RE: Shed of the Week: Ford Mondeo ST220
Discussion
I've had a couple of Mondeos, one was a 1.8 Zetec that I paid £220 for IIRC, that's now in Canada. The other was a 2.0 TDCI LX that I paid £220 for, pretty much scrap. That got cleaned up and it's now been rebuilt into a stage 2 car by the new owner. Both were ancient and run down cars, that's why I was so surprised at just how well they went on a twisty road, and they sat on the motorway better than anything. For the little money they fetch now, they're a far better option than the E46.
Hub said:
Fermit and Sexy Sarah said:
bristolracer said:
What's with all the investment value chatter?
Its a shed.
Buy it
Run it
Break it
Scrap it
Buy something else
But why not? All fast Fords achieve silly money eventually, and these are some of the rarest. Didn't Clarkson once say that Aston shifted more DB9's than Ford did of these?Its a shed.
Buy it
Run it
Break it
Scrap it
Buy something else
I suppose it will be a case of if they remain a well kept secret under the radar, or not.
Normal Clarkson BS then.
A quick fact check suggests just over 5000 on the road at their peak in the UK, compared to 3600 DB9s.
(So around 60% are still on the road, which probably isn't too bad for a model that is 13-17 years old.)
As for future values well they are probably more Sierra XR4x4 than RS Cosworth in status and desirability, so probably not going to be worth silly money.
The Clarkson comment at the time was relating to how many had been sold in the previous year, not total sales of each.
As Shed states in the article though, the ST220s are definitely thinning out year on year. For example my black saloon with red leather is one of only 36 made originally, not sure how long it'd take to find another now.
Most I see on the road apart from mine now are the dreaded "Transit in a tracksuit" diesel models.
As Shed states in the article though, the ST220s are definitely thinning out year on year. For example my black saloon with red leather is one of only 36 made originally, not sure how long it'd take to find another now.
Most I see on the road apart from mine now are the dreaded "Transit in a tracksuit" diesel models.
Always struck me as one of those cars that, if it wore an Audi (or many things other than a Ford) badge, would be highly sought after (and a lot more expensive).
Cracking engine and chassis, well put together, no terminally expensive horror stories, and has a rarity level that's on a par with a lot of far more exotic cars (there are only 400 fewer Aston Martin V8 Vantages currently licensed, according to howmanyleft). I'm not saying it competes or compares in any other way to the Aston, but it's no less rare on the roads.
Great shed that's not too far gone to make it worth the TLC it needs. A few hundred quid and a couple of weekends work, and it would be a corker.
Cracking engine and chassis, well put together, no terminally expensive horror stories, and has a rarity level that's on a par with a lot of far more exotic cars (there are only 400 fewer Aston Martin V8 Vantages currently licensed, according to howmanyleft). I'm not saying it competes or compares in any other way to the Aston, but it's no less rare on the roads.
Great shed that's not too far gone to make it worth the TLC it needs. A few hundred quid and a couple of weekends work, and it would be a corker.
mr_fibuli said:
Careful with the front wing - it is actually slightly wider than the standard Mondeo, so I wouldn't imagine they are that easy to find replacements for these days.
True, but the much more common ST-TDCi used the same front wings. Handy tip when looking for them second-hand.mr_fibuli said:
Problems I had with mine were rear brakes seizing, door bottoms rusting,...
Same on mine. Rust was sorted under warranty, and the brake issue was a design fault in the calipers that let dirt into the handbrake mechanism and caused it to eventually stick on. Facelift cars had a different caliper that could be retrofitted (later Jag X-Types used the same calipers).The Mad Monk said:
alorotom said:
A dealer in Newcastle/Gateshead couldn’t give these away - ......sat for ages unsold in a forecourt but they wanted top money for them at the time.
Which was it?Too dear, or couldn't give them away?
I always thought these were great cars, until I actually bought one. It was an ex-Ford Management car so was absolutely loaded with just about every extra and was obviously still 'as new' when I purchased it.
They seem to be a 'marmite' car. Personally, apart from the V6 engine, I think it's quite possibly the worst car I've ever owned. I couldn't wait to get rid of it.
As a 'shed' purchase
No. I wouldn't have another if you gave me one 
Each to their own.
They seem to be a 'marmite' car. Personally, apart from the V6 engine, I think it's quite possibly the worst car I've ever owned. I couldn't wait to get rid of it.
As a 'shed' purchase
No. I wouldn't have another if you gave me one Each to their own.WJNB said:
Had a cooking version as a company car. Superbly comfortable with a lovely gear change. Did 100k miles in the UK & Europe with never a murmur. A car & maker much underrated in todays snobby world.
Last year, my dad found himself short of a car for a couple of weeks while his Disco was in for (another) repair. He was going to hire something, but by chance got talking to a work colleague and bangernomics enthusiast who said he was weighing in an old Mondeo after work that evening. He'd had it for three years, but the last MOT had some sinister advisories on it. Given it's tatty state, he'd decided to call time on it, and get something else. It had four and a bit weeks MOT left on it, and was a good runner. The scrappie had offered him £90 for the Mondeo complete, and he'd decided to take it. Dad had a look at it, and drove it round the block. He then offered to match the scrappie's offer, and a deal was done.It was a shabby, completely neglected 2002 1.8LX in a dull blue colour. Mileage was about 120k, it had four mismatched ditchfinders, and had probably not been serviced since the warranty ran out. It didn't like going into first sometimes, the air-con didn't work, and it had a 'small oil leak', but otherwise it drove amazingly well. I was very surprised when I drove it. It rode well, the engine was sweet enough, and the steering was much more communicative and better weighted than on my then 15,000 mile M140i. And this was an absolute rock bottom, neglected example that had been unloved for years. It got me wondering just how good these are if looked after properly.
The plan was to do nothing to it, but the oil leak turned out to be a bit more than 'slight' and after getting sick of it marking its territory every time it was parked, we decided to investigate. The oil filter was rusted through at bottom (dread to think when it was last changed) and was the obvious source. We put a cheap (£4 with voucher code) oil filter on it from ECP, topped the oil up, and it was done.
The Disco repair dragged on for a couple more weeks, and he ended up running it right up to the death, putting about 1500 miles on it without so much as a cough. Did a few motorway trips in it, and it was smooth and comfy. It started on the key in the mornings, and did mid 30s to the gallon.
Weighed it in, still running fine, with a day left on the ticket for £65, collected. Even with insurance and tax factored in, it was so much cheaper than hiring a car. And nicer than the economy box you'd be saddled with at the cheapest rate.
I must admit that when I priced this at £1495 I wondered if it might feature as Shed of the Week but your heart still skips a beat when you open up PistonHeads and there it is, at the top of the landing page!
Mostly, people seem to agree with me that the ST is a great all rounder, which is essentially why I bought it in the first place. Mine is certainly not immaculate but I think the price reflects that (in my opinion anyway!). It genuinely has been a reliable car and I know of no reason why it shouldn't continue to be. The oil leak mentioned on the MOT took me by surprise because while it needs an occasional topping up, I've never noticed oil drips on the drive. I suspect I made a mess of the last topping up (in a hurry and didn't use a funnel) and that the resulting spillage had worked its way down to the bottom of the engine bay. As for the rusty exhaust clamps (on a stainless system), I put that advisory under the heading of the MOT tester feeling he needed to find something to say!
In gentle driving over longer runs I get 32-33 miles per gallon (my record was 35 after lots of motorway 50mph zones( but more typical is 26-28mpg and obviously this has the potential to fall if you have more fun than is good for you.
Anyway, it's still for sale so please form an orderly queue
.
Mostly, people seem to agree with me that the ST is a great all rounder, which is essentially why I bought it in the first place. Mine is certainly not immaculate but I think the price reflects that (in my opinion anyway!). It genuinely has been a reliable car and I know of no reason why it shouldn't continue to be. The oil leak mentioned on the MOT took me by surprise because while it needs an occasional topping up, I've never noticed oil drips on the drive. I suspect I made a mess of the last topping up (in a hurry and didn't use a funnel) and that the resulting spillage had worked its way down to the bottom of the engine bay. As for the rusty exhaust clamps (on a stainless system), I put that advisory under the heading of the MOT tester feeling he needed to find something to say!
In gentle driving over longer runs I get 32-33 miles per gallon (my record was 35 after lots of motorway 50mph zones( but more typical is 26-28mpg and obviously this has the potential to fall if you have more fun than is good for you.
Anyway, it's still for sale so please form an orderly queue
.bristolracer said:
What's with all the investment value chatter?
Its a shed.
Buy it
Run it
Break it
Scrap it
Buy something else
Couldnt agree more. I was only thinking the other day how all this investment sIts a shed.
Buy it
Run it
Break it
Scrap it
Buy something else
t on anything that is slightly old is killing the car market for a bargain these days.It used to be that a car got old and either got scrapped or just stayed as a cheap car until it got scrapped. Now everyone selling a car seems to think that a used car has 'investment' potential and its a selling point. It is artificilally inflating the used car market and the bubble will burst - probably leaving egg on many faces.
I'm a big mk3 Mondeo fan having had a couple over the years, a Titanium X and an ST TDCi, I can only agree with all the positive comments, they're absolutely awesome cars, I only sold my ST as I needed a van and still miss it. I had an e46 330d for a while too between the Mondeos and the Mondeo is the better car imo,
it just seemed so much better to drive, the e46 was bland in comparison, it didn't handle as well, didn't steer as well, wasn't actually any quicker and was more expensive to run.
it just seemed so much better to drive, the e46 was bland in comparison, it didn't handle as well, didn't steer as well, wasn't actually any quicker and was more expensive to run.
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