Buying my company car back

I have the chance to buy my Ford Mondeo Titanium X 1.8 57 plate Estate car at a price of £2,600 at the end of the lease deal in June.

It will have covered just over 100,000 miles by then and will have a new clutch. The engine has always produced clouds of black smoke when accelerating - is this the sign of a problem or normal with this car? I thought that DPFs were designed to prevent this.

What other problems could I expect with a car of this mileage, I have owned it from 1 year old and it has covered mainly motorway miles with a gentle touch, also has a full service history.

Asked on 8 February 2012 by C Eaton

Answered by Honest John
It's a crap old engine, but £2,600 is cheap, especially since it's had a new DMF. Obviously it needs a timing belt if it hasn't had one, and you could be in for some turbo trouble if the oil feed pipes get blocked. I doubt the DPF will last much longer either, assuming it has one.
Dear Honest John,

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