[rikster]

Hey,

Time has come that im gonna have to chop in my ageing Rover 416. Been looking at all sorts in the last few weeks ( vectra cdti, fabia vRS, Golf GTTDI etc ) have found an 04 54 plate Mondeo Ghia X TDCi with 23k on the clock for £9.6k.

Im not sure if its the 115 or 130, tho im hoping that its the 130. Whats the craic with these. What should i be looking out for? Reliability wise are they good for me keeping it for ten years ( at 12 - 14k miles p/a ).

Also, what are the servicing costs? Its sitting on 17's, how much im i lookin at for new boots and how often am i likely to have to replace them?

Cheers for all the help folks, much appreciated!

 

[Gizmo]

Check it runs properley, I have had a few niggling probs with mine since I got it...mainly with cutting out which turned out to be a camshaft sensor which, in all fairnesss, wasnt expensive.

I've done about 3k in mine over 6 weeks and it seems alright, averages good mpg and is quite pokey!

Tyre wise, they wont be too expensive, try www.mytyres.co.uk where you can order on-line and they are delivered to your door. All you need to do is get them fitted which my local garage does for about £12 a tyre.

 

[TDCi 160]

£12 per tyre?!! Thats a bit on the steep side isnt it?

 

[Gizmo]

Rip off city round here mate

 

[ScoobyChris]

I came from a Fabia diesel (1.9 PD TDI 100bhp) and my experience with it was less than satisfactory. well specced car and with a tuning box and uprated suspension fun to drive, but reliability was not its strong point (2 "left me stranded" breakdowns in a year for a 3 year old car) and main dealer servicing costs were a joke

Traded it in for the Mondeo (Ghia X TDCI 130) and am now approaching 30k of fault free miles. More kit, more fun to drive and cheaper to service than the Skoda. Only downside is it does 10mpg less on average, but I guess that isn't bad considering it's 400kg heavier than the Fabia

My soon-to-be father in law has a new Golf TDI and it's a nice car, well built and comfortable, but for the price it is poverty spec and tiny!

Chris

 

[FasterFords]

Just got my 02 Ghia X TDCi on Friday and I'm loving it, average 52mpg on my first tank so far, 400 miles done and still 200 left.

Just give it a long test drive at all speeds and make sure all the buttons work.

 

[siacelestar]

[quote name=TDCi 160+]£12 per tyre?!! Thats a bit on the steep side isnt it?

[/quote]

I have asked around in Bristol... and almost all of them are charging at around this rate... £10+vat.. or £11.xx

And tomorrow i am going to ask again... probably let them rip me off this time... :innocent: looked on the MET office and the weather doesn't look good....

Ummm are we a bit off topic here? :tongue:

Phil

 

[TDCi 160]

Im not sure if its the 115 or 130, tho im hoping that its the 130. Whats the craic with these. What should i be looking out for? Reliability wise are they good for me keeping it for ten years

Well there are a couple of common weak spots with the Mondeo, and with the TDCi engine.
Firstly, from what ive seen on here all Mondeos can have problems with subframe bushes going at the rear end. To have this fixed at Ford will set you back £180, and the symptoms are knocking/clonking coming from the back end.
The handbrake mechanism is prone to sticking which causes the rear brakes to bind. Usually sorted by cleaning and lubricating (WD40 i used on mine) the mechanism.
A small amount of rust can form under the wingmirrors where they meet the door on earlier cars. Look out for this as although it should be no problem and be sorted under warranty, from what ive read on here some dealers arent always to keen to honour the warranties. I think it is pretty rare though.
If your looking at anything with diamond cut alloys (Zetec S-18" 5 spoke, 18" 10 spoke/ST220+ST TDCi-18" multispoke/some Ghia X-18" 10 spoke) then beware as these are prone to corroding. Water gets under the laquer causing it to peel off, and makes the wheels look awful. The only way to remedy this is to have them all refurbed which will set you back somewhere around £200+.
The TDCi engine has a complicated common rail fuel system which can suffer from a few problems. Mainly faulty injectors which IIRC are expensive to replace.
Aside from that they are very good engines (dont think i missed anything out?), and are used in the Jaguar X type diesel and the new Mazda range. Lots of torque (244ft/lbs as standard) and smooth power delivery make for a very enjoyable drive. Especially as the Mondeo is such a good car to drive anyway, regardless of what engine is pulling it. Im pretty certain that a 2004 Ghia X will be a 130 version. Theres also the 2.2 TDCi (155bhp) from the ST TDCi in the Ghia X, but i think that only came available after 2005.

 

[xyster]

Even if it does drive ok now it is not to say you won`t encounter the problems at sometime so it is a little bit of a gamble. Make sure you are straight to the dealers if you notice anything so it can hopefully be sorted b4 the warranty expires.

Mine has had a misfire type problem for a yr and after 5 visits to the dealer they have fitted new injectors but then retarded the ignition for some reason which makes it sound like a tractor. Basically these problems they have seem to be ongoing so I only hope your car is a good one. I don`t think I would personally risk one out of warranty after a yr of problems on an 05 plated car which would of cost a packet. It is a shame cos I agree that there is nothing better for the money overall if you get a problem free one. I have looked at Saab`s, A4`s, Passats, Skoda`s etc and they are all much more expensive for no better a car. The only thing that I think may be better overall (cost included) is the newer Vectra cdti 150 bhp, in SRI or Design form. Trouble is you need the facelift 06 model with Mondeo like handling and not the older ones so unless comparing to an 06 plate Mondy you won`t get one below 11k mark.

 

[rikster]

Cant say i was expecting to hear as many warnings. Thot the mondy was the safest purchase out there.

Are the tdci units are they really that hit and miss? I was looking at a price of 9k to change, maybe a bit more if I was to benefit in the long term. Whatever car i get i would be looking to keep it for 5-6 years maybe more.

 

[rainbowcar]

there are certainly a few cars that have had serious problems, and usually expensive ones, but to look at the bigger picture the MK3 has a 84% reliability rating, just count the mondy taxi's, most with 200,000 + miles on!

 

[FasterFords]

That is the only problem with these forums, you hear about every problem that may effect your car, and it plays on your mind.

When I had my Honda S2000, there was 4 people on the forum that had had engine failures, and I thought "oh my god, im going to have a blown engine" then you think, hang on, theres 1000+ people on here, thats not bad odds.

Even the most reliable cars on Earth (Toyota) have problems, if you look on their forums.

 

[rainbowcar]

http://cars.uk.msn.com/news/car_news_article.aspx?cp-documentid=1309892

not toyota anymore, but they are in the top 10