Hello everybody! First of all, I am new to this forum and I apologize if I have created this topic in the wrong thread.

I own 3 Fords, all of them are MK4 Mondeos. I daily-drive two of them (2008 1.8 TDCi Trend and 2009 2.2 TDCi Titanium X Sport respectively) and I respect all of the service intervals etc.

Now the third one, the culprit, is my father's car. It has less than 30k miles (47.000 kms) and it sat in a garage for most of its life as it has been bought as new in 2007 when the Mondeo MK4 was launched in Europe. Apart from the oil and the oil filter, everything is still as it came from the factory line.

Considering the fact that the car sat for a long time (used rarely once 2-3 years for long trips), I have started to worry about the belts.

The oil, the oil filter and, of course, the air filter will have to be changed the next time I take it out for a spin, but does the cambelt and aux belt have to be changed too? Ford says to replace them at 200.000 kms or 10 years. I suppose that would kind of answer to my question, but I wonder if the fact that the car sat in a garage (where temps do not fluctuate) means that the belts did not degrade over time (I suppose that's why Ford says 10 years)?

Thanks!

Less use is worse than lots of use.

It doesn't matter how much the engine has rotated, whether moving or still the belts are under tension.

Yes, they need changing

They're well past needing changed.  At this point I'd be tempted to see if they can make the 20 years anniversary.  

What do the tyres and aux belt look like?  That should give you a rough idea of how rubber copes in that garage.  But every engine start is a risk now.  Which engine is in the one?  It might be chain rather than belt.

5 hours ago, TomsFocus said:

They're well past needing changed.  At this point I'd be tempted to see if they can make the 20 years anniversary.  

What do the tyres and aux belt look like?  That should give you a rough idea of how rubber copes in that garage.  But every engine start is a risk now.  Which engine is in the one?  It might be chain rather than belt.

The moment I take the car out of the garage it is going straight to the mechanic to have everything changed. I won't risk it more than just a few miles, but it would be a shame if the engine would seize on startup. Or maybe I should just have it put on a trailer and moved to the mechanic, as choosing that option would literally imply no risk.

The car has the 1.8 TDCi engine, luckily it's the version that has a chain instead of the lower wetbelt, as it is made before 2008. I mean I am not 100% sure, but from what I have heard the first batch of 1.8 TDCi MK4 Mondeos had a chain in oil instead of the dreaded belt in oil system, which was added after February 2008.

Whatever the case, it still has an upper cambelt.

The aux belt looked fine last time I checked, no cracks or anything, but the tyres - although they look good on the surface - keep deflating.

Up until now, for many years, I did not have any spare cash or time to even take it out of the garage, but now the situation has finally improved and I hope I will be able to save it.

If there are any other spare parts that I need to change considering the fact that it sat for such a long time, I would appreciate it if someone could let me know.

Thanks!