Mondeo or cmax?

[Durham850]

Been a sadly eventful week in 850 land, my beloved old volvo has gone to the bridge after much deliberations, I have considered selling it, keeping it, fixing it or scrapping it and sometimes you just have to admit defeat and a broken crankshaft was the last straw, I'm not well myself and just don't have the energy left at the moment to nurse a car to health, so moving on im now in need of trouble free wheels and the criteria for me is must be petrol and must be fairly spacious, in the running for me at the moment is a 2001 ford mondeo 1.8 LX estate or a 2005 ford cmax 1.6 zetec but what's your opinion? Limited budget of £600 as not earning at the minute due to the aforementioned ill health

[Jams]

I would go for the cmax brilliant car! Loads of space also

[Dirk Diggler]

I'd buy whichever one was better; when spending small money and not wanting to spend / being able to do repairs buy whichever one seems better

 

As long as the Mondeo isn't smoking and burning oil, doesn't clonk from the rear end it's not going to be a bad buy; tbh similar could be said of the cmax

 

Get well soon

[Durham850]

I have got to say I do like the look of the cmax but have never driven one, I have driven the FIL's focus of the same vintage and with the same engine to be a pretty nice drive all around but I'm tempted by the load lugging ability of the mondeo estate

[Durham850]

The other niggle in my head is surely the 55 plate cmax is worth more than £600 and I don't believe in bargains when buying a car, past experience has shown me that "bagains" always bite you on the arse, I'm just going to have to test out both and see which I like better

[adw1977]

I've had three Mondeos of that generation and I really rated them.

I found the 2.0 engine much better than the 1.8, though. I've had both, and although on paper there doesn't seem much difference in performance, the 2.0 just seemed far more relaxed, the 1.8 was whiny at motorway speeds and although it did the job it felt like it needed to be revved a lot more.

[Durham850]

I have previously had a 1.8 mondeo hatchback of the same era and found it quite responsive and I'm assuming that by 2018 a 2001 car with 105k miles will have already had the swirl flap situation resolved, head is absolutely battered with looking at cars now though so feel I need to pull the trigger soon or else I may end up blowing my budget on something else wholly impractical like a petrol freelander

[Lacquer Peel]

Broken crankshaft? Yikes!!

[Durham850]

petrol freelander

 

Like ThisLacquer PeelToday, 01:54 PM

 

Broken crankshaft? Yikes!!

 

Lucky escape for you there matey

[Mally]

I love the Mondeo estates, until the clutch goes.

Had a C Max of that era brand new, didn't get on with it.

Bottom corner of hatch door attacked me early on leaving a nasty gouge in my chest.

Seats fold OK but if you ever need to lift one out you may need a Hiab.

Supposed to drive well, but seemed just average to me.

Seemed cramped in it some how, 3 year contract, was glad when it went.

[Keymaster]

My dad has been running a 55 plate c-max 1.6 zetec for the last 4 years or so. He doesn't really look after his cars other than a basic annual service. He just drives them til they develop a fault that is uneconomical to fix.

 

Build quality is OK, I think the standard kit level is a bit stingy by current standards but at this age it's much less to go wrong.

 

He reckons it's just as practical as any estate he has owned, maybe more so with the high roofline.

 

I've driven it a few times, it's comfortable and handles well but isn't that lively. The 1.8 or 2.0 presumably go a bit better. He gets around 33mpg urban.

 

What has gone wrong? Not much. Power steering pump failed at around 85k miles and it had a central locking fault that was caused by a broken interior handle. Oh, and the front wheel bearings appear to be made of brie, he's gone though a few. None of the repairs were very expensive to resolve.

 

The 1.6 is belt driven and you should check it's been done at 10 years/100k.

 

It's on around 135k meaning it's done 50k with him at the wheel, so it must be strong where it counts. Mechanically it's so simple and parts are so cheap that I suspect it will just keep plodding on until it eventually rusts away (it's just starting to show surface rust at the rear end of the sills and rear arches)

 

I'd think £600 is about right for one, they aren't new or particularly desirable cars anymore.

[Durham850]

I'm going to view the cmax tomorrow as the seller is away for the day today, if it is as clean as it looks and we can get together on price (he wants £695 I've got £600) then I'm probably going to be buying it, the insurance quote has done it for me, surprisingly less to insure than a fiesta for me

[sierraman]

Mondeo a good car. Find a 2.0 if possible, less prone to oil control rings failing and not much thirstier but a lot quicker. Check for slack at base of handbrake travel usually the rear calipers seized. Clonk from back might be subframe bushes. Big concern would be if its smoking and if clutch is OK. A failing clutch is throwaway at this money.

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

The other niggle in my head is surely the 55 plate cmax is worth more than £600 

 

 

 

Not really. It's a 13 year old Ford.

[Durham850]

Not really. It's a 13 year old Ford.

Other similar cars in my area are up for a grand, suppose it depends how realistic the seller is about their car

[Timewaster]

There is a set of cmax roof bars in my shed you can have.

 

Although if you are in Durham then collection might be an issue!

[Durham850]

There is a set of cmax roof bars in my shed you can have.

 

Although if you are in Durham then collection might be an issue!

If I end up with a cmax I will bare that in mind, never know where I might end up in the country at some point, although I don't actually know where you are

[Timewaster]

If I end up with a cmax I will bare that in mind, never know where I might end up in the country at some point, although I don't actually know where you are

Cambridge ish.

[Durham850]

Cambridge ish.

Might be a while before I'm down that way haha

[sierraman]

Not really. It's a 13 year old Ford.

About going rate on a petrol one is £900-1000, almost certainly about half that at auction.

[Bren]

Buy on condition. Whichever is cleanest.

[sierraman]

Be aware on the Mondeo estate the rear calipers are different to the Saloon and hatch so are a few quid dearer. Check on recent tests for difficulty passing emissions, likely on the 1.8 the rings will be gummed.

[blakey79]

Cmax gets my vote in this format over the Mondeo.

[Durham850]

Well, cmax bought today, all going well until this evening when the engine management light came on, attached to obd reader and I'm getting error code p0304 which translates as a misfire on cylinder number four, looks like my dream of a problem free motoring for a few months is off to a good start! Oh how I love modern shite!

[Jams]

Coil pack!

[beko1987]

Swap the spark plugs over and see if the code moves first! Or if the plugs just look fucked etc. That's how I saved the meriva from needing a new coil pack when it did the same

[sierraman]

A coil is about £15 new on eBay...

 

That said duff leads or plugs can spike the coil. I'd just chuck a new one one to be honest.

 

Check plugs aren't rusted in or sat in 3 inch of washer fluid first though.

[Durham850]

I'm gonna spend a few hours with my head under the bonnet and see what I can come up with

[sierraman]

Not sure about the C max but the Mk2 Focus can be prone to the washer tube leaking fluid down into the recess where the plugs sit. Shouldn't get past the plugs as they're gas tight but it can affect the plug connection and rust the plugs. This will be very obvious when you pull the leads out. If its done this dry the area out thoroughly, plugs will hopefully come out after a serious session with penetrating fluid. A safer bet might be to leave them.

[Mally]

I have broken a plug on a zetec in the past. The metal is very thin.