Looking for a car to replace my Focus, would like a Mondeo. I haven't been to Blackbushe for a while, but went in my lunch hour today. I saw two 53 reg Mondeos, both post-facelift 1.8 Zetecs, in the Lex sale. Both had over 100k miles, but full service history. The first was a bit tatty, Silver, with 117k miles. The second was tidier, a horrible olive green colour (IMO), with about 102k miles. Both went for approximately £2500. This seems very cheap. Is this because there was something about these particular cars that the trade were aware of, or are Mondeos really that cheap?
I was looking to maybe go down the bangernomics route mentioned in another thread here, but if a 3 year old car that looks and drive well is so cheap, why bother?
|
Its probably because they are ex fleet, my last company car was offered to me at stupid money, i brought it then sold it in the paper, Passatt SE TDI (130bhp) 115k miles, Full VW Service History, it had 4 brand new tyres and they sold it to me for £4k, i got £6k in the local paper,
there are soooo many fleet mondeos knocking about, so make sure you get dealer service history.
Jon
|
|
£1,200 (£2,000 less 40% tax) isn't a bad profit ;-)
|
|
|
|
Is this because there was something about these particular cars that the trade were aware of, or are Mondeos really that cheap?
I would guess that generally the cars would be hard for traders to sell on as most people are put off by such a high mileage in a relatively short space of time.
I used to run company cars to 90K over 3 yrs and they hold up pretty well (I looked after them and was never a 'hard' driver) but if I had to keep one for over 100K then they seem to rapidly go down hill. The 406 I did 120K in still looked great inside and out but the brakes, suspension etc were all knackered. The turbo went (it was a petrol turbo) then the alternator etc etc.
|
I had company cars for several years and only ran two from new up to high mileage (had quite a few hand-me-downs)
One was a 1999 Daewoo Nubira which was an awful car. Constant problems pretty much from delivery. It was completely knackered by 60,000 miles.
The other was a 2002 Focus estate which I collected with 8 miles on the clock in April 2002 and handed back in March 2005 with 99,000 on the clock. It still drove really nicely and showed no signs of imminent problems. It pulled well, the interior was still like new, and the suspension and steering were still very taut and had next to no freeplay. The original clutch still bit at a sensible point on the pedal travel, the brakes were still confidence inspiring, and it never required an oil top up between services. Seven services (12,500 mile intervals), five sets of front tyres, one set of rear tyres and a new aux belt tensioner. Everything else was as it left the factory.
I'd have bought it if I'd had any use for it. I hope its new owner is enjoying the same trouble free and enjoyable use from it.
FX02FDD if anyone on here owns it now. 1.8 TDDi LX estate with Climate Pack in Panther Black. Lovely car.
Cheers
DP
|
|
|
thanks for the replies........
We have a new shape Mondeo estate (TDDi) with 110k miles, and my Focus (TDi) now has almost 160k miles, both with no problems. The only things that have needed changing are the tyres. Therefore, I have no worries about higher mileage Fords - just wondered if the cars at the auction had something specific wrong with them that the trade were aware of, keeping the price artificially low. If not, it means I can get the car I want for much less than I thought!
|
|
Clutch changes are very expensive for Mondeos and at over 100,000 miles they may be due one shortly. I believe the sub frame has to be dismantled which takes time and costs the money. Its the one thing thats always put me off a second hand mondeo. The clutch could be good for many miles yet but who really knows!
|
I would like to add that I replaced my Ford Escort last summer and was looking out for a replacement Ford at the cheap end of the market (About S reg or thereabouts) A Mondeo of the same age always seemed to be better value than the equivalent Escort or Focus in the classifieds. They either seemed to be on the whole cheaper or a lot more car,better spec and bigger engine for the same money. In the end I bought an Escort as cars of that age always tend to need work and I thought i'd be less exposed to repair and maintenance costs that way.
The car i bought had 81k on the clock i've done another 5k in it since. The clutch still works but isnt great and i will expect to get it sorted in the next year or so. I don't mind the odd garage bill as there is virtually no depreciation as I will use the car till I scrap it or my circumstances change significantly. I'm also fairly mechanically minded and will tackle smaller jobs myself. All I know is that its much cheaper than a Mondeo to sort out.
|
|
|
|
Clutches are no great problem alot quicker to do than many other run of the mill cars.
|
|
|
My Mondeo had a clutch a few months back. Can second the subframe needs to be "dropped" and it was not cheap. Also the dual mass flywheel was replaced at the same time - cannot say if it was needed but I think this is common practice due to the complexity of the job.
My clutch of course went at 47k miles.... First clutch I've ever need on a car in 12 years and the car was just over 3 years old.
Think the price was near enough to £1k due to labour and parts etc. Well probably more like £800? Cannot remember labour but it was something like 4-5 hours.
And before they identified the clutch problem, the common rail system was leaking!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Mark 3 Mondeos always look a good buy, but what of 2 litre automatics which some say one should steer clear of. A pity. Anyone had long run auto experience? Would auto-fluid power flushing help? Can the filter be changed, or is it internal?
|
|
|
![2022 Audi A6 40 TDI Quattro S Line 4dr S Tronic [Tech Pack]](http://images.honestjohn.co.uk/imagecache/url/crop/90x60/https/cdn.uk.prod.group-mobility-trader.com/images/cas/f9b8aecc0aeebfd0bd32ce765c5c92cd/a6d353793760e76e1f618d3f7b92ccdc.jpg)
