[Closed] Buying a ford...

Check the aircon works? The aircon on my Galaxy of a similar age died due to a lack of love (and refrigerant, but mainly love).

My galaxy is same motor and mileage, two years older.
So far it's had items wear out, but still feels solid and pulls well.
I would haggle hard...plenty around at that mileage.
If you only do short journeys, I would avoid.

( I thought I was bad with a grey Galaxy, but a gold Mondeo is rather too elasticated waist trousers for me...)

Looks like someone has chewed half the dashboard away! Big dint in the side, on steal wheels, originally would have been alloys.

I'd walk.

I had one of the same model engine which threw a coolant hose and cost me £800 as you need to remove the subframe or something to get to. It also had a dash warning light regarding the DPF that came on a few times, didn't cause an actual issue, but was told it would be the best part of £600 bill coming up in the next 10,000 miles.

I sold it and bought the petrol version of the same car, which i still have.

at that age/mileage, stuff can start to go wrong, but if it's been well maintained it should be fine for years.

Looks like a decent car.

Seats have some lovely looking stains on them, not that they can't be cleaned.....

Needs 12 months MOT, never buy without.

One half of the heated screen probably won't work!

Looks OK to me but you may do better - look at others, it's not like Fords are rare.

Needs 12 months MOT, never buy without.

If by living in London you mean generally short/urban journeys with little motorway use then I wouldn't touch diesel with a barge pole, certainly not one with a dpf.

I'd look at petrol.

134,821 miles?

Just walk away renee

This would be a far better buy on a similar budget.

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/honda-crv-1

I have the same 2.0 VTEC engine in my honda that I've had for almost 12 years. It's brilliant.

Whats wrong with the Audi? You've only had it 3 months or so...

Kryton57 - Member
Whats wrong with the Audi? You've only had it 3 months or so...

Lovely car....just eats petrol !

I bought a 2003 1.6 petrol focus last year with 60000 on it for 800 quid, so far it's the best car I ever bought. Previous car was a zafira 2.0 dti that cost 5 grand. Great size, when it worked fantastic. Mostly though it was a turd. I won't ever go back to diesel, too many problems with egr valves and dpf if you're not up and down the mway all day.
Previous post suggested to keep looking as fords are not rare. I agree, keep looking the right one will turn up.

Lovely car....just eats petrol !

If I had a car that was nice and reliable, I'd keep it and pay more for the extra petrol. And I sort of do - my 57 plate 1.8 petrol C-max only does 30mpg, but the rest of the car is tidy (not as nice as an A6 Audi though!).

The £3000 price range is a minefield and you could end up with some shit-box.

I bought a 2003 1.6 petrol focus last year with 60000 on it for 800 quid, so far it's the best car I ever bought. Previous car was a zafira 2.0 dti that cost 5 grand. Great size, when it worked fantastic. Mostly though it was a turd. I won't ever go back to diesel, too many problems with egr valves and dpf if you're not up and down the mway all day.

Pretty much my experience too. Owned a terrible Astra CDTI and replaced it with a much older 1.6 Focus which was a lot more reliable until it rusted through the wheel arches.

I've a 2.0 TFSI now, doesn't seem too bad on petrol (though it's an Octavia rather than an A6).

Don't the Mondeo's need expensive injector replacements around that age or is there a cheap fix for that now?

Big dint in the side, on steal wheels, originally would have been alloys.

Yeah, looks like a cheaply done repair on the passenger rear door area to me? Might be a concern, though I'm never that fussed about cosmetics especially in London.

I have an 09 Mondeo - not perfect but I've been happy with it.

Things on mine:

- DMF went last year and was expensive to replace (included clutch overhaul) though my car has done a lot of town driving
- Central locking on one door has stopped working (doesn't lock so have to do it manually)
- Driver seat raise/lower mechanism is electric and the pivots loosen making the seat creak - you can just tighten them though
- Battery died a few weeks back

Comfortable, big, reliable car though

Looks like someone has pissed themselves in the passenger seat. London based implies short journeys may be common. Is this the case? If so, high mileage diesel is not the best option (assuming it has a DPF).

How bad is the fuel economy on your current car? How much is it going to cost you to change vehicles (plus add a few quid for the inevitable repairs/extra maintenance on the new car as an unknown quantity)? If you can put a price on it, how much fuel would that buy you? It may be more cost effective to hang on to the petrol car (with the added bonus of not having to own a diesel).

I had a 52 plate Mondeo, petrol 2.0. Nice car, had it 9 years, was 11 when i sold it. Like many cars these days it went through front springs quite a bit which was annoying, particularly when one broke and did the tyre side wall. They also have a common problem with door locks failing to operate on central locking....I noticed ford spares prices rise considerably on that part over a few years.... Think the post is common on most ford cars. Rust on the bottom edge of doors is not uncommon as they age, 1 of mine was going but overall the car was excellent for its age.

Passenger seat looks 'soiled'. I wonder if it's had many off road miles at Cannock Chase?

I had a 2003 2.0tdci 115bhp
Probably the best car ive ever owned.
Got rid of it because i was sick of the rattly noise from the engine (they all do that sir, so does the jag x type, which uses the same engine)
Did 162k miles with only normal wear and tear parts needed.
Eventually replaced with a subaru legacy estate.

Eventually replaced with a subaru legacy estate

petrol or diesel, out of interest? If diesel, how are you finding it?

Taken all your advice

No service history and ex lease car

Thanks folks

@cp, mine was petrol, but the next one will be diesel, ive driven a few diesels and my mate has one.
Great car, but the petrols like fuel a little too much for my wallet.

Cheers... I've got an 04 plate petrol at the moment which i love, but may shortly be offered a cheap diesel outback.. just wondered what the engine was like to drive..

Back on topic.. sensible choice there op!

Badly stained seats, big crease along n/s rear door and wheel arch, and I'd really want to know why the original alloys have gone missing and been replaced with steels and cheap crappy plastic trims held on with zip ties.
£3000 for a nine year old car? Hmmmm, I think not.

It may have done 130k but the interior looks like its done double! Also, I'd question why its missing its alloys too...has it been smashed off so many kerbs they were unrepairable?!

P.S The rattly idle when hot is something to do with the auxiliary belt, can't remember the details but something wears out on the pulleys and causes the rattle and vibration.

I had a 53 Plate 130TDCi Zetec, loved it apart from the rattly idle, and the constant niggling worry of two inevitable £1k repair bills for Dual Mass Flywheel and Injectors, and the rear camber going out of adjustment causing tyre wear. I'd paid enough for the car that I couldn't consider it disposable, but at £3k I'd be a bit less worried about the repair bill.

I would ask where these are:

18in Y-Spoke Alloys Wheels with (235/40 R18 Tyres) and Locking Wheel Nuts

Which I believe look like this:

[img] [/img]

I would say 3k is a bit rich considering the aformentioned dent, missing alloys, there's a lot of wear on the window buttons, i don't think this has had an easy life

You must be mental. There are so many wear and tear items with that car at that age that if they do go wrong it will be worthless. Just walk away (needs roof bars.) I love fords and especially the Mondeo but that one I would only buy if I knew the exact service history of it and the type of mileage and the owner etc etc.

Inbred read my reply about 5 above

I did walk away

The Mondeo is probably the best estate on the market for comfort reliability and handling. You should be able to get a really good one if you look around. My injectors failed at around 120k on mine. It was such a good car I considered shelling out to replace them all but I sold it for spares and repairs in the end. Would have another again with a decent auto box next time.