UKC

Looking at buying a sub-#1000 petrol engined estate, probably a mk3 mondeo or a 51-ish focus.

Any good reasons to choose one over the other?

Thanks!

In reply to Steve John B: sorry wrong forum if its not a skoda

In reply to Steve John B:

Do you need a larger, less economical car, or a smaller, more economical one?

Neil

In reply to Steve John B: The Mondeo is larger all-round. apart from that there's not much in it depending on engine size. I have a 07 reg Mk3 mondeo estate diesel and it's done me proud for about 3 years now with few mechanical (wear and tear) issues that I was able to fix myself no bother.

Do it I say!

In reply to Steve John B:

Personally, I find the Focus much comfier to drive/sit in, but that's because I'm fairly slim, and find the seats in most larger cars have been designed for businessmen suffering from middle aged spread.....

In reply to Carolyn:

If you're much over 6' you will probably find the opposite, the wheel doesn't adjust up enough on the Focus for me to fit, while there's tons of room in the Mondy. Though I ended up with a Vectra as it was cheaper and just as spacious.

Neil

In reply to Steve John B:

I have a Focus estate of that vintage, although diesel - no reason to choose the Mondeo over it, unless you need the extra space or it's got a better trim level.

In reply to Carolyn:

I had a company car once with leather seats that were very wide, Saab, I think it was - everytime I went round a corner, I slid sideways 3 inches!

In reply to Steve John B: I have a Focus Estate. It is the dullest car in history. It also has a rather alarming juddering under acceleration. My mate had a 53 Mondeo that suffered a similar problem. He never got to the bottom of it and I fear I won't either. Having said that, it is reasonably cheap to run and reliable even if the diesel engine sounds like a tractor and it is noisy on the motorway.

There must be better <not Skoda> cars out there.

In reply to LastBoyScout:

That's sort of it - there doesn't seem to be much difference apart from size. I've had a mk1 mondeo, the missus has a focus hatchback, they've both been ok at well over 100k miles.

Any ideas on space in the back for a bike or 2 with split seat down?

In reply to EeeByGum:

Hence petrol!


I've been happy with Fords in the past. Brother-in-law has a pool car one he shares with his 2 bro's, they've driven the crap out of it for 150k and it's still going strong.

In reply to Steve John B:

I've had 3 bikes, kit and passengers in the back of my Mondeo estate with room to spare. I'm guessing you'd just be squeezing things in in a Focus.

In reply to Steve John B: Iv had a 04 mk3 mondeo diesel for 6yrs, only one major
outlay when the flywheel needed changing. Done 140 k still going strong, get 45mpg
at real motor way speeds 80+ , 40mpg around town? As you know space is massive, bikes in the back no prob,
had a 110 defender before so I'm used to tractor levels of noise and parking a barge, think you
can get a lot of car for your money as loads around to choose from, unlike those rare skodas.lots of mini cabs use mondeo so that must say something.regards
T

In reply to EeeByGum:

We have had a focus estate for 7 years and generally it has been great, but it developed a very noticeable vibration at certain revs (whilst accelerating). It slowly got worse - it turns out focuses have a 'known issue' with (if I got the translation from Finnish into English right) drive shafts warping. The garage replaced them (it's in two parts as I understand it) for us, a quick job, but really expensive parts so it was about €1000 all in. So lots of money, but it did completely fix the problem.

In reply to Steve John B:

A couple of friends have Focuses (Foci?). They seem good, and very nice to drive for what they are, far better than anything else that isn't Bavarian with RWD anyway.

In reply to Neil Williams:


I'm not sure this is true. I'm 6`4” and find the Focus as good as any other car I've ever driven.

In reply to Steve John B: both my dad and I had petrol focus of that vintage. He had the 1.8 and I had the 2.0. We were both glad to get rid of them. They drank petrol at an alarming rate even when driving economically. They both developed problems with the maf sensor too.
Can't remember.much more about it other than I got better reliability and fuel economy from a mk2 MR2.

In reply to Steve John B:

I've a 52 plate diesel focus (1.8TDDI - tractoriffic!). I reckon it's pretty good, so I wouldn't go for the mondeo unless you really needed the extra space.

A couple of points: Check the options. Stuff like ABS was still an option at the time, but IMO is well worth the few quid it adds to a second hand car.
Also there was a 'facelift' in 2002, so post facelift cars tend to have a better spec. It makes a big difference in deisel versions (TDDI->TDCI), don't know about petrol ones.

I had a 2001 mondo estate, it cost an absolute fortune to keep running, both in repairs and petrol consumption. No major failures just a perpetual stream of bushings, tracking rods, bearings, suspension arms, minor welds..........I now have a skoda............

In reply to Steve John B: Have you considered a skoda ? ......sorry...

In reply to Steve John B: I run a Subaru Forester, lovely estate/station wagon, highly recommended.

In reply to Steve John B:

How many configurations do you need?

1 - 2 mountain bikes and wheels in the boot and still get the blind cover over
2 - take front wheels and seatposts off, fold 60% seat down and can still get 3 bikes in vertically plus 3 people and a weekend's worth of camping and climbing gear.
3 - I think, although not quite tried it, that I could get 4 bikes in the boot without folding seats, if you take the wheels and seat posts off and stack them transverse and vertically.

In reply to various:

My Focus 1.8 tddi Zetec (with climate pack) has just clicked over 170k miles - so far, it's needed 3 wheel bearings, anti-roll bar link rods (twice), water pump and replacd a siezed front brake caliper, which I don't think is too bad.

I've had to replace the front fog light, which was smashed by a stone on a motorway and I've given up trying to get the rear wiper jet to work (it's never worked properly since I've owned it).

Not had any issues with vibration.

Only real pain is the radio has become very temperamental, but the CD player still works fine. I'm not going to bother replacing it, as I'm after a new car later this year.

In reply to Steve John B:


I tried both and preferred the Focus so ended up getting one. It seemed to handle better particularly driving around London. I got a 2001 petrol Zetec with 70k on the clock which seemed a good deal. Was sad to see it go since it was such a great climbers car. 5 people and gear wasn't a problem.

I spent 2.2k to buy it so not sure what you would get for half that. My choice at that budget would be a Peugot 405 wagon. I think you would get a lot more car for your money.

In reply to Steve John B: Got a 2001 Focus 1.8 zetec estate.

It's been hit and miss with it, quite a lot of repairs but it is at 160k just now and most of them have been minor wear and tear stuff.

I don't see any reason to get the mondeo to be honest, the focus has a really well designed boot and it's plenty big enough for most peoples needs.

It is quite thirsty on petrol (about 33mpg), it's still quite a big car and I wouldn't like to drive the 1.6, the 1.8's nippy enough. I'd definitely go for a zetec engine as well.

Despite having had a few things go wrong (inc rear wiper jet LBS, although will be fixed this w/e) the parts are dirt cheap.

Looking back I wish I'd spent another £500 on an Audi A4 I was looking at, it seems silly that I didn't now but such is life I guess. I'd probably have spent the same amount in total, much less if you include the difference in fuel costs.

In reply to buzby:

Funny you should say that

There are a few Octavias on Autotrader, 1.6/1.8/2.0. I'm tempted, not sure I can resist the brainwashing any longer! Will prob check out the mpg and performance stats and take it from there, maybe a few test drives are in order.

In reply to Steve John B:

Rover 75? (I have an MG Zt-T diesel, the "sporty rebadge", but they tend to be over £1000. You can get a decent Rover 75 for under a grand)

In reply to Steve John B:
How big is your drive?

In reply to Steve John B:

I have a Mondeo Mk iii Ghia X, 55 plate (2006). 77k miles-ish, with one year's MOT and a new clutch fitted a year ago. £2200 Ono.

Just what you want.

In reply to Steve John B: Diesel 1996 P reg Audi Estate A6's can go dirt cheap, and run and run without much going wrong.

In reply to TobyA:


Yep - I have replaced my drive shafts - made no difference at all. But then I did use reconditioned ones so probably replaced crap with crap. Only wasted £300 though.

In reply to Steve John B:

Someone I'm working with has just replaced a Focus estate with a Mondeo estate - it's a biiiig car. They bought it specifically because of the huge load space, and their comment is that it can be a bit challenging parking on very narrow streets.

I have a 53 plate 1.6 zetec Focus estate that's done 83,000 miles - apart from some niggles relating to a *very* hooky MOT just before I bought it, it's been great, and I get about 43mpg from it. Not as good as my little old Fiesta, but hey... I like the fact that I can chuck my bike in the back without having to dismantle anything.

For the sake of precision, I have to confess that I did 'break down' in it last week - turned out the power steering switch had been leaking and when it's dry it makes a very strange noise. One quick fix later and the steering is lovely and light again.

In reply to Removed User:

I get quite emotional when I'm driving too...



Cheers all, looks like it's a Focus. Or a Skoda. Or an Audi. But probably a Focus. And definitely either petrol or diesel - unless an LPG one shows up.

In reply to Steve John B:


Ha ha - love it. A mate had an LPG Mondeo. Lack of petrol stations did his head in in the end and he swapped it out for a diesel van. Don't forget to consider Vauxhall as well!

In reply to Dispater:

Forgot to mention it's a 2.2 TDCi.
:-/

In reply to Steve John B:

I guess one might do, if one is sensitive enough to give names to cars. ()

In reply to Dispater:

Might be what I want but I'm looking more in the £500-£800 range which would be stretching the "ono" a bit far I reckon!

Anyway, I'm gonna try and get a month or two's sunshine driving in in the MG before I officially declare my mid-life crisis over.

In reply to Steve John B:

Our experience has been the same as in this add, apart from the dash not working. You probably want a newer car though. I think I would too.

http://www.gumtree.com/p/cars-vans-motorbikes/audi-a6-25tdi-estate-1996-p-r...

I gather from a family friend that 96 was the last year of that model run, or near the end, and they'd got all of the bugs out by then.

In reply to Steve John B:

F ix
O r
R epair
D aily