Service cost comparison (between diff vehicles)

Can anyone give any comparisons on regular servicing costs for the following vehicles! Assuming doing whatever should be done.

Also, am I out of date thinking the RWD 'coon should be easier on the tyres!

2009 Mazda 6 2.5l
2009 Ford Mondeo 2.3l petrol
2009 Ford Mondeo 2.0l diesel turbo
2009 FG Falcon 4.0l (non turbo)

I think I heard the Falcon has a BIG service around the 90-100k(!) mark, but curious if any of the others have blips like that or are just a flat line of regular services.

Would you really put you car into a garage and say " Give it a 50,000 km service"!

They will all be about the same , diesel will be a bit more but should be compensated by fuel economy. around town use the falcon will use a tiny bit more gas.

Yep the extra weight counts against it. Also the extra torque if you have a particularly heavy foot.

e. Around town the Falcon will use MUCH more gas than the petrol 6 or Mondeo. On the open road things will be close, possibly in the Falcons favour.

I can comment on the three Fords:

Both the Mondeo's are more or less the same. The Diesel Mondeo has a filter that we replace every 90,000k. Also at 90k trans service etc is recommended, the fluid isn't too expensive depending on which trans you get - the powershift and 6 speed trans are very expensive (even more-so then Falcon Trans) but you have the bonus in that it doesn't have diff oils etc needing to be replaced as it is all in one.

Rear brakes last around 40-50k on Diesel and 50-60k on Petrol. Rear rotors last around 90k on both. Front brakes and rotors are due around 60k on Diesel, have seen some get around 80k in the petrol.

Tyres get around 40-60k, usually pretty hard on fronts so be sure to keep rotated. Spark plugs on petrol is due at 60k I believe. Coolant is every 5 years/100k but is a bit more expensive as it is orange long life type.Don't put green stuff in as it mixes and makes a jelly type substance. Also a Pollen Filter due every 60k, about .5 hour to fit as you have to remove the CJB under the dash to get access to. Brake Fluid 2 years.

The FG - 90k is a relative big service. Fuel Filter, Trans + diff, Throttle Body Clean (Make sure this is done! Otherwise you will get problems around 120-150k). Trans fluid again is pretty expensive, and depending on whether pan is removed or not it will take between 4-6L. If 6spd, there is also a loom seal on the rear of trans that is common to leak and recommend replacing at 90k as you have to remove the pan to replace it.

Brakes, all depends on how spirited driving you are. I've seen them last as low as 60k, with some get up over 120k out of a set of pads. Best tyre wear I've seen is 80k, but generally around 40-60k depending on driving.

Spark plugs are due at 150k, but we do sometimes replace them earlier as they have been known to give trouble over 120k. The interval on Territories are 90k and exact same engine, so we usually recommend doing plugs at 90k as well. Coolant due every 3 years/45,000k, Brake Fluid every 2 years.

Keep in mind FG has a 15k interval while the Mondeo is 20k. Both are 12 months

Obviously there are other things that can fail on them over time, but that is the general servicing on them.

I've seen FG's get under 10l/100k around town, but that is nanna'ing it a bit.

Actually yeah, yeah I would (and have) at those k's. Assuming it's a place that knows that model of course.

No idea of the relevance of the comment though.

Anywho, thanks heaps for the info on the Fords, that's what I was after. Hopefully somebody can give similar details for the Mazda.

Oh and yeah I've figured out fuel use and have driven examples of all.just after the numbers now before making a call.

If it was the 4cyl Mazda it is much the same as the Mondeo, but since its the 2.5 I don't really have much experience with them.

Most of it is relative though, they do get a bit better life out of brakes though then the Mondeo.

Other thing I forgot to mention, was keep in mind the Petrol Mondeo takes 4.5L of oil, Diesel takes 5L of oil and the FG takes 6.5-7L of oil. They all take 5w30.

Haynes book of lies + a bit of have a go = cheaper servicing =D

Ya the 2.5 is the 4cyl they started using from 2008. Thanks for your knowledge. Really just trying to figure out if any one of the models we're interested in stands out (badly) as far as running costs, but cost is never 100% of the decision obviously (eg just ruled out the Honda Euro because of it's appalling ride over bumpy urban areas),