Am I daft? 'Bargain' Mondeo TD

[trackdemon]

I need a bigger more motorway compatible car, and have given in to the call of the TD. Conveniently my neighbour has a 2000 Mondeo TD Zetec S he needs rid of, but its a Cat C - he has been buying and fixing Cat C&D motors for years. By all accounts the interior had been fire damaged hence the reason its been mostly replaced by a Ghia interior (an upgrade no less!) and AFAI can tell it drives perfectly OK for its 115k miles. No history, dent in bonnet but otherwise appears sound. Will come with 12months ticket.

So, is £650 cheap enough? Or am I better off buying a mega-mileage one for £1k through autotrader? Less at auction but we're in potential shed territory? I really don't know a great deal about these cars other than they reviewed well when new, and the price is nearly 40% lower than the next cheapest equivalent I could find.... Interested in opinions!

[Negative Creep]

At that price with 12 months ticket how bad can it be? As long as the clutch isn't knackered you can't go far wrong

[Zad]

Sounds cheap to me, and the reason given seems ok. If you are at all concerned, how about an AA/RAC report? With these sort of cars it is mechanical condition that matters most, not age or mileage. There are certainly far worse mileage munchers out there than Mondeo TDs with Ghia trim.

[Alec]

Price seems right all things considered. I would say go for it as long as you can cope with it breaking (as it is a £650 car) and it not causing a neighbourly disturbance.

[MrLou]

How much do you trust your neighbour?

If I was selling a similar car to someone I knew I'd explain that, as far as I knew the car was solid, but at this age things can go wrong without much warning.

If you think he's honest then, for £650, you can't go far wrong.

[trackdemon]

I'm pretty sure the car is straight enough, and it drove perfectly well when I took it round the block. I'm more questioning whether or not the value reflects the Cat C status of it..... but I guess for £650 if I get a couple of years use out of it and scrap it, its still a bargain!

[MrLou]

trackdemon said:

I'm pretty sure the car is straight enough, and it drove perfectly well when I took it round the block. I'm more questioning whether or not the value reflects the Cat C status of it..... but I guess for £650 if I get a couple of years use out of it and scrap it, its still a bargain!

Value is a tricky thing to pin down. Does £650 for a useful car seem like good value to you?

Forget about the cat C status at this end of the market. If it was a car that would otherwise be £10k, but is up for £8K as a cat C, then you should worry about the price difference and what you'll get back when you come to sell.

If you like the car and trust the seller you can't go far wrong.

[trackdemon]

MrLou said:

trackdemon said:

I'm pretty sure the car is straight enough, and it drove perfectly well when I took it round the block. I'm more questioning whether or not the value reflects the Cat C status of it..... but I guess for £650 if I get a couple of years use out of it and scrap it, its still a bargain!

Value is a tricky thing to pin down. Does £650 for a useful car seem like good value to you?

Forget about the cat C status at this end of the market. If it was a car that would otherwise be £10k, but is up for £8K as a cat C, then you should worry about the price difference and what you'll get back when you come to sell.

If you like the car and trust the seller you can't go far wrong.

Fair comment. Seems I'm getting a decent motor that would normally be £1k+

[neil_bolton]

Doesn't sideways though, does it. Eh? EH?

:cough: E39 5 series touring :cough:

[RB26DETT]

For that money you can't go wrong.

[MiniMan64]

For £650 with 12 months MOT and really wouldn't be too bothered as long as it drives straight.

[trackdemon]

neil_bolton said:

Doesn't sideways though, does it. Eh? EH?

:cough: E39 5 series touring :cough:

Lift off oversteer. Handbrake

Running costs :cough:

[rb5230]

neil_bolton said:

:cough: E39 5 series touring :cough:

if you can find me an e39 5 series touring for £650 i will take 2 please.

[RB26DETT]

rb5230 said:

neil_bolton said:

:cough: E39 5 series touring :cough:

if you can find me an e39 5 series touring for £650 i will take 2 please.

make that 3
ps: can I have a black 1 ?

[neil_bolton]

Hactually, I have E39 on my brain. I meant E34.

SOrry

[cv01jw]

Being a bit anal here, but did they do a zetec-s TD in 2000?

As far as I recall, a 2000 model would be a mk2 Mondeo and the zetec-s only came in 2.0 and 2.5V6 petrol form.

The Mk3 zetec-s was fitted with the 2.0 TDCi engine but I thought they weren't released until 2002?

[rb5230]

cv01jw said:

Being a bit anal here, but did they do a zetec-s TD in 2000?

As far as I recall, a 2000 model would be a mk2 Mondeo and the zetec-s only came in 2.0 and 2.5V6 petrol form.

The Mk3 zetec-s was fitted with the 2.0 TDCi engine but I thought they weren't released until 2002?

mk2 mondeo zetec-s only came as a 2.0 petrol.
mk3 mondeo zetec-s i believe was only a 2.5 v6 petrol.

so no its not a zetec-s.

[djt100]

I my neighbour wanted to buy a car I was selling and I knew it to be an old St'er then I'd tell him, so if he's all good with selling it to you , i'd say go for it.

12 months ticket on anything these days is £500 so sould good to me.

[cv01jw]

rb5230 said:

cv01jw said:

Being a bit anal here, but did they do a zetec-s TD in 2000?

As far as I recall, a 2000 model would be a mk2 Mondeo and the zetec-s only came in 2.0 and 2.5V6 petrol form.

The Mk3 zetec-s was fitted with the 2.0 TDCi engine but I thought they weren't released until 2002?

mk2 mondeo zetec-s only came as a 2.0 petrol.
mk3 mondeo zetec-s i believe was only a 2.5 v6 petrol.

so no its not a zetec-s.

I stand corrected on the Mk2 front, but I am sat looking out of my office window at a Mk3 Zetec-S TDCi in the car park, so would stand firm on that one

[rb5230]

cv01jw said:

rb5230 said:

cv01jw said:

Being a bit anal here, but did they do a zetec-s TD in 2000?

As far as I recall, a 2000 model would be a mk2 Mondeo and the zetec-s only came in 2.0 and 2.5V6 petrol form.

The Mk3 zetec-s was fitted with the 2.0 TDCi engine but I thought they weren't released until 2002?

mk2 mondeo zetec-s only came as a 2.0 petrol.
mk3 mondeo zetec-s i believe was only a 2.5 v6 petrol.

so no its not a zetec-s.

I stand corrected on the Mk2 front, but I am sat looking out of my office window at a Mk3 Zetec-S TDCi in the car park, so would stand firm on that one

yes you are right, i knew the mk2 was just a 2.0 petrol and thought the mk3 was just a 2.5v6. lucky i put i believe it only came as a v6 as was not 100%, so as to keep my dignity in tact.