Just had a sit in a nd a play around with the new Mondy and I Think its great. I will probably go for a year old one or something. They feel like a great car, Solid, big, nice looking outside, nice materials inside - and the 140 engine puts my Octy 110bhp tdi to shame... This one pulled so well - think it was a titanium or gear trim and was so nice a change from the dullness of an octy interior.

Anyone else tried the New Mondeo?

How did you get on?????

My dad used to go for fabias but now has a new focus - as an example of costs, the servicing is much cheeper and things like new wing mirroes are 220 quid fitted from my skoda dealer - Ford new wing mirror was £138 ....

So I might get one soon, but even though i'm a skoda driver Im not sure I can put up with the stigma of being a ford driver or MONDEO MAN.

So its this or a 5 series 530D 535D BMer about 2003 53 plate ish with all the tricks and trimmings.

Just the costs of the bmer terrify me - and never really owned a premium motor.

Happy new year let me know anyone who has secret ford fantasies.

i wouldn't buy anything with a blue oval on it , i work on them

New mondeo is really good, buying second hand is a good idea because depreciation is very high. The ghia and titanium spec cars come at a high price though, the more modest spec are ok, just not as well equiped.

A guy i work with collected one of these Friday(Zetec)..to be fair they look well inside and out but after a couple of miles of driving the cd player broke:eek:,going back to the stealers next week to get it sorted.

I have a new Mondao Titamium X TDCi. I've had quite a few new and used cars and I can safely say, it is by a country mile the best car I have ever owned. There isn't a new Skoda out there that even comes close to it and I'm a Skoda nut.

I have driven one and found it to be a bit oversized. Very big car

as an example of costs, the servicing is much cheeper and things like new wing mirroes are 220 quid fitted from my skoda dealer - Ford new wing mirror was £138 ....

Just as well that the mirror is cheaper (if that price is fitted and painted) because I reckon you'll get through a few of them. I had a drive in one and it seemed to fill a Sainsbury's car park space with little room either side.

The Mondeo just gets bigger with every model and this time I think they've gone too far. Great for reps who don't care about scrapes but for a private owner a constant worry about damage.

Nice smooth car to drive though.

ric, working with them your generally only going to see the troublesome ones so obviously they are gonna look bad i bet if you ask ross he would say don't buy audi/vw etc unless ofcourse he is more realistic

i work with council tenants all day everyday and i would say they are a nightmare and wreck the houses they live in but obviously we only visit maybe 50% regularly at most so you base your opinions on what you see.

and my experience of ford has been excellent personally, i've personally owned a mk2 fiesta that was good to drive and was very very reliable, a sierra saphire 1.8 that was again comfortable, very very reliable, not bad on fuel was fun, a 1.6 focus estate that was reliable, smooth, comfortable and looked nice(brother also has a 1.8 3 door hatch that has been faultless).

on the contrary i've owned one skoda octavia that has had 2 gearboxes, a clutch, wheel bearings, esp system all break on me so its by far been the most unreliable car and most costly one i have ever owned.

my 21 year old mazda is more reliable than my 6 year old skoda(that has spent nearly 2 years off the road in the nearly 5 years o've owned it.

So I might get one soon, but even though i'm a skoda driver Im not sure I can put up with the stigma of being a ford driver or MONDEO MAN.

I wouldn't worry about stigma - they're only poxy Skoda drivers after all

Chris

What about a new Jaguar ?

erm Tata (same difference )

ric, working with them your generally only going to see the troublesome ones so obviously they are gonna look bad

the problem with them is that they are built down to a price , and they have put so much electronic stuff on the top end models that we can't fix them ,

plus the new tighter warranty procedures mean that some of the stuff that used to be warranty , no longer is , so the customer will be paying to have repairs done before the car is a year old

the problem with them is that they are built down to a price , and they have put so much electronic stuff on the top end models that we can't fix them

Surely that's the same for pretty much every manufacturer in that sector though?

Rob.

The MK II Octy and fabia are definatly built to a price.

You can really tell on the MK II fabia too with nasty cheap stalks where a few MM has been shaved of switches like the wiper adjust so they are not easy to use.

The Octy has so many electronics in it and I bet you get mechanics bemoaning the days they put them in. I also be some others love them as it keeps them in work.

I admit I'd love an old mechanical IDI derv as I could work on that myself and save myself a lot of money that could have been spent at a garage.

Surely that's the same for pretty much every manufacturer in that sector though?

Rob.

i suppose your right , and its just me that hates them so much that i can't put forward a sensible argument against buying one :(

that sounds terrible about teh warranty issue's, what sort of thing do you mean?

surely a warranty should cover everything in the first year other than consumables on higher milage cars.

get something jap and don't break down

I have a few mates with new(ish) fords and they always have problems small but a pain in the ****.

Example washerjet pump packing in on a 2 year old car!

that sounds terrible about teh warranty issue's, what sort of thing do you mean?

surely a warranty should cover everything in the first year other than consumables on higher milage cars.

no adjustments after a certain mileage (1k iirc) or 3 months springs to mind

no trim or water leak repairs after first year

I hate doing fords at work. something always breaks! the trim clips are of such stupid design that they instantly break.

And i aint gunner say how many heater controls ive broken on the older fiestas

And i aint gunner say how many heater controls ive broken on the older fiestas

stop using a hammer to remove them :P

its always the heater valve anyway