honda accord v mazda6 v mondeo

padma

So...ive moved on from my trusty 97 civic saloon. Want to come up in years to a 2004 or above with about 2/2500 to spend. I would like to go beyond the 1.6 up to around a 2 litre...

Loved my Honda and fancy keeping the same level of reliabilty under my hole.have seen both mazdas and mondeos at this price range and am stuck...

So would anyone here be drawn to any of the above if ye had 2 grand to spend?

MuppetCheck

I'd have the accord. They are excellent value and have the nicest interior too. Will usually be easier to find a high spec accord too.

bazz26

+1 Honda Accord. They are little step up on the other two.

Noccy_Mondy

I'm jumping the ford ship here, and add one for the Honda. To me, they were advanced in the styling of that generation accord, and to this day it looks well, especially in a high spec.

christy02

Accord is a cut above other 2. However you will find it hard to get a decent 04 accord for 2.5k. Might need to dig a bit deeper. Hold out for highest spec you can get.

padma

Im going that direction as well....but looking at 05/06 mondeos are cheap as chips..im wondering is there faults in them and why they are so cheap..any reasons?

MoodyMoose

Had a second hand 98 ford fiesta for six months with a zetec engine. All was good until the head casket went and it was using oil heavily. The opinion of my garage was that apparently the zetec motors are designed in such a way that things like exchanging head casket and so on are almost economically not justifiable, certainly not for a 98 fiesta model. around 800 euros they reckoned. Sold the car shortly after. The Mondeos have this kind of engine as well. Now, I would imagine ford has improved on them, however if they are still designed like "throw away" engines that might, in part, explain the price.

Gavman84

Another for the Accord but I'm biased as I have one myself but 10k km in last 6 months and it's great car

CiniO

I'd say you could get a good Mazda 6 2.0 petrol for well below your budget.
1500 euro or even less.

padma

Yeah..i looked at a mazda 6 2005 for 1950 with new nct...seemed solid..sturdy etc...drove a few mondeos as well..they were good but preferred the mazda....have driven the older shape 00..01..02..03 accords though I like the newer shape..definitely more modern looking and pleasing to the eye...closest in shape though is the mazda 6

chicken foot

I had a 1.8 petrol 04 Mazda 6, just traded in the past week. had it for nearly four years. Bought it with 70k miles on the clock, fully serviced etc etc. Its a lovely car inside, mine was immaculate and looked very well. I only ever had one problem with that car and that was the Callipers. I must have spent €1500 on them over the space of a year and a half. Last year i got hit with a whopping bill of €750!!! You should easily pick up a 04 for about 1500 in relatively good condition.

We traded in for a 07 1.8 Diesel Mondeo -so far so good for the week that I have it. Its a big-ass car and im getting used to the Diesel engine but this car was bought for practical reasons and I still think the Mazda looked better.

The Accord was the car I wanted, it just wasnt in our budget. Ive promised myself a 08 Accord in another 3 - 4 years I know theyre expensive to repair but considering their reliaibility they shouldnt need repaired that often also, my first two cars were Hondas and I kind of have a bit of gra for them. The 04 Accord is a great looking car alright, it hasnt aged a bit!

Can I just add that I never thought I would find it so hard to spend money as I did in the hunt for this car, I hated it!! I actually think I turned myself off the Mondeo because we test drove so many of the feckers! we do a lot of mileage and with two kids, space and fuel economy were top of our priorities. It all depends on what youre looking for in a car. Happy Hunting, i wouldnt wish it on my worst enemy!

padma

I wouldnt fancy a bill like that...was it a fault or just an unfortunate situation? Why are they so affordable? Is it due to the tax on them? Or is it a reliability issue? What i read about the petrol mazdas is good...the accord may be beyond the scope of the bank of padma..

Balmed Out

the mazda 6's are a lovely drive but if anything goes wrong it tends to be expensive

CiniO

padma wrote: »

I wouldnt fancy a bill like that...was it a fault or just an unfortunate situation? Why are they so affordable? Is it due to the tax on them? Or is it a reliability issue? What i read about the petrol mazdas is good...the accord may be beyond the scope of the bank of padma..

I had one for 2 years (between 2011 and 2013). It was 2004 Mazda 6 2.0 TS2.
Absolutely lovely car. It was very nice to drive, offered quite good acceleration for 2 litre.
Mechanically it's brilliant car. Mine after 125k miles still had absolutely original suspension without even one single ball-joint changed. No leaks from the engine or gearbox at all. In short - prefectly built car.

However there is one issue with them, which with age seem to cause more and more trouble. This is rust.
Those cars literally disappear. Rear wheel arched, rear suspension, are most prone to it, but everything else is.
Only problems I had with mine over those 2 years, was cause by rust.
Power steering metal pipe rusted, and started leaking.
Brake callipers seized few times. All those caused by rust. As mentioned above - replacing them is costly job.
That's probably a reason for them to be available that cheap.

Find one which was used in centre of the country far from the see, and not driven much on gritted roads, and it should be a good buy.

padma

Thats a pity...there was a wee bit of rust on the one i drove today..plus the mondeos paint was peeling off in.places...tis hard coming from the civic...total trust when i bought it..would like the same trust and confidence in what i buy next...

j buckley

honda al the way beats other two every time.

padma

had a think over during the week and what was currently around, settled for a 02 corolla, happy enough. reliability was an issue and financial too. thanks everyone for the input

christy02

padma wrote: »

had a think over during the week and what was currently around, settled for a 02 corolla, happy enough. reliability was an issue and financial too. thanks everyone for the input

Boring!!!lol

padma

I know and it was the last car on my mind, but it's a good one and reliability is the key for me. Everything else in my price range was ok, but could be either A, troublesome down the road or B, depreciate too fast by the time i go to sell.

For the next few years I'm going to sell my car every year and add a 1000 euro and upgrade to a sensible low depreciation brand, then by 2018 I can have a more modern up to date car with good mpg etc... as it is currently, being not so healthy in my pocket I'm driving older cars with higher tax and less mpg.

obviously if a lump sum of cash comes my way I could buy what I want but alas, its common high demand low appreciation cars for the next few years.

DuckSlice

is there any common problems with the 2.2d honda accords? was thinking of a bmw, but seen a mate with a accord yesterday and they are nice.

christy02

etxp wrote: »

is there any common problems with the 2.2d honda accords? was thinking of a bmw, but seen a mate with a accord yesterday and they are nice.

What year?

DuckSlice

2008

bazz26

Current or old model? Both were sold in 2008 and both have different engines.

DuckSlice

bazz26 wrote: »

Current or old model? Both were sold in 2008 and both have different engines.

The newer one I think. The I-dtec I think didn't think there was a model change that year

christy02

Earlier one is icdti. Newer model came out here in 09 but 08 in uk.

christy02

You will pay 10-12k for a 08/09 newer model. 4-6k for an 07. A lot if cheap tax to cover that.

Stab*City

Ok im also looking at the Accord 2.2D 04-06 or Mazda 6 2.0D 04-06 or an Audi A4 1.9D hoping to pick one of the above up this month. Changing from a 2.0 Petrol Lexus is200.

Anyone any thoughts on the Accord vs the A4. Im leaning towards the accord mainly because of the gadgets. I love how this car has more gadgets than some 08's..

I commute on regional main roads about 50km a day. Im used to expensive tax and petrol costs. I know with the accord the tax will go up but also wondering will there be much saving on the fuel to make up for that. This will be my first diesel.

Any thoughts or guidance appreciated.

christy02

Stab*City wrote: »

Ok im also looking at the Accord 2.2D 04-06 or Mazda 6 2.0D 04-06 or an Audi A4 1.9D hoping to pick one of the above up this month. Changing from a 2.0 Petrol Lexus is200.

Anyone any thoughts on the Accord vs the A4. Im leaning towards the accord mainly because of the gadgets. I love how this car has more gadgets than some 08's..

I commute on regional main roads about 50km a day. Im used to expensive tax and petrol costs. I know with the accord the tax will go up but also wondering will there be much saving on the fuel to make up for that. This will be my first diesel.

Any thoughts or guidance appreciated.

I would stay away from the Mazda. The diesel engine from that era is prone to fail.

Accord is more refined than the a4 and has more gadgets. Mine returns close to 50mpg. I have facelifted 06 model with 6 speed box.

Can't comment on fuel efficiency of 1.9tdi imagine its similar.

Both good engines. A4 cab give up flywheel a little easy but so can most diesels.

JohnBoy26

Stab*City wrote: »

Ok im also looking at the Accord 2.2D 04-06 or Mazda 6 2.0D 04-06 or an Audi A4 1.9D hoping to pick one of the above up this month. Changing from a 2.0 Petrol Lexus is200.

Anyone any thoughts on the Accord vs the A4. Im leaning towards the accord mainly because of the gadgets. I love how this car has more gadgets than some 08's..

I commute on regional main roads about 50km a day. Im used to expensive tax and petrol costs. I know with the accord the tax will go up but also wondering will there be much saving on the fuel to make up for that. This will be my first diesel.

Any thoughts or guidance appreciated.

The a4 is the best and most reliable car on your list.

Stab*City

JohnBoy26 wrote: »

The a4 is the best and most reliable car on your list.

Any reasons why?

JohnBoy26

Stab*City wrote: »

Any reasons why?

It's a more reliable car than the others imo. The 1.9tdi engine is about as reliable as diesels get.

Stab*City

Being honest i really like the look of both the Accord and the A4 im hearing good stories about both. But i think if they are both reliable then the accord just beats the A4 for me anyway with the gadgets.. The cockpit in an A4 looks like something from the 90's (only gadget is the air con!).

christy02

JohnBoy26 wrote: »

The a4 is the best and most reliable car on your list.

On what are you basing that exactly?

JohnBoy26

christy02 wrote: »

On what are you basing that exactly?

My own experience backed up by others experience.

The Mazda's engine is a total disaster. The accord is a nice car but the 2.2 cdti gives lots of timing chain trouble, along with various other issues. I'm not saying the a4 is bulletproof but it is pretty reliable in 1.9tdi form.