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What's wrong with Mondeos?
Marcus - 13/8/14 at 07:22 PM

As per the title really, looking at 2008 onwards diesel Mondeo estates. They seem very good value so what's the catch?
The obvious boring issues but I need a towcar and something to throw bikes in the back of.
Not looking at base models either, a Titanium X would be the ideal motor.

Over to you, what do you think?

Ta

stevebubs - 13/8/14 at 07:27 PM

Nothing so long as it's been looked after.

big_wasa - 13/8/14 at 07:33 PM

I've bought a mid mk3 for the Duratec engine , I just cant break it up as its a great drive. Not fast or exciting but good all the same.

INDY BIRD - 13/8/14 at 07:34 PM

I havea 59 2.2 tdci titanium x sport great car comfortable etc, mpg though not as good as my st tdci I get max 44 and it's all motorway driving other than that all good

daniel mason - 13/8/14 at 08:06 PM

I've read lots on this lately as I'm in the same position! I want a tow car with more space but read several horror stories regarding the ford diesels especially the 2.2 as well as the avensis 2.2d and the vag 2.0tdi
Seems like the vw passat is as cheap as most with the 1.9tdi motor

ashg - 13/8/14 at 08:25 PM

Did 1000 miles in a week in a mondeo estate. Seats are a bit uncomfortable after 3-4hrs driving on a long journey and 44mpg is about the best your gonna get on a diesel doing around 70-80 on the motorway. Felt ok in the corners, didn't really feel planted at 100mph on the autobahn. also thought there was a bit too much wind noise over the roof but that seems to be a Ford thing and easily fixed with the radio.

Over all not a bad motor, quite smooth on the road and bags of standard kit for bargain basement money.............but.......... I can safely say I was very happy to get back into my bmw and drive home at the end of the week. then again the bmw isnt really great value for money as it costs a lot lot more for only slightly better all round performance.

I drove a new 2.0 diesel astra the other day to Amsterdam and was plesantly impressed, it went like a rocket ship but was really quiet and civilised for a small estate car. The insignia is also a good car to drive, Not quite as agile as the mondeo in the tight corners but the ride quality and comfort on the elite model I hired was much better than the mondeo mpg on the motorway down to Germany was also around 56mpg at 70-80mph.

So far the car I have liked the most on a europe run other than my bmw was quite suprising. It was a skoda Octavia good level of kit good fuel economy mid 50's, quiet, lovely ride, sure footed at speed, excellent build quality ( in fact I personally reckon they are built better than their passat cousin!) Second runner up was the seat exeo which is basically the same car followed by the passat and the a4. The latter two being over priced for no apparent reason as they are all virtually identical



[Edited on 13/8/2014 by ashg]

MikeR - 13/8/14 at 08:28 PM

I looked at a titanium x s-max which is basically a mondeo estate with a bigger jumper. Decided against it when i thought about things failing as the miles increased. Xeon headlights / active suspension etc cost a fortune to replace. I got a titanium 2.0 tdci smax instead. so far i've had to replace the rear suspension bushes and alarm (which are known weakness on the smax).

Starting to get a problem - a pulse (perhaps 1 a second) on hard acceleration in gears above 3rd where it seems to lose then regain power. In for a service soon & hoping its to do with vaccum sensors (which i read on the internet) instead of a fuel pump or injector problem which is very expensive.

Overall very happy - although having had a focus 2.0tdci which often got 50+mpg I was anticipating more mpg in the family bus.

theprisioner - 13/8/14 at 08:28 PM

We have just sold an 8 year old one and changed it for a 2013 Titanium X. Great cars, fabulous handling. But like all cars these days they need to be serviced properly. The old one threw up an error due to an ERG valve, ELM and £140 for a new valve. Valve was definitely US. Window seals replaced at some point they leaked. Rusty brake pipes warning this years MoT but no other serious problems.

snapper - 13/8/14 at 08:39 PM

Older Mondeo's have a bag of problems waiting to pounce
No getting away from Dual Mass Flywheel, Desiel injectors, fuel pump and other issues
A Desiel engine will go for years, it's the crap they bolt on them now that causes issues, if the original stuff breaks after 80k it's no better than a Petrol

Slimy38 - 13/8/14 at 08:54 PM

quote:
Originally posted by snapper
Older Mondeo's have a bag of problems waiting to pounce
No getting away from Dual Mass Flywheel, Desiel injectors, fuel pump and other issues
A Desiel engine will go for years, it's the crap they bolt on them now that causes issues, if the original stuff breaks after 80k it's no better than a Petrol


It was the diesel injectors that killed my mates car, apart from that it was a perfect workhorse. Even then he was debating whether to pay the grand or so to get another 100,000 miles out of it. If you put money aside for these big jobs and accept them as inevitable, then they're a pretty decent purchase.

It's a shame the injectors need programming to the car by Ford themselves, otherwise it would be one less zero on that repair bill. (Unless someone has finally figured out how to do it DIY?).

theprisioner - 13/8/14 at 09:23 PM

There is a device called an F super that you can programme your own. The number is written on the side. My mate did his own.

NigeEss - 13/8/14 at 10:56 PM

Apart from injectors at over a £100 each plus programming, fuel pump issues and DMF wear they are good cars.

Mr Whippy - 14/8/14 at 05:52 AM

Nothing at all and nice and simple to work on. Only down side may be getting spares, do check the body work as none of those cars were rust proofed and could rot badly. I had a maestro which was great and I'd happily have one now.

kj - 14/8/14 at 08:10 AM

I have a 2013 company car and its smooth to drive and comes with more std equipment than most, i have had an Astra and it was problem after problem. I have done over 64000 miles and it had a light on the dash which the garage said it was the diesel partical filter which they said usually is down to cheap super market fuel, it did not need to be changed just re set the code.
I can travel to London and back in a day no problem.

mcerd1 - 14/8/14 at 08:26 AM

quote:
Originally posted by daniel mason
I've read lots on this lately as I'm in the same position! I want a tow car with more space but read several horror stories regarding the ford diesels especially the 2.2 as well as the avensis 2.2d and the vag 2.0tdi
Seems like the vw passat is as cheap as most with the 1.9tdi motor


a guy I work with has a 57 plate 1.9 Passat that coming up for 100k - he's had the car from new and its been well looked after, but he's now on turbo number 3 (at £650 + fitting a time !! )

there is no question that his old 1.9D engine is more robust than the new 2.0 ones, but its still got the same variable geometry turbo, EGR, DPF and all the other modern stuff that fails far too early and costs a small fortune to replace


my answer was to buy a petrol



[Edited on 14/8/2014 by mcerd1]

adithorp - 14/8/14 at 09:12 AM

quote:
Originally posted by Mr Whippy
Nothing at all and nice and simple to work on. Only down side may be getting spares, do check the body work as none of those cars were rust proofed and could rot badly. I had a maestro which was great and I'd happily have one now.


MONDEO!

steve m - 14/8/14 at 09:42 AM

Not sure what car Mr whippy is talking about but is not a Mondeo !

I have a 58 2.0 Tdci

Lovley car, in fact probably the best car I have ever had, I average 45 mpg pretty well all the time, and that include's
towing a 6metre caravan

acceleration is very good

mines a tourer an the boot can carry two single beds and two mattress's with moving the front seats about two clicks forward

happy from me so far

Steve

Doctor Derek Doctors - 14/8/14 at 10:50 AM

A good mate of mine has a 61 plate 2.2 DIESEL it's a fine car but it gets worse MPG than my 53 plate BMW 330d Auto which is a monster tow car.

Mr Whippy - 14/8/14 at 11:33 AM

quote:
Originally posted by adithorp
quote:
Originally posted by Mr Whippy
Nothing at all and nice and simple to work on. Only down side may be getting spares, do check the body work as none of those cars were rust proofed and could rot badly. I had a maestro which was great and I'd happily have one now.


MONDEO!


sorry I was thinking you were talking about a Montego well I did reply early in morning and I've been up since 4 am with the kid...

stevebubs - 14/8/14 at 12:37 PM

From what I can gather, the biggest cause of failure in the injectors is actually down to failure to replace the fuel filter as part of the service.. in a previous role, Mk4 Mondeos were the almost-defactor standard company car due to the sheer discount....some of them did monster mileage and the only one I know of with a problem was down to the above...

[Edited on 14/8/14 by stevebubs]

[Edited on 14/8/14 by stevebubs]

wilkingj - 17/8/14 at 10:09 AM

quote:
Originally posted by theprisioner
There is a device called an F super that you can programme your own. The number is written on the side. My mate did his own.


Just watch out for "F-Super" my copy that came with the OBD box / lead off EBay.
It had a Trojan / virus in it.
So scan / check and remove before installing the software.
Especially if you are not paying full price from a recognised source.


Other than that its pretty good for the money.

EDIT:
I have learned from over 30 years of driving, and in excess of 130,000 miles (in one of my vehicles) that using cheap diesel is a false economy.
On my Land Rover, I got between 1.2 and 2.6 mpg more with Shell, Texaco, BP or Esso.
When you work this back to Pence per Mile, it was a reasonable saving.
Do the maths based on Pence per Mile, and it looks very different to 1p per litre extra!

My point is that I have only used non branded / cheap diesel as a last resort since.

Basically I will use any diesel where the company has their own wells, refineries, and outlets.

On my 2.2 Mondeo I get 44mpg around town general use, and 51 on the motorway at 70mph, and I have even managed 59mpg over a 600 mile trip to the Outer Hebrides but travelling at 60mph (a mate was towing a big trailer).
I'm not that heavy on the right foot, despite having 155 Horses hidden under the bonnet



[Edited on 17/8/2014 by wilkingj]

coozer - 17/8/14 at 10:31 PM

I was a quality engineer for the mk2 from 2000 until it ran out in 2007.. As far as I can go is all the problems where sorted by 2004 and the cars had no building problems from then till they finished it.

So by now the current one should be rock solid apart from Ford are closing the factory once this model is finished, that leaves 20,000 people without a job so watch out!

My Ford sta engineer had the choice of all sorts of company cars from Ford and Jaguar/landrover and always choose the titanium X 4x4 estate, reckoning it was the best car available.