amraam Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 Hey all, First post here. Just test drove a Mondeo. I sold my Astra VXR last week. I'm going to seriously miss the acceleration it had, but I need something bigger, more reliable, cheaper to run etc. Really liked the mondeo - it was a 2L petrol 11 plate Zetec (ad said sport, are they the same?) with all the toys and only 7k miles on the clock for £8999. Is this a good buy? It drove lovely, just not 100% sure on whether it's too big or not. Reason I need a bigger car is that I fly RC planes and helicopters so could really use the extra space :) Anyways, thanks for the help. Any buying tips and things to look out for would be really appreciated! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FOCA Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 If you are used to a quick car and want something fast(ish) go for the 2.2L diesel and get it remapped - some versions are good for 220HP and almost 500Nm, but still with decent MPG on a run, (probably faster and better MPG than a 2.0L petrol ) its a big car and there is plenty of space in a mk4 Mondeo, but it sits nicely on the road, does not feel like a "barge" 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amraam Posted July 28, 2014 Author Share Posted July 28, 2014 Thanks FOCA, I thought of getting a diesel, but I only do ~6000 miles a year and most of my journeys are short hops, so I'd kill the dpf quickly... How are fords compared to Vauxhalls in terms of build quality and reliability? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeanW Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 Yeah, that's probably a dangerous question to ask here :P Vauxhall isn't a particularly favourable brand on this 'ere forum lol You know the theory about putting monkies infront of typewriters? Where it's said that given enough time they'll be able to re-create the works of Shakespeare? But mostly gibberish? Well, if you swap "typewriter" for "car factory" and "gibberish" for Vauxhall... ;) Sent from my SM-P600 using Ford OC mobile app 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FOCA Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 Thanks FOCA, I thought of getting a diesel, but I only do ~6000 miles a year and most of my journeys are short hops, so I'd kill the dpf quickly... How are fords compared to Vauxhalls in terms of build quality and reliability? I had a Vectra in the past and have driven Corsas as hire cars, the Corsas were horrible little boxes and the Vectra was very unreliable, compared to my experience of Fords, the Fords were much better cars to drive (handling and ride) and more reliable. The interior trim on the Vauhalls i owned/ drove were cheap and tacky, the Vauhalls have supposed to have improved in recent years (allegedly) but my previous bad experiences have put me off them Car manufacturers products and image change over time - like Mercs used to be very well built, now they are not, Skodas were cheap cars, anything from Korea was garbage, etc etc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeebowhite Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 If you get the 1.8 TDCi it doesnt have a DPF, for that matter I cant recall if both the 2.0 and 2.2 both have the DPF, but you will always get more grunt outa the diesel... The 2.0 petrol is still a very good engine overall! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amraam Posted July 28, 2014 Author Share Posted July 28, 2014 Thanks all. I don't know rules on links here, but this is the one I'm looking at: http://www.mcdougalbreen.co.uk/used-cars/ford-mondeo-2-0-sport-5dr-north-shields-201407175889411 I like the styling and feel of Vauxhalls, always have, but the company are horrible. No customer care. I do have a baby face (despite being 27) so it doesn't help but garages never want to help, so not going back. My mate had a Focus ST when I had the VXR and it was a better built car overall. Only thing stopping me from going ahead is that I haven't test driven the Mazda 3... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FOCA Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 If you get the 1.8 TDCi it doesnt have a DPF, for that matter I cant recall if both the 2.0 and 2.2 both have the DPF, but you will always get more grunt outa the diesel... The 2.0 petrol is still a very good engine overall! Later (Mondeo mk4) TDCI 1.8s have DPFs, (yours is a 2007, by 2010 they are probably all factory DPF equipped) As far as im aware all Mk4 Mondeo 2.0 & 2.2s with the PSA engine have factory fitted DPFs The OP is accustomed to having a quick car, and the bigger- engined/ more powerful Mondeos may be more suitable for him, often, if you are used to running/ owning a more powerful car, "downsizing" to a less powerful/ slower car can be a big dissapointment and can suck the joy out of motoring - An Astra VXR is quite a fast car, its about the equivelant to a Focus ST - even a stock one almost as quick cross country as my Mondeo (don't ask how i know this :) ) There is always the 2.5T - fast car, nice to drive, shame about the brakes and the MPG Astra VXR (05-10) 236HP 6.2 SECS 0-62, 152MPH Mondeo mk4 2.0L (duratec) 145hp 9.6SECS 130MPH there are 3 different 2L petrol engines, in the mk4, the "old nail" of the 145/150Hp NA duratec, and the 203 and 240Ps ecoboost turbocharged engines, far better/ more powerful, the car in the OPs ad, has the "old nail" (its the same engine that was in the mk3) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amraam Posted July 28, 2014 Author Share Posted July 28, 2014 Later (Mondeo mk4) TDCI 1.8s have DPFs, (yours is a 2007, by 2010 they are probably all factory DPF equipped) As far as im aware all Mk4 Mondeo 2.0 & 2.2s with the PSA engine have factory fitted DPFs The OP is accustomed to having a quick car, and the bigger- engined/ more powerful Mondeos may be more suitable for him, often, if you are used to running/ owning a more powerful car, "downsizing" to a less powerful/ slower car can be a big dissapointment and can suck the joy out of motoring - An Astra VXR is quite a fast car, its about the equivelant to a Focus ST - even a stock one almost as quick cross country as my Mondeo (don't ask how i know this :) ) There is always the 2.5T - fast car, nice to drive, shame about the brakes and the MPG Thanks again. Would love the 2.5T, but I'll just have the same Tax, insurance and low economy that I had with the VXR. It would also be impossible to get a low mileage/young model in my budget (not a penny over £9k). I'm trying to save a house deposit too so don't want to touch my savings - current thinking is £7k deposit (what I got for the VXR plus a little cash) and £2k tops on finance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amraam Posted July 29, 2014 Author Share Posted July 29, 2014 Just been to see the alternative, which is a 2011 1.6L Mazda 3 Takuya. It didn't have anywhere near the same presence. Granted I didn't test drive, but tbh I don't think I will bother. Salesman was helpful and polite, but the car just didn't pull me in like the Mondeo did. For only £500 more, the mondeo had a lot more to offer. My only concern is the size. Only I can answer it, but I just don't know if I need/want a car of this size. The boot space would be amazingly useful though! hmm.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amraam Posted July 30, 2014 Author Share Posted July 30, 2014 Hi all, back again. Can I just ask, when looking at this 11 plate Mondeo, what warranty would I get and how fast do depreciate? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeebowhite Posted July 30, 2014 Share Posted July 30, 2014 Because its out of manufacturer warranty, it would only be what additional warranty the garage offers you. Basically you have your rights under the Sale of Goods act, which entitles you to the first 6 months trouble free motoring, any defect in that time is assumed inherently faulty and is the liability of the dealer to pay to prove otherwise, which is why more often than not, they will just pay to repair it (cheaper than an inspection and a repair). Beyond that, you might be able to buy an additional warranty from them but I wouldnt bother. I would personally say go to someone like warranty direct, you can get some seriously cheap cover there. you can get bumper to bumper electrical, mechanical protection (of course excludes consumables) and you could get 3 years cover for a few hundred quid. The age and mileage of the car means you will pay a darned site less than if it had the higher mileage. Also might be worth speaking to Ford about their bumper to bumper warranty, by all accounts even that on such a youthful car, can be a cheap deal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amraam Posted September 17, 2014 Author Share Posted September 17, 2014 Hi all, I've still not bought a car, and have significantly dropped my budget top £6500 tops. Looking at this tomorrow: http://www.tnscars.com/used-cars/ford-mondeo-2-0-sport-5dr-north-shields-201409047113771 Is buying a diesel a really bad idea when I only do ~7k miles a year? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Admiral Posted September 18, 2014 Share Posted September 18, 2014 Hi amraam, I'd recommend the mk4 Mondeo Titanium X 2.0 petrol there quick , comfy , reliable good on juice for the size and loaded with gadgets and with winter coming you can beat a heated FRONT windscreen and heated front seats.and your'd get a good'un with ur budget. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amraam Posted September 18, 2014 Author Share Posted September 18, 2014 Please point me to one. They're incredibly rare. Everything I find is hundreds of miles away :( The nearest one to me is this at 115 miles away and something about the whole site seems off to me... http://www.philwalkercarsales.co.uk/used-cars/ford-mondeo-2-0-titanium-x-5dr-sheffield-201409137363173 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOF Posted September 18, 2014 Share Posted September 18, 2014 Is buying a diesel a really bad idea when I only do ~7k miles a year? Well, I don't do all that much more than that in mine, but it sits on the drive for half the week, and it gets a good long run every other month, if not more often, and every time that the engine is started it gets up to temperature. So, I'd say that the problem is lots of short journeys, rather than total miles per year. By the way, although Fords and Mazdas are often closely related, the comparable Mazda to the Mondeo is the Mazda 6. The 3 is comparable to the Focus. Not that a Focus-sized vehicle is necessarily bad for you (in particular, I'd say a Focus Estate might suit, because there is a fair amount of room for stuff in that). Where have you been looking to find cars? I find that AutoTrader is the best (biggest selection), but Motors.co.uk Exchange and Mart and Autoweb are also worth a look (Parkers looks to be a different front end on to the Motors database). Availability does vary a lot between different options; Diesels are probably about twice as common as Petrols, but, even with Diesels anything above the 2 litre/140 engine starts to get a bit harder. The higher equipment spec options are also a bit more difficult than low-ish spec cars (there are no appallingly basic spec Mondeos, but the Edge really is too basic for most enthusiasts). If you are very particular about what trim spec and engine you want and combine that with a rare colour, then you are likely to be in for quite a search, even though Mondeos generally are quite common. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amraam Posted September 18, 2014 Author Share Posted September 18, 2014 Thanks for the advice. I drove that Estate today, and aside from a filthy interiour and a few scratches on the paintwork and a crunch in the rear bumper, it was fine. The clutch bite was very high though - it probably didn't fully bite until the clutch was 3/4 the way up. Does that sound normal or should I just stay clear? After some haggling, they dropped the price down from £7000 to £6500, threw in a year's warranty and would fix the scratches etc. Just concerned about that clutch though... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brycie Posted September 18, 2014 Share Posted September 18, 2014 Best way is to test drive another with the same engine/gearbox to see if it's different. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeebowhite Posted September 18, 2014 Share Posted September 18, 2014 Normally bite is around 60 percent on ford's so high bite is usual. If you get a mondeo mk4 1.8 it's worth getting diesel no dpf to cause misery and should be fine but 2.0 and above have dpf which kills itself In town driving conditions, more common than 2.0 petrols and worth considering... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amraam Posted September 18, 2014 Author Share Posted September 18, 2014 Normally bite is around 60 percent on ford's so high bite is usual. If you get a mondeo mk4 1.8 it's worth getting diesel no dpf to cause misery and should be fine but 2.0 and above have dpf which kills itself In town driving conditions, more common than 2.0 petrols and worth considering... So do all Mondeos 2L diesel or higher have DPF? Even pre 2009? I've decided not to go for that one I linked above - too big and not as good nick as I'd like. What about this 1.8 TDCI diesel Titanium X? http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201408156628861/sort/locasc/model/mondeo/fuel-type/diesel/price-to/7500/transmission/manual/page/1/radius/1500/onesearchad/used%2Cnearlynew%2Cnew/usedcars/make/ford/postcode/ne77rt/engine-size-cars/1-7l_to_1-9l/maximum-mileage/up_to_60000_miles/keywords/titanium/maximum-age/up_to_8_years_old?logcode=p Or this one? http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201405094073476/sort/locasc/model/mondeo/fuel-type/diesel/price-to/7500/transmission/manual/page/1/radius/1500/onesearchad/used%2Cnearlynew%2Cnew/usedcars/make/ford/postcode/ne77rt/engine-size-cars/1-7l_to_1-9l/maximum-mileage/up_to_60000_miles/keywords/titanium/maximum-age/up_to_8_years_old?logcode=p No sat nav, but really not bothered about that. What about DMF and injectors however? When do they usually go and are they silly money? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Admiral Posted September 18, 2014 Share Posted September 18, 2014 Hi amraam, Me and my family have mainly used The Carpeople in Manchester for the last 10years and we've had 7-8 cars between us , I just go and tell them what I want , spec,colour, milage,etc.. tell'em my budget and I normally here something within a week, I wouldn't go anywhere else Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brycie Posted September 18, 2014 Share Posted September 18, 2014 After doing a serious amount of shopping around for a Mondeo recently, I feel I've got a good handle on value for money examples. Personally I'd opt for the second car. Yes it has a few thousand more miles and is between 1 day & 6 months older but it has a better spec level, which helps retain it's value. And it's cheaper. I found the 1.8 was a willing engine, plenty of grunt low down the rev range. You'll only be better off with the 2.0 if you think you'll be racing people off the line at traffic lights etc (when two lanes merge for instance), then the 2.0 has better traction higher up the rev range. If you don't regularly do 20-30 minutes reasonably quick driving every week or two though, then the dpf will be a Pita. I have to take our Mondeo out for a special trip regularly because my Wife only does a 12 mile journey to work & back every day. One thing that I learned during our car hunt, was that screen price wasn't really the most important factor - just as important is the interest rate the car dealer will offer you. We looked at two very similarly priced cars, but one dealer would only offer an interest rate of 6.5%, while the other arranged the HP at 3.95%. If you can negotiate a better part ex price for hour's & get a better interest rate, you may be able to up your budget for the same monthly payments. Unless of course you're paying cash, in which case, just ignore me lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeebowhite Posted September 18, 2014 Share Posted September 18, 2014 Yeah 2 and above are dpf on mk4. That's pretty much my car except you have leather sport seats and Sony radio. It's a brilliant car and if nothing else it's worth a test drive. After blanking the egr it's got more grunt, worth a tuning box or remap to give it a little more. I bought mine with 110 On the clock, no injector troubles like the mk3 but the dmf clutch was replaced at around 62k I had minor niggles with mine but it's a fantastic motor and I love it these days, if I could have had a bigger engine I might have gone for it but a remap or tuning box will give it the little kick I need. A tank of fuel gets me around 650 to 750 miles driven gently and cruising at 60 between motorways... For the limited miles your doing I would say give it a good motorway run now and then and it will look after you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Admiral Posted September 18, 2014 Share Posted September 18, 2014 The 2.0 petrol gets about 460+ a tank which am happy with 28-31mpg around town 44+ mpg on motorway.according to the computer? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amraam Posted September 18, 2014 Author Share Posted September 18, 2014 Awesome guys, thanks. Going to visit them both this weekend. Unfortunately I'm at work until half 5 tomorrow then straight round to the girlfriends so it'll be Sunday before I can visit them. If I go for the 1.8 I'll almost certainly tune it to get more HP out of it. Do the titanium X have USB and BT in? I've never driven or owned a diesel before - what obvious things do I need to look for? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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