Mondeo diesel estate as a tow car

I had a 2003 Mondeo Mk 3 2.0 tdci estate 115 HP, I tow a MacGregor 26 boat, trailer and engine weigh 1500kg according to the manufacture, I guess another 200+ kg of gear towed with no problems at all, 35 mpg towing 45-55 mpg without trailer. Very reliable, but few things started going the year 11 years old, 100,000 miles, battery, glow plugs, brake pads, tyres were getting low, so I decided to change before anything expensive went. E.g. clutch. I have replaced it with another Mondeo diesel estate but I have not towed with it yet, same horsepower, same towing capacity but only 1.6 liter.
 
GART said:
I had a 2003 Mondeo Mk 3 2.0 tdci estate 115 HP, I tow a MacGregor 26 boat, trailer and engine weigh 1500kg according to the manufacture, I guess another 200+ kg of gear towed with no problems at all, 35 mpg towing 45-55 mpg without trailer. Very reliable, but few things started going the year 11 years old, 100,000 miles, battery, glow plugs, brake pads, tyres were getting low, so I decided to change before anything expensive went. E.g. clutch. I have replaced it with another Mondeo diesel estate but I have not towed with it yet, same horsepower, same towing capacity but only 1.6 liter.
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and have you ever been stopped by the rozzers

D
 
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I appreciate you want to but a £600 car, run it for a couple of years until it breaks then take it to the scrap yard.

I'm not sure a Ford fits that bill? It will be the electronics or an expensive clutch that kills an otherwise working motor.

I still think my 1972 Landrover is a better long term cheap motoring bet. I only paid £1500 for it rebuilt on a new galvanised chassis by a previous owner. Rust isn't going to be an issue (apart from minor easily sorted things like one door top is a bit rough) and things like a clutch are relatively simple, if time consuming. No electronics to mess it up, no emissions controls. Everything like brakes etc it really simple DIY stuff.

It's rated to tow 2 tons so ticks that box.

I'll bet I'll still be running this Landrover in 10 or more years time and at £ per year I bet you won't beat it.

Did I mention £0 historic vehicle road tax and <£100 comprehensive classic car insurance? (6K mile limit)
 
GART said:
I had a 2003 Mondeo Mk 3 2.0 tdci estate 115 HP, I tow a MacGregor 26 boat, trailer and engine weigh 1500kg according to the manufacture, I guess another 200+ kg of gear towed with no problems at all, 35 mpg towing 45-55 mpg without trailer. Very reliable, but few things started going the year 11 years old, 100,000 miles, battery, glow plugs, brake pads, tyres were getting low, so I decided to change before anything expensive went. E.g. clutch. I have replaced it with another Mondeo diesel estate but I have not towed with it yet, same horsepower, same towing capacity but only 1.6 liter.
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1.6 ?????
is it not 1.8
 
ProDave said:
I appreciate you want to but a £600 car, run it for a couple of years until it breaks then take it to the scrap yard.

I'm not sure a Ford fits that bill? It will be the electronics or an expensive clutch that kills an otherwise working motor.

I still think my 1972 Landrover is a better long term cheap motoring bet. I only paid £1500 for it rebuilt on a new galvanised chassis by a previous owner. Rust isn't going to be an issue (apart from minor easily sorted things like one door top is a bit rough) and things like a clutch are relatively simple, if time consuming. No electronics to mess it up, no emissions controls. Everything like brakes etc it really simple DIY stuff.

It's rated to tow 2 tons so ticks that box.

I'll bet I'll still be running this Landrover in 10 or more years time and at £ per year I bet you won't beat it.

Did I mention £0 historic vehicle road tax and <£100 comprehensive classic car insurance? (6K mile limit)
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get behind me satan.....

I spent those years propping up a 50 year old engine in the slug - do not want to go through that loop again

of course the killer of this plan is that swmbo will never get behind the wheel

- and that 50 mpg sans trailer will also make it viable
 
Dylan, For similar money, you could look at a Rover 75 Tourer.
Great tow car, excellent in the snow and ice, BMW engine and drivetrain (in the manual version) cheap to maintain and run.
The MPG is about the same as the Mondy. Due to the age of ones you'd be looking t, any issues would have been ironed and there is a shed load known about these vehicles ( see http://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/)
Go for a 135 CDTI Connoisseur SE spec and you will have ALL the toys!! Sat Nav, heated electric seats, dual zone climate control, etc, etc. Basically the 75 Diesel is a BMW but with a more "retro" look.
A 75 Auto is great but fuel consumption goes up as does the RFL, but is much more pleasing to drive in traffic.
Whatever you choose, good luck and enjoy!
 
I had an 05 Mondeo 2.0 Tdi, ran it for 25000 miles (from 30K, full main dealer history etc, ). The most expensive bloody car I EVER ran! At just over 50k it had to have a new Turbo, shortly followed by a new HP fuel pump, then a starter motor. Total - over £2.500! When my garage diagnosed injector problems I finally ran away ! It was the biggest piece of cr*p ever!
 
I have a 56 plate 2.0 diesel (130hp) which I regretted buying when I found the dodgy back street dealer hadn't sent off the paperwork for the 12 months warranty, which was the main reason I bought it, and the starter motor packed up. When I pursued the dealer, he had shut the business down and started up under a new name and refused to discuss it. I hope that my complaint to Trading Standards has been followed up, but will never know.

The starter problem was caused by the dreaded DMF needing replacement but I just had a new starter fitted and kept on driving - for about 2000 miles, when it went again. Unable to sell the car, I shelled out £950 to have the work done properly, at 110,000 miles.

So if you do buy a higher mileage one, make sure the DMF has already been replaced at some point.

It gives me about 45mpg on a combination of local and longer distance motoring.

I'd quite happy sell you mine if you put a 2 in front of your budget!!
 
Get a 3 litre petrol one; cracking tow cars, economy on a long run is around 28 mpg when not towing, doesn't seem to drop much with big trailer/ caravan/ boat behind. High spec ones are much, much cheaper to buy secondhand than the diesel and smaller petrol engine versions.
 
BlueSkyNick said:
I have a 56 plate 2.0 diesel (130hp) which I regretted buying when I found the dodgy back street dealer hadn't sent off the paperwork for the 12 months warranty, which was the main reason I bought it, and the starter motor packed up. When I pursued the dealer, he had shut the business down and started up under a new name and refused to discuss it. I hope that my complaint to Trading Standards has been followed up, but will never know.

The starter problem was caused by the dreaded DMF needing replacement but I just had a new starter fitted and kept on driving - for about 2000 miles, when it went again. Unable to sell the car, I shelled out £950 to have the work done properly, at 110,000 miles.

So if you do buy a higher mileage one, make sure the DMF has already been replaced at some point.

It gives me about 45mpg on a combination of local and longer distance motoring.

I'd quite happy sell you mine if you put a 2 in front of your budget!!
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No DMF and chain cam was why we specifically bought the Mondeo with 2.0 tdi engine, could have had a slightly more powerful 2.0 tdci for similar money, but suddenly lots more to go wrong. About 80K very hard work (thrashed) miles and virtually nothing went wrong except eventually the fancy climate control (Ghia model) which decided IT would decide what temperature you got - you could have aircon in winter and heating in summer, or vice versa, whatever you set the computer to.
 
jwilson said:
No DMF and chain cam was why we specifically bought the Mondeo with 2.0 tdi engine, could have had a slightly more powerful 2.0 tdci for similar money, but suddenly lots more to go wrong. About 80K very hard work (thrashed) miles and virtually nothing went wrong except eventually the fancy climate control (Ghia model) which decided IT would decide what temperature you got - you could have aircon in winter and heating in summer, or vice versa, whatever you set the computer to.
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excellent info - thanks

I shall restrict my search to the older versions

lots of potentials to choose from

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/search/...esel/engine-size-cars/2l_to_2-5l/sort/default
 
Mondeo tddi was made up to about 52 plate these are non electronic injection do have a DMF and 115 bhp all 2 litre diesel are chain drive cams but the later tdci has electronic injection and a whole lot more to go wrong and most of the injection system has to be programmed to the car when replaced so is not a diy job I ran a tddi up to 185000 it was very reliable I had a clutch and DMF at 140000 £900 inc parts they tend to wear rear tyres unevenly when carrying weight but with the miles you are proposing should not be a prob if you can find a zetec spec it will have a/c etc
 
itspaul said:
Mondeo tddi was made up to about 52 plate these are non electronic injection do have a DMF and 115 bhp all 2 litre diesel are chain drive cams but the later tdci has electronic injection and a whole lot more to go wrong and most of the injection system has to be programmed to the car when replaced so is not a diy job I ran a tddi up to 185000 it was very reliable I had a clutch and DMF at 140000 £900 inc parts they tend to wear rear tyres unevenly when carrying weight but with the miles you are proposing should not be a prob if you can find a zetec spec it will have a/c etc
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Didn't know the Tdi had a DMF, but these engines certainly have a much better reliability reputation than Tdci. When I bought one looked at three, all engines a bit rattly with bonnet open, with a particular resonance at mid-revs off load (probably timing chains), but once bonnet shut and car being driven quite quiet.
 
Yes when you rev them off load they are very noisey especially when cold this is due to the two stage injection system the second stage cuts in at around 2200 rpm which produces quite a rattle off load but barely percepable when driving but you definately feel an increase in power around those revs
 
If you do get a Mondeo, useful to know that when things break there are two Mondeo breakers in Dunstable where spares are very cheap
One is http://mondeo-bits.co.uk/index.html the other is in a farm a few miles away, I cannot remember the name but they advertise on eBay and I got a complete rear electric window mechanism for my estate for £10
 
I'd suggest considering a Vauxhall Omega. Superior tow car to the Mondeo (I've towed heavy trailers with both, the omega was up there with my Range Rover as a towing tug)

I can't comment on diesel ones though as mine was a 2.0 petrol
 
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