Mondeo Mileages

HaX

HaX

Associate
Joined
19 Oct 2002
Posts
2,080
Location
Berkshire
Hi there,

Been looking at 01 & 02 reg Mondeo Diesels, a lot of them have got really high mileages ie 160k. Realistically, what kind of mileage can you get out of a Mondeo. I see a lot of Mondeo's working as Taxis, so I assume you can get several thousand miles out of them.
 
Man of Honour
Joined
17 Oct 2002
Posts
159,534
Generally, Mondeos will easily surpass 200,000 miles.

However the best Mondeos are ex-fleet Mondeos which have gained their 6 figure mileages sitting on the Motorway. No constant wear on brakes, clutch, etc etc, and none of the rattles and stuff associated with pounding around town.

So, 3 year old 1 owner ex-lease Mondeos with 100k = great buy.

Ex-taxi's and privately owned stuff, not so, 100,000 miles around town is probably harsher on a car than 200,000 miles on the Motorway...

Another thing to bear in mind, and this is a general thing not a Mondeo thing, is the questionable reliability of highpressure commonrail injection engines at ultra high mileage.
 

HaX

HaX

Associate
OP
Joined
19 Oct 2002
Posts
2,080
Location
Berkshire
I've been looking on Honest John and it seems that the MKIII Mondeos aren't quite as reliable as the MK I and MKII.

Incidentally, is there anyway to tell what kind of work a car has been doing, other than take the word of the person who is selling it?

[Edit] One other thing - I'm loath to do it - would I see much of an MPG increase if I got a 1.25 fiesta ghia?
 
Last edited:
Man of Honour
Joined
17 Oct 2002
Posts
159,534
HaX said:
I've been looking on Honest John and it seems that the MKIII Mondeos aren't quite as reliable as the MK I and MKII.

Incidentally, is there anyway to tell what kind of work a car has been doing, other than take the word of the person who is selling it?

Depends on the car - with Mondeos which have fixed servicing intervals, it can be quite difficult. But you can look for clues:

a) Stonechips. If the seller claims its all original paint, the car has 100k miles and the bonnet and bumper is battered to death with stonechips, it's done a lot of out of town work. You don't get stonechips in town. This is why my Mondeo's front is immaculate (I had it resprayed when I got RSAP) yet Dad's 530d, which we've had less time, is covered in stonechips.

b) Dealer stamps. Sometimes, all the stamps can be a dealer quite some distance away. This was the case with my Mondeo - all the stamps were from a Ford dealer in North Wales. The guys story was that he used the car to commute to work - he had an office in North Wales. It made sense.

c) Steering wheel. If its totally shiney, it's probably spent its life in town. You don't shuffle the steering wheel like mad in the outside lane of the M6.

d) Serious wear in general - You get in and out of the car less times in one 250 mile Motorway trip than in 10 25 mile trips around town. So, if the drivers seat shows a bit of wear on a bolster, fine. If its battered to hell...

e) Rest of the seats. Are they in excellent condition? Most company cars used for motorway miles never carry anyone but the driver. Towncars often have people in.

Etc.

[Edit] One other thing - I'm loath to do it - would I see much of an MPG increase if I got a 1.25 fiesta ghia?

Probably not, but even if you did, is it even worth it? It's like staying in a 1 star hotel to 'save money'. Cheaper, but nasty.

What is your annual mileage?

For most people, the need for cheap insurance and cheap petrol is pshycological - when you sit down and do the maths you find out that actually, the differences are small and can be offset by either the fact larger cars tend to cost less anyway used, or by spending a bit less on the car.
 

HaX

HaX

Associate
OP
Joined
19 Oct 2002
Posts
2,080
Location
Berkshire
My annual mileage is 16000 miles a year, which isn't massive, maybe not even worthy of getting a diesel, but obviously takes a fare chunk out of my wallet in fuel.

I guess I'm going to have to resign myself to the fact that unless someone invents an air powered car that retails for under £4000, I'm going to have to keep paying what I do on fuel.

On a more positive note, I've got my insurance sorted out, have got the Mondy looking very clean and is in for its service on Saturday. I've only had it 6 months, and it was supposed to have had a service before I picked it up, however - no stamp in the book so I assume not.

I think the thing that gets me down, is that I'm paying £100 a month back into my savings acount to pay for the car, £86 a month on insurance, and £150 a month on fuel :( A lot of cash to drive around in a MK II LX Mondeo! Would rather have a Ghia!
 
Last edited:
Man of Honour
Joined
17 Oct 2002
Posts
159,534
With that sort of mileage, it really isnt worth making extreme sacrifice to save a few pennies.

I'll be doing about 10-12k a year with my new job I think - the difference between a 40mpg car and a 30mpg car is 25 quid a month.

Ok, thats 25 quid I could spend on other things... or if the money was that important I could simply reduce my car purchase budget by 300 quid.
 
Back
Top Bottom