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Got a bit of a quandry, been out to see some cars over the weekend and not sure which to go for.
£5000, 58k 08 Ghia Estate, clean MOT record (no fails or advisories) but has a bit of a rumble low down, Engine Management Light is on and salesman said a sensor needs replaced (could be the source of the trouble). If I buy they'll sort it (well, if they don't send it to auction they'll do it). It also has a towbar but will need rewired for the right socket.
£3450, 83k 08 Zetec Hatch, usual gremlins on MOT advisories (trailing arm bushes & corroded exhaust of which I can see they have welded a bolt in place of the mount, not that much of an issue as they all get grotty down there from what I've seen) but no fails. Only sticking point was a deposit of emulsified oil and water drops in the filler cap after the test drive (an even thin smear all round). Every other car I saw was black and clean which means they have either been cleaned up or this one is dodgy. Also had new brakes and front tyres, is on 16's rather than 17's will be MOT'd before sale and looks better.
Both are from dealers so both have the same backup, I'll be paying by credit card so have Section 75 on top of everything else. Both are a fair distance away so another viewing is off the cards till next weekend. The cheaper one could be put into a closer dealer if problems occurred so I'm slightly better covered in that respect. Both have the Sony head unit.
Am I right to be worried about the oil or is it one of these things that happen depending on the usage? Is an extra £1.5k worth the lower miles and boot?
Just looking for people thoughts...
Neither sound very good, keep looking there's loads of Mondeo's out there.
[quote=mitsumonkey ]Neither sound very good, keep looking there's loads of Mondeo's out there.
+1 to that. Mine had faulty cruise control when I looked at it - I got them to fix it before I handed over any money not after, but I don't think I'd have bought it if it was like either of those (even though my choice was somewhat more limited as I was looking for one with roof rails, which aren't all that common). Mine is a high mileage 08 and doesn't have any of those sort of MOT advisories or engine management lights - I also only paid £4k a couple of years ago, so would have put up with minor niggles.
edit: actually I have had a bit welded on my exhaust for MOT, so being a bit unfair about that, but that was the MOT after I bought, I'd want stuff like that to be fixed before buying, even at those prices
[quote=squirrelking ]Is an extra £1.5k worth the lower miles and boot?
Depends how keen you are on an estate, but no way is it worth it for the lower mileage. The Ghia spec will also bump it up a little.
Neither sound very good, keep looking there's loads of Mondeo's out there
Depends on which model you want though. I wanted a Titanium X estate with less than 90K on with a budget of £7500. I could only find 6 within 100 miles. Paid £7200 for a 10 plate with 88K.
I like a lot.
Dave- step away from the dealers.
Look private at this end of the market.
Your paying for back up your not going to get at this end of the market.
Fwiw if i had to buy either car it would be the 3450 one but neither sound great prospects.
Yeah these were literally on the other side of the country and I gave up my whole day off (and yesterday to be honest) to go looking. Not sure if I'm just getting too keen on getting it over and done with.
As said though spec is a small factor, no way will I suffer an Edge especially at the silly money people want for them. Ideally looking for Zetec+, sub 80k for £6.5k. They do exist but it's getting to them in time that's the problem.
Unfortunately round here private means a hundred or so off dealer prices, it's bloody ridiculous. Had one guy wanting dealer money for his Titanium then apparantly took an £800 loss on trade in instead of picking up the phone *shrugs*. I have bought at this price point before and been largely happy with what I got.
But yeah, thanks for the perspective, I don't think my heart was in either of them and I've missed out on better from dealers so I think I'll be letting these go.
Kinda disappointed about the estate TBH, if it was mechanically sound I'd have taken it without thinking twice.
Only things I can offer are, the estates are massive. They don't look a lot bigger than Passat estates but they are noticably bigger speshly when parking. Noticably bigger inside too, I recently had a washing machine, a fridge freezer, an electric fire, a microwave oven, a petrol strimmer & some bags of rubbish in the back of mine & with some re-arranging could have had another washer in!
Hold out for the one you want is what I'd say.
[quote=squirrelking ]As said though spec is a small factor, no way will I suffer an Edge
What do you think you're missing out on with the spec? I have an Edge, and can only think of one or maybe two things, and they're things I can live without - it still has plenty of toys.
+1 on the size - I hadn't done my research before I got it home on the drive, and expected it to be the same size as my 406 estate (which was the same size as the contemporary Mondeo), but it's actually significantly bigger. Which is a good thing and a bad thing - can get 3 kiddy seats across the back seat and never feel short of space inside, but I hate parking it as it's so wide.
+1000000, they both sound dogs.
Estate has significantly better visibility than the hatch and that alone is a plus. I'll also have a rear "parking aid" as well as sensors 😉
The Edge isn't bad per se but having lived without climate control and such for as long I'd just like to upgrade. Plus the money folk want for them is quite often hilarious considering what a Zetec will shift for.
My old Mondeo 54 plate TDCI 130 estate went to 165k before I changed it and it was passing all it's MoTs right up to when I traded it.
For replacement I went for a 13 plate 163 Estate. Fantastic cars. Loads of space and a comfortable place to be in when doing 1000 mile trips to Dolomites/Alps.
I wouldn't have worried about the mileage alone on either of those two but would have walked away from the emulsion under the cap and the engine mgt light.
Keep looking, they are great cars.
Our diesel is a sophisticated motor but has had a number of niggling problems far more than any other car we've had. Nothing catastrophic but it's generally a bit flaky I don't think Ford's QC is up to making a car like this
Personally I wouldn't touch any Ford with a engine warning light ime it's not always the sensor it's something seriously wrong.
Put it this way if it's a Mondeo something will go wrong anyway so no point in buying something that's already got problems
Keep looking and good luck
Engine Warning Light: "Oh it's just the sensor". LOL
Easy fixed by disconnecting the bulb.
There are some clean ones out there. We got a 2009 titinium x sport 65k full dealer history 3 years or 80k warranty (whichever first) covers all electrical and mechanical other than tyres pads and filters. For 6.8k customer had traded in to get a kugar and people were put off by the larger alloys which gave it a terrible ride. Bin the best car weve had and only slight issues but were fixed free under dealer warranty.
[quote=bigphilblackpool ]people were put off by the larger alloys which gave it a terrible ride.
I'd priced up a set of steelies when I was looking, because most of the ones with roof rails were higher spec ones with a sports pack which meant silly big wheels - not only issues with the ride, but far more expensive tyres. For me it's actually an advantage to the Edge as it has sensible sized (steel) wheels and tyres.
Engine Warning Light: "Oh it's just the sensor". LOL
In utter fairness to the guy he brought it up before I did, it was a fresh trade-in so I had a fair idea what kind of life it had from the history in the glove box (although the balaclava under the passenger seat was somewhat disconcerting).
That gen seems to have massive issues with the trailing arm bushes, I'd say it's the number one advisory notice I come across by a huge margin. Not the sort of thing to put me off tbh, as long as it gets sorted before the next test it's a fair shout to say it's likely been looked after.
Knowing what my own MOT history looks like you can't always judge a book by its cover, no advisories doesn't mean no problems.
And yeah, I'll be looking at 16" wheels as the 18's my old man had were paper thin and I doubt the 17's are much better.
Bigphil what did you pay for yours?
17" rims, 215/50/17 tyres are OK actually. Good compromise, don't feel harsh.
Goodyear Efficientgrip Performance are about £100 each.
Same tyre for the 16" wheels on my previous Mondeo were about £80 each.
I consciously avoided the 18" low profile variants though.
09 hatch here with 17" rims which ride fine.
I'd avoid the two cars in the OP as most people have said.
Think mine are either 18" or 19" had the sport extra pack fitted when new with lower/harder sus and bigger st style alloys. Looks lovely in the thunder metallic paint and the harsh ride dosent bother me tbh after driving around in shonky vans for years.
Yes i nearly cried when i took in for 4x new tyres at a local tyre fitter hes normally very cheap but set me back 650 for all 4 fitted and balanced for bridgestones i think. Landsail ones were cheaper but read horror stories of them in the wet online so went mid range.
I do love ours to be honest pulls like a train and very comfy/spacious im 6"4 and still dont even have the seat all the way back and all the gizmos are brill in built voice commands work when they feel like it though and once a month gets a high rev blast down the m55 to keep her clean.
Easily swallows up people and bikes for days out too in comfort and surprisingly good on fuel but not around town... Thats my only gripe. Looked for a estate as they are huuuuge in the back but struggled to find a ti x in price range in estate variant.
Squirrel king we paid just under 6.85k for ours but it had just landed under a px and the sales lad needed his sales i presume as it was up for £7400 i think just kept knocking down and got the warranty chucked in too we had a nice deposit and another car to px in so they were putty hahah. I want to keep ours but the wife has other ideas.....
I had a 2.5T TitX with 18's and sports suspension. Honestly, here was nothing harsh about the ride. It was a great car, and although it averaged about 28-29mpg, I think the 2.5T's at the age your looking at make a lot of sense.
I bought it nearly new for 13K, when the 2.2TDCI's were like 19K for 1 year old.
The 'Sony' head units are no more Sony than Dansette. They are made by Visteon. I had one in my S-Max and they are horrid. The ones with Sat Nav are made by Blaupunkt and sound a lot better.
Having just done it, personally, I wouldn't buy a car from a dealer who is more than an hour away...it's a PITA if something is wrong. There must be other options closer to home?
Slight hijack but since this is a bit of a Mondeo love in, anyone got one of the new model ones and if so, how does it compare with the Mk4?
I've not seen a new mondeo, but I had a look at a new smax and I thought it was a step down in terms of interior quality. Typical Ford really, they make advances against the German alternatives, then make a mess and have to catch up again.
The reviews I've seen don't seem to suggest that but I've only seen them from the outside so hard to know.
http://www.parkers.co.uk/cars/reviews/ford/mondeo/hatchback/
IIRC my 205/55 r16 Michelins were £65 a corner. I couldn't care less that it doesn't look so cool and corners a tiny bit slower. The difference to running cost isn't insignificant.
The dealer thing with me is fine... I can take to ANY ford approved dealer or garage as long as they use ford approved parts NOT ford genuine parts (highlighted this in sale contract when they said i had to pay for oem parts on a service to still keep warranty) bought ours through evans halshaw.
2.5 was an option for us but stupidly the sales guy told the mrs to "tickle" the accelerator. She shit her self when the boost kicked in and didnt like it 🙁
There must be other options closer to home?
Evans Halshaw or Arnold Shark. Or the indy who wanted £5k for 99k.
None of the other places are remotely interested in selling at my price point.