My 51 plate Mondeo 1.8LX has failed its MOT, quite badly as it happens, so I am having to consider whether it would be more cost effective to trade it in as is for another car. I am looking for a similar size car, maybe a 2.0L this time or thereabouts but I am looking at Japs cars mainly due to reccomendations from some of my work colleagues regarding their build quality and cheapness of parts etc. I do about 10K miles a year. Can anyone reccomend anything, looking to spend 7-9K?
Mondeo needs replacing - What are Jap cars like these days?
- Thread starter Bubo
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This.
Caporegime
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Terrible interiors on a 7 - 9k jap car, what?
Fair enough its not up to BMW E39 - E46 > standards but its far from terrible.
If you want something cheap on parts don't get a Jap car, parts can be very expensive, a non TDCI mondeo is you best bet.
Fair enough its not up to BMW E39 - E46 > standards but its far from terrible.
If you want something cheap on parts don't get a Jap car, parts can be very expensive, a non TDCI mondeo is you best bet.
get something whats honda
very good on fuel (MPG) and very reliable
jap cars are best and best looking imo
My old man's Accord 1.8 Vtec Sport gets ~5MPG lower than my car around town!
Also the interiors are not bad at all, depends on how it's been cared for really, some will be shiny as glass but others (like my old man's) are nice and matte - looks decent and the only bad feeling is the hollowness of the headlining/pillars and trim panels. Everything else feels standard to most other non German cars...
This is what i was thinking. It's not like he's looking at £500 Nissan Bluebird or something!
coming from a mk4 astra owner? You've got to be kidding me, right?
I have a 56 plate Honda Accord 2.2 TDI. It's superb, better built than the Golf I had before it.
I travel up and down the Country a lot, the other week I drove from Swindon to Glasgow at 'pressing on' speeds and averaged 43mpg over 370ish miles. Then I drove back from Glasgow to Swindon but sat at 60mph the whole way with the cruise control on, and returned an average 62mpg for the same 370ish mile trip.
Yeah it was a bit boring, but the journey home surprisingly only took 30 mins more than the trip up.
I travel up and down the Country a lot, the other week I drove from Swindon to Glasgow at 'pressing on' speeds and averaged 43mpg over 370ish miles. Then I drove back from Glasgow to Swindon but sat at 60mph the whole way with the cruise control on, and returned an average 62mpg for the same 370ish mile trip.
Yeah it was a bit boring, but the journey home surprisingly only took 30 mins more than the trip up.
Terrible is probably the wrong word, but hard, cruddy plastics, and no style is still pretty much a certainty with anything japanese.
They are getting better mind, but they still haven't got it "right".
Thanks. Honda Accord looks promising. Fuel efficiency is important to me too. I could extend my remit to include german cars but I'm not sure what I'd get for my budget, I suspect would have to be fairly old cars. I would like something thats maybe 3 years old max really. Only breed of car I am ruling out completely are French cars, for obvious xenophobic reasons.
Associate
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good car till there over 5 years old then they RUST!
They are much better than they used to be, but they let themselves down with little details that would really annoy me. Like on the accord, the handbrake is really thin and looks flimsy, likewise with the steering wheel. The plastics are often questionable and they seem insistent on printing silly things in silly fonts rather than abbreviating or using symbols like other manufacturers. Niggly little things that wont abbot 99% of people, but hey...
I dont see what the problem with another Mondy would be - for a 51 plate car to badly fail an MOT it must have had a hard life which you cant blame the car itself for.
Love my accord exec 2.0 (98-02 shape) so far.
Had it just coming up to a year and its been really pleasurable motoring, about 12k so far. No repair bills , no hint of any either, really relaxed drive on motorways or around town tbh.
I've test driven everything else now from mondeos to mazda6's and so on and its looking likely that when it comes replacing time, i'll more than likely be going for this 2.2 diesel accord of the newer variety (03-08) or the 2.4 if the price is right to outset the absolutely crap fuel economy on them.
I just can't see any better options..
Had it just coming up to a year and its been really pleasurable motoring, about 12k so far. No repair bills , no hint of any either, really relaxed drive on motorways or around town tbh.
I've test driven everything else now from mondeos to mazda6's and so on and its looking likely that when it comes replacing time, i'll more than likely be going for this 2.2 diesel accord of the newer variety (03-08) or the 2.4 if the price is right to outset the absolutely crap fuel economy on them.
I just can't see any better options..
Soldato
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I have a 56 plate Honda Accord 2.2 TDI. It's superb, better built than the Golf I had before it.
I travel up and down the Country a lot, the other week I drove from Swindon to Glasgow at 'pressing on' speeds and averaged 43mpg over 370ish miles. Then I drove back from Glasgow to Swindon but sat at 60mph the whole way with the cruise control on, and returned an average 62mpg for the same 370ish mile trip.
Yeah it was a bit boring, but the journey home surprisingly only took 30 mins more than the trip up.
I am curious to know how much that saved you.
Ok so for 7-9k the interiors in Jap cars are probably alright (as they should be for 7-9k) but i was refering to cars around the 00-02 sort of time. I would take my 00 Astra over a 00 Jap interior anyday...
I am curious to know how much that saved you.
lets see!
370 miles to get 43mpg = 39.12 litres of diesel.
370 miles to get 63mpg = 27.13 litres of diesel.
average for diesel atm is hmmm ? 99.7p ? think thats about right.
so..
39.12 x 0.997 = £39.00
27.13 x 0.997 = £27.04
= £11.96 saved.
Heh its not bad but 60mph would drive me mad after 5 mins!
What was the "pressing speed" on your private motorway btw?
out of curiousity.i don't have the patience to drive at 60
im not a terrible driver, but will admit to being a bad driver when it comes to being patient and waiting at junctions etc...
I'd rather pay £20 , £30 more and keep my sanity thanks
im not a terrible driver, but will admit to being a bad driver when it comes to being patient and waiting at junctions etc...
I'd rather pay £20 , £30 more and keep my sanity thanks
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but i always just give up after 5 mins, if not less and return to probably around the 77mph mark