Ford Mondeo 2002 vs Audi A6 1997

Which would be a better, reliable family car! We like both and can't decide!

Audi is a 2.4L that has done 185000kms

Ford is a 2L that has done 135000kms

hrmm. I would personally pick something else, but out of the two I would go for the Mondeo especially if it were 5spd manual.

For what reason would you go for something else! We really like the look of these cars that is why. Mondeo is auto as well :)

IMHO a 15 year old Audi with close to 200,000 kms would not be a relaible family car.

Jazz would have been along by now telling us how the Audi is a far better and far more reliable car, but since hes been caught out lying recently, as he has been many other times, you will be saved from listening to his one eyed BS drivel

The Ford and Audi aren't reliable, try looking at more options. What's your budget!

i like the audis as they have a galvinised body and not prone to rust,i find most fords get tired,of the 2 cars audi hands down, oh a mondeo, sorry they are lemons, another car thats good is the nissian cerfio Excimo , i prefer the 2 litre 6

the mondeo autos are dreadful.the manuals are great. but hey do have there issues.clutches are weak and cost $2000 to replace.the wheels are made of chocolate nad bend at the slightest pothole.the pre 2004 ones have a problem with the intake system that will lunch the engine without warning.otherwise a solid car. maybe look at a MANUAL (NOT auto/CVT) primera wagon too!

you really have a chip on your shoulder don't you!

not with that mileage!

This coming from the failed troll!

I brought my 2002 Mondeo automatic about 12 months ago had 200k's on clock paid 4k off Trademe.Love this car, reliable and smooth to drive.I would recommend for family car.Have done 28,000 k's since purchased.Not bad on gas, a little less power than previous nissan bluebird going uphill but can live with that.

Two gripes, indicators and wipers on reverse sides, still catches me out from time to time as we have other vehicles, and the front brake pads leave a lot of brake dust on rims.

Here is a tip, if you disconnect the battery, make sure you have keycode for audio/CD handy otherwise in car audio/CD will lock.

A 1997 A6 is a heap of junk just waiting to empty your bank account.
A 2002 Mondeo is better looking and more reliable but as with all Euro cars you need to get it checked out properly otherwise it could cost you and arm and a leg to fix.
I wouldn't touch a Cefiro with a barge pole.

Just because the cars look "good", doesn't necessarily mean they are going to be reliable. May I suggest something like a 2.3 litre Mazda 6, or a 2.4 litre Toyota Camry for example! That's if reliability is your main criteria.

If the A6 has been well tended it would be a great car for the money. Its mechanically just the same as a VW Passat (which plenty of people consider a reliable bet at that age) and the V6 engines are capable of monumental amounts of km's without major problems. I would certainly rate the engine as more reliable at higher km's than the Ford although the Ford 2.0 is also a good unit.

It will have more equipment than your standard Passat so if anything were to make it less reliable as a car that might be a factor. Realistically though a well maintained example should be a fairly good bet on the whole from a reliability standpoint, especially against other similarly sophisticated vehicles of the age.

Just give the transmission a flush when you buy it and make sure the waterpump has been changed at some point. (Original waterpumps were plastic impeller and didn't last well, if they fail they can cause the cambelt to snap.)

Don't forget to factor in time as well as km's when determining if the timing belt is due again. It should be changed every 5 years regardless of km's.

Interestingly I have had quite a lot of experience with both vehicles, I did like my time with the Mondeo's but I feel they are a bit over priced now for what they are and I wouldn't rate them any more reliable than the A6 at this age. The A6 is of course a more expensive and certainly better vehicle in terms of ride/equipement/handling etc etc.

If the Mondeo was an Auto it would be a catagoric no from me, not sure if you have driven it up any significant hills but that transmission ruins an otherwise good car. We had a fleet of dozens of them at work with only one auto. for that very reason. A manual 2.0 though is a good car.

Parts for the VW are very well priced especially if sourced from the likes of Qualitat. If the cambelt is due its an easy but slow job and should always be done properly with tensioners, thermostat, waterpump etc changed at the same time.Because of the time factor give Qualitat a call for a current price on getting it changed, I would expect at least $1500 so be aware of that. Good one to do at home for just a few hundred in parts though if you are that way inclined. Can be done at a leasurely pace over the course of a weekend. The whole front comes off giving you supurb access and making it a nice easy (but long) job.

Both cars are older now, expect the occasional niggle from anything you buy in that price/age range. Your best bet against reliability is probably less so the badge on the front and more so picking one that has been well maintained and not abused. Best of luck, both are good choices so long as the Mondeo is a manual one.

Well we went for the ford mondeo as we found the Audi had not had its cambelt done. It may go slow but I drive like a nana anyway so I was never worried about that. Would have been good to see some of these comments yesterday:)

Do you want to convert to manual for us then! :) I am guessing that would cost a fortune and wouldn't be worth it. I have done it on another car before and was worth while.

Thats not a lot of km. It would be totaly reasonable to expect another 100000km out of one of those if looked after.

You have bought a good car, they are ok in auto and as long as you service it you will get a good run out of it. I have sold many over the years with no problems