Mondeo - Auto vs manual mondeo - Herr Minger

I am thinking of buying a Mondeo as I have read that it is good for towing small caravans. I have a small two berth caravan weighing approx 750 KG. My budget is limited to £2000 and so I will be looking in the 75000 to 110000 mile range. Now I am not bothered about the engines as such as I'm looking for the diesel version but I am very concerned about clutch/DMF failure and so I was wondering if an automatic Mondeo diesel would be the way to go as I've heard that they don't have a dual mass flywheel. Any advice would be welcome.

Mondeo - Auto vs manual mondeo - elekie&a/c doctor
With this kind of budget you are going to be looking at a car around 10 years old.Mondeos are very durable,however diesel models at this age can need very expensive engine repairs.problems with injection system and engine timing chains are common.Buying any car of this age,I would recommend keep it simple,petrol engine with a manual gearbox.If you must have auto,I think I would go Japanese .
Mondeo - Auto vs manual mondeo - Herr Minger

I guess I will just have to keep the 02 Freelander TD4 GS (123,000) I have bought. It should tow the caravan but I'm very apprehensive about it's reliability

Mondeo - Auto vs manual mondeo - iFocus
With this kind of budget you are going to be looking at a car around 10 years old.Mondeos are very durable,however diesel models at this age can need very expensive engine repairs.problems with injection system and engine timing chains are common.Buying any car of this age,I would recommend keep it simple,petrol engine with a manual gearbox.If you must have auto,I think I would go Japanese .

What are these issues with the Cam chain on the mondeo you're referring to?

Also the later 2.0 TDCI Mondeo 3's have improved injectors and rarely give much trouble.

Mondeo - Auto vs manual mondeo - iFocus

Going automatic would indeed negate the issues of a DMF failure, but you're also opening a can of worms that are auto gearboxes which do go wrong too, and the bill to repair an auto probably will be far more than DMF and clutch!