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Might Be Buying Into Team Mondeo Soon....


jeebowhite
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so, Recently, my CMAX lost a fight to a vauxhall, and the numbers seem too close to call, suggesting I will be getting it written off. if that is the case, I am eying up a few mondeo's locally. 2 of the three appear to be the LX model, which as far as I can see, is perfectly fine, as all it seems to be missing is the front fogs, however the rest inclusive of cruise control appears to be there! so leather seats I am not too fussed, nor am I by the heated element either!

So the question is, if I am looking at around a 2006, I have two LX's at less than 126 (126 and 113 thousand miles to be exact) where one of those is on my doorstep,one not so, alternatively here is a ghia, 20 miles away which is 136 thousand miles, and about the same price.

I know I should be keeping an eye out for the likes of the DMF and clutch replacement, and also the injectors could do with a receipt for recently replaced to make sure I get the most out of it, but otherwise, I dont see any problems or any other red flags that I need to be aware of when buying a mondeo!

I would be going for the bullet proof 2.0 variant, and might go for a tuning box or remap or something just to give it a bit more get up and go, and I would hopefully be treating it to a terraclean service to make sure its in the best possible health when I really start to use it!

So any thoughts from anyone as to what to watch out for or what else to get, I think those are the main factors above, and I cant think of anything else that would be a worry? Sadly the budget I expect will be around £1800 for which I am hoping to get the tax and MOT inclusive, so my wild hopeful idea of an ST would be long on the other side of the rainbow, along with the unicorns and the pot of gold :(

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My personal preference would be to go for the ghia, just that little bit more car for your money really.

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Apart from what you know to look for (clutch/flywheel etc), a couple of other points:

1. Turbo on the TDCIs. They gunk up just like the EGR valve, and drop the car into limp mode. It'll cost you upwards of £200 to get it cleaned (I paid £200 "mate's rates").

2. Heated windscreen - electrics prone to corrosion. You'll have to put up with it, or fund a replacement yourself.

3. Radiator fans seem to fail at the drop of a hat, and the knock-on effect is that it stops the aircon working.

When I got mine there was heavy corrosion on the crankshaft pulley, the tensioner was shot and two of the idler bearings were gone. I changed the belt, tensioner and all of the pulleys myself which cost somewhere around £150 in parts.

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Thanks BigD, yeah I think the turbo doesnt surprise me, I wondering if an EGR blank might help to cut this down, and also if the terraclean service will help to clear out the turbo?As

for the heated screen, if thats under the scuttle panel, I could just look to solder the wire straight on and that shouldnt be an issue!as for the

radiator fans, I can certainly take your word on that one! I do hope that I dont surcome tot he same issues you have, but if I have, I think I will be getting the full system replaced! regulator, motor and fan

Plus I plan to buy from a garage where I will be having at least the 6 months their problem not mine! and I plan to give it a good run for its money! I just have to wait for them to a) write it off B) have the other idiot acknowledge responsibility and c) get a wiggle on and buy the new toy!

Adam, agree entirely, however I want to purchase the car froma garage, although they have a name, they seem to be operated from within their front room! so I am a bit dubious on it!

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I bought mine with 110000 miles on it but it had had only 1 owner which was a company car and had full Ford history. I had no receipts with it though.

I had some starting issues after a few months and it all seemed to point to the DMF so I changed it. When I got the old one out I found it had already been changed and it wasn't the issue

After some head scratching it turned out it was a temperature sensor issue and an update was available from Ford and this fixed it.

I also had issues with my radiator fan. The facelift fan variant is only available as a whole unit with control box which is stupid money. I turned to Google and found it is possible to wire in the pre facelift version and it worked a treat and cost pennies.

I picked up a full leather interior with wiring loom and switches for £35, these were from a pre facelift so required a little soldering but now works a treat. I got £15 for my old seats too.

I have now blanked my EGR and I no longer see plumes of black smoke out of my rear view mirror.

Stereos can be a bit of a pig to change. I swopped my factory fitted savnav unit for a Pioneer double din unit and it was a massive job that required the cutting of dash brackets etc.

Great car though and I get a real 48mpg with motorway driving and 40mpg around town

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Thanks for the thoughts Mark, I have to say, I am actually getting excited at the prospect of getting my hands on one!!

Immediate jobs I think would be the EGR valve blanking, a Terraclean service, and perhaps treating it to a tuning box to get a bit more oomph out of it! but a full service history is in order I would say!

I am just factoring in the injectors and DMF and making sure that I dont buy the one appealing car that looks perfect, but has these two ready to blow any time soon!

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I'm not coming to kent to replace a dmf either James!

Only other thing worth looking out for although it's not the end of the world when they go is the rear sub frame bushes and brake pipes if your looking at something around 2006. (In my opinion)

I think the mondeo is a good work horse, get a loved one and I think you will be very happy

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I use to love my mk3 , go on AutoTrader and use the filters mileage, fuel, colour even type in what model you really want etc.. if your've got a few weeks to get one there's tons about and like the guys have said get a loved one it'll be a great car , it's a buyer's market cash rules.

Sent from my HTC One X using Ford OC mobile app

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Dammit stef, I was hoping to swing a favour or three lol.. Thanks matey will keep an eye out for it!

Admiral, agree entirely, just taking my time waiting for the insurers to pay out so that I know where to go if and when they pay out.

One other question guys, am I right in thinking the 2.0 is chain driven and not cam belt driven and so needs not have it serviced at 80?

Sent from my MY SAGA C2 using Ford OC mobile app

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Am 100% sure the 2.0 is belt driven and the 2.5 ( gorgeous engine) is chain driven , both engines are very good am on my 6th Mondeo since they started and all have been either 2.0 or 2.5 no issues.

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Am 100% sure the 2.0 is belt driven
Are you on about the 2.0 petrol?

My 2.0 TDCI is chain-driven.

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The ones I am aiming for are the 2.0 TDCI, which I am hoping BigD is suggesting, means they are chain driven and I dont need to worry too much!

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The ones I am aiming for are the 2.0 TDCI, which I am hoping BigD is suggesting

After the bother I've had with it? I wouldn't recommend it to my worst enemy! But yeah, in normal circumstances the chain will be the least of your worries.

Mine currently needs more work that I've the money to do; One of the front brakes is binding slightly, at least one injector is on it's way out, and I'm burning a small amount of oil on a cold start (which apparently can be caused by a bad injector), and I'm sure the shocks are getting worn so they'll all need replacing before long - Lincolnshire roads are not good for cars.

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Hi , yes petrol 2.0 & 2.5

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BigD, I have to say I know you have had your run of bad luck with the mondy, but there is just a strange appeal that comes with the car that attracts me to it! plenty of grunt, a turbo to tune, and a chain driven motor with more (engine sided) reliability, even if the rest of the motor might turn out to be a slight nuisance!

I am keeping my eye out for local injector specialists, or better still if I can buy one that has already had new injectors! I recon they are about £150 a shot at best?

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BigD, I have to say I know you have had your run of bad luck with the mondy, but there is just a strange appeal that comes with the car that attracts me to it! plenty of grunt, a turbo to tune, and a chain driven motor with more (engine sided) reliability, even if the rest of the motor might turn out to be a slight nuisance!

I am keeping my eye out for local injector specialists, or better still if I can buy one that has already had new injectors! I recon they are about £150 a shot at best?

Yeah, I wouldn't expect any cheaper than £150 unless you get recons, which is senseless, IMO. I've got an F-Super which can recode injectors, so I'm hopeful I can change the injectors myself.

And I agree - it's an awesome car, when it goes. Plenty of power in all gears - just a few common (and on Ford's part, avoidable) faults which let the whole package down.

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I have F Super also, so I should be able to recode my own injectors (presuming its a one out one in jobbie!)

Agree with the recurring faults though, the Focus still has niggles from day one, even on its third gen... its silly, but some lessons are hard learned!

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Another question, the DPF, are they the coated maintenance free DPF's or are they consumables at 37.5 or 75k?

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Another question, the DPF, are they the coated maintenance free DPF's or are they consumables at 37.5 or 75k?

You're getting a Mk3, right? AFAIK nothing pre-Mk4 has a DPF.

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probably MK3 yeah, but the ads do show Euro 4, which I thought was DPF essential!

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Hmm, I'd like a bit of clarification on that as I have a EuroIV. Something else to go wrong!

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No dpf on my mk3 euroIV. Is dpf not a euroV thing?

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UK mk3s (2000-2007) were not fitted with DPFs (if they were they are very rare) only a passive (no sensors/ electrical connectors) Catalytic converter - t is fairly reliable - but it can get glogged if your car is smoking a lot a good "italion tune up" can help blow it out - fixing the reason the engine is smoking helps, EGR blanking helps this

All mk4 2007- 2.0L and 2.2L mk4 diesels were fitted with DPFs, (PSA engine) some early mk4 1.8TDCIs did not have DPFs, later ones were fitted with them ,

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Good choice I had a 2004 2.0 tdci lx for about 8 years. Loved it. Got rid of it last June to get newer model. I kept my DTUK tuning module so its for sale if your interested. It made a hell of a difference to my Mondeo. We got it because we bought a new caravan that weighed half a ton ( yes really ) more than our old one. It towed the new caravan better with the chip, than the old one without it. Mileage was constantly around the 50 mpg mark with a bit of a kick when you wanted it.

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Richard, might take you up on that offer if I have a few pennies left over!

I am still laying towards getting one if the car is written off! I just have to wait for a long time for that to eventually happen!

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