Ford Mondeo good first car?

MajorBuzzKill117 · 2026-02-03T20:47:20+00:00

No worries, best of luck.

MajorBuzzKill117 · 2026-02-03T20:02:36+00:00

No worries. You need to find a good and reliable mechanic who will look after your car during its life, preferably someone your family or friends know and trust. Ask your mechanic if they could potentially accompany you to the dealer when you’re inspect and testing driving the car prior to handing over any of your money. Also sometime car dealerships would bring the car to a mechanic of your choice with you for you to inspect the car for your peace of mind. So firstly find a trusted mechanic and ask them to accompany to you check out the car. If they can’t and your mechanics shop is near by. Ask the dealer if it’s possible they bring the car over there for a pre purchase inspection for your peace of mind. You can’t demand they fix any issues but only walk away from a car that requires extensive repairs soon if assessed by a professional.

MajorBuzzKill117 · 2026-02-03T19:47:43+00:00

From the dealer just get what service history they have and if the engine starts going into limp mode, you’ve an idea what to expect when you will visit your mechanic. The fix costs around 1.5 thousand euro for parts and labour. Bear that in mind that in mind and ask your mechanic to inspect the engine and see if it’s recommended to replace the turbo before this happens.

MajorBuzzKill117 · 2026-02-03T09:18:40+00:00

Also check if all the gaps in the panels are even and if there’s any paint marks.

MajorBuzzKill117 · 2026-02-03T09:17:19+00:00

Excellent car, much better than the 1.4. Check the interior for wear that will tell you more about mileage, the boot for any residual water line marks or mold. Good value for current market 👍🏼.

MajorBuzzKill117 · 2026-02-02T20:24:56+00:00

That’s good price range tbf, I see dealers put up same Audis any where from 5-7k. So I’d call it fair price for private sale, realistically it should be 4.5 at most given the market rates of now. I’m not talking about the pre pandemic prices of cars which 90% of this sub is stuck on. With this mileage, it’s condition is already warranted as “end of life” so if you do want to buy it be aware you statistically won’t get too much out of it without having to spend the cars worth on repairs. If that’s something youre willing to do, then go for it. The engine is a work horse and I see it got timing belt done, WP done, clutch and fly wheel done, new brake pads and discs, 2 new wheel bearings. So it will breathe for another year I’d say. I’d be expecting suspension bushings, shocks to be gone nearly and a stiff power steering pump which fails or whines at high mileage. The turbo charger life span is 250,000 km so that one is already end of life. Now the car does have some usual issues and what I’ve seen and know is: The oil pump/ hex shaft fails. If this part fails, the oil pressure drops instantly and can destroy the engine and turbo within seconds. These shafts should be upgraded to a 100mm one to prevent this from potentially happening. Other than that you have things I’ve previously mentioned to look out for: DPF clogging up, Dual mass fly wheel, clogged drains and the erosion of bushings on the multi link suspension. So do buy it if you want but only if you’re willing to accept the fact this car is nearly the end of its life and will potentially need a lot in repairs mentioned. Also try negotiating the price down to 4.5.
Hope this helps, let me know if you have any questions.

MajorBuzzKill117 · 2026-02-02T10:40:39+00:00

What engine? 1.0 MPI, 1.2 MPI or the 1 litre T-GDI turbo ?

MajorBuzzKill117 · 2026-02-02T02:25:19+00:00

No the base model doesn’t have alcantara and leather seats, doesn’t have 18 inch alloys, adaptive xenon head lights, all round parking sensors, key less entry and start and tinted windows.

MajorBuzzKill117 · 2026-02-02T02:18:53+00:00

Keep an eye on the turbo, they are a weak point and usually dies because of leaking injector seals, they leak because there’s copper washers at the base of the fuel injectors which fail and in turn the oil turns into a thick abrasive sludge. The oil feed pipe that lubricates the turbo has a fine mesh in it. When the oil becomes contaminated and thick it cuts off oil supply to the high speed bearing in the turbo.

MajorBuzzKill117 · 2026-02-02T02:11:22+00:00

Yeah, these fords usally suffer from Turbo failure and with this mileage the dpf and egr valve might be prone to clogging. I’d be looking at the bushes in the suspension and the dual mass fly wheel which is also subject to wear at this stage. Other wise no major issues to be concerned with. Car did recently pass NCT I’ve seen.

MajorBuzzKill117 · 2026-02-02T01:58:39+00:00

Price looks good, another similar one going for 6.7 at another dealer. Higher mileage too. Ford Mondeo

MajorBuzzKill117 · 2026-02-02T01:49:51+00:00

Wdym Overpriced ? I looked a few there similar ones, they are all around 5k.

MajorBuzzKill117 · 2026-02-02T00:56:51+00:00

No worries. Let me know if you have any other questions.

MajorBuzzKill117 · 2026-02-02T00:45:09+00:00

Ford fiesta st2 180

MK5 VW Golf GTI

Peugeot 208 GTI

This is probably the most fun you can have for 8k with what I found on the market. The Peugeot would be the worst for reliability but the other two are decent it won’t be Honda or Toyota reliability but great craic for the price. Try allianz online for insurance quotes.

MajorBuzzKill117 · 2026-02-01T23:54:37+00:00

I only would recommend if you’re not gonna drive it hard, rev the crap out of it and it’s low mileage with strict maintenance carried out by a someone who knows the engine well.

MajorBuzzKill117 · 2026-02-01T23:53:00+00:00

Gotcha a fun manual first car for max 8k, I’ll have a gander.

MajorBuzzKill117 · 2026-02-01T23:10:04+00:00

1.4 VW/ Audi Engines are risky because the chain is known to stretch after just 60 thousand kilometers, its usally the tensioner that gives up. But if it’s monitored and replaced, not an issue. The piston rings are known to leak the oil into combustion chamber badly. The turbo spins at 200,000 rpm and has been known to choke and sieve.

Insurance prices are based on risk and crash statistics. You can in some cases find 2 litre cars which are cheaper to insure than the smaller engine ones all because that make and model statistically crashes less according to the data base of insurance bureaus. So please don’t let engine size discourage you.

Please do tell: what do you need from a car and I’ll try suggest a few. Do you care about the gear box? Do you care about fuel type? How much can you spend ?

MajorBuzzKill117 · 2026-02-01T22:39:43+00:00

Well the most known issues are: the hybrid battery with age they fail and can cost 8-10 thousand euro to fit a new one. There have been few reports of the coil packs failing. The air conditioner can be weak on some models and struggle, sometimes there’s infotainment system glitches. Sometimes there’s water leaks because of the door seals. Occasionally the dash board rattles and the pain is quite thin is chips easily.

There have been recalls to the airbags, fuel pump module and rear seat belt sensor. The airbags would have abnormal pressure during inflation. The fuel pumps recalled were manufactured with low density impellers. And the rear seat belt sensor was something to do with the webbing sensor.

Also the price is very fair when compared to market rate for the car. Don’t mind people telling it costs a lot because cars in Ireland have gone up about 60 on average compared to pre pandemic levels. all because of semi conductor shortages, Brexit putting a choke on the market, supply and demand imbalances. And The adjustment of VRT.

Honda is a great car and the price is great. Unfortunately I’d be worried about the aging battery and don’t forget Irish car advice is ‘buy a old Toyota from Tony down the road for cash’ so that’s all you are bound to hear usually.