expiry date17 December 2016 Test ResultPass Odometer reading 50,698 miles

Test date13 April 2015 Expiry date19 April 2016 Test ResultPass Odometer reading 39,123 miles

Test date31 March 2014 Expiry date19 April 2015 Test ResultPass Odometer reading 26,498 miles

Test date3 April 2013 Expiry date19 April 2014 Test ResultPass Odometer reading 13,784 miles MOT

Car Details:

3 Owners 1st owner was a ford dealer and last owner was retired elderly

50K Miles

FFSH last service was done by independent dealer

MOT DEC 16

£6700

2.L TDCI Titanium X 2010 in great condition inside and out (not seeing it).

Dealer will not budge from the price, also I have a nissan primera p12 2L petrol 2004 reg, 4 owners, 55k miles, FSH, MOT AUG 16, good condition till recently where it was scraped, he's not seeing it but offered an estimate for £500 PX.

Love to hear your thoughts on this.

Thanks again for your guidance and help.

[MONDEO TXS 2.2]

It all looks good on paper . . there's no substitute for a proper hands & eyes on inspection & a decent test drive though

[reima]

hi mark

couldn't agree with you more but to be honest I will look for obvious things but I don't know much about the cars and what specifics to look for. if anyone in Aylesbury can help it would be greatly appreciated and there will be a pint in it :-)

[MONDEO TXS 2.2]

hi mark couldn't agree with you more but to be honest I will look for obvious things but I don't know much about the cars and what specifics to look for. if anyone in Aylesbury can help it would be greatly appreciated and there will be a pint in it :-)

If you are not that knowledgeable I'd recommend an independent A.A. / R.A.C. inspection

Does the car come with a warranty ? If so how long is it for & what does it cover ? - these would be some of the questions I'd ask sooner rather than later

[reima]

hi

i have emailed and will call later to get warranty confirmation. but looking at the site this is what dealer have:

Used Car Warranties at Cost Price

Longer term warranties are good for all of us. For the customer they offer reassurance that a major mechanical failure can be paid for through the services of a warranty management company. For us they can make sure we offer high quality ongoing service with smiles all round at the end because the costs have been picked up someone else. Win Win.So we wont make a profit out of our warranty services. Warranties from 6 months to 24 months will be offered at cost price to any customer buying a used car from us at our asking price.

looks like is not included.

[BOF]

Car Details:

3 Owners 1st owner was a ford dealer and last owner was retired elderly

50K Miles

FFSH last service was done by independent dealer

MOT DEC 16

£6700

2.L TDCI Titanium X 2010 in great condition inside and out (not seeing it).

Dealer will not budge from the price, also I have a nissan primera p12 2L petrol 2004 reg, 4 owners, 55k miles, FSH, MOT AUG 16, good condition till recently where it was scraped, he's not seeing it but offered an estimate for £500 PX.

I'd be a bit worried about the following:

• First owner was a Ford garage; might be an ex-dem car, and they tend to get abused a bit (although well serviced and maintained)
• Not clear if it is a facelift, or not. FLs are worth a bit more
• Not clear engine hp; 140 or ~161 are possible in FL cars; 140 worth a bit less, as the higher power version is relatively rare
• 3 owners in only 5 years
• Short MoT

All that, in spite of low miles - unless fitted with any expensive extras (leather, heated seats, sat nav, upgraded headlights, upgraded stereo {if you are prepared to have no spare}...) - makes me feel the price might be on the high side

If the dealer is prepared to MoT the car, or offer a decent warranty, that might help.

Have a look on, eg, Autotrader, Ex and mart, Parkers to see what comparable cars go for.

[MONDEO TXS 2.2]

It's M.O.T.'d for just under a year . . 17 /12 /16 exp

[reima]

I'd be a bit worried about the following:

First owner was a Ford garage; might be an ex-dem car, and they tend to get abused a bit (although well serviced and maintained)

Not clear if it is a facelift, or not. FLs are worth a bit more

Not clear engine hp; 140 or ~161 are possible in FL cars; 140 worth a bit less, as the higher power version is relatively rare

3 owners in only 5 years

Short MoT

All that, in spite of low miles - unless fitted with any expensive extras (leather, heated seats, sat nav, upgraded headlights, upgraded stereo {if you are prepared to have no spare}...) - makes me feel the price might be on the high side

If the dealer is prepared to MoT the car, or offer a decent warranty, that might help.

hi

thanks for getting back to me.

yes agreed it could be abused but well maintained.

for FL confirmation, i,m trying to load some pics but the site is notloading properly in all my browsers at work, which FL is better to have please?

engine is 140 HP and not seen the 161, i believe this is the upgraded engine intorduced in late 2010?

MOT is 1 year.

3 owners in 5 years, can i ask why is that a concern please?

the extras wise i,m hoping the pics will help, i just cant upload them due to site loading issues.

Thanks again for your help

[MONDEO TXS 2.2]

Think you can discount the 1st owner ( Ford ) ,so that makes 2 owners in just under 6 years ( next April ) - so that should not be too much of a concern i.m.o.

Whilst it may be true that some ex - demo's may be abused a bit, it's also true that many are not & the three ex - demo Fords I've purchased have been as good as new bar a few miles on the clock, although direct from Ford with no other owners, & Ford generally only demo a car for a few months, often whilst it is also being used by a member of staff as his / her company car.

As previously stated - the facelifted model would be more desirable & i think these came along in 2010 ? So this could be either - a picture will prove it.

[reima]

i hope these images help for the extras and facelift confirmation:

http://i.imgsafe.org/a46b4ef.jpg

http://i.imgsafe.org/a1388d8.jpg

http://i.imgsafe.org/a1ccd46.jpg

http://i.imgsafe.org/a29248a.jpg

http://i.imgsafe.org/a34e0ef.jpg

http://i.imgsafe.org/a0502d0.jpg

http://i.imgsafe.org/9f5fb44.jpg

http://i.imgsafe.org/9e739a5.jpg

http://i.imgsafe.org/9d9a41d.jpg

[BOF]

Sorry, misread the MoT date as Jan 2016, for some reason. Apologies and ignore the MoT comments, please.

[BOF]

Judging by the photos, that is not the facelifted model (grill, some interior trim, wheels, lights), but

• It does have heated half-leather seats
• It has keyless entry
• (and the pre-fl wheels 'n tyres are better, imho, although check that you are happy with the tyre size)

Heated half leather is a plus, personally, I'd prefer not to have keyless, but it does float some people's boat. For wheels and tyres, the FL models have narrower tyres. My pref is for the pre-FL with 235/45/17 tyres, but some people like the 18 or 19 inch wheels (...more expensive tyres, worse choice of tyres and less comfortable, but sharper handling). And of course the road tax is slightly cheaper on the FLs (because the fuel economy is slightly better).

The upper models in the range have DRLs in the FL only.

[reima]

can you show me an example of FL to llok out for?

i,m not bothered abouy the keyless and tyres to be honest as longs they look good and comfortable i,m ok witht that.

would be nice to have USB as well lol but Titanium X covers a lot that i would like in the car.

[MONDEO TXS 2.2]

That is a pre facelift - look in my gallery for my pics of my facelifted ( 2014 ) Mondeo TXS

[Ford_Man]

Please see below pre face lift (image 1) and post face lift (image 2).

[BOF]

can you show me an example of FL to llok out for? i,m not bothered abouy the keyless and tyres to be honest as longs they look good and comfortable i,m ok witht that. would be nice to have USB as well lol but Titanium X covers a lot that i would like in the car.

I've just had a look on Parkers, and V12 Sports and Classics have a couple (the one I looked at didn't have interior photos, though, which doesn't help as much as it might) and Braintree Vans have one with interior photos. Note the grille, lights (inc DRL or blanking plate where the DRL goes), matt black dash finish (as opposed to, eg, titanium finish on titanium models and the not-Titanium finish on the not Titanium models) and the slightly different alloys.

By the time that you get into '11, cars should be FLs (...although late regs are a possibility...), cars before '10 must be pre-FLs. Technically the change would have occurred in late '10, but the reg date isn't the same as the production date.

The engine cover on the 2 litre models also changes, but as the engine cover is already different by engine variant, that might not be so helpful. The headlight switch also changes, but I've seen pre-FLs with the newer headlight switch, so that isn't reliable.

I think Ghias and Saloons disappeared at the time of the transitions, so if you see a Ghia or a Saloon, it should be, ab definitio, a pre-FL (emphasise the 'I think' part).

3 owners in 5 years, can i ask why is that a concern please?

• If you have enough owners, one will have been a bodger. Or, possibly, an amateur (ie, incompetent) race driver.
• If someone sells a car quickly, why did they do it? Maybe, there is a legitimate reason, such as a lifestyle change, or maybe they sold it because there is a problem. I'm sure if you ask, it will be the 'lifestyle change' reason, but can you be sure? In that case, why not leave it for someone else, unless the price is particularly attractive and it is an unmissable bargain.

In any case, what they say about ex-hire cars is '...one owner, driven by a different asshat every day...' (roughly), and a similar kind of thing applies to ex-demonstrators. Maybe, the car you were looking at was the service manager's car and was cared for, but, without some kind of legally enforceable documentation, it is a risk, so you would want to see a bit of a discount for it to make sense for you to take it.

Remember there are a lot around, and you don't have to buy the first one you see. Hold out for a good one, if you can.