407SW SE 136 or Mondeo 130 LX????
Discussion
I have narrowed down my replacement taxi to the two cars:
Current taxi is a 03 plate Mondeo 6sp 130 estate with 244k on the clock. Never missed a beat, doesn't rattle or feel loose, but needs retiring before it gets expensive.
I have the option of:
05/55 407 with 12k on the clock for £12,000
or
06/06 Mondeo with 6k on the clock for £10800
Clearly Mitsy has served me well over the last 3 years and is an excellent sales tool for the Mondeo, but I quite like the styling (read less dated) of the 407 - not that your average Saturday night punter will care, but your airport transfer customer will appreciate the comfort of the Pug.
I really can't decide and need to make a decision in the next day or so or sooner!
Current taxi is a 03 plate Mondeo 6sp 130 estate with 244k on the clock. Never missed a beat, doesn't rattle or feel loose, but needs retiring before it gets expensive.
I have the option of:
05/55 407 with 12k on the clock for £12,000
or
06/06 Mondeo with 6k on the clock for £10800
Clearly Mitsy has served me well over the last 3 years and is an excellent sales tool for the Mondeo, but I quite like the styling (read less dated) of the 407 - not that your average Saturday night punter will care, but your airport transfer customer will appreciate the comfort of the Pug.
I really can't decide and need to make a decision in the next day or so or sooner!
Tyre Smoke said:
I have narrowed down my replacement taxi to the two cars:
Current taxi is a 03 plate Mondeo 6sp 130 estate with 244k on the clock. Never missed a beat, doesn't rattle or feel loose, but needs retiring before it gets expensive.
I have the option of:
05/55 407 with 12k on the clock for £12,000
or
06/06 Mondeo with 6k on the clock for £10800
Clearly Mitsy has served me well over the last 3 years and is an excellent sales tool for the Mondeo, but I quite like the styling (read less dated) of the 407 - not that your average Saturday night punter will care, but your airport transfer customer will appreciate the comfort of the Pug.
I really can't decide and need to make a decision in the next day or so or sooner!
Current taxi is a 03 plate Mondeo 6sp 130 estate with 244k on the clock. Never missed a beat, doesn't rattle or feel loose, but needs retiring before it gets expensive.
I have the option of:
05/55 407 with 12k on the clock for £12,000
or
06/06 Mondeo with 6k on the clock for £10800
Clearly Mitsy has served me well over the last 3 years and is an excellent sales tool for the Mondeo, but I quite like the styling (read less dated) of the 407 - not that your average Saturday night punter will care, but your airport transfer customer will appreciate the comfort of the Pug.
I really can't decide and need to make a decision in the next day or so or sooner!
244K miles!
Wow, have you had any work done on it at all?
I have a thing about hearing story's about high milers, I clearly need to get out more.
John
As a cab passenger I always appreciate the quality of the car and try to use companies I know have decent cars.
As a customer I owuld prefer the Pug but I wouldn't mind the Mondeo. Now if you had a Chryler 300c Estate (seen a couple saloons as taxis already) or an RS6 estate I would definitley make sure I booked you!!
The thing is, I suspect most punters don't care too much about the car as long as it is new, clean, quiet and spacious so I doubt the Pug will make you any more popular.
Also, is the Pug not the more unreliable car out of the two?
But on the other hand, given that you will be spending a wee bit of time behind the wheel should you not be placing some weight on which car you prefer to drive?
As a customer I owuld prefer the Pug but I wouldn't mind the Mondeo. Now if you had a Chryler 300c Estate (seen a couple saloons as taxis already) or an RS6 estate I would definitley make sure I booked you!!
The thing is, I suspect most punters don't care too much about the car as long as it is new, clean, quiet and spacious so I doubt the Pug will make you any more popular.
Also, is the Pug not the more unreliable car out of the two?
But on the other hand, given that you will be spending a wee bit of time behind the wheel should you not be placing some weight on which car you prefer to drive?
Tyre Smoke said:
rushdriver said:
244K miles!
Wow, have you had any work done on it at all?
I have a thing about hearing story's about high milers, I clearly need to get out more.
John
Routine servicing only. New clutch at 132k is the only 'major' thing.
In my mind you have answered your own question. I would imagine that in your line of work you need a car that is out there earning and not one that is helping to send your mechanics kids to university I would would think the Pug would (although never owned one). However, I also have the exact Mondeo as you (but a hatch) and at "only" 120,000 it's never gone wrong either (still on original exhaust)
My personal choice would be the Mondingo. And were I a customer of yours, I think I'd appreciate the better build quality and greater sense of security one feels in the back of the Mondy. Plus, while the pug is the less dated of the two, the Mondeo is arguably the classier looking car.
So's mine! 
There's a minicab in Leicester who is currently using a full-on dicrator special '80s Merc S-class (on LPG). Got picked up in this, and I was enjoying the ride so much I got him to drive around the block a few times: black with black leather. Very nice.
Shame to waste such a car as a Taxi, but....
Shame to waste such a car as a Taxi, but....
Mondeo every time, I spent over a year selling pugs for a main dealer. Great when they are new and to be fair the 407 is a good looking car for what it is. BUT (note that is a big but) 
RELIABILITY NIGHTMARE!! The engines are good, but the elecs and build quality are not.
When a customer would pick up their new pug you would always wave them off and say "see you soon". This was not the figure of speach that they thought it was.
This is all IMHO obviously.
RELIABILITY NIGHTMARE!! The engines are good, but the elecs and build quality are not. When a customer would pick up their new pug you would always wave them off and say "see you soon". This was not the figure of speach that they thought it was.
This is all IMHO obviously.
Edited by Mr MoJo on Wednesday 11th October 18:23
Edited by Mr MoJo on Wednesday 11th October 18:24
Mr MoJo said:
The engines are good, but the elecs and build quality are not.
Edited by Mr MoJo on Wednesday 11th October 18:23
Edited by Mr MoJo on Wednesday 11th October 18:24
Yep I would agree. I ran a few 406 HDI's to high miles and it was always the electrics that let them down.
A chum has a 407 and again has had numerous electrical issues.
Get the Mondeo.
Mr MoJo said:
The engines are good, but the elecs and build quality are not.
I ran a pug for 60k miles and whilst the engine never missed a beat, the stereo, central locking, door mirrors, front fogs and windows all broke. And all of the plastic and rubber on the outside seemed to have been attached with porridge.
Of the two the mondeo will be the most hassle free (as you have experienced)
However, if I were a Taxi driver I would be looking more at a 607 HDI as these are very cheap now and offer quite a bit of space and comfort for the money, but presumably with the same pug probs. Also, what about a Skoda Superb?
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