Ford Mondeo Ghia

[JayZ]

Guys, appreciate your expertise on the Ford Mondeo Ghia 2004 model.

Is Ford Mondeo a very hard to maintain car ? Even when compared to audi,BMW, VW or Passat we rarely see a Mondeo on SL roads. This worries me a lot about going for the Mondeo ....

I cam across a well looked after 2004 Ghia model with 150k on the clock. Car sounds and drives very well. Any advice about the parts availability and maintenance highly appreciated.

[Supra_Natural]

Guys, appreciate your expertise on the Ford Mondeo Ghia 2004 model.

Is Ford Mondeo a very hard to maintain car ? Even when compared to audi,BMW, VW or Passat we rarely see a Mondeo on SL roads. This worries me a lot about going for the Mondeo ....

I cam across a well looked after 2004 Ghia model with 150k on the clock. Car sounds and drives very well. Any advice about the parts availability and maintenance highly appreciated.

Weren't you looking at BMWs not too long ago?

The Mondeo is a good car but parts availability in SL is near non existent thanks to lack of agent support (DPMC were the agents when the cars were imported but they no longer have the ford agency). Also there aren't any specialists per se on the model that I know of.

If you have contacts in the UK then parts wont be an issue at all as these cars are as common as corollas there.

[JayZ]

Weren't you looking at BMWs not too long ago?

The Mondeo is a good car but parts availability in SL is near non existent thanks to lack of agent support (DPMC were the agents when the cars were imported but they no longer have the ford agency). Also there aren't any specialists per se on the model that I know of.

If you have contacts in the UK then parts wont be an issue at all as these cars are as common as corollas there.

Thanks Supra,

BM's are nicer cars but finding a good one (at least a model after 1998)for around 1.6M is the hard part.

The owner of the Mondeo was telling there are 4 -5 places in panchikawatte who's dealing Mondeo parts. Is 150k on the clock is a very big amount for this sort of a car ?

[Sifaan]

Thanks Supra,

BM's are nicer cars but finding a good one (at least a model after 1998)for around 1.6M is the hard part.

The owner of the Mondeo was telling there are 4 -5 places in panchikawatte who's dealing Mondeo parts. Is 150k on the clock is a very big amount for this sort of a car ?

based on my experience, it seems a bit on the high side; when I was shopping around about 9 months ago most euro cars I saw of 2000 to 2002 vintage were max. 100k. (it would appear that people who needed to drive more often went for jap cars!)

there was one with about 140k because the guy drove avissawella-colombo daily or sth like that.

not all people who bring down parts are the same; some guys will give you price and availability over the phone if you give the part number, other buggers will ask you to remove the part and bring it (which adds to the hassle). also, is there some mech who has the diagnostic tool for the car? if not, you will drive yourself nuts.

if you want an Euro, and cant' afford a beemer, go for a 406; there's (relatively) plenty of cars in the market, you have choice of trim levels and engines, several people who bring down parts (sometimes at prices competitive to those from dealers in the UK, sometimes 50% more expensive, and even +100% if getting stuff hand-carried from singapore), several people who can handle the repairs (including having diagnostics).

[JayZ]

based on my experience, it seems a bit on the high side; when I was shopping around about 9 months ago most euro cars I saw of 2000 to 2002 vintage were max. 100k. (it would appear that people who needed to drive more often went for jap cars!)

there was one with about 140k because the guy drove avissawella-colombo daily or sth like that.

not all people who bring down parts are the same; some guys will give you price and availability over the phone if you give the part number, other buggers will ask you to remove the part and bring it (which adds to the hassle). also, is there some mech who has the diagnostic tool for the car? if not, you will drive yourself nuts.

if you want an Euro, and cant' afford a beemer, go for a 406; there's (relatively) plenty of cars in the market, you have choice of trim levels and engines, several people who bring down parts (sometimes at prices competitive to those from dealers in the UK, sometimes 50% more expensive, and even +100% if getting stuff hand-carried from singapore), several people who can handle the repairs (including having diagnostics).

Really appreciate the info guys

I also came across a 1998 E 36(318i) with auto transmission. I know 406 sealed type auto boxes are very much expensive to maintain. Is this true with BMW's as well ?

[Sifaan]

I know 406 sealed type auto boxes are very much expensive to maintain.

how so?

it (at least the AL4 on the D9, not sure about D8) needs a special ATF fluid, but it's not as if other tranny's don't need the ATF looked into. there was also a problem with some solenoids failing (causing the car to go into "limp home" mode, and it was an expensive job if you have to replace the box but from searching around on the web it seems that it's sufficient to replace the solenoids with a superseded part

[asanka424]

Weren't you looking at BMWs not too long ago?

The Mondeo is a good car but parts availability in SL is near non existent thanks to lack of agent support (DPMC were the agents when the cars were imported but they no longer have the ford agency). Also there aren't any specialists per se on the model that I know of.

If you have contacts in the UK then parts wont be an issue at all as these cars are as common as corollas there.

I think you can buy parts from ebay. not ebay.com but ebay.co.uk

[JayZ]

how so?

it (at least the AL4 on the D9, not sure about D8) needs a special ATF fluid, but it's not as if other tranny's don't need the ATF looked into. there was also a problem with some solenoids failing (causing the car to go into "limp home" mode, and it was an expensive job if you have to replace the box but from searching around on the web it seems that it's sufficient to replace the solenoids with a superseded part

@ Sifaan: One of my uncles had a Diesel 406 with a auto box. No one could repair it so he had to get down the whole transmission n replace. cost was over 7 laks Also this i heard from many people about the 406 and 307 auto.

[JayZ]

I think you can buy parts from ebay. not ebay.com but ebay.co.uk

Yes, can get it off ebay but for every part requirement im thinking the practicality of it. even if i order it would take close to 1 week to bring it down.

folks are saying there are 4 -5 places in panchikawatta and they have most of the parts. should dig more in to it though

[asanka424]

Yes, can get it off ebay but for every part requirement im thinking the practicality of it. even if i order it would take close to 1 week to bring it down.

folks are saying there are 4 -5 places in panchikawatta and they have most of the parts. should dig more in to it though

I was referring to the parts which are not available in Sri Lanka.

[ShintaroX]

Also check with Softlogic for parts, they are the agents now for ford if i'm not mistaken.

[Sifaan]

@ Sifaan: One of my uncles had a Diesel 406 with a auto box. No one could repair it so he had to get down the whole transmission n replace. cost was over 7 laks Also this i heard from many people about the 406 and 307 auto.

that's "expensive to repair", not "expensive to maintain"!

even when I was looking at 406s last year the advice was to avoid the auto ("failures are common and then it has to be replaced").

the failure could be improper maintenance (makabass using regular ATF fluid instead of the special fluid: 9736.22), but most common issue was the pressure regulation solenoids. read more here.

replacing the solenoids itself is not so hard (see this, he doesn't replace but he does switch them around)

note that the new valves need a software update, and not everyone is equipped to do that (carmart should be able to do it; don't know about the others; even if they had a lexia they would still need the update file and that's usually provided through internet login which would not be available on lexia clones)

[Sifaan]

Yes, can get it off ebay but for every part requirement im thinking the practicality of it. even if i order it would take close to 1 week to bring it down.

folks are saying there are 4 -5 places in panchikawatta and they have most of the parts. should dig more in to it though

if you have to pay shipping from UK to Sri Lanka it's going to become a very expensive hobby. not only for the postage, but also the duty/bribes at customs and the brain damage of someone going there, queuing up, etc - at least a couple of hours provided you get there early in the morning!

I've only once bought an item by post to Sri Lanka (a PS pump) and that was cos the seller was in Israel; anything from UK has always been hand carried...

[JayZ]

Thanks for the generous replies guys really appreciate

I managed to get details about few places who deals Mondeo spare parts in SL and workshops. Also got some contacts who can get down parts from Singapore and Dubai. I think i am not allowed to share those info in the forum. So if anyone need IM me.

Still in a doubt to go for the Mondeo or not

[Supra_Natural]

Thanks for the generous replies guys really appreciate

I managed to get details about few places who deals Mondeo spare parts in SL and workshops. Also got some contacts who can get down parts from Singapore and Dubai. I think i am not allowed to share those info in the forum. So if anyone need IM me.

Still in a doubt to go for the Mondeo or not

You know for roughly the same amount of money you can get yourself a pretty decent Passat. Matches the Mondeo in pretty much every respect and the 1.8T is a nicer engine IMHO.

Parts and service are considerably less of an issue than it will be for a Mondeo as there actually is a specialist VW/Audi workshop now and parts are available much more widely than ford bits.

Edited July 1, 2011 by Supra_Natural

[JayZ]

You know for roughly the same amount of money you can get yourself a pretty decent Passat. Matches the Mondeo in pretty much every respect and the 1.8T is a nicer engine IMHO.

Parts and service are considerably less of an issue than it will be for a Mondeo as there actually is a specialist VW/Audi workshop now and parts are available much more widely that ford bits.

Yes i was hunting for Passat too. 1.8 Turbo does very poor on petrol as i heard. Avg 6/7 per ltr. And theres a 20 V 2.0 L non turbo model bit hard to find which does some what ok. Avg 9-10 per ltr.

[Supra_Natural]

Yes i was hunting for Passat too. 1.8 Turbo does very poor on petrol as i heard. Avg 6/7 per ltr. And theres a 20 V 2.0 L non turbo model bit hard to find which does some what ok. Avg 9-10 per ltr.

And you imagine a 2.0L Mondeo is going to be better? Dude if economy is that important to you go buy a Corolla 121.

An Automatic Passat with the 1.8T engine is perfectly capable of delivering 8Km/L in the city if driven properly (Personal experience). The manuals do 10-11 Easy.

[rangerover]

The mondeo is no match to the 1.8t passat. The passat will smoke it in all aspects including, but not limited to; handling, pulling power, comfort, spare part availability etc.

If you are looking to get a car for around 2.0 mill, a reletively low mileage passat or a very well maintained 406 would be ur best bet. When it comes to living with a car on a day to basis, that requires the importation of every single part is much easier said than done!

[Sifaan]

The mondeo is no match to the 1.8t passat. The passat will smoke it in all aspects including, but not limited to; handling, pulling power, comfort, spare part availability etc.

but the mondeo should be cheaper

[Sifaan]

And you imagine a 2.0L Mondeo is going to be better? Dude if economy is that important to you go buy a Corolla 121.

except at this price point (1.6m was mentioned, dunno if that's the budget or the asking price of the mondeo), the only affordable Corolla would be a 110

[Supra_Natural]

The mondeo is no match to the 1.8t passat. The passat will smoke it in all aspects including, but not limited to; handling, pulling power, comfort, spare part availability etc.

If you are looking to get a car for around 2.0 mill, a reletively low mileage passat or a very well maintained 406 would be ur best bet. When it comes to living with a car on a day to basis, that requires the importation of every single part is much easier said than done!

Actually speaking from experience when it comes to Passats very low mileage is not always a good thing especially if the car is one that was used a lot in the early part of it's life and then not used much over the last few years. My car was like that and it does lead to a lot of niggling issues. These cars need to be used regularly but most importantly they need to be maintained well.

Small point on the Mondeo, most sources that have tested it (magazines and websites) against the Passat tend to rate it rather higher in the fun to drive stakes. it IS considered to be a more agile and chuckable car than the Passat, which tends to understeer and show signs of body roll when you're really pressing on

[The Don]

Actually speaking from experience when it comes to Passats very low mileage is not always a good thing especially if the car is one that was used a lot in the early part of it's life and then not used much over the last few years. My car was like that and it does lead to a lot of niggling issues. These cars need to be used regularly but most importantly they need to be maintained well.

Small point on the Mondeo, most sources that have tested it (magazines and websites) against the Passat tend to rate it rather higher in the fun to drive stakes. it IS considered to be a more agile and chuckable car than the Passat, which tends to understeer and show signs of body roll when you're really pressing on

You're right Supra, the Mondeo is geared towards driving dynamics while the Passat towards comfort. So the Mondeo actually has harder suspension. But a lot depends on where the cars are sourced from (imported brand new from where ..? or sourced from probably the UK). I'll still take the Passat though as it's a better built car which has a better brand image. In that particular sector of the market, it matters too (all these cars are heavily used in fleets and the leader of the pack is undoubtedly the 3 series).

[rangerover]

I'm suprised to hear the reviews on the passat. I drove both these cars sometime back and felt the passat to be a better overall experience. But i guess as mentioned, the comfort would have had a part to play

And yes, the passat is more expensive than the mondeo. But I'm assuming the overall cost of ownership would be comparative lesser on the passat. This is ofcourse assuming the condition of the cars a reasonably good

[The Don]

I'm suprised to hear the reviews on the passat. I drove both these cars sometime back and felt the passat to be a better overall experience. But i guess as mentioned, the comfort would have had a part to play

And yes, the passat is more expensive than the mondeo. But I'm assuming the overall cost of ownership would be comparative lesser on the passat. This is ofcourse assuming the condition of the cars a reasonably good

Actually Ford parts are a lot cheaper than VW. Getting it to SL can sometimes be the problem. It might actually be worthwhile to get some bits shipped from the UK in a tea carton sized box as shipping charges are relatively low (though you have to pay clearing charges and duty in SL), if you own one of these cars.

[Sifaan]

Actually Ford parts are a lot cheaper than VW. Getting it to SL can sometimes be the problem. It might actually be worthwhile to get some bits shipped from the UK in a tea carton sized box as shipping charges are relatively low (though you have to pay clearing charges and duty in SL), if you own one of these cars.

a tea carton is 5 cubic feet? how much would that cost? I tried to find rates on royalmail.com and it only shows options on Parcelforce which are quite expensive

I once contacted a shipping company and they said the minimum charge was for 1 cubic meter (98 pounds to Colombo; which compares quite well with Parcelforce economy @ 100 pounds for just 8kg).