I've seen a 2002 52 Mondeo TDCi 130 auto Ghia X estate, with 14k miles, and was wondering if this would make a good purchase bearing in mind that this would be one of the first TDCi's and the long history of problems with this engine. Also, how well does it work with the auto box, and are there any problems there? The car is up at £12995, and I would be looking to keep the car for a considerable length of time.
This car has 17" alloys, so I am a bit concerned with the speed of tyre wear - how long typically are we looking at?
I currently have an old shape mondeo ghia, and think that the build quality is not that great, Are the new mondeos considerably better?
many thanks in advance
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Make sure it has all the keys, the owners handbook, the service book, etc etc. There might not be any ballance of manufacturers three years warranty left.
Reason for all that? A certain car discount warehouse near slough had shedloads of those models about that time, they were imports and some were missing those things I mentioned.
Re the 17" wheels, my goona has 17" with low profile and with 31k up the fronts have about 3k max left I reckon.
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Tyre wear will depend on a number of factors, including the particular tyres, weight of car and engine, and type and style of driving. I don't know if the TDCi is an all alloy engine or not, but it is almost certainly going to be heavier than a petrol engine of the same capacity.
I have only driven a Mondeo once and it happened to be a Zetec 130 bhp auto. The transmission seemed fine (and it is 5 speed)but I found the engine to be rather gruff. Build quality seemed OK but then it was virtually brand new, so one would hardly expect there to be any sign of problems at that age. However, I considered the interior trim to be extremely dull.
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Hi I have a May 2002 Mondeo TDCi 130 5 door manual, now on 82k and all is well. I have had a few problems including one with the engine management which required programming though all in all it has been fine. The original tyres were Conti Sport Contact II's, they lasted 25k miles front and rear, they were replaced with Sport Contacts (i.e not II's), 2 sets, which lasted a bit longer, particularly on the rears. I have not driven the auto though it is a 'tiptronic' type and apparently matches the engine well. Also the estate is not quite as sporty a drive as the hatch or saloon due 1/ weight and 2/ having a totally different rear suspension setup.
Engine refinment improves with age though is also sensitive to the fuel used, Shell, Texaco and BP Ultimate are best.
Re build quality, it stands up against most rivals, also most reliability indexes rate Ford's above VW, Audi etc now days.
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I assume you rotated the tyres from front to back and vice versa. Otherwise, it is very odd for rear tyres to wear as quickly as the front ones on a front wheel drive car.
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No, the original Conti SP II's lasted 25k front and rear, the 2nd and 3rd sets which were SP's (not II's) both lasted nearer 30k though I could have got another 3-5k out of the rears but decided to change all four tyres together. The rears seem to wear slightly more towards the outside edge, perhaps because the car is set up to be quite responsive. Could be that the estate is easier on the rears (unless fully loaded) because it has a different rear setup.
I a nut shell I reckon 30k front/35k rear can be achieved.
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