Ford Mondeo - Which mondeo?

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Thu 21 Apr 2011 18:25
Ford Mondeo - Which mondeo? - jonewer

Hi all,

Bit of advice please for someone about to buy his second ever used car....

There are two mondeos that I have my eye on and was wondering which, taken as read that both are in the same good nick, you consider to be the better buy?

Mondeo 1:

05 Plate 1.8 LX hatch 30k Miles £3,250

or

53 Plate 2.0TDCi Graphite hatch 92k Miles £2,500

(both FSH, 12 month RAC warranty)

Am confused because the diesel one will have lower fuel consumption, is £750 cheaper, but is 2.5 years older and with 3x the mileage......

Any advice appreciated.

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Thu 21 Apr 2011 18:40
Ford Mondeo - Which mondeo? - Bedhead

To be honest, unless you do the mileage to justify the MPG of a diesel, I'd look for a good example of the last of the 1800 Mk2's, they're a much better car and you can still pick up the odd corker with lowish miles.

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Thu 21 Apr 2011 19:59
Ford Mondeo - Which mondeo? - jonewer

Thanks Bedhead. Would you class a 55 reg as such?

I'm limited to whats on offer locally of course......

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Thu 21 Apr 2011 18:52
Ford Mondeo - Which mondeo? - ddr

Depends..

How many miles will you drive, and which do you want most, low purchase price, good fuel economy, reliability, performance or toys?

The diesel graphite will have slightly higher trim spec than the LX, and will probably feel more powerful. However, the petrol is less likely to need expensive repairs. Mind you.. the price difference will pay for any likely repairs needed on the diesel.

I'd be worried that a 6 year old car with only 30k has been pootled about by an old boy who likes riding the clutch.

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Thu 21 Apr 2011 19:38
Ford Mondeo - Which mondeo? - unthrottled

Ditto the mileage remark. It's comforting to see an odometer with a small number of it, but it's no indicator of the condition of the engine or the car. Best taped over really!

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Thu 21 Apr 2011 20:06
Ford Mondeo - Which mondeo? - jonewer

At the moment not many - I dont drive to work.

Reliability and low repair costs are paramount, much more important than fuel economy, but fuel economy needs to be taken into account.

Not much bothered about performance or toys between these two, provided its got some poke.

I also thought that 30k was maybe a tad too low........

Edit - other option and for £3,900 is a Nissan Primera with more bells and whistles than you can shake a stick at, 2.0 manual petrol, 50k miles....?

Edited by jonewer on 21/04/2011 at 20:18

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Fri 22 Apr 2011 15:39
Ford Mondeo - Which mondeo? - jonewer

And the winner is......... none of them.

Following HJ's advice to trust my instincts, I instinctively wont be touching any of those with someone else's bargepole.

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Fri 22 Apr 2011 16:41
Ford Mondeo - Which mondeo? - TeeCee

Hmm, a mate ran a 2 litre Primera. Racked up spaceship milage on it and he's the sort that got it serviced when it asked but never touched anything himself, being utterly clueless at all things automotive. It never missed a beat, thriving on the neglect it was treated with.

Also I once had an extended conversation with a breakdown guy who'd been covering the lower stretch of the A1(M) for over a decade. Nissan were top of his list for reliability. His mob[1] had only ever been called to two in that time, a new 1.8 Primera with a crank position sensor failure and a Micra whose owner had filled with diesel at the previous service station. His opinion was that the things are, to all intents and purposes, bulletproof.

With those two pieces of firsthand info, I'd be looking very hard at the Primera myself.....

[1] Contracted to Green Flag and EuropAssistance, with some AA work and occasional RAC thrown in.

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Thu 21 Apr 2011 20:18
Ford Mondeo - Which mondeo? - justadriver

Mondeo 1:

05 Plate 1.8 LX hatch 30k Miles £3,250

If the car has a fsh that's it for me, you would still be covered under sale of goods act for 6 months regardless of warranty, and the potential cost of say a clutch on the 1.8 against the horrendous costs of repairing the diesel would make me choose the petrol car.

but ask for fresh mot and an inspection annual service with oil change BEFORE delivery even if you pay for the service, that way the rac warranty will be validated.

Good luck

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