that if the car has been unused

for long periods the suspention and bushes can dry out.

Update: the clutch cable does have the white plastic adjuster and there is still a bit of adjustment left, but the threaded metal end of the cable is corroded and I didn't risk tangling with it. Accompanied the owner to Sussex and back at the weekend. She improved a bit, but it was purgatory for me. It is a most unsuitable car for a learner driver, the responsive engine and sporting gearing exaggerating every clumsy twitch of a resolutely insensitive right foot, and the wrong gear selected for at least a third of the time. Very few gearchanges made without a jerk one way or the other. She's a big strong girl but the heavy steering was alarming sometimes at close quarters. Yet my friend is by no means the worst driver I have experienced, being intelligent if prone to exaggerate all actions and change down 300 yards before roundabouts... purgatory.

I made her put in half a tank of Supreme 97 octane (don't know what the other half was, but I imagine ordinaire) and half a bottle of Redex fuel system cleaner. In Sussex I went off by myself and took it up to about 70 in third, still well short of the red line but certainly higher rpm than it is used to doing. My reward was an embarrassing cloud of smoke for the next half mile or so. I did it again, slightly less fiercely, and got another cloud of smoke, smaller this time. By the time I stopped there was no visible smoke at all, and none later. I hope that what I saw was the dust of ages being blown out of the cylinder head and ports, but I suppose the possibility of knackered valve stem oil seals must exist at 95K miles. The oil is absolutely spotless, so clean that it's hard to see the level on the dipstick. After my Italian tune-up, and probably largely as a result of more correct fuel being used, the pinking has pretty well stopped and the engine is running noticeably sweeter.

The chassis is far from perfect however. MoT but needs bushes and probably shock absorbers. Doesn't feel sharp as it should. Very good car in there somewhere though.

Don't buy a 3 door car if you have a small child. They look nicer, but struggling to put children in the back drove me nuts - buy a car that still be suitable as your family grows. Nice spec Mondeo will be good for a few years and big enough for hols too.

Take everything (not part of the car) out from the rear hatch and also remove parcel shelf, spare and toolkit. Get someone to sit in the back and see if they can pinpoint the source.
If it is an interior rattle they should be able to find it.
Also check for play in the tailgate itself when shut or rattles from within the tailgate.
If you haven't located it after the above then it maybe on the outside, these are harder to find.
But grasping every suspension component one by one and trying to shake it may reveal something - however sounds like it is within the car.

Also check that your tyres are not overinflated (when "cold" ie. before driving ) as the ambient temperatures have increased.

..... and I spent over an hour queuing further down the A3 last night - crash at Wisley

humpphhh

Dan