Newly joined, '07 2nd gen Mk3 Mondeo shed (tedium within)
Discussion
Hi there chaps,
Deciding to make the leap from lurking into actual posting, and thought I'd start with my shed before drooling over some of the much more interesting and exciting dailies around these parts. Some pics first.
It's a 2nd gen late Mk3 Mondeo of boringness and tedium. I know some people are almost offended by how unexciting a Mondeo is, but, having lived with it a few months it's a pleasant place to be. And even though it probably marks me out as being crushingly sad, I should probably admit I think they're actually quite good looking.
After tiring of my previous sheddy Corolla, which was predictably nice enough to live with, I fancied something bigger. The Corolla was a saloon, which meant it was an ungainly looking thing and anyone sitting behind me (I'm 6'2 and like a 'loungey' seating position') had no room at all.
Came upon this Mondeo in August last year, and paid £1500 for it, which I understand is at the top end of the shedding range, and over and above what many would even consider paying for a 14 year old Mondeo. But it was a two owner car, had stamps in the service book, no rips or tears in the upholstery, everything works, and was a very late model being on a 57 plate, I figured I would go for it. 113,000 miles, which I would consider reasonable for a car of this age. I also have a bit of a soft spot for Mondeos as the first car I learned to drive in (I'm 28 now) was a similar colour 1st gen Mk2 Mondeo. It was the first car I drove on my own after passing my test, and you always form a bit of an attachment with those cars, even if they're boring family haulers.
It's the 1.8 petrol. I'd much prefer the 2.0 as it's a better engine in every way. The 1.8 is fairly asthmatic, but I work from home and am only really using it for knocking about locally with the occasional longer trip (when we're allowed to take those again) so it's fine. Gearchange is smooth, handles quite nicely for what is a deceptively big car, and has plenty of space. Will do me fine!
Mild flies in the ointment:
A bit of the Devil's Crust forming towards the rear of the nearside sill. Some slight bubbling going on, which I'm sure has probably spread further than I can see. There's no rust anywhere else on the outside, so we'll see come MOT time in August what the underside is like. All I've had in my driving life have been sheds, so I'm not exactly bothered by it needing a bit of tickling stick to get another ticket. But we'll see how it goes.
Clutch - I have no info on if it has been changed or not. I doubt it. Feels absolutely fine, but I'm given to understand that clutch changes are a bit of a pig on these second gen Mondeos, so may be pause for thought when the time comes. Though given I have such light usage of the car that's probably not going to be for a good while yet, and as the rest of the car seems to be going fine, if it hasn't been eaten by rust by that point I'll just eat the cost and keep the car.
There's also an occasional squeak at the rear nearside when going over bumps. I'm inclined to think it's a worn bush, so no big deal, but still on the list.
Otherwise though it's a very nice place to sit, drives well, the interior smells nice, it doesn't leak, and has a pretty good sounding stereo. Yes, I'm very easily pleased.
Deciding to make the leap from lurking into actual posting, and thought I'd start with my shed before drooling over some of the much more interesting and exciting dailies around these parts. Some pics first.
It's a 2nd gen late Mk3 Mondeo of boringness and tedium. I know some people are almost offended by how unexciting a Mondeo is, but, having lived with it a few months it's a pleasant place to be. And even though it probably marks me out as being crushingly sad, I should probably admit I think they're actually quite good looking.
After tiring of my previous sheddy Corolla, which was predictably nice enough to live with, I fancied something bigger. The Corolla was a saloon, which meant it was an ungainly looking thing and anyone sitting behind me (I'm 6'2 and like a 'loungey' seating position') had no room at all.
Came upon this Mondeo in August last year, and paid £1500 for it, which I understand is at the top end of the shedding range, and over and above what many would even consider paying for a 14 year old Mondeo. But it was a two owner car, had stamps in the service book, no rips or tears in the upholstery, everything works, and was a very late model being on a 57 plate, I figured I would go for it. 113,000 miles, which I would consider reasonable for a car of this age. I also have a bit of a soft spot for Mondeos as the first car I learned to drive in (I'm 28 now) was a similar colour 1st gen Mk2 Mondeo. It was the first car I drove on my own after passing my test, and you always form a bit of an attachment with those cars, even if they're boring family haulers.
It's the 1.8 petrol. I'd much prefer the 2.0 as it's a better engine in every way. The 1.8 is fairly asthmatic, but I work from home and am only really using it for knocking about locally with the occasional longer trip (when we're allowed to take those again) so it's fine. Gearchange is smooth, handles quite nicely for what is a deceptively big car, and has plenty of space. Will do me fine!
Mild flies in the ointment:
A bit of the Devil's Crust forming towards the rear of the nearside sill. Some slight bubbling going on, which I'm sure has probably spread further than I can see. There's no rust anywhere else on the outside, so we'll see come MOT time in August what the underside is like. All I've had in my driving life have been sheds, so I'm not exactly bothered by it needing a bit of tickling stick to get another ticket. But we'll see how it goes.
Clutch - I have no info on if it has been changed or not. I doubt it. Feels absolutely fine, but I'm given to understand that clutch changes are a bit of a pig on these second gen Mondeos, so may be pause for thought when the time comes. Though given I have such light usage of the car that's probably not going to be for a good while yet, and as the rest of the car seems to be going fine, if it hasn't been eaten by rust by that point I'll just eat the cost and keep the car.
There's also an occasional squeak at the rear nearside when going over bumps. I'm inclined to think it's a worn bush, so no big deal, but still on the list.
Otherwise though it's a very nice place to sit, drives well, the interior smells nice, it doesn't leak, and has a pretty good sounding stereo. Yes, I'm very easily pleased.
No cruise control? I thought it was standard, to be honest... my '06 LX that I had briefly had it.
The type that moves the pedal up and down too, which was unnerving at first!
I only had mine for 3 days, sadly. It was the 1.8, too. Bought it misfiring thinking I could be cheeky and replace the coil pack, but it turned out to be a burnt exhaust valve so I scrapped it.
The type that moves the pedal up and down too, which was unnerving at first!
I only had mine for 3 days, sadly. It was the 1.8, too. Bought it misfiring thinking I could be cheeky and replace the coil pack, but it turned out to be a burnt exhaust valve so I scrapped it.
OllieJolly said:
No cruise control? I thought it was standard, to be honest... my '06 LX that I had briefly had it.
The type that moves the pedal up and down too, which was unnerving at first!
I only had mine for 3 days, sadly. It was the 1.8, too. Bought it misfiring thinking I could be cheeky and replace the coil pack, but it turned out to be a burnt exhaust valve so I scrapped it.
Nope, no CC. It's pretty base spec from what I can see. At this stage of its life I don't mind, as it'd just be another thing to be broken, if it wasn't already. The type that moves the pedal up and down too, which was unnerving at first!
I only had mine for 3 days, sadly. It was the 1.8, too. Bought it misfiring thinking I could be cheeky and replace the coil pack, but it turned out to be a burnt exhaust valve so I scrapped it.
Wheel_Turned_Out said:
Nope, no CC. It's pretty base spec from what I can see. At this stage of its life I don't mind, as it'd just be another thing to be broken, if it wasn't already.
True although realistically there's not a great deal to go wrong with a mechanical CC system, if that's what it would be.It's the (what look like) xenons and front fogs that confused me, strange to have that but not other features.
I do like them in this colour though, or red.
Kept the headlights and taillights from mine just in case I got another, but I have a Mk2 Focus Ghia now with the 2.0 so I'm happy for the time being. It's a shame though, it was a nice car other than the engine issue.
OllieJolly said:
True although realistically there's not a great deal to go wrong with a mechanical CC system, if that's what it would be.
It's the (what look like) xenons and front fogs that confused me, strange to have that but not other features.
I do like them in this colour though, or red.
Kept the headlights and taillights from mine just in case I got another, but I have a Mk2 Focus Ghia now with the 2.0 so I'm happy for the time being. It's a shame though, it was a nice car other than the engine issue.
The spec is very strange. It's an Edge, which was the name of the spec of the base model 3rd gen I believe? Like you say, this one has xenons and fogs, and nice chrome trim and all that, but only front electric windows. So it's an odd mix. I can't see any evidence of the lights having been upgraded, or if they have been they did a grand job, so presume they've been there from factory. It's the (what look like) xenons and front fogs that confused me, strange to have that but not other features.
I do like them in this colour though, or red.
Kept the headlights and taillights from mine just in case I got another, but I have a Mk2 Focus Ghia now with the 2.0 so I'm happy for the time being. It's a shame though, it was a nice car other than the engine issue.
I can only imagine as it was a very late car they were just putting bits on at random while gearing up to release the 3rd gen.
I do like a Ghia though! I'm a sucker for velour and wood-effect trim. Though I know not all Ghias have that.
Looks like you can retrofit the cruise control anyway
https://www.fordwiki.co.uk/index.php/Cruise_Contro...
Then all you need is the interior from a ST220 !
https://www.fordwiki.co.uk/index.php/Cruise_Contro...
Then all you need is the interior from a ST220 !
littlebasher said:
Looks like you can retrofit the cruise control anyway
https://www.fordwiki.co.uk/index.php/Cruise_Contro...
Then all you need is the interior from a ST220 !
I can live without cruise, but an ST220 interior would be pretty sweet. https://www.fordwiki.co.uk/index.php/Cruise_Contro...
Then all you need is the interior from a ST220 !
It may have to happen!
I have the same 1.8 Mondeo on an 04 plate as my daily bought for £500. Awesome thing and so far has been solid bar one issue.
One thing to look out for is the ABS light being on. Need to get that fixed somehow. The front disc & brakes are new and the rears need changing (I have them, it's just too cold to do at the moment).
Wondering if any of you owners/previous owners sorted ABS issues on these. Google search doesn't bring up much apart from checking sensors, with no images or how to's.
One thing to look out for is the ABS light being on. Need to get that fixed somehow. The front disc & brakes are new and the rears need changing (I have them, it's just too cold to do at the moment).
Wondering if any of you owners/previous owners sorted ABS issues on these. Google search doesn't bring up much apart from checking sensors, with no images or how to's.
TotalControl said:
I have the same 1.8 Mondeo on an 04 plate as my daily bought for £500. Awesome thing and so far has been solid bar one issue.
One thing to look out for is the ABS light being on. Need to get that fixed somehow. The front disc & brakes are new and the rears need changing (I have them, it's just too cold to do at the moment).
Wondering if any of you owners/previous owners sorted ABS issues on these. Google search doesn't bring up much apart from checking sensors, with no images or how to's.
Nope, I haven't had that issue. I think if you want to check sensors you're going to need an OBD kit and the diagnostic will tell you what's going on.One thing to look out for is the ABS light being on. Need to get that fixed somehow. The front disc & brakes are new and the rears need changing (I have them, it's just too cold to do at the moment).
Wondering if any of you owners/previous owners sorted ABS issues on these. Google search doesn't bring up much apart from checking sensors, with no images or how to's.
If I were you I'd be grabbing one of these:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/For-Ford-Mondeo-Focus-C...
And sticking it in here:
https://www.outilsobdfacile.com/location-plug-conn...
(These are just from a quick Google though, I can't stand by the quality of that tester as I haven't used it. Just to give you an idea!)
Best of luck with it, it'll almost certainly be a ten minute fix once you track it down.
Thank you WTO. I've done an OBD2 read but nothing came up. Looks like I'll have to delve deeper.
Other than that, as a daily, they really are good cars. Much better than the IS200 I had before in regards to fuel consumption and space.
May not have a need for it soon but no idea what to change it with. I'll probably hang onto it till it's dead.
Other than that, as a daily, they really are good cars. Much better than the IS200 I had before in regards to fuel consumption and space.
May not have a need for it soon but no idea what to change it with. I'll probably hang onto it till it's dead.
deadslow said:
ran a few of these as dd back in the day. Nice cars and enjoyable to drive.
Same here. IMO they do pretty much everything well, including being a nice drivers car. As the OP has noted they can be a bit bothersome for rust though!Edited by Fermit and Sexy Sarah on Saturday 13th February 18:52
That's very strange. If nothing came up, and you're not noticing anything untoward in braking performance, the next fix I would suggest is a small square of black duct tape on the instrument cluster to cover the light if you haven't already. May be a Pandora's box trying to find what's causing it, if it's a little frayed wire or something you'll be forever chasing it.
But yes, overall very happy with it as a daily. I can't imagine swapping into anything 'better' for the money, so will keep hold of this for as long as possible.
May be a Pandora's box trying to find what's causing it, if it's a little frayed wire or something you'll be forever chasing it. But yes, overall very happy with it as a daily. I can't imagine swapping into anything 'better' for the money, so will keep hold of this for as long as possible.
SirGriffin said:
I had a Tdci, the car that put me off Ford's for life, dreadfully unreliable. Lovely to drive for the 5 min it worked, but a worthless money pit. Hope yours is better.
Conversely, the Vectra C 1.8 that I had later was faultless, and I'd have another tomorrow!
Yes, I've heard the diesels have an altogether more unsavoury reputation. For my minimal usage a diesel is totally pointless, so I wouldn't have bought it if it had that lump. From my understanding the 1.8 I have is a Mazda unit, and while asthmatic in a car this size doesn't have that much in the way of known troubles. Conversely, the Vectra C 1.8 that I had later was faultless, and I'd have another tomorrow!
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