What to look for: Mondeo budget 5-6k

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I currently have a 1997 Renault Megane Classic. It was my first car, I bought it for 1.3k in 2006.
It's needed regular work ever since, and has started to need welding. Now I'm in a position to replace it, I'm going to do so! -yippeee-

I'm fairly certain I want a Mondeo (but am open to suggestions).
My question to you guys is, what kind of Mondeo can I expect to get for 5-6k?

- age
- mileage, plus an indiciation of how much a mondeo does before death
- likely work needed, any milestones where stuff needs doing?
- etc (anything relevant)

Am willing to bend on budget if there's a good reason to.

Edit:
In terms of usage, I don't drive to work, so it's really weekends plus random trips etc.
Low mileage, with no particular interest in cars.
 
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Associate
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http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1463266.htm

thats the first thing i found on ph searching within your budget.

The petrols are known to be pretty much bombproof. Check door seals etc and subsequently the bottom edge of all the doors for rust. Rear sub frame bushes are a known weak spot.

Pretty sure they are timing chains, which require an inspection at 100K.

Other than that, just keep in mind that there are plenty of them out there so you can be picky as you like about age/mileage/condition.

Happy hunting!
 
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Soldato
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You're actually into ST220 territory here, but if you're not bothered about the ST then the best all rounder would probably be a 2.0 Titanium X like above. Loads of kit, decent engine and no real issues to worry about.

Cam chain driven so no belt changes (inspection at 100k), service intervals are 12,500 miles and they're cheap to service. You'll be bored with it before it dies
 
Soldato
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IS it just the 2.2 that suffers from injector issues or does the 2.0 suffer the same problems?

Been looking into the ST and also Titanium versions.
 
Man of Honour
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If I had that budget, was considering a Mondeo and was happy with a manual, I'd buy an Accord.
The logic is simple. The Mondeo is simply a very good appliance. Does what you need, but not much more. If you're happy with that, why not buy something even more reliable, i.e. an Accord?
 
Soldato
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I really dont think there's much in it reliability wise, plus the Accord is a bit more expensive generally. Worthwhile considering though
 
Soldato
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5-6k I would look for something else.

IMO Mondeo's are fine as cheapish family cars but I do find them heavily overated, especially on this forum.

My father has had 2 now and insisted on buying them. However this latest TDCi has again been dogged with rear suspension, injectors and flywheel trouble. None are cheap to repair even at Ford prices.

He has decided to take a massive hit on it as he has lost faith in them.
 
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Is the accord as good value for money? I'd guess that you couldn't get a 2.0 accord with 60k on the clock with all the toys bar sat nav for £6k. And I don't think it would be appreciably more reliable would it? The only reason to buy an accord IMO is if you're particularly
anti mondeo or are after a good diesel engine.
 
Man of Honour
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Is the accord as good value for money? I'd guess that you couldn't get a 2.0 accord with 60k on the clock with all the toys bar sat nav for £6k. And I don't think it would be appreciably more reliable would it? The only reason to buy an accord IMO is if you're particularly
anti mondeo or are after a good diesel engine.

The only vaguely useful guide I've seen on reliability is on Warranty Directs reliability index. I seem to remember that their "index" figure for the Accord was 30, with the Mondeo, BMW E46 around 80ish. That doesn't sound like a small difference to me.
 
Soldato
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The only vaguely useful guide I've seen on reliability is on Warranty Directs reliability index. I seem to remember that their "index" figure for the Accord was 30, with the Mondeo, BMW E46 around 80ish. That doesn't sound like a small difference to me.

Accord - 46, Mondeo - 56, E46 - 83
 
Man of Honour
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Accord - 46, Mondeo - 56, E46 - 83

I think that you might have got your figures mixed up. You've quoted the figures for a 00-03 Mondeo when the budget will buy upto a 2007 Mondeo.
The newer Mondeo has an index of 74, which is clearly substantially higher than 46 for the Accord.

BTW, apols for getting the data wrong on the Accord, it was from memory.
 
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