[aghate]

Originally Posted by sandeepmohan

Beautiful car. The lines still appeal.

The current on sale Mondeo is also a very attractive car and still drives well. Stays true to way Ford's drive.

I have also seen Ford cars with Zetec and a TDCi badge below but I don't get it. Zetec has always been a reference for engine type, meaning petrol, however, reading wikipedia, it looks like it has been used for Diesel as well.

Thank you @sandeepmohan!
I love the clean design on this car, no cuts and creases. Correct, the variant badges are same across both Petrol and Diesel, unlike what we have in India (Vxi or VDi).

I would attend or take opinion on the rust under the car. Looks excessive for a 9 year old car and has reached critical suspension components and some body panels.

Sounds like the UK is a lot more stringent when it comes to the way used cars are handled and evaluated. The good thing is you do have local manufacturing.

I will definitely have a look at the rust, it is in my agenda. Surprisingly, it was not mentioned in my last year's MOT check. The equivalent German evaluation program is way too stringent than UK.

I played it safe and got a 2005 Subaru Legacy sedan. All was not well soon after I bought it but nothing to the point of severe mechanical faults. After 3 years and 30,000+ km of driving, I am happy with my purchase. The car is a joy to drive and nothing has fallen apart. The total on the odo sits at 110,000km, which is normal for a car this age.

Subaru Legacy is a reliable car, and is another one where you can't go wrong with its purchase. Glad that it has been serving you well.

The thought of buying something newer always comes up but with current times, I have decided to delay the purchase by a year. Used car deals are getting sweeter but now is not the time to buy a depreciating asset.

I am a fan of the used car market. It is a value for money proposition for me.

Unfortunately, in India, most of us probably never experienced how good the Mondeo was. I had a brief drive of the Mondeo petrol at a Ford event. It was superb. The car tanked in India due to Ford's ridiculous service costs and Ford's were not as reliable those days. Burnt my fingers with a used Ford Ikon 1.6. That seems to continue as a fear in most peoples minds today, else I see no reason their current cars (Figo and Aspire) aren't being lapped up. Ford Globally are no longer prioritizing development of hatchbacks or sedans anymore so the days of picking up that special Ford ST are narrowing down.

I agree, Ford can do so much better in India. They could have launched the Focus with an under-powered engine to compete in the B segment and young buyers would have gone bonkers with it. Their current portfolio in India is way too small compared to their International market.

Originally Posted by bharanidharang

Awesome review. One of the amazing designs in this 'class' of cars. Wrong time of introducing in India and the model got killed early. i believe ford has come of the best line up of cars but take the best wrong decisions :(. Would love to pick this up if re launched here.

Thank you @bharanidharang!
I personally, would want them to launch the Focus and Kuga in India. But then again, I am not the one making decisions.

[CountMe91]

Congratulations on your new car. Wish you many happy miles with it.

You can make use of free vehicle checks available in Kwik Fit and Halfords. Ford is generally a no nonsense car and is a fill it shut it kind of vehicle. The maintenance costs will be much lower as compared to German brands.

Your insurance costs will lower down from the second year onwards. Did you consider Toyota Avensis during your purchase?

[aghate]

Originally Posted by CountMe91

Congratulations on your new car. Wish you many happy miles with it.

You can make use of free vehicle checks available in Kwik Fit and Halfords. Ford is generally a no nonsense car and is a fill it shut it kind of vehicle. The maintenance costs will be much lower as compared to German brands.

Hello! Thank you @CountMe91!

Could you please confirm if these free checks are for the entire car or just specifics? One of the National Tyres center's didn't charge me a dime for checking the Wheel rust issue that I mentioned. I was pleasantly surprised by it.

Your insurance costs will lower down from the second year onwards.

The insurance costs have not gone down as per my expectation so far. This is my third renewal year and it has cost me £884 with £1000 of Excess. And that is with 4 years of NCB (2 from India and 2 from UK). I find it very odd the way insurance structure works here. My first year was £1300 with Admiral and have stayed with them so far. 'Compare the Market' quotes didn't help me either.

Did you consider Toyota Avensis during your purchase?

I did consider it briefly, but I got the 'Cab' feel to it. Not that the Mondeo is not used as a cab but I just couldn't connect with it the way I did with the Mondeo.

[CountMe91]

Originally Posted by aghate

Hello! Thank you @CountMe91!

Could you please confirm if these free checks are for the entire car or just specifics? One of the National Tyres center's didn't charge me a dime for checking the Wheel rust issue that I mentioned. I was pleasantly surprised by it.


The insurance costs have not gone down as per my expectation so far. This is my third renewal year and it has cost me £884 with £1000 of Excess. And that is with 4 years of NCB (2 from India and 2 from UK). I find it very odd the way insurance structure works here. My first year was £1300 with Admiral and have stayed with them so far. 'Compare the Market' quotes didn't help me either.


I did consider it briefly, but I got the 'Cab' feel to it. Not that the Mondeo is not used as a cab but I just couldn't connect with it the way I did with the Mondeo.

You can book free tyre checks, free battery checks and winter checks with Halfords and Kwik Fit. Just check online and book a slot when the lockdown situation cools down. National Tyres is really good for tyre checkup.

The insurance in UK depends on many factors like the region/postcode where you stay, the car model you own, the garage (locked/unlocked) where the car is parked, etc. Prices vary significantly if there are named contacts on the policy. Car insurance is generally pretty steep for the new license holders.

[Amsdoc]

Originally Posted by CountMe91

The insurance in UK depends on many factors like the region/postcode where you stay, the car model you own, the garage (locked/unlocked) where the car is parked, etc. Prices vary significantly if there are named contacts on the policy. Car insurance is generally pretty steep for the new license holders.

Yes, very much. I moved for a short while to a very rough part of Manchester and wanted to buy a cheap runaround. I saw a very nice old 306 which was perfect and was listed for something ridiculous like 600 pounds but the insurance for that car in that locality was 1800 pounds!! I had NCB and the works.

[CountMe91]

Originally Posted by Amsdoc

Yes, very much. I moved for a short while to a very rough part of Manchester and wanted to buy a cheap runaround. I saw a very nice old 306 which was perfect and was listed for something ridiculous like 600 pounds but the insurance for that car in that locality was 1800 pounds!! I had NCB and the works.

Which part of Manchester was that - Salford? Altrincham and surrounding areas are very posh. Generally cars like 306, Ford STs, VW GT/GTIs have high insurance cost due to their probability of being stolen. Sad but true.

[Amsdoc]

Originally Posted by CountMe91

Which part of Manchester was that - Salford? Altrincham and surrounding areas are very posh. Generally cars like 306, Ford STs, VW GT/GTIs have high insurance cost due to their probability of being stolen. Sad but true.

Wythenshawe... close to Altrincham but very rough and a high chances of vehicle theft, though the place I stayed had secure parking etc. Also the 306 was a very stealable. Dropped the plan to buy a car there, found a friend to help me with the groceries . Used to rent whenever I needed to go far and chose a different car every time. So test drove loads of cars as well. Win-win!

[CountMe91]

Originally Posted by Amsdoc

Wythenshawe... close to Altrincham but very rough and a high chances of vehicle theft, though the place I stayed had secure parking etc. Also the 306 was a very stealable. Dropped the plan to buy a car there, found a friend to help me with the groceries . Used to rent whenever I needed to go far and chose a different car every time. So test drove loads of cars as well. Win-win!

Wynthenshaw reminds me of bus 11 and 11A

I used to rent from Manchester Airport mostly from Sixt and Avis. Sixt had a very good selection of cars really.

[Amsdoc]

Originally Posted by CountMe91

Wynthenshaw reminds me of bus 11 and 11A
I used to rent from Manchester Airport mostly from Sixt and Avis. Sixt had a very good selection of cars really.

Never used the bus. But the Trams were great, albeit a little slow. I think Manchester is one of the places where the tram network has really worked and is pretty good.

I used to use Avis earlier and later shifted to Europecar and sometimes National depending on who had the better deals. One of the advantages of renting many times from the same company was that I got on their preferred lists and frequently got upgraded to better cars despite booking a class or 2 lower.

My house in Glasgow was empty and needed lot of work done so I used to drive up most weekends from Manchester and do it up or get workmen in to do it. Coming back to this thread, I would love it whenever I got a Mondeo for the trip!

[aghate]

A short update:

Took the car out after almost 2 months for a drive over the weekend. It should be noted that I did not start the car during this period and nor did I have the battery disconnected. The first thing I noticed was the car would not unlock via the remote, and hence had to unlock using the metal key instead. This triggered the alarm and had to be shut by turning the ignition ON.

My initial assumption about the battery being flat was put to rest as the engine cranked to life effortlessly with the usual judder. I let the car idle for about 2-3 minutes and did a trip of about 20 odd miles with the lockdown being eased since the last week.

The below message 'Alarm triggered' was still bugging me. With the help of online forums got to know that it can be cleared by pressing 'OK' button on the steering wheel when you turn the ignition ON and when the message appears. Post this, lock the car with the remote and unlock again to ensure the message has been cleared.



I still haven't found answers to my below questions after googling,

1) Why did the car not unlock with the remote buttons despite the battery not being dead/drained out? If the key fob had drained its battery, how did I manage to unlock/lock the car with the same after my short drive. I also, managed to check the range of the fob the next day to ensure that I had locked the car in the first place, which I assumed I may have left the car unlocked (happens often ) after taking it out after a long time.

2) Is there some kind of immobilizer or system in place that disconnects the battery if the car is not used for a long time or just uses a small amount of charge to keep the car clock running?

Any expert advice about the above is appreciated. But hey, the car is fine and there is a peace of mind that I can leave the car untouched for at least 2 months and expect it to start at first crank.