Which Mondeo for £4K?

lmfy2k

lmfy2k

lmfy2k

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so im going to be buying a car in the next 2 months or so and going to buy a Mondeo - no point in asking what car on this forum :D

just want a nice family car that's reliable and wont cost a fortune to run (~19k miles per year), id like to find a low mileage one as id like to keep the car for a few years so would like it to be worth something when i come to change it (If i ever do!)

i want one with plenty of toys so i thought i may look at the Ghia X models.

done some reading on this forum and i see the 2.0 petrol is highly regarded.

the ones that i have seen on internet are all Auto gearbox's, do they come in manual? or is the auto the one to go for?

any help much appreciated, thanks
 
The 2.0 petrol is OK, ghia X is a nice trim.

I personally prefer the 2.0 TDCI (which I own:)) and with the mileage you're doing, it would help - but obviously you need to be aware of the potential reliability issues - which arent as bad as some people would have you believe, but you still need to consider them and make your own decision
 
I have a Ghia X TDCI 130 and it is a nice car, I don't do huge mileage so i'm not really seeing the benefit of the diesel and if given the choice would go petrol, but I haven't had any issues with reliability.
 
lmfy2k said:
done some reading on this forum and i see the 2.0 petrol is highly regarded.
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I'd steer clear of the 2.0 petrol if you're clocking up 19k miles a year. Go for the 2.0 TDCi.

lmfy2k said:
the ones that i have seen on internet are all Auto gearbox's, do they come in manual? or is the auto the one to go for?
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Yeah they come in manual too. Surprised you can only find automatics, there are loads more manuals about. The mpg on the petrol auto is terrible, avoid.
 
Since you'll be piling on the miles, it makes no sense to pay more for a low mileage option for resale value, when it'll have high mileage when you're done anyway. Ensure it's had everything that's required changed and you'll be fine.
 
ginandmilk said:
I'd steer clear of the 2.0 petrol if you're clocking up 19k miles a year. Go for the 2.0 TDCi.
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I'm clocking up way more than 19,000 miles a year in a Mk3 2.0 petrol Mondeo Ghia. What's wrong with it? I'm averaging 35 MPG without trying.
ginandmilk said:
Yeah they come in manual too. Surprised you can only find automatics, there are loads more manuals about. The mpg on the petrol auto is terrible, avoid.
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I'm also surprised at this. Either way, stay away from the auto as it's just a pretty bad transmission.
jellybeard999 said:
Since you'll be piling on the miles, it makes no sense to pay more for a low mileage option for resale value, when it'll have high mileage when you're done anyway. Ensure it's had everything that's required changed and you'll be fine.
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Agreed on this. A well kept high mileage car is ideal for doing... high miles! You don't have to be the one to take the high miles depreciation hit.
 
PMKeates said:
I'm clocking up way more than 19,000 miles a year in a Mk3 2.0 petrol Mondeo Ghia. What's wrong with it?
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Nothing wrong with it, its a fine engine, but at 19k anually you'd save at least £400 on fuel each year going for the diesel. It'll cost a few quid more to buy and service but if he keeps it for a few years the money he'll save on fuel will more than make up for that.
 
ginandmilk said:
Nothing wrong with it, its a fine engine, but at 19k anually you'd save at least £400 on fuel each year going for the diesel. It'll cost a few quid more to buy and service but if he keeps it for a few years the money he'll save on fuel will more than make up for that.
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Maybe, but the diesel will be more expensive to buy, service and maintain, and has an apparently greater likelihood of throwing up a big bill. It whittles down the £400 saving to literally nothing in reality.
 
PMKeates said:
Maybe, but the diesel will be more expensive to buy, service and maintain, and has an apparently greater likelihood of throwing up a big bill. It whittles down the £400 saving to literally nothing in reality.
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It'd probably work out at quite a bit more than 400 quid per year to be fair if you worked on an average of 35mpg for the petrol and 45 for the diesel. You're right it whittles it down but its still a saving.

edit:: unless it goes bang and you're stuck with a big bill, true about that
 
I agree, and I can see that the diesel could save you money, but I think when you consider the overall total cost of ownership for the car, the fuel costs make up a pretty small portion, and an even smaller difference between the two!

I think this is a case when you can buy either petrol or diesel and not ever think "the other would have saved me so much money". It could go either way quite easily.
 
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Watch out for handbrake cable/caliper troubles on Mk3 Mondeos. Mine has had problems with the brakes nearly every year I've had it. Its been fine since the last MOT but has literally just started binding again with consequent higher fuel consumption, as well as wearing your pads. The giveaway is play in the handbrake lever. You can free it off but it will stick again evetually, that's if the calipers haven't failed. I'm definately getting rid this year, probably for a Mk4.
 
I got an 06 2.0TDCI Ghia 130hp for 4k just over a month ago. It has high mileage (100k) but has had full ford services and parts, its also in amazing condition for the mileage. Seems to be going really well for me so far (touch interior wood). So if you look around there are some real good bargains about at this price range.
 
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I've just purchased a Zetec-S TDCI.

Its an 04 with 73k on the clock, FSH etc etc.

I paid £4k for it, took ages to find a nice example for <£5k (Zetec-S, i mean :))
 
A lot of the taxi drivers round here have switched from diesel to petrol mk3's as they're cheaper overall to run. A 2.0 petrol is much quieter at legal speeds too.
 
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