I think Faboka's comment referred to the newer 6-speed box as the old 5-speed box I have feels perfectly setup (imho)

Yep 6 speed. First 3 gears are just daft. 1 gear is pointless.

ivan im shocked you would even consider another renault (spit)

the newer mundano's i quite like nippy if the tdci ones roomy and quiet

I have driven an X reg- 2000? model Laguna, the older one. It had done nearly 80000 miles and was a pooled car so was well, trashed. Reliability wasn't bad, and it drove nicely. All cars have bad ones and good ones.

I would have thought the Octy with the PD engine would be a nice alternative - they sure have loads of space in the boot, good engine, and you can sort out most of the rest if required. Price wise I bet you can pick one up for the kinda cash you're mentioning

What about a Passat TDI 130???? They are relatively good value and won't cost a lot to run... Unlike the typical 'rep' mobiles which will be cheaper now but lose far more when it comes to resell...

cheers

Dazz

ivan im shocked you would even consider another renault (spit)

the newer mundano's i quite like nippy if the tdci ones roomy and quiet

I know I know I think I will look at a Tavia PD TDI s and will have a test drive of ford..

the turbo's on the new laguna's are prone to failure, they keep the turbo in stock!

We bought 5 Lagunas in work and had no end of bother with them. Blown turbos, electrical faults, uneven tyre wear, faults with brake systems etc etc. Got so bad, an employee of Renault UK visited us and agreed that the cars "Were not to the standard they should have been at". We binned them and converted to Skoda - best move we made!

(Incidentally, this applies to the newer Lagunas. The older Mk1 version was fine.)

We have a 1999 1.6 Alize Laguna (old shape obviously). Despite being the absolutely bottom model it's well kitted out and a VERY comfortable car - but of course, comfort comes at the expense of handling. It's quite an amazing contrast getting out of the Fab into the Lag - the interior is all so SOFT in the Lag!

I would have said ours was also pretty reliable but (and it's a big but) the gearbox failed in August this year - 6 years old but only 39000 miles. Ouch!

The 1.6 is more powerful than you might think, but does struggle to accelerate from rest; it gives us around 34 mpg and is cheaper to insure as it's a few groups lower than the 1.8. But I'm not sure they kept doing the 1.6 in the new shape?

SWMBO's Dad has a 54-plate 1.8 Dynamique Laguna and all seems well. He doesn't cover a major mileage in it though. Won't have been my choice, but he was between that and the Mazda6 (considered that?) and chose the Frog.

In your shoes, I'd seriously consider the Mondy. I covered 1800 miles in a week in a Ghia X TDCI-130 estate last year with work and liked it quite a lot actually. Soaked up the m/way miles effortlessly and rode well, with decent cornering capability too. Would choose the hatch myself, if it were my money, as you could feel the back going light in the estate when pressing on.

Let us know what you decide on.

Steve

Thinking about selling my Fabia vRS as I now require a bigger car and something more comfortable with a less harsh ride so looking into a Laguna. I am looking at spending about

Agghhhhhh DONT BUY A LAGUNA [/size']!!!!

Bit of a sublime message there , Well I don't think I will touch the Guna then but maybe a Mundoe is on the cards, SWMBO also suggested another Octy TDI or the like so gonna search round for one.

WHAT ABOUT A VW PASSAT TDI 130???????

Will not cost a lot to run due to good fuel econ + better than Renault/Ford/Vauxhall residuals..

Better built and better quality than the equiv Ford/Renault

plus ++ uses non franchise specialist servicing and it would not cost that much

to service....

ta Dazz

WHAT ABOUT A VW PASSAT TDI 130???????

Or even a Superb????

Or even a Superb????

Probably want a hatch/estate with baby stuff I looked at Passats when I was hunting and found that to get an equivalent specced (and understanding the Passat specs is a minefield in itself! ), low mileage PD130 you'd be paying well over the 7/8k budget. Also wouldn't agree on the better built and better quality bit after the ones I looked at in budget!

Chris

Depends what the budget/year of car he is after.. The Passat Saloon will take lots of luggage, babychairs prams etc... I accept that you will be able to pick a newer lower mileage Mondeo up but the Passat should hold on to its value more

than the Ford...

Also the comments abou the condition etc.. I've seen plenty of Fords and Vauxhall wrecks so be carefull, even 80-90K ex company cars should have loads of life left, as the SH should be full of dealer stamps...

Just the Passat I had was the most reliable car i've owned to date....

cheers

Dazz

Depends what the budget/year of car he is after.. The Passat Saloon will take lots of luggage, babychairs prams etc...

Big boot yes, but it's got a (relatively) small boot lid, which can make getting stuff in and out much trickier than with a hatch or estate...

Rob.

Yes that its only downside.. But the family who bought mine came along with a huge 3 wheeler buggy thing to test that it fitted and how easily it was to put in / take out... They had no problems at all... + the split folding rear seats etc...

And there car was an Escort estate.....

+ Don't forget the estate version of the Passat!!!

My company run a fleet of Ford Mondeo's as company cars etc... So far there has been major problems with reliability, cars with no power, suspension and electrical issues.

My mate who lived over in Sweden decided to splash out and bought himself a

new ST220.. Within 15 months all 4 doors had rotted though and he rejected the

car and got a brand new replacement with him only having to pay around

Should be some good deals with the new passat having come out

My company run a fleet of Ford Mondeo's as company cars etc... So far there has been major problems with reliability, cars with no power, suspension and electrical issues.

Sounds pretty unusual based on the hundreds of user reviews I've read, owners I've spoken to and the feedback of people on www.fordmondeo.org (who'd complain about anything ).

Any more info on what caused the cars to have no power, what suspension problems they suffered from and what electrical issues they experienced?

Chris

Ivan - you stated that you were only "possibly" looking at diesel. If you are considering petrol have a look at used Octy RSs - Y reg ones with about 40 to 50k on them are only about

My advice on Laguna's (in fact all Renaults) is Dont go near them

My dad has a 2.2 DCI Initial (top of the range) and has had nothing but trouble with it and its still ont 3 years old. Another problem is that is seems Renault dealers anr incapable of maintaining thhe cars and the warrenty is not worth the paper it is written on.

In less than 1 year on owning the car it has had 5 Trips back to the dealer and one call out from a diagnistics specialist.

Automatic Windscreen wipers refuesed to stop trip to Reanult to have them turned off be computer (not covered by warrenty)

Clutch Failiure as 27k miled although Renault admitted the clutch was not worn it was not covered by warrenty originally quoted £1200 to replace eventually battled down to £800

Sat Nav Failed (Renault dealer unable to find fault with it)

Drivers window comes down when the car is locked up and left,not covered by warrenty Renault eventuially agreed to sort out this fault with the threat of legal action but again tok 3 more trips to the dealers forn teme to finally get it sorted

Tyre pressure Sensor warning of flat tyre,Renault dealers claim the sensors had been set at incorrect pressure limit. (Who other than Renault had serviced the car to set them incorrectly)

Final Fault car refused to start one morning 'fuel injection Fault consult Your Renault Dealer' car left half an hour and tried again same fault. Diagnostics Specialist came out and car started first time!

Because of all these problems and now the car is just coming to 3 years old he has taken the decision cut his losses and get rid of the car before it costs even more. He is now looking for a Mondeo Ghia X or Octavis TDI

Because of all these problems and now the car is just coming to 3 years old he has taken the decision cut his losses and get rid of the car before it costs even more. He is now looking for a Mondeo Ghia X or Octavis TDI

I think I made a wise decision not buying the Laguna the salesman was pressuring me to buy and take off his forecourt (still there 6 months later! )

Chris

Based on my experience with a Renault that went into the dealer with a heater matrix fault (common problem esp. on the older ones, like the one I was driving). Went in, came back out with several other faults and within a month the car had to be scrapped as several of the hoses all blew out at the same time, kinda nuking the engine...

There ARE some good garages out there that sell Renaults, but there appear to be a lot of lemons out there too, unfortunately.

With French cars the general rule of thumb is to keep away from stuff that's electronically controlled - unfortunately these days that's most stuff :(

Sounds pretty unusual based on the hundreds of user reviews I've read' date=' owners I've spoken to and the feedback of people on [url']www.fordmondeo.org[/url] (who'd complain about anything ).

Any more info on what caused the cars to have no power, what suspension problems they suffered from and what electrical issues they experienced?

Chris

A bit like on here then

ECU problems with lack of power, causing cars to stall ( even if reving past 2k )

ECU's have had to be reprogrammed with later Ford code!! Improved but still

causes plenty of issues.. Imobiliser issues cars refuse to start....

Rear bushes causing uneven tyre wear.. Clonks on front end..

Electrical issues included problems with warning lights / dashboard illums...

Also false sensor readings causing issues with ECU....

Alternator problems....

A few Engineers have had no issues with there Mondeos but alot have

and we had moved over from Vauxhall around 3 years ago.. And most Engineers

wished they had stopped where they were.....

And as I said my mate had major issues with his Monde ST220 with rotting doors!!

He only had his new replacement for around 6 months until he decided to return back to UK,, Sweden Ford dealers offered very low money on buy back on his

immaculate 8K miles car.. I believe they offered around 42% of new list AFTER 6months!!!! He sold privately for much more, and since returning to the UK has decided he would think long and hard before buying another new Ford...

This is a man who has had plenty of Fords in the past including a slightly nuts

Turbo Technics Granada Scorpio 2.9i Twin Turbo 4x4 AKA the BEAST!!!

This had electric everything etc... It was slightly quick + could wake the dead

with its Channel tunnel sized exhaust....

Personally having driven a Focus and a Mondeo I think they are good average cars... The Focus hire car was fun to drive ( similar to Fabia ) but it broke down with ECU issues and refused to start....

cheers

Dazz....