Potential New Member! Viewing A Mondeo - Need Advice!

[BB1988]

Hi all,

I am viewing a '58 Mondeo Estate on Saturday. Its the 140 BHP 2.0 TDCI Titanium X and has done 73000 miles in thunder grey.

I really love the look of the Mondeo's so I really hope its the one I want! Its going for £7500 private.

May I ask what your opinions are and do you have any advice for me on what to look out for?!

I am coming from a Fiat Grande Punto and always found the Fiat Forums extremely useful. I look forward to dabbling on the Ford forums in the future (although hopefully not as much as I am hoping the Ford will be more reliable!!)!

Thanks guys,

Ben

[FOCA]

Hello and welcome to the forum!

The Mk4 Mondeo 2.0L 140PS is a good car, quite fast, reasonably economical (on a run), comfortable, and is a good drivers car with good steering/ handling (especially for such a big car) and the titanium X is well equipped

The 2.0L 140PS has a good balance between performance/ economy, and, in my opinion, better than the 163PS for most people because it seems to have more power at lower revs and does not seem to have to be revved so much

The main source of bother seems to be -

1 - the DPF (diesel particle filter)- it gets clogged, forcing regens which wastes even more fuel (than having a DPF fitted) especially if you do lots of short journeys and don't give the car a good proper "italian tune up" now and again

In general, the car is not ideally suited for short trips/ around town, and is better for longer trips/ motorways, which it exells at

2 - the EGR valve/ system - contaminates the inlet manifold with carbon (par for the course for modern diesel engines) can also leak, causing black smoke/ poor running and the EML (engine management light) to come on

3 - The DMF (dual mass flywheel) can wear out/ break up, the dust produced can eventually cause very poor running and can eventually sieze the starter motor

Overall the car is no worse than most modern cars (reliability-wise) and better than some a good service regime with frequent oil changes helps, cleaning the inlet manifold out (which is not part of the service schedule but should be) helps too, when the DPF finally packs in you can have it phisically and electronically deleted (and get a remap at the same time- the remap can improve MPG a little/ and the performance a lot)

The mk4 uses a PSA (Pug/ Citroen) engine

Overall the Mondeo is better put together than the Fiat, and is a significant step up, in my opinion

[BB1988]

Thanks FOCA, some really useful info there for me.

I have a 50 mile commute each day which, following research, is exactly why I am going for this car. Most of my time is on the motorway, so I am hoping the problems you have mentioned, shouldn't be an issue (assuming the previous owner hasn't used the car around town, which I am pretty sure he hasn't, Ill ask).

Ben

[FOCA]

Thanks FOCA, some really useful info there for me.

I have a 50 mile commute each day which, following research, is exactly why I am going for this car. Most of my time is on the motorway, so I am hoping the problems you have mentioned, shouldn't be an issue (assuming the previous owner hasn't used the car around town, which I am pretty sure he hasn't, Ill ask).

Ben

No worries, ive maybe painted a bad picture, the things i mention are a "worst case senario",(+ its only 73k, these things may not show up until 100k+) most modern (DPF equipped) diesels of all makes are the same, even if you take it that you may have to replace or remove the DPF at some point, these cars are exellent value compared to the equivelent BMW etc

Perfect car for a 50-mile, mostly motorway commute - i think you will really like it, you are probably looking at a solid 45-50mpg or more depending on driving style

[BOF]

Sorry if this reply comes too late for you...

Hi all,

I am viewing a '58 Mondeo Estate on Saturday. Its the 140 BHP 2.0 TDCI Titanium X and has done 73000 miles in thunder grey.

I really love the look of the Mondeo's so I really hope its the one I want! Its going for £7500 private.

May I ask what your opinions are and do you have any advice for me on what to look out for?!

I am coming from a Fiat Grande Punto and always found the Fiat Forums extremely useful. I look forward to dabbling on the Ford forums in the future (although hopefully not as much as I am hoping the Ford will be more reliable!!)!

Thanks guys,

Ben

Look at

• service history - I'd always be bothered about this on a higher mileage car, and while this isn't as high mileage as some, it isn't exactly low either
• in particular, has DMF been changed - these are generally felt to go from 80k onwards.
• if the dmf hasn't been done, budget for doing it within the next year
• does the car seem 'cared for' (did service get done on time, do tyres seem to be of a reasonable brand, lots of stone chips, scratches and poor interior condition would be a worry, as they are signs of a lack of care)
• tyre size - if the owner has gone for the optional tyre upgrade, those will be expensive tyres; ensure that you are happy with that (check online tyre prices)

In general, I'd say the price looks a little on the high side (but, not out of range of a bit of negotiation) have a look at, eg, autotrader for typical prices, bearing in mind that private sales tend to go for ~£500 less than cars from an established motor trader, and that estates look a bit more variable in price than saloons/hatchbacks (you see some that are distinctly cheaper than the more usual hatchbacks, and some that aren't - maybe its whether they look as if they've been abused by the proverbial photocopier salesman, I don't know).

Also, bear in mind that it is quite a big car and you might find parking to be an issue if you don't have parking sensors (fortunately, aftermarket ones aren't that expensive).

egr is a bit of a pain (mucky to clean), but not really worse than other comparable vehicles, and not really a big money consumer, if you are prepared to do that sort of stuff yourself. dpf shouldn't really be a concern on mostly-motorway driving. This is typical modern diesel stuff, and while there is a case for saying that it takes a bite out of the potential advantages of a diesel, if want the fuel economy of a diesel, then you have to take those factors on board.