Hi,
I'd like people's advice on buying high mileage Mondeos (new shape). I've got a couple of ageing Fiats I would like to replace. I've got a maximum budget of £8k and that's including a part ex value of about £1500 for the two Fiats. I need two cars, an estate and a saloon.
There is a garage near me which specialises in high mileage Fords. I could buy two Mondeos, an estate (2.0 Ghia) and a saloon (2.0 Zetec) for about £8k but both cars would have done anything between 90k to 115k. The garage reckons the cars drive as though they had only done 30k.
Does anybody have any experience of high mileage Mondeos (new shape) and are the prices above fair?
Thanks for your help.
Mark
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Most high mileage cars that are low in years have generally been a tool of the trade and will most likely have been regularly serviced - a proper service history should be available.
Too many people worry unnecessarily about high mileage vehicles but, in many cases, because they have been used on long trips they are running at a proper temperature, rather than the odd mile or so foray around town which wears out an engine far quicker.
Ensure that the proper servicing has been done and that overall other areas of the car have not suffered from the mileage (shock absorbers etc) and you will/should have no problems. You may find it still worthwhile to have them properly checked over by the AA or similar body.
Modern lubricants, tighter manufacturing tolerances and much higher quality of parts, components, bodywork etc means that today's cars are far better equipped to handle big mileages.
Even my 1989 VW Jetta 1.3 that I had from 1992 to 1995 (I bought it with 66,600 miles on the clock) and the follow up Jetta 1.6 tX (52,500 miles when acquired) never used a drop of oil and never once let me down; I knew I could travel anywhere in the UK without a worry in them, but always ensured that they were properly maintained and serviced.
Now I've got a 1.6 Bora SE (1999 with 2000 year spec) and over the 13 months I've owned it it's never missed a beat.
Remember too that car dealers get their vehicles at prices so low it may astonish you - so be prepared to take advantage and don't forget to haggle as hard as possible even in this instance.
If you are buying two vehicles you are in an even better position as the dealer will double his sales yet only deal with one customer; a lot less hassle for him/her..:-)
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Look in the HJ auction reports (under the news section) to get an idea what these cars fetch at auction. Add a risk margin and a profit and thats what they should sell for. If you're prepared to take the risk, you could buy at auction yourself. If you'd rather have a good look round the cars, a test drive and a warranty then you may have a sensible dealer; most cars don't rust out or wear out now - they just reach such a low value that a modest repair is uneconomic.
I'd recommend reading the HJ car-by-car breakdown - it'll tell you the common weakspots on the Mondeo. And visit www.fordmondeo.org - they'll help with common problems. I reckon a Mondeo is a good buy in general.
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Saloons are not nearly as popular as the hatches and estates and you should be able to get a particularly good price on that one.
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My V plate Mondeo Ghia X has 118k on the clock and drives fine, I am very happy with it, and also very happy with the substantial saving I made over the book price.
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My Mondeo has just hit 90k,97 P reg 1.8 TD, no problems other than front tyre wear every 20k and that's with easy driving. Wishbone bushes a known problem on early models ( possibly just the mk 1 till end of 96), fan selector rheostat failing with smell of burning in passenger foot well when it's failed you get the fan running at the highest setting. Other problems anti roll bar links ( clunking form the front whren cornering). Clutch change allegedly expensive as the lower sub frame needs to be dropped, Good value car if you want to buy and run till it dies as opposed to buying and changing later and loosing a packet.
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These are very good cars, the low prices are a mystery.
Mine is a 98, S plate, 1.8LX with A/C. Bought it with 49K on the clock. Odo now reads 93K. Fuel consumption over the period stands at 36.6 mpg.
Apart from the tyres lasted 25K (and my driving style is not that gentle) the only parts changed so far has been a set of disks + pads, and a leaking master cylinder. Of course the timing belt was changed at 80K.
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There's no mystery to the low prices - supply outstrips demand and always will with mass produced cars on the used car market.
There is a bonus, as you have discovered.
You get a superb driver's car that's cheap to run and maintain and with more than ample room for most families.
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I bought a 2001 Y plate 2.0 Zetec petrol estate with 110K miles on the clock. I had it serviced recently and that didn't throw up any major problems either. I have done 3000 miles in mine since getting it a month ago and it has been fine.
Nearly all the ones I looked at had the sunglasses holder broken and as they were high milers had a fair few stone chips. Not the end of the world though, eh?
Patrick
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Thanks for everybody's advice. You have certainly put my mind at rest in buying these high milers!
Thanks again.
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SWMBO has got a a P-reg 2.0 GLX estate, bought a few years ago with 86k on the clock. Now about 110k, almost trouble free except;
1) the auto gearbox failed at 100k, the specialist repairers said this was about the average life expectancy. £1,000 to replace. SWMBO is obliged to drive an auto, the result of an attempted mugging some years ago. A clutch replacement on the manual ones is a £500ish job, I believe.
2) A leak developed where the filler pipe enters the fuel tank. There's a rubber(?) bush type thingy in the joint which wears around the filler pipe. I replaced it, a fiddly job if you haven't got a car hoist.
However, a very reliable car despite this IMHO.
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You will be lucky to get away with £500 for a Mondeo clutch change unless it's a back street garage. I've heard £800 is more the going rate since the subframe has to be lowered. Ridiculous design and the reason I wouldn't buy one. A clutch is a wear and tear item - why do manufacturers do it?
But other makes can be as bad. The Vectra is a pig to do compared to the Cavalier. I had a mate who reckoned he could change a Cavalier clutch in an hour.
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>>>> £800 is more the going rate since the subframe has tobe lowered. Ridiculous design >> A clutch is a wear and tear item - >>
probably once maybe twice in a cars lifetime is hardly wear and tear, #800 ?? a bit of an exaggeration, try around #350 at Mr Clutch. You spend a lot more in a cars lifetime on them wear and tear items called tyres.
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I had a mate who reckoned he could change a Cavalier clutch in an hour.
No offence to your mate, but he must have had several tea breaks. Generally they can be changed within 40 mins with a couple of cuppas consumed.
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I've been on the roads since 1956 (two-wheels) and owned about seven or eight cars, all bought secondhand, from 1964 - I've only ever had to replace a clutch once and that was during the time when the other half was also using the particular vehicle...:-)
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FWIW we ended up discussing clutch lifetime over on this thread :-
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=22499
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A car that's young but high mileage should have almost no wear to the clutch, as almost by definition, it's hard to clock up more than about 20,000 miles a year ithout the majority of it being on motorways, so no gear changes. My car costs 34ppm (see other threads by me). Mine's an automatic, so no clutch costs, but even a clutch every 80k miles at £800 would only take my costs up by 1ppm or 3%. Hardly bank-breaking, and hardly a reason not to buy a particular car if everything else about it is fine.
V
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Modern clutches don't wear like good old-fashioned ones used to.
That's why they can be designed so that they are a right devil to change.
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Hardly bank-breaking, and hardly a reason not to buy a particular car if everything else about it is fine.
That is true over the life of the car but the problem with buying second hand is you don't know when these big bills are going to occur. I can appreciate that even a new clutch every 80k is not much spread over the life of the car but if you buy secondhand then get hit for a clutch within six months then that's rough. Also these big bills end up as the car is getting older and owned by the less well-off, the very people who might struggle to pay for the repairs.
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I have considered a mondeo, but it must be an automatic. Is there a known problem with these Ford autos? Would changing the oil and gearbox filter help. I am a great beliver in this as both cost £20 and the gearbox £1000.
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