Tell me about Mondeos!

[huff3r 347]

Looking at a second gen mondeo on TM at the moment as a new car for the missus.

Apart from being as bland as a bland thing I can't seem to find much info on what can go wrong, if anything? Are they truly a generally reliable car?

Anyone got any hints/tips/things to avoid? Cheers

[_ethrty-Andy_ 2136]

We have had a wagon one at work for the past three years maybe longer (thats how long i been at the company) in that time its done about 60-80,000kms. never had a single problem, now its just over 200,000kms now. Only one incident that could have happened to anyone

Very nice to drive, goes pretty well for a 2L Automatic too. Id definately consider one if i needed a car for work

[lord_jagganath 421]

pretty good in Auto form. don't bother with the bigger engines, the 2.0 is all you need. Second Gen? I'd rather the 3rd gen, they are far superior. But i suppose the 2nd gen is still fine.

[elmarco 56]

They can be thirstier than a thirsty thing in the desert. Have heard of a couple of auto transmissions going south, but probably no worse than average. Brothers one seems to go well apart from its drinking habit.

[_ethrty-Andy_ 2136]

They can be thirstier than a thirsty thing in the desert. Have heard of a couple of auto transmissions going south, but probably no worse than average. Brothers one seems to go well apart from its drinking habit.

actually yes our one is pretty thirsty too. but both me and the main driver of it drive it with a bit more of a leaded foot than we should. We are getting about 10.5L/100km according to fleet calculator (just logged in) and thats mostly motorway driving. Also the transmission gets pretty warm sometimes so that wouldnt surprise me your comment. Ford said thats normal, i didnt believe them so we just gave it an oil and filter change and been right ever since.

Plus technically they are a European car ha, the Mk2's are all made in Belgium

Edited September 14, 2013 by _Ethrty-Andy_

[lord_jagganath 421]

wait a minute ... are we talking about the world Mk2 or the american mk2....

And holy! that mileage is worse than my 525i!

[dirtydoogle 383]

some had butterflies in the intake that fall off, which is fun. auto ones are incredibly beige and ones that have been used to tow are best avoided. a GF 626 would be a better car for similar money.

[Apex 693]

Targa use them (2.0L) as safety cars, have driven them fully loaded with gear and they handle well, we actually managed to go faster than some Targa cars on stages fully loaded with three people on board.

Also, for the money you will not buy a safer family wagon, well bar a Renault Laguna but I would not recommend one of those as the automatic transmissions grenade.

I like the ST variety, they are properly good.

[gmccormack 0]

Mondeos, a great car to lease when new. Not good to own second hand. As bland as a Toyota but not as well bolted together.

[Phil-540i 166]

What does she drive at the moment...........??? Personally, I think if its something dull, boring, safe but also reliable you're looking for - Toyota Camry.......

[huff3r 347]

She drives a hyundai lantra, and its horrible. She would prefer a wagon as she has horses and therefore tonnes of gear. But she also wants economical and I'm struggling to make her see she can't have space and economy!

[Apex 693]

As said the 2.0 Mondeo is thirsty, even the new petrol 4 cylinder Fords are thirsty, I am driving a brand 2013 Ford Focus Sport at the moment and was shocked at how fast it drank its tank.

Space and economy, diesel is the only way to go

I would be looking at something like these, personal choice would be the Peugeot:

http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/used-cars/...n-637915186.htm

http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/used-cars/...n-637269258.htm

http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/used-cars/...n-630967557.htm

[jeffbebe 1560]

My old man had a 2003ish Peugeot 406 diesel wagon as a company car just before he retired. Wasn't good. Permanently in the shop and the interior was very cheap and nasty in what was a highly spec'd car. Bits just kept falling off and he was a pretty careful and sensible driver in his 60s. Promptly went back to his trusted VWs when he retired.

Might have just been bad luck but the build quality of that car was p*ss-poor. That was always the complaint about Renaults and Peugeots when I was growing up in the UK... Though some of ill-will was probably because they're French... Something many Brits still can't see past.

EDIT: Sorry, can't add to the discussion re: Mondeos - never driven one.

Edited September 16, 2013 by jeffbebe

[Apex 693]

Funny because I have several friends with 406's who's cars millage is well over 300,000km are still running well with no unusual problems, if you look on Trademe most of the 406's have massive millage and are in good condition, they are a great drive too

There are bad cars though, I have owned a couple of rotten apple cars before and know what it is like.

[lord_jagganath 421]

With the french cars, you just gotta be lucky. We had a piss poor 505SRi in the 90s, was a company car and spent more time in the workshop than with us driving it. The car growled though. Other 505s were awesome though, as they were single owner cars.

Moral of the story: Service history and company cars are dogs. Sales reps abuse their vehicles to hell and back.

Avoid a sales rep Mondeo. But since it is the 2nd gen mondeo, it should be better as few were here in NZ then.

[Apex 693]

You are right, I parked next to a 2011 Mazda 6 yesterday and was amazed at how destroyed the car was, mags looked like scoria, all four corners of the bumpers were scuffed to heck, it looked like it had never been cleaned the interior looked like a crap... to top it off the car was double parked and the sales rep or merchandiser was smoking in it.

Unfortunately in New Zealand this market segment is 90% second hand company vehicles so its hard to avoid.

And I would not say its just french cars that have the odd lemon, the top three worst cars I have owned were:

1996 E39 BMW 528i. By a long shot worst car ever, litterally fell apart.

1989 E30 BMW 320i. Over engineered my ars, simultaneously replaced entire cars worth of components.

1992 Nissan Primera UK GT. Gearbox died on me, chassis was made of cardboard.

Edited September 16, 2013 by apex

[jeffbebe 1560]

1996 E39 BMW 528i. By a long shot worst car ever, litterally fell apart.

Bugger! Explains why you are not as fond of E39s as I am! I [for my sins] owned a 1994 Vauxhall Astra wagon for a while and it singlehandedly made something I love - driving - the worst and most (comparatively) expensive experience of my life.

It was so bad in fact that I must've blocked it from my memory when I posted my first car... It wasn't a MkII Cortina at all, it was that god-awful piece-of-sh*t murky blue Astra. I still f*cking hate it and hope that it has not gone on to curse too many other poor unfortunate sots like me.

[Andre3000 55]

Id avoid the ford focus/modeo if i were you, have worked on countless examples with water loss issues, causing sudden overheating, plus parts expensive and slim pickings. Imo theyre put together very poorly and buying one with over 140kms is asking for trouble.

Id say the same thing about opel/holden astras/vectras also 307's and most poorly maintained frenchies - avoid like the bubonic plague.

If you want reliablility and cheap parts go toyota/nissan/mitsubishi.

Mazda 3's are alright but id avoid the japanese replica, Atenza's and Demio's are put together like a shopping trolleys.

[Apex 693]

Ha, yep they were sh*t, to be honest I think anything non Japanese pre 2000 is going to be falling apart.

Come to think about it all cars older than 5 years that are not Toyota or Mazda will fall apart and cost money, in fact even then you could get a bad one.

I would give up and by a Subaru Legacy or Forester non turbo, most reliable and practical car you could buy for the money.

http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/used-cars/...n-636873725.htm

[Apex 693]

Mazda 3's are alright but id avoid the japanese replica, Atenza's and Demio's are put together like a shopping trolleys.

All Mazda's are built in the same factory though

[jeffbebe 1560]

Ha, yep they were sh*t, to be honest I think anything non Japanese pre 2000 is going to be falling apart.

Come to think about it all cars older than 5 years that are not Toyota or Mazda will fall apart and cost money, in fact even then you could get a bad one.

You're not wrong. Our 2006 Mazda never goes wrong... It's the only reason I can afford to have the E39 as well, because I know our annual maintenance bill for the Mazda averages about $250 - including the cost of a WOF!

EDIT: Ooops... Hope I haven't just jinxed it!

Edited September 16, 2013 by jeffbebe

[Apex 693]

So. A Mazda 6 in Manual would be ideal?

Best all round, looks and performance.

You will pay a few thousand more for a Mazda 6 initially but if you were to keep it for 3-5 years its low maintenance would cover the savings had on a Mondeo or similar?

Do the Mazda 6 have a cam belt or are they chain driven, that could save you a $1000 over time.

These Toyota Altezza wagons have always interested me, I had a Lexus IS200 back in day with the same FE engine and it was very economical on fuel, managed 700km to Taupo and back on one 40L tank.

http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/used-cars/...n-637313722.htm

[jeffbebe 1560]

Ours is a 5 speed auto, 2.3L, chain-driven. Very economical. Think you can get a turbo version which puts out plenty of power.

[huff3r 347]

All waaay too expensive guys haha, thanks for the advice though. She is looking at $2-4k at a stretch. Hence the 2nd gen mondeo. But the latest to catch her eye is a Libero 1.8. Any thoughts on these? I know waterpumps can go, and destroy the radiator when they do.

Also, any thoughts on Nissans? Pulsars, Primeras etc? I don't like CVTs but are they really the grenade I think they are?

[Andre3000 55]

All Mazda's are built in the same factory though

You're probably right, just saying from my experience the jap imported mazda's dont even feature on the same reliability scale as the nz new ones.