Well, it's been just short of a year now with the Jag, will be a year in early August. The car needs some money spending on it and I am disinclined to do so really ...so no more Jags for now, infact no more interesting but costly to run ageing luxury for now, I would rather actually save some money now rather plough it into old cars.
I am still going to buy a newer car but I want it to be a lot cheaper to run and a lot newer, I'd rather avoid 'old' cars and the issues they often bring for now, I know I will have to spend a bit of money upfront ...but bear in mind the Jag needs a full gearbox service and a 100k miles service now ...plus whatever the hell is causing me a vibration sorted ...so unknown potential amount there, anyway I figure I could easily spend £1k on the Jag right now maybe £1.5k even to straighten it out properly, that really depends on exactly what is up.
So what sort of car do I want ... well I want something significantly cheaper to run but I also want it to be comfortable, well equipped and have plenty of space in it. So basically a Ford Mondeo I suppose, which along with the Mazda 6 and the VW Passat (I did look at the Jetta and the Volvo S40 too) is what I have been looking at online the last couple of weeks. Now I am back in the UK I can actually do something about it though. I have ruled out the Honda Accord as I don't like the interiors and I have driven these and they are just so dull it's painful, the Jetta is quite rare here and perhaps a bit smaller than I want. The Passat is the least favoured choice of the 3 I have left as they aren't that well equiped until you get upto the top specs, which carry a fair price premium and I have read a frankly worrying amount about what can can go wrong with the engines, I know the Ford can and does suffer the same sort of issues that all modern common rail turbo diesels seem to have ...but, the VW just seems more prone to them from what I have read ...also on the whole, I like the Mondeo more anyway.
And then the Mazda, the only 6 I am considering is the pre facelift of the current shape, so the shame generation as the MK4 Mondeo, and although they are a bit cheaper to buy new they do seem to be a little more expensive like for like on the used market and there are a lot less of them about, so while I do like them, logic and practicality does point towards the Mondeo.
Firstly, I actually 'want' a diesel this time (like hell do I, I 'want' a V8 Supercharged Jag actually, but in the context of this post at least, a diesel it is
), yes I really did say that! ...the reason being is that switching back to a smaller 4 cylinder engine is going to be somewhat irritating for me as it is ...and in the 2 litre 4 pot category I really do 'generally' prefer the way the diesels drive, they have a lot more low to mid end punch and just feel more muscular ...and frankly the clatter at low speed and idle isn't as off putting to me as the sound of a typical 4 pot petrol being driven past 4krpm.
When I was in Canada I had a Ford Fusion (they are crap btw) which had a 2.5 litre engine in it, basically the same unit as Mazda use in the 6 Sport here, had 170bhp or so and it sounded awful and was rough as hell when revved and had no torque ...which I believe is much the same as the 2 litre petrol Ford put in the Mondeo and Mazda in the 6 only they will be even less powerful and torqueless, so diesel it is. Besides this is a money saving scheme in the 'longer' run, so the possibility of replacement fuel pumps, injectors and dpf's aside ...it seems logical enough.
Frankly the petrol engines in the Ford and Mazda seem to be crap, except for the 2.5 turbo Volvo unit you can get in the Ford (very rare).
I don't really want to spend more than £7k at the most, the lower the better though. I figure I should be expecting something like £4.5k part ex for the Jag (can you believe that!). That £7k includes the value of the Jag of course.
I have seen rather a lot of MK4 Mondeos in my budget with fairly high miles on, including a nice black 2.0 TDCI Titanium fairly locally with 120k on the clock, but it's an 08 plate with 1 owner and a FSH and it looks very nice in the pictures so I figure it's got to have been rolling up and down motorways to put that kind of mileage on in that time, the steering wheel and seats, pedal rubbers etc do not look very worn in the pictures either. So that looks like a good place to start, also the Titanium really does have a good spec, better than the Jag in terms of gear.
Does anyone seen any real issues with that?
I suppose other than an info post telling people what I am doing/thinking the whole point of this thread wasn't so much to elicit advice on what car I should buy as I already know more or less what I want so much as generally asking about the sort of 07-08 plate Mondeos and Mazdas I am seeing quite a few of for sale with 100k + miles on and 1 former keeper, I guess they should be a pretty decent place to look for a bargain right ? ...I'm not walking into a world of pain and missery buying a car with as much or even more miles than the Jag that's 4.5 years newer though I hope? ...I know there are no guarentees of course.
I know I can buy a relatively low mileage Mondeo for my money, but only the Edge really and while I am sure it'd be a great way to save money and get a reliable, comfortable car etc ...more certain that buying a high mileage higher spec car anyway ...steel wheels, manual aircon ...no body coloured door handles etc and no front fogs ...that's rather lower than I would like to stoop ...although my only 'real' requirements, not likes but must haves, are aircon, cruise control, leather covered steering wheel, auxiliary jack for the stereo and electric heated mirrors ...and more or less every car in the class I am looking at pretty much has those as standard even on the base models, except the Passat. What I would like though is climate control, cruise control and relevant controls on the steering wheel ...full electrics of course, heated windscreen (Ford only in this case I think), electro-chromatic rear view mirror, proper ipod integration, air conditioned glovebox or armrest storage area, heated front seats, bluetooth and a decent automatic gearbox.
Now onto the gearbox, I am not sure weather an automatic in this type of car is any good or not these days, I know they are much rarer but I have seen a few decent looking Mondeos around with the Ford Powershift auto, which I have no experience of at all, does anyone have anything to say about those and what they are like ?
Lets face it though, this kind of car isn't going to be all that interesting to drive, it's a tool really after all, although the Mondeo and Mazda are the best of the bunch in that regard so pretty well all the press guff says. So I am really not bothered about cog-swapping myself. I would prefer an auto ...but only if it's a decent one, I would much rather have the 6 speed manual than a crap auto, I have been driving both my own auto and a manual car on and off for a while now and the only time I can honestly say I really dislike the manual is when stuck in traffic, otherwise it's not a big deal.
If anyone has any other 'sensible' ideas though, feel free to pitch in, I know you will anyway
I think that's it for now.
I am still going to buy a newer car but I want it to be a lot cheaper to run and a lot newer, I'd rather avoid 'old' cars and the issues they often bring for now, I know I will have to spend a bit of money upfront ...but bear in mind the Jag needs a full gearbox service and a 100k miles service now ...plus whatever the hell is causing me a vibration sorted ...so unknown potential amount there, anyway I figure I could easily spend £1k on the Jag right now maybe £1.5k even to straighten it out properly, that really depends on exactly what is up.
So what sort of car do I want ... well I want something significantly cheaper to run but I also want it to be comfortable, well equipped and have plenty of space in it. So basically a Ford Mondeo I suppose, which along with the Mazda 6 and the VW Passat (I did look at the Jetta and the Volvo S40 too) is what I have been looking at online the last couple of weeks. Now I am back in the UK I can actually do something about it though. I have ruled out the Honda Accord as I don't like the interiors and I have driven these and they are just so dull it's painful, the Jetta is quite rare here and perhaps a bit smaller than I want. The Passat is the least favoured choice of the 3 I have left as they aren't that well equiped until you get upto the top specs, which carry a fair price premium and I have read a frankly worrying amount about what can can go wrong with the engines, I know the Ford can and does suffer the same sort of issues that all modern common rail turbo diesels seem to have ...but, the VW just seems more prone to them from what I have read ...also on the whole, I like the Mondeo more anyway.
And then the Mazda, the only 6 I am considering is the pre facelift of the current shape, so the shame generation as the MK4 Mondeo, and although they are a bit cheaper to buy new they do seem to be a little more expensive like for like on the used market and there are a lot less of them about, so while I do like them, logic and practicality does point towards the Mondeo.
Firstly, I actually 'want' a diesel this time (like hell do I, I 'want' a V8 Supercharged Jag actually, but in the context of this post at least, a diesel it is
), yes I really did say that! ...the reason being is that switching back to a smaller 4 cylinder engine is going to be somewhat irritating for me as it is ...and in the 2 litre 4 pot category I really do 'generally' prefer the way the diesels drive, they have a lot more low to mid end punch and just feel more muscular ...and frankly the clatter at low speed and idle isn't as off putting to me as the sound of a typical 4 pot petrol being driven past 4krpm.When I was in Canada I had a Ford Fusion (they are crap btw) which had a 2.5 litre engine in it, basically the same unit as Mazda use in the 6 Sport here, had 170bhp or so and it sounded awful and was rough as hell when revved and had no torque ...which I believe is much the same as the 2 litre petrol Ford put in the Mondeo and Mazda in the 6 only they will be even less powerful and torqueless, so diesel it is. Besides this is a money saving scheme in the 'longer' run, so the possibility of replacement fuel pumps, injectors and dpf's aside ...it seems logical enough.
Frankly the petrol engines in the Ford and Mazda seem to be crap, except for the 2.5 turbo Volvo unit you can get in the Ford (very rare).
I don't really want to spend more than £7k at the most, the lower the better though. I figure I should be expecting something like £4.5k part ex for the Jag (can you believe that!). That £7k includes the value of the Jag of course.
I have seen rather a lot of MK4 Mondeos in my budget with fairly high miles on, including a nice black 2.0 TDCI Titanium fairly locally with 120k on the clock, but it's an 08 plate with 1 owner and a FSH and it looks very nice in the pictures so I figure it's got to have been rolling up and down motorways to put that kind of mileage on in that time, the steering wheel and seats, pedal rubbers etc do not look very worn in the pictures either. So that looks like a good place to start, also the Titanium really does have a good spec, better than the Jag in terms of gear.
Does anyone seen any real issues with that?
I suppose other than an info post telling people what I am doing/thinking the whole point of this thread wasn't so much to elicit advice on what car I should buy as I already know more or less what I want so much as generally asking about the sort of 07-08 plate Mondeos and Mazdas I am seeing quite a few of for sale with 100k + miles on and 1 former keeper, I guess they should be a pretty decent place to look for a bargain right ? ...I'm not walking into a world of pain and missery buying a car with as much or even more miles than the Jag that's 4.5 years newer though I hope? ...I know there are no guarentees of course.
I know I can buy a relatively low mileage Mondeo for my money, but only the Edge really and while I am sure it'd be a great way to save money and get a reliable, comfortable car etc ...more certain that buying a high mileage higher spec car anyway ...steel wheels, manual aircon ...no body coloured door handles etc and no front fogs ...that's rather lower than I would like to stoop
...although my only 'real' requirements, not likes but must haves, are aircon, cruise control, leather covered steering wheel, auxiliary jack for the stereo and electric heated mirrors ...and more or less every car in the class I am looking at pretty much has those as standard even on the base models, except the Passat. What I would like though is climate control, cruise control and relevant controls on the steering wheel ...full electrics of course, heated windscreen (Ford only in this case I think), electro-chromatic rear view mirror, proper ipod integration, air conditioned glovebox or armrest storage area, heated front seats, bluetooth and a decent automatic gearbox.Now onto the gearbox, I am not sure weather an automatic in this type of car is any good or not these days, I know they are much rarer but I have seen a few decent looking Mondeos around with the Ford Powershift auto, which I have no experience of at all, does anyone have anything to say about those and what they are like ?
Lets face it though, this kind of car isn't going to be all that interesting to drive, it's a tool really after all, although the Mondeo and Mazda are the best of the bunch in that regard so pretty well all the press guff says. So I am really not bothered about cog-swapping myself. I would prefer an auto ...but only if it's a decent one, I would much rather have the 6 speed manual than a crap auto, I have been driving both my own auto and a manual car on and off for a while now and the only time I can honestly say I really dislike the manual is when stuck in traffic, otherwise it's not a big deal.
If anyone has any other 'sensible' ideas though, feel free to pitch in, I know you will anyway
I think that's it for now.
![[TW]Fox](/data/man-of-honor/2009.png){kind=avatar}
I'm not in desparate need to change, but something is pulling me toward it
