Talk to me about x-types

[Ben_O]

I have the chance to purchase a 2002 x type.

It's nice condition but an mot failure.

Here are the failures and advisories.

It's done 163,000 miles and is a 2.0 manual.

Interior is mint and it's just had a load of bodywork done.

Wheels are poor.

Doing the work doesn't concern me. I just don't know anything about them and if it's worth the effort.

Price is £230 which is what the scrapman has offered.

cheers

Ben

[Spurious]

I don't know anything about them really. 

But it depends on how rotten that subframe is and how much of the advisories are just arse covering or is it a car that's neglected and had big jobs put off until tomorrow... 

If it needs a boatload of brake work, new tyres, a subframe and some suspension joints then it's costing more than one with a clean MOT already. 

[Mr Pastry]

I am not really into moderns, but I have enjoyed the X types I have driven, and they are nice cars to be in.   From what I have seen of the way they are built while doing various jobs on them, I would avoid that one.  Some of that work is going to be a right faff.  They are really not worth restoring unfortunately.  I would look for one with an MOT that you can enjoy.

 

[Low Horatio gearbox]

I had a 53 plate 2.5 estate for a few years .

At that price and fail sheet you will be in it for many times your purchase price to fix.

Mine had 2 OS front wheel bearings and I offer it to WBAC a a rear suspension Bush had failed and the whole back end had to come apart to replace it. They penchant for the tracking to go out on the front if you showed it a speed bump mine was done  4 or 5 times while I had it and it trashed the contin on kt on 10k miles. 

 

Comfy ride tho nice not mega sporty handling. 

 

[stripped fred]

The rusty subframe would put me off.

[JJ0063]

It’s a Mondeo with a posh set of panels isn’t it? 
 

I wouldn’t bother 

[Asimo]

Mondeo VandenPlas - Hyacinth Bouquet edition.

[colino]

It's 11% Mondeo, but putting that aside, that's a mixed bag fail.  Subframe needs work, but the sills don't?  Failing the brake fluid, when they can't even take off the cap is always sus. Just because it needs tyres and time with 163000 under its belt would make it an uneconomic fix.  Plus I wouldn't use that tester again. 

[Ben_O]

Thanks for all the comments guys.

Really useful info.

The mot tester is a friend and colleague and he says the rear frame can be welded. The advisories for rust on the floors is minor and can be cleaned and treated.

The repairs are only going to cost my time plus front brakes and tyres so cost isn't really much of of issue.

I am interested to hear about what they are like as it would be to replace my c180 so I don't want to end up with a car that's just going to cause me problems throughout ownership.

I am considering just letting it go over the bridge though after reading opinions above. It's not a car that's been on my radar, it's just something that caught my eye when I saw how clean it is.

I'll give it half hour on the ramp tomorrow after work to see how bad it is and then decide.

 

Cheers so far for the comments.

Ben

[andy18s]

You need to get a look under the sill plastics,or at least have a good poke around them as they do like to dissolve there 

[sierraman]

Behind those sill covers will be metal with all the strength and integrity of a dry weetabix. 

Im assuming the rear subframe is pure Mk3 Mondeo, if that’s the case dont bother welding it, chuck it away, lifting the rear subframe out is piece of piss on a Mk3. Before I did anything I’d take those sill covers off. Then make a decision. 

Is it the 2.0 diesel? 

[warch]

My brother’s has a dubious looking front subframe which wasn’t visible when he bought it because of the undertray.

Not a bad car per se and rust aside seems rather jolly in  an Arthur Daley sort of way. That’s a truly intimidating litany of borkage though so I’d look for a better one if i were you.

[Ben_O]

Noted.

I'll make aill cover removal the first thing I do. 

Although I'm already leaning towards not bothering even looking at it.

It's a 2.0 petrol

 

Cheers

Ben

[sierraman]

If it’s any consolation the 2.0 petrol rarely gives any problems if it’s maintained, the rings can go but nothing like as prevalent as the 1.8 Duratec.

[sutty2006]

Rust. All of it. 
 

I used to love diesel mk3 mondeos but wouldn’t touch one now for fear it’s on its last legs. 

[SiC]

1 hour ago, JJ0063 said:

It’s a Mondeo with a posh set of panels isn’t it?

No. No it's not. 

But the motoring press love to repeat that rhetoric.

[stuboy]

id not bother

[sierraman]

1 hour ago, sutty2006 said:

Rust. All of it. 
 

I used to love diesel mk3 mondeos but wouldn’t touch one now for fear it’s on its last legs. 

I know but a good one is about £800 - £1k, you don’t stand to lose a lot when it craps out. They’re usually either very good or very bad. Cost of putting them right has dropped considerably over last few years, once disastrous FTPs like a cooked actuator are resolvable with some Mr Muscle and a £40 replacement actuator. 

They can be needy fuckers but if you are handy with the spanner’s it’s not too bad. 

[Isaac Hunt]

I have had a 2.0 Pezza V6 that i’ve taken to 220k miles and it’s on the original clutch.

in that time, it needed tyres, pads, front discs, wiper blades, waterpump, rear arb droplink, 2 * heated oxygen sensors  a set of sparkplugs and an expansion tank.  A sill repair 

damn fine cars

i don’t know how involved the subframe is.

MOT Tester strikes me as very ‘keen’ 

[sutty2006]

8 hours ago, sierraman said:

I know but a good one is about £800 - £1k, you don’t stand to lose a lot when it craps out. They’re usually either very good or very bad. Cost of putting them right has dropped considerably over last few years, once disastrous FTPs like a cooked actuator are resolvable with some Mr Muscle and a £40 replacement actuator. 

They can be needy fuckers but if you are handy with the spanner’s it’s not too bad. 

Yeah they’re easy to repair if you have the time. Nowadays I really cant be arsed to be fixing one all the time lol. Had my fair share of sticky turbo veins and actuators over the years 😂

[sierraman]

41 minutes ago, sutty2006 said:

Yeah they’re easy to repair if you have the time. Nowadays I really cant be arsed to be fixing one all the time lol. Had my fair share of sticky turbo veins and actuators over the years 😂

To be fair you can pick a good Mk4 up for £1500 and avoid all this shit.

[Dobloseven]

Is it AWD? That might complicate subframe repairs. I suppose it depends on how much work you can do yourself and whether you want a project or a car to use straight away. Any X Type is an old car now and wonder if buying a "good" one would be much better than getting one with known faults cheaply and putting them right to your own standards. 

[MrBiscuits]

I had a 2.0 auto for a few years. I liked it,  no ball of fire, but a nice smooth drive and the v6 sounds good. Not especially economical (about 28mpg avg.) though I expect the manual is better.

Don't believe the posh mondeo stuff - yes there are some ford bits, but there's a lot that's not. They feel different to drive and the interior is nice.

Had no trouble with mine really, was on 160k in the end. As others have said, the 2wd version is considerably more reliable and less complex. Somebody told me the rear suspension is the same as a mondeo estate - it certainly looked very ford.

I'd mainly be checking for rust in the sills, the early ones (like this is) are much worse than post 2004.

 

[C1am]

13 hours ago, Ben_O said:

I am interested to hear about what they are like as it would be to replace my c180

Having owned both I would choose the C180.  They are both nice places to be but the Mercedes W202 build quality was fantastic, before they cheapened the brand. Do you need the space? The X-Type boot is really shallow so you can't carry anything too bulky. 

The "it's just a Mondeo in drag" comments are pub talk. Yes, it was based on a Mondeo floorpan, and used some Ford parts, but try an X-Type next to the same era Mondeo - they are completely different cars. 

[sierraman]

1 hour ago, Dobloseven said:

Is it AWD? That might complicate subframe repairs. I suppose it depends on how much work you can do yourself and whether you want a project or a car to use straight away. Any X Type is an old car now and wonder if buying a "good" one would be much better than getting one with known faults cheaply and putting them right to your own standards. 

That’s pretty much always the case to be fair, a good one will cost you less than something that needs this, that and the other.

[sutty2006]

I thought they only did the v6 in AWD? 

[MrBiscuits]

1 minute ago, sutty2006 said:

I thought they only did the v6 in AWD? 

All the petrol were. The 2.0 is actually a 2.1 v6. You get some of the great sound, almost all of the thirst and none of the performance 😄.

Main plus point of them now over the 4wd 2.5 & 3.0 is simplicity 

[Ben_O]

Thanks for every comment guys.

It really helped me make a decision and its all based on what's been discussed here.

I think I made the right choice, it's now gone away to be recycled into something more useful.

 

Cheers all

 

Ben

[sierraman]

Slow, thirsty, underwhelming and rusty. Where do I sign?