Thinking of a Mondeo

JimmyCrackCorn

Now doing quite a bit of mileage my fuel bill in a 2.0l petrol is getting a little excessive.

I'm finally relenting and starting to look at a diesel.

2004/5 Ford Mondeo Zetec/ghia in or around 7-8k euro with up to 75k miles

What are they like to live with and do they still do the starship miles they used to if minded.

Thanks

robbie_998

you'll be a god on the road if you get one in pure white... add an ariel or two and put this in your back window

JimmyCrackCorn

robbie_998 wrote: »

you'll be a god on the road if you get one in pure white... add an ariel or two and put this in your back window

Your a bad man I was thinking a black box on the dash just for those lane hoggers.

CharlieCroker

Well, as "state" cars were already mentioned!

We put serious mileage on our patrol cars (all mondeo's, 4 petrol, 1 diesel) The standard 90 bhp diesel is a maggot but i've driven the 130TDci and its a great machine, plenty of torque and the Ghia has great spec.

They put up with enormus abuse and are still going fairly strong, regular servicing is the key. We have a 2007 with nearly 300k km on it. It is one of the cars I would consider going North or to the UK though, there are so many of them over there that values are pretty much through the floor.

I'd certainly put my money into one though, prob a Zetec S or else an ST TDci.

robbie_998

CharlieCroker wrote: »

Well, as "state" cars were already mentioned!

We put serious mileage on our patrol cars (all mondeo's, 4 petrol, 1 diesel) The standard 90 bhp diesel is a maggot but i've driven the 130TDci and its a great machine, plenty of torque and the Ghia has great spec.

They put up with enormus abuse and are still going fairly strong, regular servicing is the key. We have a 2007 with nearly 300k km on it. It is one of the cars I would consider going North or to the UK though, there are so many of them over there that values are pretty much through the floor.

I'd certainly put my money into one though, prob a Zetec S or else an ST TDci.

so your a garda ?

macroman

robbie_998 wrote: »

you'll be a god on the road if you get one in pure white... add an ariel or two and put this in your back window

The temptation would be unreal

I've driven the 2.0 130TDci and was quite surprised by how well it handled, smooth acceleration, nice gearbox, and very well spec'd out (Ghia). As already mentioned, these will do mad mileage provided they're serviced regularly, they're really a motorway cruiser.

Known faults with the 130TDci are the Turbo oil seals going, dual-mass flywheel failing & pre-mature clutch failures, cam positioning sensors failing, injectors going after 3-4 years (60,000 miles), various diff problems (common sympton is a vibrating/shuddering), and as with any Mondeo rear suspension bushes & subframe corrosion if buying from UK or up North.

It's worth paying that bit extra for the higher spec well cared for example or an ex-Lease vehicle with a FSH.

robbie_998

macroman wrote: »

The temptation would be unreal

I've driven the 2.0 130TDci and was quite surprised by how well it handled, smooth acceleration, nice gearbox, and very well spec'd out (Ghia). As already mentioned, these will do mad mileage provided they're serviced regularly, they're really a motorway cruiser.

Known faults with the 130TDci are the Turbo oil seals going, dual-mass flywheel failing & pre-mature clutch failures, cam positioning sensors failing, injectors going after 3-4 years (60,000 miles), various diff problems (common sympton is a vibrating/shuddering), and as with any Mondeo rear suspension bushes & subframe corrosion if buying from UK or up North.

It's worth paying that bit extra for the higher spec well cared for example or an ex-Lease vehicle with a FSH.

the reason why i ask is he a garda is cos i wanna know if i did actually get a mondeo and did that but added some blue LED lights to the bumpers would it be legal ?

i know its illegal to have "Garda" actually written on the vehicle but what if it was just the lights i had ?

would i be allowed ?

CharlieCroker

Nope, white and orange to the front, red/white/orange only to the rear.

EMS vehicles are the only ones allowed have blue flashing lights. In the road traffic act somewhere

robbie_998

CharlieCroker wrote: »

Nope, white and orange to the front, red/white/orange only to the rear.

EMS vehicles are the only ones allowed have blue flashing lights. In the road traffic act somewhere

ah poo

can i atleast have my own garda car then ?

they do get abused a lot.... 4AM marked garda car dropping the lads to the airport at some speed and driving off again.

im forever seen the garda sergeant in full uniform and in a fully marked yaris popping into B&Q Liffey Valley to pick out tiles for his house... some do turn up in marked and unmarked mondeos too to shop

macroman

robbie_998 wrote: »

ah poo

can i atleast have my own garda car then ?

they do get abused a lot.... 4AM marked garda car dropping the lads to the airport at some speed and driving off again.

im forever seen the garda sergeant in full uniform and in a fully marked yaris popping into B&Q Liffey Valley to pick out tiles for his house... some do turn up in marked and unmarked mondeos too to shop

Unfortunatly it's illegal to make your own Garda car without the express permission from the Press Office. Even then only for film work if it doesn't display them in a bad light etc.

robbie_998

macroman wrote: »

Unfortunatly it's illegal to make your own Garda car without the express permission from the Press Office. Even then only for film work if it doesn't display them in a bad light etc.

actually didn't mean "make one"

more like would anybody notice one missing from the fleet :pac:

macroman

robbie_998 wrote: »

actually didn't mean "make one"

more like would anybody notice one missing from the fleet :pac:

A joyride is much more fun than impersonating

robbie_998

robbie_998 wrote: »

i know its illegal to have "Garda" actually written on the vehicle but what if it was just the lights i had ?

robbie_998 wrote: »

ah poo

can i atleast have my own garda car then ?

Get a D reg, slap an extra aerial on it and plenty of tards will reckon your a "branch" car as they call them. You might be limited as to where you can leave it though.

bf

JimmyCrackCorn wrote: »

Now doing quite a bit of mileage my fuel bill in a 2.0l petrol is getting a little excessive.

I'm finally relenting and starting to look at a diesel.

2004/5 Ford Mondeo Zetec/ghia in or around 7-8k euro with up to 75k miles

What are they like to live with and do they still do the starship miles they used to if minded.

Thanks

Cough cough, see my signature!!

stevenmu

It's actually completely legal to drive a garda car, there's a legal loophole that you can read more about here

JimmyCrackCorn

macroman wrote: »

The temptation would be unreal

I've driven the 2.0 130TDci and was quite surprised by how well it handled, smooth acceleration, nice gearbox, and very well spec'd out (Ghia). As already mentioned, these will do mad mileage provided they're serviced regularly, they're really a motorway cruiser.

Known faults with the 130TDci are the Turbo oil seals going, dual-mass flywheel failing & pre-mature clutch failures, cam positioning sensors failing, injectors going after 3-4 years (60,000 miles), various diff problems (common sympton is a vibrating/shuddering), and as with any Mondeo rear suspension bushes & subframe corrosion if buying from UK or up North.

It's worth paying that bit extra for the higher spec well cared for example or an ex-Lease vehicle with a FSH.

CharlieCroker wrote: »

Well, as "state" cars were already mentioned!

We put serious mileage on our patrol cars (all mondeo's, 4 petrol, 1 diesel) The standard 90 bhp diesel is a maggot but i've driven the 130TDci and its a great machine, plenty of torque and the Ghia has great spec.

They put up with enormus abuse and are still going fairly strong, regular servicing is the key. We have a 2007 with nearly 300k km on it. It is one of the cars I would consider going North or to the UK though, there are so many of them over there that values are pretty much through the floor.

I'd certainly put my money into one though, prob a Zetec S or else an ST TDci.

Thanks just the advice i was looking for. 20m test drive will tell me the above are ok and no judders or knocking stuff.

Ill be looking at the 130 not the ST and definatly not the 90bhp asthmatic.

I was put off the 320d BMWs due to there ability to generate large bills for silly stuff. It hurts to listen to BMW owners costs for broken stuff.

burger1979

I bought an ST TDCI in the UK in august of 08 and not had a problem with it since. alternator went but thats all, can happen any time. 45K miles later and still happy as. dont touch the 90, 130 is good too. dont let the VAG drivers hog you off the road you can take em too just got to time it right.

oil useage is never high, check every so often. i get about 620 miles on a full tank (commute is 80 mile round trip M50 and N3), very comfortable on long journeys and not alot of noise in the cabin at motorway speeds. get ghia spec or up (titanium x). loads in the uk if can, or try up north if its worth it. parts are cheap enough, full service with ford garage in dub €300, or there abouts.

would love to get the current model titi x 170ps.

yop

burger1979 wrote: »

I bought an ST TDCI in the UK in august of 08 and not had a problem with it since. alternator went but thats all, can happen any time. 45K miles later and still happy as. dont touch the 90, 130 is good too. dont let the VAG drivers hog you off the road you can take em too just got to time it right.

oil useage is never high, check every so often. i get about 620 miles on a full tank (commute is 80 mile round trip M50 and N3), very comfortable on long journeys and not alot of noise in the cabin at motorway speeds. get ghia spec or up (titanium x). loads in the uk if can, or try up north if its worth it. parts are cheap enough, full service with ford garage in dub €300, or there abouts.

would love to get the current model titi x 170ps.

Lovely car that for sure. Will possibly go for now one once I sell the MPS. Was within an airplane journey of buying one in the UK but the AA check put me off it!!
Mores the pity.

JimmyCrackCorn

So opinions on the car below? Looks worth a trip to me.


http://atsearch.autotrader.co.uk/ni/cars_popup.jsp?searchform=&modelexact=1&lid=search_used_cars_full&photo=1&state=block&sort=3&hassearched=Y&make=FORD&min_pr=75&source=0&model=MONDEO&max_pr=6000&miles=60&agerange=&mileage=8&postcode=bt3+9jp&variant=tdci&bodyid=0&trim=&fuelid=0&colour=&transmissionid=0&keywords=&ukcarsearch_full.x=44&ukcarsearch_full.y=9&ukcarsearch_full=SEARCH&start=2&distance=2&adcategory=CARS&channel=CARS&id=201020359167611

cjmcork

OP, I've a silver 07 Mondy with a high vis jacket across the back shelf ......it's done 120k kms in 3 years (85 of that in the past 2 for me) - couldn't go wrong with it..........my only p1sser is that I'm on a C reg, I'd love a D reg - that might keep the tailgaters from wanting to get intimate with my boot.........

gyppo

I have a 05 Zetec 130Tdci.
I have it 4 years - the longest I have ever owned a car, and bar usual items such as tyres, brakes, etc hasnt required any work over 80k miles. Mid range acceleration is very impressive.
Go for it OP - I recommend them.

JimmyCrackCorn

I sat down and did the math this evening If i get 45mpg in reality the difference a year between a 2.0L petrol is daft. Based on 10k-12k miles a year.

cant believe how much i spend on go go juice over 4 years :eek:

yop

Nice motor, whats the VRT on that?

Is there a timing belt on those? Is it done at 50k miles?

Also when I doing some checking on the ST TDCI there were a lot of issues with the injectors, now I don't know a lot about cars so check this out as it may not be relevant to the standard TDCI
There are plenty of good mondeo forums.

EPM

As far as I know the 115 is the best with regard to injectors not giving trouble. There's a huge thread on honest john about them that's well worth a read before you buy

JimmyCrackCorn

Based on the above 130TDCI Zetec 04 with 74k miles
1650e

freighter

JimmyCrackCorn wrote: »

Based on the above 130TDCI Zetec 04 with 74k miles
1650e

I seen a 06 one in galway at the weekend sold for 6k it was the platinum model nice car for the money

cjmcork

I'm getting between 50 - 54mpg from mine, but to be fair 90% of my driving is open road..........phew!

edit - last journey was 58mpg!

macroman

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/2002-Police-Style-Ford-Mondeo-Ghia-TDDI-/320534492950?cmd=ViewItem&pt=Automobiles_UK&hash=item4aa1583716

Legal to drive over here provided you don't put any Blue lights or sirens (inc. two-tones, whalers etc.), nor any obvious names. The battenburg is non-reflective so it's for non-emergency use only.

There's a few in the country working as action vehicles, so provided its for a legitimate use you shouldn't have any problems. Putting the s**t up boy racers doesn't count as a legitimate use BTW :rolleyes:

It's worn quite a few miles - goes to show that these can clock up some serious mileage provided they're serviced. Also shows they can take some abuse :cool:

mac09

so did you go to look at the zetec S.

I have an 04 model, things you need to look out for are as follows:

Rear Subframe bushes (labour intesive), Dual mass flywheel (usually replace the clutch and slave at the same time), idler tensioner unit along with pulleys and belt, alloys have a tendancy to leak air as they are made of a very porous alloy (there has been lots of discussion over on http://www.fordmondeo.org about it)

i have had bad luck with mine as i have done the above along with a lot of other stuff and steering isnt right either

but im sure if you get the right one you will be fine

JimmyCrackCorn

Still toing and frowing between cars in no hurry have a bangernomic car at the moment and am more distracted by booking my holiday to nurburgring.:D

Its now a toss up between accourd or mondeo diesels.