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Quite so Jimbo, but there aren't many automatic ones with low miles and good history on sale within a few miles of my home. I'm not at any great liberty to go far from home at the moment for one reason and another. Which is why this one looks tempting. If I could knock the bloke down to 600 quid then a worst case scenario of 400 to fix the aircon is bearable. Although Henry's link suggests I could get away with under 200 with a bit of luck.
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Looking at the CBC, HJ reckons that the auto boxes only have a life of 60-90k in them. Erk. That sounds remarkably poor for a car with a reputation for reliability. This one's done 82k............
I guess a replacement gearbox is gonna be well over 500 quid? Looks like this car is just about worthless then. He's gonna be a lucky little boy to get a grand for it.
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>>.... the auto boxes only have a life of 60-90k in them.
I am still holding my breath but my 98 126K auto Mondeo is surviving.
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Good to hear, Henry.
Looks like a replacement is over a grand:
tinyurl.com/nmyz6h
Yoinks.
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Henry,
Just thinking aloud here. Should I expect to see a gearbox oil change or two at some stage in the car's history? If so, when are they due?
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Should I expect to see a gearbox oil change or two at some stage in the car's history? If so when are they due?
Not aware of any. I have done about 45K since I got mine.
It had (all but the last) Ford service history and has been treated to Ford services since.
The main dealer I use seems very trust worthy and have not mentioned a gear box oil change.
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>>.... the auto boxes only have a life of 60-90k in them. I am still holding my breath but my 98 126K auto Mondeo is surviving.
My V6 Mondy Auto had around 110k when I got bored of it, auto box was fine.
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Considering how much you may have to spend on the car for the aircon (especially if it's a little more than you think), plus other items on a car that age, the cost of TAX, Insurance and MOT etc.. lets say conservatively 1K for the car, 300 aircon, 120 for a couple of tyres, 150 for TAX, £100 for insurance, 150 for other stuff. That's around £1820 all for 1 day per week use. After the 1st year you will spend about 700 per annum keeping it on the road, and it will continue to loose around 200 per year in value. If anything moderately serious goes wrong, you'll be scrapping it.
The above is a best case option and works out at £19 thru to £25 (worst case) per week over a 2 year period, much more if it only lasts a year. After this petrol and parking still has to be paid for many journeys...possibly another £9.
Unless the journeys in it are very long ones, is it better to use a TAXI where necessary and public transport where possible or hire a car for those few extra long journeys?
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I can guarantee it's not worth fixing the aircon from an economic point of view. Even if you find a car of that age with working aircon, it's no gtee it'll continue. They are made to a cheap price (the aircon units) and it shows.
The lack of working aircon probably drops the price by £100, if that.
Edited by oldnotbold on 11/09/2009 at 14:59
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That's a fair point, ONB. Still reckon the car's worth around half what he's asking though.
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I appreciate your input davecuk. But what price convenience? I haven't got all day to describe the usage the car would get, but suffice it to say it just needs to be there for me whenever I need it, to carry some unpleasant loads, and to be used as a school/run commuter when our main cars are off the road. My wife's Smart Roadster is a bit unreliable, but she loves it and we need a reliable back up in place - currently this is a 2006 Mazda 6, but it's not getting the use that a car of this value should. So I'm looking to get some money back on it before it depreciates to nothing, and replace with something cheaper with a fairly good life expectancy (5 years or so at about 6-8k miles a year).
Taxis, buses and hire cars are a hassle, and not always the right choice. For starters there's no bus route between my house and my children's school/nursery.
No too bothered about the costs which you have outlined, just trying to work out if this specific Mundaneo I'm looking at is a sound buy. I think I'd have to pay well under 500 quid for that to be the case, and with the seller's starting point of £1k I think he's going to have to wait for someone who hasn't done their homework.
Edited by Alanovich on 11/09/2009 at 15:02
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190332857105 and 300346660184 on Ebay, both in Essex.
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Nice lookers, green one particularly, but Essex is a bit of a trek for me.
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From the OP last post, it sounds like safety lies in Banger territory rather than paying 1K for the car, at least then you can throw it away when you have finished with it. Pretty much what we all did when we were 17.....it worked too.
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I know these cars well, and so I should, I've owned one for the past nine years!
The aircon problem is almost certainly down to the bottom of the condenser having rotted; this is a very common Mark II Mondeo problem. New condenser off Ebay, about £50, fit it yourself and then get someone round to test and gas it. Probably cost you around £100 to £120 in total, so, really not a big problem.
Quite honestly, I myself would be far more worried by the fact that this car is an auto, rather than the problem with the air conditioning. The autoboxes don't have a very good reputation, I'm sorry to say. Mark II Mondeo's get scrapped because the autobox has failed, it's a very expensive job to replace an autobox, probably in the region of what you are considering paying for the car!
These are good reliable cars, please don't get me wrong, but the autobox really is trouble with a capital "T"! Look for a good manual one, unless it absolutely has to be an auto, for licence reasons or something. Mine's done 147,000 miles, and, touch wood, no major problems. I expect it'll want a new clutch sometime soon but that's another story!
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P Reg Mondeo
1.8 LX
110,000 miles
MOT till Feb 2010
Colour: Pearlescent Redcurrant
We have this here in Devon. It is the Son-in-Laws. He doesn't use it now. Needs new clutch. £100.00 no offers. New clutch fitted would be about £280.00-300.00
Best regards....MD
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