Your views/advice on ford mondeo

seanot123

Hi folks!
Just after purchasing an 02ford mondeo lx, thought i got it very cheap at only 800quid but my mechanic had different to say about it which pissed me right off! anyway its in pristine condition,2years of an nct and is driving perfectly. it has 130k miles, thought it was ok for a 9year old car. anyway what the mechanic said was that the mondeo once they hit the 100k mark he sees it all the time that they burn oil like hell. need to keep an eye on it every two weeks. also he said the clutch are a big problem in them. once it goes he told me to park it up that it would be too costly to repair. what are your views on them? anything else i need to watch out for? i am no good when it comes to mechanics! also how can i avoid the clutch going? or does it just happen over time? thanks all, any answers appreciated!

gk5000

Your mechanic's not a million miles off. Mine started burning oil at 80k or so.
Now putting a new engine and gearbox at 125k!!!
NB. Check the Swirl Flaps on the Inlet Manifold cos if they go and are sucked into the engine..like mine.. its teminal.
...but I have a reconditioned head to sell!

but 800yoyo for a big comfortable motor is still a good deal even if you have to add a pint of oil every few weeks

seanot123

ya thats what i figured too, great price if it gets me 2years!
thanks a mill, i will check that out

johndaman66

I think your mechanic is being a bit overly pesamistic to be honest with you. He seems to be following the herd mentality school of thought that once a car hits the dreaded 100k mark it suddenly becomes a lemon...something I wouldn't necessairly expect of a good mechanic. A lot is down to how a car is maintained and serviced down through the years. I'd rather have a well looked after car with 130k than a comparable car with 70k which has being badly neglected.

Assuming you bought a duratec engined mondeo then granted they are known to burn a drop of oil, but nothing that excessive either I would suggest. Then again lots of engines burn oil. Even some if not all Toyota VVTI engines are well known to burn oil. I would be inclined to suggest that if you do any mileage worth you should be checking your oil at least every two weeks anyway regardless of the car you drive. Oil and coolant are two of the most important if not the most important and simple checks on the health of your car which I believe all able bodied drivers should be able to and actually perform.

I cant say I've heard of the clutch being an overly common problem on them models of Mondeo but I stand to be corrected on that. Of course a lot will be down to how the previous owner used or misused the clutch. If for example it was an old lady who used the clutch to hold the car on hills and that type of thing then that doesn't bode well for its longevity.

As gk5000 mentioned swirl flaps are a known problem area. I believe they dont hold much function other than emmissions and smooth idling of the car but again stand to be corrected on that also. They can be taken out and many do so without replacing them. This might cause you trouble come NCT time though...might be worth investigating that more thoroughly before you do anything rash.

Another known problem area is the handbrake cable which ceases. Bit of a design flaw really I think. There is a fair amount of ripping involved in replacing them. Exhaust and a heat shield needs to be dropped to get good access to them.

As I said before I think your mechanic is being overly pesamistic really. For the money you mention and if as you say it is in pristine condition with two years test I reckon you did very very well. I think in these kind of things there will always be a smart guy who says he could have done better than you. Would sincerely like to see them doing so in reality though, talk is cheap and all that.... Actually I assume you bought privately?

Plug

Depends on how well the car is looked after. I work on garda mondeos 1.8 with 300000km + and they don't burn a load of oil.

johndaman66

johndaman66 wrote: »

They can be taken out and many do so without replacing them. This might cause you trouble come NCT time though...might be worth investigating that more thoroughly before you do anything rash.

Shouldn't be a problem for the test
If the car is sound now and the clutch is without issue at the moment it's a good buy for the money. Did the mechanic actually inspect this car or is he just generalising about all of them?

Bluefoam

OP, enjoyyour car. Take care of it, but don't worry too much. Fords are built well & the odds of you being one of the unlucky ones is unlikely.Mondeo is a good car.

bazz26

In fairness if the car is running well, is clean with 2 years NCT then €800 sounds like good value to me. That is alot less than a year's depreciation on most new cars.

seanot123

Thanks for all the comments, i am happy now that i have heard some more reviews! i bought it privately from a guy who is actually back home in poland and needed the money as he wouldnt be returning back here. i saw pictures of the car,excellent condition inside and out. i phoned him up, asked him to tell me exactly what was wrong with the car and an honest man he was! just the battery was dying and the cd player was bust! bargained him down from 1200euro so had anything turned out to be wrong with the car i reckoned it was still cheap and with it having 2years nct, there couldnt have been much wrong with it!!
the mechanic didnt as such do an entire check over as he was rushing when i went to see him. i thought i would need a timing belt but he checked and said it was a timing chain so i was lucky there. he was just making statements about the mondeos in general. checked the clutch and he said it was second to none, no problem there.
re: the handbrake cable, the polish guy gave me the details of its full service history and it was changed last year (give or take). its been well serviced as far as i can see.
lastly, there were four new tires and the polish man's friend bought two cans of oil as it was low when viewing so all in all 800 was very good indeed!
thanks you guys, that's the reassurance i was looking for, cheers!