Ford Mondeo MK3

Author
Discussion

TonyRPH

Original Poster:

13,144 posts

175 months

Thursday 21st December 2023
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I saw a MK3 Mondeo today, and it struck me that I don't see that many any more (not in this part of the country anyway).

Are they a rapidly dying model? I checked on how many left, but because of the sheer volume of different models my search was inconclusive.

Do you see many in your part of the country?

Obligatory picture;


finlo

3,840 posts

210 months

Thursday 21st December 2023
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Well they have been out of production for seventeen odd years.

Drezza

1,438 posts

61 months

Thursday 21st December 2023
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My grandad was gutted when his Mk2 Mondeo failed the MOT last year on corroded seatbelt mounting points as he could no longer fix it with filler and spray paint. He's still got it parked next to his new Mk4 on the drive and starts it once a week

cliffords

1,827 posts

30 months

Thursday 21st December 2023
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I think this is true with lots of cars there were literally thousands of .
What happened to Cavaliers, Sierras, 405's. I often think this , they just all of a sudden vanished.

I had a Cavalier in 1995 as a company car so it would be old but where have they all gone

Edited by cliffords on Thursday 21st December 21:40

Kuwahara

1,033 posts

25 months

Thursday 21st December 2023
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TonyRPH said:
I saw a MK3 Mondeo today, and it struck me that I don't see that many any more (not in this part of the country anyway).

Are they a rapidly dying model? I checked on how many left, but because of the sheer volume of different models my search was inconclusive.

Do you see many in your part of the country?

Obligatory picture;

Still looks good, great design..,

FilH

750 posts

151 months

Thursday 21st December 2023
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Usual stuff, get old and low value, then when i big ticket item comes along ( £1k+ for a clutch change ) and / or some Ford rust. They are then scraped, broken for parts or left sat sitting on a drive way rotting away.


Fortunately, my 05 220 isn't showing signs of rust and had a clutch in 2016 when it was worth spending out on, although thats 60k miles ago now. If the cars still decent when it gives up, its £500 in parts and my own time, if I can be bothered to do it.



ScoobyChris

1,812 posts

209 months

Thursday 21st December 2023
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My 2002 Ghia X appears to have gone off the radar after the 2014 MOT it passed on 175,346 miles. Agree that they are a much rarer sight these days!

Chris

Hustle_

25,205 posts

167 months

Thursday 21st December 2023
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Saw on FB earlier an article showing that the Mk1 Focus was the 'most scrapped' car in the month of October or November or something.

Not surprising that 20-odd years is the life expectancy of Ford steel and corrosion protection coatings.

I had an '03 plate Mondeo until 2013 and the bottoms of the doors were trying to go.

Similar story with Mazda.

ETA: Mine's been off the road since 2017

Edited by Hustle_ on Thursday 21st December 22:01

TonyRPH

Original Poster:

13,144 posts

175 months

Thursday 21st December 2023
quotequote all
Kuwahara said:
Still looks good, great design..,
Agree. I also liked the MK3.


finlo said:
Well they have been out of production for seventeen odd years.
So has the E46 3 series BMW - but you still see quite a few of those around.

And given that the Mondeo was also a 'repmobile' I am surprised at it's apparent demise.

E46 BMW;


anonymous-user

61 months

Thursday 21st December 2023
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My dad still has his 2007 Mondeo LX Estate, great for taking the two Danes out.

MC Bodge

22,625 posts

182 months

Thursday 21st December 2023
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pocketspring said:
My dad still has his 2007 Mondeo LX Estate, great for taking the two Danes out.
Sandi Toksvig and Peter Schmeichel?

MC Bodge

22,625 posts

182 months

Thursday 21st December 2023
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I had a 2004 MK3 Ghia X. It was a very good car, but that was a long time ago now.

anonymous-user

61 months

Thursday 21st December 2023
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MC Bodge said:
pocketspring said:
My dad still has his 2007 Mondeo LX Estate, great for taking the two Danes out.
Sandi Toksvig and Peter Schmeichel?
bowtielaugh

3xAAA

160 posts

46 months

Thursday 21st December 2023
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finlo said:
Well they have been out of production for seventeen odd years.
I’ve had several over the years, but when you put it like that, I realise how long ago that was. Thanks for making me feel old. biglaugh

gruffgriff

1,746 posts

250 months

Thursday 21st December 2023
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You're right, a very rare sight now and I have mk3 radar...they've got to an age where it seems all the heaps are off the road and those left look more cared-for and way better than my 04 estate....mine's the one bucking the trend by looking like it should be condemned. Over my dead body....
The reasonably smart late Sierra estate I saw just this morning had me thinking the same as you OP

Jag_NE

3,100 posts

107 months

Thursday 21st December 2023
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FilH said:
Usual stuff, get old and low value, then when i big ticket item comes along ( £1k+ for a clutch change ) and / or some Ford rust. They are then scraped, broken for parts or left sat sitting on a drive way rotting away.


Fortunately, my 05 220 isn't showing signs of rust and had a clutch in 2016 when it was worth spending out on, although thats 60k miles ago now. If the cars still decent when it gives up, its £500 in parts and my own time, if I can be bothered to do it.
Completely agree. The run of the mill stuff is killed by depreciation versus being fundamentally lower quality than the German stuff.
That being said, post Covid a lot of vehicles are now being kept on the road as big repairs are now often a lot less than the value of the car.

dr_gn

16,412 posts

191 months

Thursday 21st December 2023
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FilH said:
Usual stuff, get old and low value, then when i big ticket item comes along ( £1k+ for a clutch change ) and / or some Ford rust. They are then scraped, broken for parts or left sat sitting on a drive way rotting away.


Fortunately, my 05 220 isn't showing signs of rust and had a clutch in 2016 when it was worth spending out on, although thats 60k miles ago now. If the cars still decent when it gives up, its £500 in parts and my own time, if I can be bothered to do it.
I’ve got an ‘02 E46 as our main family daily driver. Had it for 11 years now, and done over 100,000 miles in it. It’s in decent enough confition, and last year I spent 2K on sills/jacking points and some paintwork. It’s probably worth not much more. People are amazed I didn’t get rid of it because “the repair is more than its value”. But assuming I’d be paying many times that for a different equivalent car, how is it such a crazy decision to keep a decent, known car that I’ve owned and looked after for many years?

I never understood the logic of people not paying for an ‘expensive’ repair, but then happily spunking several times the cost of that repair on another unknown vehicle, which could easily require work in the near future.

Of course just wanting to have a newer and/or different car is fine, but the “expensive repair” reason often makes no sense when they end up with a very similar car.

LuS1fer

41,761 posts

252 months

Thursday 21st December 2023
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People forget that BMWs were eventually more of a repmobile than Mondeos and probably sold more of them, given the number of variants.

They never struck me as being better quality. My ex-wife has a 2009 Mondeo Mk 4 she bought new and it has stellar reliable mileage and still looks a good solid car at 14 years old.

That said, I rarely saw a Mk 3 with a full set of bulbs lit in those rear lights. I had a 1996 Mk 2, I got off eBay for £400. Solid as a rock but the scrappage scheme in 2009 paid me 2000 for it against that Mk 4 above.

CKY

1,934 posts

22 months

Friday 22nd December 2023
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LuS1fer said:
People forget that BMWs were eventually more of a repmobile than Mondeos and probably sold more of them, given the number of variants.
100%, and yet now for some reason E36/46 are now coveted by people, despite the fact that 90% of them were bang average to drive.

I loved the 110bhp TDCi Mondeo I had, 04 reg that I put 130k miles on! The thing was comfortable, reliable, and the chassis was brilliant down an undulating road; the suspension had that uncanny ability to control body movements whilst still having enough wheel travel to soak up potholes and large bumps without being deflected. Never tried one of the quicker models, but IMO these were a great car.

Turbobanana

6,743 posts

208 months

Friday 22nd December 2023
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Funnily enough I saw one on Tuesday in MK city centre. Estate, high-end (Titanium X / Ghia whatever) in silver and looking in decent shape. Had a huge Christmas tree in the back.