Faults:

Air con won't work, knocking from suspension, brakes and wheel bearings, typical wear and tear expected of age and mileage.

Cosmetically the car is looking a bit rough inside and out, but it is 14 years old now and approaching higher mileage.

General Comments:

Got this 2009 Mondeo back in 2019 for a nice price. Has served me well the last few years.

Metallic black Zetec model. Quite a nice looking car, shame mine is looking a bit rough now. I'd do something about it but at the age it is just not worth it. Rust on arches and alloys look corroded. Inside is OK but seats are starting to look worn. Zetec spec is mid range and has plenty of electric features and is very comfortable.

The car is an absolute joy to drive despite the rough condition, I believe it has been looked after mechanically at the very least. Handling is very sharp and the 2.0 TDCi engine has good power and gets 45 - 50 mpg.

Probably will be keeping this car till it dies, not worth much to sell so I'll keep it as a cheap run about till the end.

Faults:

Lots:

Suspension springs fractured at front, had to be replaced immediately.

Exhaust fell off, rear section.

Front plastic grille fell off.

Uneven tyre wear, still not fixed after alignment.

Air con dead, and had a horrible smell when using the fan.

Brakes squeaked even after renewal of discs and pads. Caliper also seized.

Electric windows jammed or were slow to operate.

Engine a little smokey, but was OK for the most part.

Alloy wheels corroded terribly.

Would not start one day - battery needed replaced, not the car's fault, just was getting old and was probably the original.

Rust starting at arches, and it really shows because the car is bright silver.

There was more but it is giving me a headache thinking about it. Biggest failure was the gearbox, which gave up at around 150K, just very hard to get into gear. Mechanic had a look and told me it was not worth repairing.

General Comments:

I did get a good deal on this car back in 2019, paying very little for a rough example Mondeo that was already 10 years old with high mileage. It was not a total disaster as most repairs got done cheap, and the car did me for a couple of years, only until the end when the gearbox failed and I finally got rid of it.

As everyone says, the Mondeo is a fine car to drive. Actually better than my old Honda Accord. Cabin is comfortable and spacious with plenty of equipment even on this mid range Zetec model. Shame my interior is so rough and tatty, clearly a driven hard and smoked in car, cigarette burns here and there.

1.8 TDCi is not the best engine, I would advise anyone to go for the later 2.0 diesel. This old 1.8 TDCi just feels lackluster in performance and economy barely gets above 45 mpg; similar rival cars could manage more than 50 mpg from similar engines.

In short it was mostly my fault - the car was just a very rough example with no history, I took a chance and got burned. I strongly suspect also that this car was used as a taxi in its earlier years. It was OK for the first year or so, but when the repairs mounted up and it left me stranded by the side of the road with a busted gearbox, it was time for it to go. Lessons to be learned - Never buy a rough car with missing history no matter how cheap it is. But I know the Mondeo is good. My neighbor has had his 2010 Mondeo Titanium model for years and it has 180K on it, still going strong, but he looks after it better than he looks after himself.