Team-BHP
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hey people in the quest for finding me a car for the 3.5-5.5 bracket i have stumbled upon a very clean 2003 black ford mondeo.
the one with projector type lights.
now the car has nearly 50k on it.its quiet clean.
i know the pros of the mondeo.perfect drivers car,good power,awesome handling.
i want to know the cons.
like spare parts-availability as well as expense?
service,aftermarket parts.
will a honda city vtec be a better buy than this car.
please keep in mind that the car is available in north india prices.considerable lower than south indian prices.like a clean vtec is available for 3.5-4 and this mondeo is available for 5.5-5.75 approx.
Except for the fact that the Vtec and Mondeo are a favorite with enthusiasts, they have hardly anything in common:
1. The Vtec is a C-segment sedan and hence much smaller and lighter than the Mondeo, which is a full size D-Segmenter.
2. Vtec is better suited to the city; Mondeo is apt for the city and highway both.
3. IMHO the Vtec is a lot more fun and far more involving to drive. The Mondeo is nice to drive too, but doesnt excite as much as the Vtec.
4. Build quality is a no brainer. Mondeo feels solid, sturdy and decidedly European. Vtec is flimsy.
5. Vtec will be *far* cheaper to own than the Mondy. If and when work does come up in the Mondeo, parts are very expensive.
6. Both are equally placed in a 0 - 100 (very small advantage to the Vtec). But the Mondeo will outhandle it at speed. And has far superior highspeed stability.
7. Vtec has better mod potential. If thats what you intend to do at a later stage.
Pitted against each other, the Mondeo at 5.xx lacs offers you a whole lot more car than a Vtec at 4 lacs. Test-drive both side by side and make your choice. You cant go wrong with either.
mondeo is a solid car and the first impression i had of that car was of the build quality and the way the beast accelerates.you feel more confident in an accord than a v-tech.
If you can afford a 3-4 or 5Lac car, it will be expensive for you to maintain such an expensive car.
Its something like this. You can find a used BMW for 3-4L in chd, but for a person who can afford to spend 3-4L, it becomes a white elephant.
Quote:
Originally Posted by navpreet318
(Post 641608)
now the car has nearly 50k on it.its quiet clean.
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Thats quite high milage there.. If you can afford the maintenance cost, go for it. Even I wanted to get one long time back, but the high maintenance cost (considering parts have to be shipped from Belgium) deterred me.
With 50 k on the odo for the Mondeo, get an estimate for the following: suspension overhaul, belt replacements, a/c overhaul. These are some of the big-ticket items you may face (readers pl suggest anything else). If you feel you can spend on them, go for it. Nothing like a luxury car for the price you get.
was quoted 3.5lac at Tvm. Very tempting at that price.
Don't even think of Mondy. No A** and spare parts availability is very rare. You can imagine your car left for servicing and no people to attend to it and moreover, the spare parts availability is a big questin as this car is already stopped being sold.
A-S-S and the parts thing is what i was worried about and yes thanks for reminding me that at 50k a lot of things will need to be overhauled.
for the same reason i've also let go of a beautiful opel vectra..
white elephants are what these cars can be called.
still i'll have a look at this mondeo as i get time.. the owner does say that it has no problems till date as it was driven in city only.
lets see.i'm getting tempted by the built and handling of the mondeo.
guys any other car in this region(3.5-5.5) with good built and handling and NOT a white elephant?
Navpreet in this (3.5-5.5) range you will get a lot of pre-owned cars. I saw a very good condition Sonata S20 with 35K on the odo in lajpat nagar for sale for 3.5L. Honda Accord Type 1 is also available around 4-5L. If you can get the one with the leather interiors "VTiL" model then nothing like it.
IMHO buy a good condition ohc vtec for 3.5-3.75 and if u wanna sell it after an year or two you will have a lot of takers and will get a good resale.
There are no 'Pro's to buying a Ford Mondeo today. It was an expensive car to maintain when it was around, it will be ridiculously expensive today.
the vectra & mondeo have both bottomed on price points in the used car markets, but @ 5++ it would be nice to own but expensive to maintain..you could look for a clean, old gen 2.3 accord!!just thinking out loud, since its jap & honda is a dependable brand.
in my hunt for a 2nd hand sedan that will keep me excited each time i pull it out of my parking lot, i did shortlist the OHC VTEC and the Mondeo.
this was 18 months before.
the Mondeo was a bit rarer find than a clean VTEC. but after quite a search, i did go for a 2nd OHC VTEC, the only reason being my affordability towards spare parts for a Mondeo.
moreover a 50K on the odo for a ford, even if it was a high end car means a lot. jap engines and parts are made to go 4 times that.
think over, if it is the projector lights that attract you, i will say that you can get an angel eye kit with projectors for the OHC cheaper than some other expenses on a Mondeo :) (this statement is not aimed at first hand Mondeo owners)
Just remember m8, there will be no one to buy the Ford Mondeo the day you want to sell it. It is a great driver's car and in diesel form gives good fuel average too. :)
i think its probably correct NOT to buy a luxury sedan just coz its prices have bottomed out.coz the prices have infact bottomed out because of the high maintainance costs.
a car like the OHC has not bottomed out coz the maintainance cost is still low and has loads of aftermarket parts available.
and i also think that spending 3.5-3.75 on a vtec would be wise i will be able to spend quite some money on the ICE and suspension and some light engine mods.
and later one can also swap the engine and go in for slightly heavier mods.
and even then if i sell it, it won't be at a throw away price.
i've actually answered my own question.
thank you people!
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