E36 or Mondeo as a daily?

Soldato
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Ok so I know that Mondeos are pretty good daily runners, cheapish parts, good reliability, cheap to buy and not too bad to drive for what they are.

Is an E36 a sensible option for a daily driver? I imagine it'd be much more fun to drive than the Mondeo but less reliable, I guess the question i'm after is, are they money pits? Obviously it will vary from car to car.

Also, when I say daily, it won't actually be used on a daily basis so I won't be too reliant on it, but obviously I want it to work and not break down every week.

An E36 325/8 is to be much more appealing to me than a Mondeo.
 
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Hmmm around £2k?

It looks like there are more decent mondeos about for that price or lower.

Are the later mondeos worse to drive than the earlier models? I drove a 57reg Fiesta Tdi (?) which was horrible to drive (handling wise, not just engine) compared to a base spec Fiesta Mk4.
 
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I dont have any experience with the E36 so I cant make a fair comparison. I dont think they are inherantly unreliable, but the costs if something does go wrong could be a lit higher. They also conduct a premium so you're going to be looking at something older and higher mileage for the same money.

£2k gets you into Mk3 mondeo territory -

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1268975.htm

You can't really use a new Fiesta as a point of reference for them - the Mk3 is a much better handling car than the earlier ones. Dont know about the Mk4, apparently its very good but I havent driven one yet and you're not likely to get one of those for 2k anyway :)

The Mk3 handles superbly for a car it's size - its a big car, quite a bit bigger than the Mk1/2 but it still handles very well and can put a grin on your face. Undoubtedly the e36 will be better, but as an all round package they ride and corner surprisingly well.
 
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I went from an E36 to a mk3 mondeo and found the mondeo a far better handling car.

Around a fast corner, the BMW gave the impression that it'd go round without any problems, but occasionally got a little bit lairy. The mondeo felt a little less planted, but if you trusted it, it'd outhandle the BMW. The steering was precise and unless I was really driving like a hooligan, I'd say the car hid it's quite considerable weight (1500Kg) well. In fact, I liked the diesel one I had so much, last week I bought an ST220, but that's another story!

as iaind's posted, £2k gets you a lot of car!
 
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What has a Fiesta got to do with a Mondeo?

Well you'd hope a newer model would be an improvement on the older model. Considering they're made by the same company, i'm sure you can work the rest out?


Thanks for the link iaind, that's an ideal candidate!

I went from an E36 to a mk3 mondeo and found the mondeo a far better handling car.

Around a fast corner, the BMW gave the impression that it'd go round without any problems, but occasionally got a little bit lairy. The mondeo felt a little less planted, but if you trusted it, it'd outhandle the BMW. The steering was precise and unless I was really driving like a hooligan, I'd say the car hid it's quite considerable weight (1500Kg) well. In fact, I liked the diesel one I had so much, last week I bought an ST220, but that's another story!

That's interesting, I think a few test drives are in order. I'm not expecting the car to be omgwowhandling, something that is enjoyable to drive would be nice.
 
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"Ford mondeo 2.0 Ghia X 2002 02 plate 1 months tax left 12 months mot 71000 miles part service history full heated leather 17" alloy wheels cruise control climate full electric seats excellent condition clocked using an electric screwdriver to wind back the dial remaining service history thrown away to hide the clocking quick sale needed because the bailiffs are after me"

Er, yeah, sounds like a great car! :p
 
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"Ford mondeo 2.0 Ghia X 2002 02 plate 1 months tax left 12 months mot 71000 miles part service history full heated leather 17" alloy wheels cruise control climate full electric seats excellent condition clocked using an electric screwdriver to wind back the dial remaining service history thrown away to hide the clocking quick sale needed because the bailiffs are after me"

Er, yeah, sounds like a great car! :p

Another worthwile post :rolleyes:

Silane - to explain, MarkDavis is a massive troll and appears to be suggesting that 71k on a car like that, for that price must be clocked. 71k is low but its perfectly feasible, there's plenty other cars of similar ages (early Mk3s on 2001/2 plates) with sub 80k miles for around the £2k price point. You could also get a later (2003ish) car with higher mileage too although you'd stuggle to get a facelift as they seem to have a small premium attached - both are perfectly good options and I'd look for condition/history rather than number on the dash/numberplate.
 
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Unfortunately I can't comment on the engine of the 4-cyl petrol ones, but the diesel went reasonably well, was (to me) astonishingly economical for a car of its size, but didn't really have the performance or exhaust note that excited.

Having a 250ish bhp ST220 ticks all the boxes however! Just gotta get used to the change in fuel economy <cough> ...20-25mpg... <cough>.

I've heard the 2.0 petrol goes rather well though and is pretty reliable. If you can get a tidy one for £2-3k, you won't have gone far wrong.

Unfortunately E36 BMWs are getting rather long in the tooth now and as others on here will warn you, have started to fall into the hands of people who won't look after them. As much fun as a nice 6-cyl one will be, running costs will be a lot higher. I'm not saying don't buy one, as I had a lot of fun with my 323i, just that they're not really the same type of car as the mondeo.
 
Soldato
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Having a 250ish bhp ST220 ticks all the boxes however! Just gotta get used to the change in fuel economy <cough> ...20-25mpg... <cough>.

I've heard the 2.0 petrol goes rather well though and is pretty reliable. If you can get a tidy one for £2-3k, you won't have gone far wrong.

I looked at the 2.0 petrol when I was looking at mine, but to me the 130 TDCI felt a fair bit quicker. In real world terms, I'm not sure which is technically quicker but the TDCI is certainly capable - the petrol needed a gear change down to get up Haldon hill without loosing too much pace, the derv handles it in 6th for example.

The 2.0 petrol is probably the one to go for at 2k though (although there are a few 2.5 V6s about) - the TDCI will cost you more to buy so you're looking at quite high mileage cars.
 
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A £2k, 7 year old, multi-owner Ghia X, with a missing service history and an owner who doesn't know how to use basic punctuation. Only Ford fanbois are going to think its going to be a clean car.
 
Caporegime
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A £2k, 7 year old, multi-owner Ghia X, with a missing service history and an owner who doesn't know how to use basic punctuation. Only Ford fanbois are going to think its going to be a clean car.

Didn't realise punctuation automatically meant the car was clocked. I would have viewed the car before coming out with stupid comments like that, had it been a Ford, VW or Lada.

Your post was about as useful as breasts on a fish.
 
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Caporegime
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What an annoying arse.

I don't even like the MK3 Mondeo except for the ST220. I'd actually prefer the E36 328 providing I got a good example.

I didn't even defend the car FFS!

I should really know better than to rise to idiot trolls.
 
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