This is mine
[Edited on 28/7/13 by jeffw]
Anything especially to look for, bar the obvious????
[Edited on 26/7/13 by Lightning]
[Edited on 26/7/13 by Lightning]
The usual mondeo tdci issues. Dual mass flywheels, injector issues etc. They also eat rear anti roll bars. I dont mean to to be negative but on the whole they are very underwhelming, they don't hold their value and the interiors are low rent. Much better options out there imo.
Such as?
bmw 320d, audi a4, vw passat, skoda octavia, seat leon, golf, focus, mazda 6, or save some money and just buy the mondeo, they are cheaper basically
the same car and have a more spacious interior.
Just look on ebay and see how many TDCI's there are for sale 'spares or repair' it kind of tells you they have issues.
See your point, but they are all dull. A4 convertible maybe.
If your after something sportier 3 series coupe or cab? octavia vrs tdi (fancy one of these my self) leon fr tdi,
Not necessarily sportier, just or less run of the mill. The Skoda and Seat are still just Euro boxes. All reps have BMW's .Golfs are great cars , driven a few, but are so mundane. The press harp on about the interior quality, granted well built but yorn. I have a VW Amarok. Good bit of kit but the interior is such an uninspiring place. You do realize I like and have TVR and Alvis. Its a bit like the judging at Good wood FOS where aesthetics rules........oooooo...what about an Alfa ?
I've got the mondeo and my dads got the x-type. I've driven both, the jag feels heavy and boaty and mondeo is much better planted. Voted the best drivers car, jag wasnt!
Shame
Mondeo TDCI 130 is a great car but at 80+k miles they fall apart
Rover 75 or mg version? Similar styling and the diesel OS meant to be good.
For out side the box, how about a Cadillac BLS, well proven gm platform from saab with a well regarded alfa engine. I'd like one.
legacy or forester?
How about the Jag S-type? (guess what I've got)
IMHO drives better than the X-type with a nicer interior and 'feels' like a proper Jag - rather than a plushed up Mondeo.
The 2.7 V6 diesel is a much better engine than the 2.0 diesel too. ('though my favourite is the S-type R with its 400bhp supercharged 4.2 V8) - a
real wolf in sheep's clothing.
Rover 75? I'm not that old yet :-)
Jag S type to old Andy. Ive driven loads of s types when my xj was in for service many moons ago. The xj IMHO was much better than the s type.
I want to get at least a 09 plate. Can't bring myself to buy a new car....too tight.
Many X types suffer from rusty doors, rest of car can be immaculate but one or two doors will be bubbling badly.
Have you driven one yet? If you're a jaaaaag man you will be sorely disappointed.
What sort of budget? Does it have to be diesel? Think with modern diesels you really have to do big miles for them to make sense.
in the market sector the Avensis is probably the best car in production but the tacky interior trim spec is little better than a Nissan Micra
and the Lexus is so grossly expensive for what you get. Toyota seem to deliberately make their interiors look tacky and poverty spec to push buyers
towards the Lexus models.
Only thing to watch with Toyotas is oil change history, not just how regularly the oil has been changed but the quality of oil used ie using
mineral engine oils will result in piston wear.
To be fair on Ford and Jaguar the dual mass flywheel issue isn't half the problem it used to be, around the end of 2003 some upgrade appears
to have been made as before that it was unusual for an engine to go more than 80,000 miles without a flywheel and starter change.
in this size class the choice between petrol and diesel depends entirely on mileage and if the car is fitted with a DPF, certainly under 8,000
miles per year then a petrol engine is more attractive than a diesel even before considering the potential maintenance costs of a car with a DPF.
I think you need to be doing much more than 8000 miles to make a modern diesel viable. Especially with the higher price of fuel, increased maintenance costs, DPF's and the higher initial purchase price etc, Im sure I read a study in one of the car mags that the figure is somewhere between 20-30k a year. Obviously they have their perks with (usually) cheaper car tax, better torque for towing etc.
Road tax is an issue that a buyer has to consider a couple of years back I could have bought an immaculate 60,000 mile MG ZT 190 automatic
for £1600, but I turned my back on it because of the crazy road tax costs, I still "kickself" as was truly gorgeous in
electric blue with black leather.
Relative fuel running costs depend a lot the type of journeys a car is used for, for about 5 years I was running LPG which saved costs when
running locally but on longer journeys the savings were so low they weren’t worth the extra hassle.
In the last couple of weeks I have done a couple of long journeys mainly motorway dual carriage way but with lot of 2 lane black top with the
current R75 1.8 petrol and been returning a real 44 mpg which as to be pretty good for what is a large and very solid lump of car, normally in
current weather in local running it is returning 34mpg which for some reason is about 10% better than its' mechanically identical predecessor
ever did
[Edited on 27/7/13 by britishtrident]
She does about 25000 miles a year. Just showed her a merc a class and b class she hates them...........the saga goes on. The newer c class looks nice
though.
Funny the way that "I don't care what I get" can be so difficult.
[Edited on 27/7/13 by Lightning]
The Octavia VRS is a really nice car with much more room than a golf and massive boot. I really liked ours and would have another.
My Leon FR TDi was a disappointment with harsh ride and crap interior.
Currently have an A3 TDi Yawn. You can tell my company cars are getting worse! Cheapskates!
My Mrs currently has a Saab 9-3 that she loves! A late model one would be a cost effective option.
Search my posts for X type V Mondeo..
The X type is pants, the Mondeo wins hands down.. Build quality of the Mondeo was way better than the X type.
Thats all based on my factory experience as the steering engineer for both cars..
And too add the steering system on the Jag and Ford are STILL being made for the Aston Martin DB9 despite the other models having run out years ago..!
I thought of the SAAB convertible, what's the parts situation
quote:
Originally posted by Lightning
I thought of the SAAB convertible, what's the parts situation
No problems at all. There are specialist suppliers and despite what Top Gear say most parts are GM.
quote:
Originally posted by rdodger
No problems at all. There are specialist suppliers and despite what Top Gear say most parts are GM.
Not sure on your budget but how about a Jag XF?
Mondeo for me I've got an st tdci just topped 200k in it and not falllen part yet oh and getting 59 mpg ,
Will like to get the new Mondeo though nicer interior,
Mmmm Jag XF now your taking. Didn't realized how little the are now. I wanted to spend about 10000 but will spend more if needed.
My 3.0Tdi has been excellent (way more reliable than my Audi A6 3.0Tdi) so I'd recommend it.
This is mine
[Edited on 28/7/13 by jeffw]
It wins on looks by a country mile.
Must admit I'm very taken by the looks...sort of Aston Martin'ish due to the Ian Callum design.
What sort of MPG do you get??
quote:
Originally posted by Lightning
Rover 75? I'm not that old yet :-)
Jag S type to old Andy. Ive driven loads of s types when my xj was in for service many moons ago. The xj IMHO was much better than the s type.
I want to get at least a 09 plate. Can't bring myself to buy a new car....too tight.
SAAB convertible must suffer the worst scuttle shake EVER.
Comes of chopping the top off a tin-top and then trying to make it rigid - a task even the SAAB engineers couldn't master.....
Cheers, Pewe10 