Soldato
Can't afford the fuel costs. Thus the reason I bought the TDCI in the first place.
Who owns a Mondeo ST220 / ST TDCI?
- Thread starter Howard
- Start date
Can't afford the fuel costs. Thus the reason I bought the TDCI in the first place.
Arg, so annoyed with myself. Flat today, managed to move the jack after placing it (changing wheel in pitch black) and caught part of the skirt. By the time I realised I had already deformed the skirt 
I was just thinking the other day how I need a torch and warning triangle in the new car. Still, things could be a lot worse, blowout on a front at 80mph in the overtaking lane is never good.
Let that be a lesson to me (and others)
Time to get a new side skirt
I was just thinking the other day how I need a torch and warning triangle in the new car. Still, things could be a lot worse, blowout on a front at 80mph in the overtaking lane is never good. Let that be a lesson to me (and others)
Time to get a new side skirt
Soldato
Skirts on the Mondeo are a pain. The amount of times the tyre garage have decided to use mine as a jacking point only to realise it's not. Still, mine are in good nick. 
Soldato
Initial thoughts on: http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201311230100425
apparently 3 previous owners
Front and rear number plates have different dealer marks.
Surprised at how very few ST220 are on the market.
apparently 3 previous owners
Front and rear number plates have different dealer marks.
Surprised at how very few ST220 are on the market.
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Soldato
Time to get a new side skirt
Leave it, it might go back to normal. Mine did, but that was when we had the heat. Always try heating it up with an hairdryer and see if you can press it back into place?
It is a rare car to find. I see loads of diesels about but only 1 or 2 ST220's.
What is your budget? £3k?
Initial thoughts on: http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201311230100425
apparently 3 previous owners
Front and rear number plates have different dealer marks.
Surprised at how very few ST220 are on the market.
Looks great for the money - appearance-wise it looks tidy - wheels look to have been refurbed and the interior seems relatively clean. Things like this point to an owner who appears to give a toss about his car which is a good thing and as long as the mechanical history checks out (make sure it's had oil changes on time and the oil isn't black and sludgy), at this age, they matter more than the number of owners. It's the sort of car that someone might buy and, a year down the line, think "meh this car is too thirsty for my needs, I'm gonna change it for something else" for example.
Soldato
I'm also interested in an ST220 and wondering if you guys could provide some advice on a few points:
1) At What sort of mileage do these cars tend to show their age mechanically? I'd assume these cars spend most of their lives bombing down the motorway rather than crawling round town?
2) Recommend some good year round tyres (are they just called "summer"?)and how much do they cost / how long do they last? Or will I be committing a cardinal sin by getting a summer set?
3)What extras are generally a necessity for daily driving?
4) Do ST220s come in both 5 and 6 speed manuals? Is there any reason why I should avoid either?
5) Can I get a decent (under 60k miles, preferably newer than 2004) ST220 for £5k?
6) Is this a decent ST220? http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classif...type/petrol/radius/60/price-to/5000?logcode=p
General question about tax- what band do these fall in and how much is a years tax both before and after 2006?
Apologies for the question overload!
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I'm also interested in an ST220 and wondering if you guys could provide some advice on a few points:
1) At What sort of mileage do these cars tend to show their age mechanically? I'd assume these cars spend most of their lives bombing down the motorway rather than crawling round town?
Depends entirely on how well they've been looked after and how they've been used. I'd expect them to have been used more for longer journeys like you said, however now that they're getting older and cheaper it's likely they've been driven hard, possibly even been used on track, etc., so make sure service history is present and plentiful. Common mechanical areas needing attention are rear subframe bushes (knocking and wobbly feel from the rear end), rear brake calipers (sticking), and handbrake cables (seizing). There's a few other little niggles but nothing really major or wallet-busting.
2) Recommend some good year round tyres (are they just called "summer"?)and how much do they cost / how long do they last? Or will I be committing a cardinal sin by getting a summer set?
Continental Sport Contact 5s. Excellent tyres in the wet, dry, cold, hot, whatever. Not so hot in the snow but I still managed. They're about £120 per corner.
3)What extras are generally a necessity for daily driving?
They're extremely well-equipped as standard - desirable optional extras are xenon headlamps, parking sensors, and sunroof. Some say sat nav too, but it's a bit ancient now and doesn't offer anything in the way of USB or iPod integration so I don't see the point.
4) Do ST220s come in both 5 and 6 speed manuals? Is there any reason why I should avoid either?
Only the pre-facelift models (up to the first half of 2003) are 5 speed. There's no need to buy one of these unless you can get it for £500 or something. There are numerous improvements with the facelift aside from the gearbox.
5) Can I get a decent (under 60k miles, preferably newer than 2004) ST220 for £5k?
Yes.
6) Is this a decent ST220? http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classif...type/petrol/radius/60/price-to/5000?logcode=p
Looks nice and well-looked after, but then again adverts can be deceiving! It'll cost you £475 to tax though sadly (see below)
General question about tax- what band do these fall in and how much is a years tax both before and after 2006?
They cost £280 per year if they were registered before March 2006. After that, £475. It's utterly ridiculous
Apologies for the question overload!
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Soldato
Thanks for all of that!
What components are likely to need replacing first? i.e. when I look through the service history and see xxxx being replaced I know that it is likely that it won't fail / need replacing soon?
And on the otherhand, if I see xxx being replaced will I know the car is a dud?
I will be coming from a bit of a golden car in terms of reliability- other than consumables It has only needed the alternator replacing in my five years (80k- 120k) of ownership so I am a bit nervous about the maintenance costs of buying a dud!
What physically / mechanically would you check when viewing a 60-80k, 2004-2007 ST220?
What components are likely to need replacing first? i.e. when I look through the service history and see xxxx being replaced I know that it is likely that it won't fail / need replacing soon?
And on the otherhand, if I see xxx being replaced will I know the car is a dud?
I will be coming from a bit of a golden car in terms of reliability- other than consumables It has only needed the alternator replacing in my five years (80k- 120k) of ownership so I am a bit nervous about the maintenance costs of buying a dud!
What physically / mechanically would you check when viewing a 60-80k, 2004-2007 ST220?
Soldato
16.1mpg over the last 54miles.
Get about 60miles to £25 (petrol light should be on but my slanted drive is confusing it).
I don't drive it like i stole it either... Well not all the time anyway
Nothing that you wouldn't really check on any other car tbh! They're mechanically quite strong overall but with, like I said, a few niggly bits - i.e. the ones I mentioned, ARB drop links, etc. Gearboxes are strong, engines are strong BUT like fresh, topped up oil. Make sure the oil has been changed on time or even more frequently, and make sure the oil in it isn't all black and sludgy.
Spark plugs and leads are a pain to change because you have to remove the inlet manifold so it'd be nice to see reference to those being done.
Spark plugs and leads are a pain to change because you have to remove the inlet manifold so it'd be nice to see reference to those being done.
Soldato
My previous post wasn't directed to the new comer btw. Just a random post
As Howard has said, the ST220 is a all round strong car. Had mine a year (which is nothing i guess) and it has needed a new cat. Got something like 85k miles on the car.
Exhaust systems are cheap to and sound immense, especially in this cold weather
As Howard has said, the ST220 is a all round strong car. Had mine a year (which is nothing i guess) and it has needed a new cat. Got something like 85k miles on the car.
Exhaust systems are cheap to and sound immense, especially in this cold weather
Soldato
Alright guys cheers for the advice. Slightly surprised by the 16mpg though!
Soldato
16 isn't representative tbh, I'd say more like low 20's for town diving.
been doing really short town stop/starts for past 2 weeks and lowest I have seen is 22mpg, usually 27-28 with combined driving. 16 is realllly low must be 95% stop start traffic surely ?? in which most cars wouldn't be great, my wifes 1.6 astra doesn't do loads better in town traffic - when im driving it anyway...
Great, I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought of this. It's already started to go back to shape a little, I'm going to try heating it and pushing it around tomorrow I think
Replaced both fronts with Michelin Pilot Sport 3's, difference is very clear. It had Falken FK452's on the front previously and were actually fairly new, not very worn at all. The Michelin's grip much better, a quieter and match the car.
I did notice the inside edge (and I mean _edge_) was wearing more on the fronts. Not like it was an inch band from inner toward the centre of the tyre but the rim of the tyre on the inside was taking a pounding on both of the FK452's. This is where my blowout occured, the tyre literally just sheered off and split all around the rim.
How is tyre wear for other people? I'm going to get the tracking looked at but it seems like I might have a different problem given the extremety.
Soldato
Makhaira is right, might car isn't 100% at the moment. Got a slight problem of having no cats
And a addiction to the noise of the raspy Miltek system
Get them tracked and balanced, but i would also have a proper look at the beading around the rim. Could be buggered which means it could be dangerous when your tyres get up to temp.
My tyre wear has been very good. Saying that though i haven't even done half the mileage i did on my previous cars.
Associate
rybo, 16 mpg is ridiculous! Is that crawling in traffic where you barely get into 2nd to be that low?
Soldato
Nope, roads round my neck of the woods only get clogged up at tea time which I'm never in.
Just school runs, odd trip to family, work which down road and odd blast when I'm bored at home.
Just school runs, odd trip to family, work which down road and odd blast when I'm bored at home.