Looking to buy an auto sedan or station wagon Mondeo with a budget of $7500 max. I can see on TM you can generally get 2001-2006 models within this price range and mileage varies from 100k-280k.
Is there anything I should look out for (positive or negative) when shopping around! Do Mondeo's tend to run for a long time, or do they start getting issues after a certain amount of k's! Am I best to look at an older model with fewer k's or a newer model with a lot of k's!
sifty,
Mar 22, 12:40am
manuals are a good car of that series.
mopsy3,
Mar 22, 12:52am
Known for transmission faults and NOT cheap to fix. Newer the better but all got problems. Get a good one and you are set, but you wont know until you got it!
the-lada-dude,
Mar 22, 2:08am
if you overheat it you'll trash the cyl head,the cd4e auto gearbox gives lotsa trouble, from 60k on
phillip.weston,
Mar 22, 2:35am
get a 5 speed manual and go for a 2004 onwards if possible, the '01 to mid'03 models had an issue with the inlet manifold. The 2004 facelift gets climate control air con and revised front bumper too.
I had a 2004 5-spd wagon with almost 400,000kms on the clock and it ran exceptionally well and quite fuel efficient too. The automatic models are a dog in comparison with over 10% extra fuel consumption and reduction in acceleration etc.
harrynz14,
Mar 22, 3:55am
OK thanks. I do want an auto. What would be a good car for $7.5k in that case. Needs to be pretty roomy with 2L engine (or thereabouts).
craigsmith,
Mar 22, 4:21am
Well do you want a station wagon or a sedan, cos the field is a bit wide open.
I have an auto Mondy Mk3, and it's true the auto isn't the best in terms of performance - but it's okay, and they're not known for giving problems in the 2001+ models. The old CD4Es gave problems in the old Mazda 626s and the Mk2 Mondies, but that was because of the way they were installed. On the Mondy Mk3's they have dedicated coolers and they seem to be perfectly reliable.
If you do seriously want to buy a Mondy, the place to spend some time is www.talkford.co.uk - used to be a specialist Mondeo forum and still is for the most part, it's a decent source of info.
stevo2,
Mar 22, 6:14am
If reliable trouble free motoring is what you're looking for, take intrades advice. Others are Falcon and Commodore and Accord
sw20,
Mar 22, 6:15am
Don't.
zirconium,
Mar 22, 5:37pm
For an auto, you could test drive a non-gt subaru legacy or a honda accord wagon, they are both in the same bracket as the mondeo wagon size-wise, and the auto gear boxes are MUCH nicer.The Mondeo manual is very nice, we owned a 2003 one for about 4 years, had 240,000 kms on it in the end. :) - Loved that car.
jkm,
Mar 22, 5:53pm
They are cheap for a reason. I drive a 2004 auto mondeo for work and hate it. Cutless and always wanting to change gear for highway driving. I guess if you just want to nana around town they are fine. Has lots of little niggling issues like back door latch is faulty, glove box latch broke. Wouldnt start, had to have mechanics out to reset gearbox park.( locked in park even though it has a place you can poke the key to get it out of park, wouldnt work)
harrynz14,
Mar 22, 10:59pm
Thanks heaps for all the advice. Looks like I won't want to go with the Mondeo. What I want to do is decide on a make and model and then find something within my price range. Otherwise there are just so many options it gets overwhelming. So far I have as good cars: Camry, Accord and Legacy. Anything else that is good, reliable and has a nice auto transmission and a good reputation!
rovercitroen,
Mar 23, 1:50am
I'd suggest Honda Accord wagon.
ssom1,
Mar 23, 2:08am
You may be able to get a Mazda6 2.3 GSX wagon in that price range, though maybe not, as they do hold their value well.Very similar car to a Mondeo, but with a better engine and poorer ergonomics.
Do they make auto P11 Primera wagons without a CVT!If so that would be another one.
kcf,
Mar 23, 2:26am
that gen Mondeo auto has the worst most indecisive autobox I've ever driven.Avoid.
fordcrzy,
Mar 23, 3:58am
buy a manual one instead they are 3000% better. we had an 02 wagon and it was great. Certainly wasnt gutless. it felt slow because it was torquey. but a standing start to a fix lamppost had it going the same speed if not faster than lots of other "sporty" 2L wagons and honda stream etc.
zetec,
Mar 24, 6:57am
Before deciding against a Mondeo maybe you should ask those posters who knock the Mondeo how many of them have actually owned or driven one. I haven't but have owned a 2004 Focus for many trouble free years and have driven over 300km in a rental Mondeo, a 2003 auto, and it was a very good car to drive.The European Ford cars (Fiesta, Focus, Mondeo)are some of the best selling vehicles in the most competitive car market in the world (Europe), ask yourself, if they were crap would they sell in the numbers they do year after year! That said, obviously before buying any used car you need to check service histoery, accident damage and general overall condition. I simply wouldn't let the opinions of some posters on here dissaude you from a specific model if you like it.
unbeatabull,
Mar 24, 7:30am
The mondeo's are generally a pretty solid vehicle. As K's get up, waterpumps, thermostat housing and heater hoses are common to fail, as well as the coil packs + leads start to get wear. There is a newer Coil that they refit them with which raises it up to allow better airflow to reduce heat buildup which helps, as the original one is flat on a bracket off the head and gets quite hot.
Manuals are considerably gruntier and nicer to drive then the Auto's, but generally both are as reliable as each other. As long as the trans is serviced regularly they don't give much trouble (90,000k for the Auto)
sfw4,
Mar 24, 10:12am
2001 -2006 models are nice shape. especially the gold coloured ones
icemans1,
Mar 24, 2:59pm
don't do it, i've heard they're nothing but trouble
icemans1,
Mar 24, 3:02pm
do some research on the net for reviews/opinions of them and then make a decision.
utwo,
Mar 25, 2:52am
People are like sheep. Shit heaps like the Ford Taurus can end up being the biggest selling car (in the USA) for years on end. We've had ten Ford Mondeos at work (currently six on the fleet) and they're nothing but trouble. Blown head gaskets, blown transmissions, $1200 clutch jobs, water pumps, bizarre electrical problems. the list goes on. I don't know why they keep buying them. I guess the boss has a Mondeo fetish. I had to change a headlight bulb on mine recently. The insulation on the wiring was crumbling in my hand. I also noticed that the wiring was much thinner than on Japanese cars.
unbeatabull,
Mar 25, 3:27am
Who the hell charges $1200 to do a clutch on them! I thought the $7-800 the Ford Dealer charges was pretty fair!
Ditto to the rest of the stuff, I work on them everyday and they aren't as common as you make them out to be. Generally head gaskets etc go due to someone neglecting the car. More often then not its lease cars when the people driving the car just hop in and drive, and don't notice theres a puddle on the ground from a leaking hose or something simple and just keep driving till it goes bang.
utwo,
Mar 25, 4:07am
The clutch job was on a V6 Mondeo using genuine parts.
unbeatabull,
Mar 25, 4:09am
Really!
Did you fit a new Flywheel!
Only way I can see it costing that much.
Clutch Kits are $250-300 for genuine or $180 from Exedy, plus the possibility of a rear main seal, which from memory was quite expensive on the V6's. Otherwise I don't know how you can justify that much, its no more work then doing a 4cyl clutch job, around 6hrs labour tops.
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