Downgrading/sidegrading from Mondeo 2.5T '08 to something?

Liquid_Entity · 29 Jan 2017 at 20:59

Hi

I'm moving offices in the next few weeks and won't be doing the commute in the Mondeo any more. My partner is also finally taking her tests to start driving so we need to think about getting a different car.

The Mondeo is/was ideal for me commuting, plenty of gadgets, poke and space/comfort but it's impractical for what we will need it for now. My partner, when she passes, will be using it to drive our son around and we'll use it for family trips away, visiting relatives etc.

I don't really know what to look for that will give me some satisfaction when driving but also be easy to drive, parking, visibility for the missus. Something like a Ford C-Max seems to be ticking the right boxes. Are there any others like the C-Max in other manufacturers? Not looking for anything much newer as financially we were thinking of spending as little extra on another car. Ideally cutting down on fuel expense and road tax costs.

We took a loan out on the Mondeo of £5k, bought it for £4.5k and I've added just shy of 10k miles on it. It's also had a full engine rebuild since the cam belt went, due to garage negligence, but since the rebuild has been solid and not missed a beat. I'm wondering how much it's worth part/ex or selling privately.

So let me hear your thoughts?

geekman · 29 Jan 2017 at 21:17

Surely worth just keeping the car? A Mondeo has parking sensors which make any car easy to park, visibility is decent and it's not some sort of specialist performance car so it's very easy to drive. Unless you're doing very high miles I can't see a C Max saving you that much in fuel and as you'll be buying older, used cars you could well end up having to pay a massive repair bill again.

Kaeo · 29 Jan 2017 at 21:22

Yeah I would echo the above - it's a pretty good all rounder that's quite easy to drive. Don't see any advantage of changing it.

the wopster · 29 Jan 2017 at 21:53

Keep it are you guys kidding? I wouldn't even like to think how much his insurance will go up adding a just passed driver to drive a 220bhp 2.5 turbo car if they will even insure him at all

geekman · 29 Jan 2017 at 22:00

woppy101 said:
Keep it are you guys kidding? I wouldn't even like to think how much his insurance will go up adding a just passed driver to drive a 220bhp 2.5 turbo car if they will even insure him at all

Very much depends how old she is. If she's 17 then yes, it would be ridiculous, but I know several people who passed in their late 20s / early 30s and jumped straight into cars more powerful than his Mondeo with relatively sensible quotes. It would be well worth putting the details into a price comparison site as insurers you already have a policy with frequently take the **** if you ring up to add drivers / change cars.

[TW]Fox · 29 Jan 2017 at 22:01

Omg a turbo car?!!!!! Uninsurable!!!

In reality I doubt his partner is 18 so the insurance won't be as insane as you think and neither is the car as potent as you make it sound.

the wopster · 29 Jan 2017 at 22:26

geekman said:
Very much depends how old she is. If she's 17 then yes, it would be ridiculous, but I know several people who passed in their late 20s / early 30s and jumped straight into cars more powerful than his Mondeo with relatively sensible quotes. It would be well worth putting the details into a price comparison site as insurers you already have a policy with frequently take the **** if you ring up to add drivers / change cars.

[TW]Fox;30450842 said:
Omg a turbo car?!!!!! Uninsurable!!!

In reality I doubt his partner is 18 so the insurance won't be as insane as you think and neither is the car as potent as you make it sound.

Wow I honestly didn't think it would be that cheap for a just passed driver, I have just done a dummy quote for my wife as a just passed driver and it's coming up at £850 for the same car, TBH I have just spent 2 months finding my 18 year old daughter a good policy so I presumed it would be the same for any new driver.

chaparral · 30 Jan 2017 at 00:38

geekman said:
I can't see a C Max saving you that much in fuel and as you'll be buying older, .

His 2.5T Mondeo would most likely be crazy on fuel (under 20mpg)

My 2L focus ST only does 20mpg, Plus his 2.5T Mondeo would most likely weight more then my 2L focus does

rodenal · 30 Jan 2017 at 07:24

They are nothing like that bad on fuel, in all honesty I'm amazed your ST is so bad. Pretty much nobody else reports them to be anything like as poor as yours - I drive a similarly powered 2.0 turbo car that probably weighs more and achieve circa mid 20's in town / traffic with pretty much no effort for economy.

I can't see how moving it on is ever going to work given the amount that must have just been spent on it. If insurance is palatable then it seems like the ideal car tbh

paradigm · 30 Jan 2017 at 07:40

rodenal said:
They are nothing like that bad on fuel, in all honesty I'm amazed your ST is so bad. Pretty much nobody else reports them to be anything like as poor as yours - I drive a similarly powered 2.0 turbo car that probably weighs more and achieve circa mid 20's in town / traffic with pretty much no effort for economy.

I can't see how moving it on is ever going to work given the amount that must have just been spent on it. If insurance is palatable then it seems like the ideal car tbh

This to be fully honest.

Even on the relatively short (<10 miles) trip to work I can get over 30MPG out of my 310PS 2.0T, and that's with 4WD efficiency losses.

It's not what you drive, but how you drive it.

Uther · 30 Jan 2017 at 07:47

Yes but chaparral lives on Guernsey do I doubt he's cruising around on a motorway, more like stop start traffic everywhere

A Mondeo is a big car, so I assume it would be a confidence issue for your wife OP?

paradigm · 30 Jan 2017 at 07:54

A C-Max is hardly "small" car (small van?) It's a whopping foot shorter, and a whole inch narrower.

FWIW, my commute drives through 2 towns and goes nowhere near a motorway. Stop/Start traffic will kill your economy, regardless of fuel type.

Mucky_Pup · 30 Jan 2017 at 08:20

chaparral said:
His 2.5T Mondeo would most likely be crazy on fuel (under 20mpg)

My 2L focus ST only does 20mpg, Plus his 2.5T Mondeo would most likely weight more then my 2L focus does

Even driving like a ******* majority of the time, both my old ST225 and current RS would give a lowest average of around mid 20's. I know a Mondeo weighs more but if driven sensibly (assuming average traffic and commuting times) I think mid 20's would be achievable.

Liquid_Entity · 30 Jan 2017 at 08:43

Thanks all for your messages. My missus is 27 in April and no she is definitely not confident driver so I think it scares her thinking about driving this car. Yes I know C-Max isn't much smaller but it feels a bit more boxy and it is a bit of a pain putting kid in the car seat in a Mondeo. I was after other cars too not just a C-Max but don't really know what else is there. Tax is a killer on the mondeo too and fuel is ok but not great.

paradigm · 30 Jan 2017 at 08:57

I think if you are going to bother making the change, it might as well be as drastic a change as you can get away with. Literally buy as small as you can get away with (for the sake of your missus's sanity and confidence), and buy as economical as possible.

I'm thinking supermini class 5-door hatch. Otherwise it's simply not worth the change, and you certainly don't need a van for one child

EvilRob · 30 Jan 2017 at 10:16

paradigm said:
I think if you are going to bother making the change, it might as well be as drastic a change as you can get away with. Literally buy as small as you can get away with (for the sake of your missus's sanity and confidence), and buy as economical as possible.

I'm thinking supermini class 5-door hatch. Otherwise it's simply not worth the change, and you certainly don't need a van for one child

I agree with this but whatever you buy will probably be a significant step down for the same or similar budget.

The size of the car, poor-ish fuel economy and high VED are exactly the reasons you get a huge amount of car for the money with Mondeo 2.5T as they are major factors of depreciation. Going for the opposites of all those attributes will mean you will probably end up in something older and much poorer spec and you can probably forget "satisfaction when driving"

I'd either do as paradigm suggests or forget it and keep it.

Liquid_Entity · 30 Jan 2017 at 15:36

So I did some quotes today as my missus passed her theory test today, woohoo, and it seems to add about £300 for her to be insured on the Mondeo. With her off it the cheapest I can get is £317 and with her on it it goes up to about £650.

It's got to get through MOT in early March and really hoping it doesn't need a lot doing to it. I've also notices some bumper damage near the front which I don't remember doing so it must have been someone dinked me in a car park grrrrrr

Skillmister · 30 Jan 2017 at 15:44

Liquid_Entity said:
So I did some quotes today as my missus passed her theory test today, woohoo, and it seems to add about £300 for her to be insured on the Mondeo. With her off it the cheapest I can get is £317 and with her on it it goes up to about £650.

Is that with her passed the practical as well or as a learner? If so, the learner cost is nothing in comparison to being insured as a new driver. Was something like £50 to add me on my gf's car as a learner. More like a grand when i'd passed :rolleyes:

Liquid_Entity · 30 Jan 2017 at 15:48

That was as a passed driver with 2 months experience. She's not learning in my car so don't need to quote as learner

EvilRob · 30 Jan 2017 at 16:33

Liquid_Entity said:
So I did some quotes today as my missus passed her theory test today, woohoo, and it seems to add about £300 for her to be insured on the Mondeo. With her off it the cheapest I can get is £317 and with her on it it goes up to about £650.

It's got to get through MOT in early March and really hoping it doesn't need a lot doing to it. I've also notices some bumper damage near the front which I don't remember doing so it must have been someone dinked me in a car park grrrrrr

My 57 plate Mondeo 2.5T has not cost me anything at MOT in the 3 years I've owned other than a plate light bulb I missed once.

That said, the engine did fail and require a rebuild at 77k miles

At least you've already had yours done. Hope they did the block mod to protect the cylinder liners at the same time.