Faults:

Oil sump leak (likely damaged by the previous owner scraping low pavements). Repaired at service for little extra cost.

Timing belt replaced and a few suspension parts.

Sticky door locks.

Nothing major.

General Comments:

An excellent all round car that I picked up very cheaply when it was 9 years old. Always wanted one of the mk2 Mondeos and this was the last of that shape before changing to the more modern version, which I've heard is a good car but not as reliable as this was. The 5 years I had it, it cost me nothing but servicing and fuel. The timing belt is good for a decade and 100,000 miles, and the coolant is filled for life. With most of that major work done, I put 60,000 trouble free miles on it, with having only to lift the bonnet to put windscreen wash in. I know people with new/nearly new cars that have much more trouble. Need you say anymore?

The handling and looks of the car were way ahead of its time and that's what appealed to me about it, but I was always told these cars were trouble and not to touch them, but when I eventually got round to getting one, I got quite positive comments from friends about how nice a car it was for an older car, and how modern and fresh it felt to drive and look at. Not to mentioned how it stood up to my everyday use. The Zetec model has silver alloy wheels similar to the 90s Escort Cosworth, and this really makes this car stand out, with bright blue metallic paint. Almost exactly like its British Touring Car livery at the time! The 2 litre engine isn't the fastest, but it gets you were you want to go with comfort and good progress while doing 37 MPG, which for a 2 litre petrol engine developed in the 90s is about as good as it gets.

I was a fool to sell it; only had to due to circumstances at the time. I've had countless similar cars past and present, including a Mazda 6, Skoda Octavia, Vauxhall Vectra, etc. All good cars, but none compare to the Mondeo's reliability and ease of ownership. Well, maybe except the Octavia, which matched this cars reliability, I didn't think any other car would. No wonder these cars and similar ones are still used as taxis.

Faults:

Suspension ball joints for MOT. Not too expensive.

Has a habit of locking itself, I just ignore it, no big deal, better than un-locking anyway!

Windscreen washer jets stopped working - very common problem with these cars - when frozen, the jets push the rubber pipes off the washer pump. Easy to slide back on... but hard to work on as the washer pump/reservoir is in the wing! Need to get under the car and take off the bumper undertray! Or take the headlight/bumper off if you need the washer reservoir out! Nightmare. Just as well this car is reliable and rarely goes wrong, because it is hard to work on, so thankfully only these little minor problems I've had with it.

General Comments:

My 3rd Mondeo. Previous ones were the old shape mk1, this is a mk2. Much better looking and faster than my previous cars. Comfort is improved too, as is the handling. Really good car to drive even by today's standards. Unfortunately a lot of mk2's are rough, they also rust earlier than the mk1's did.

Overall, still a great car. Just trying to find a nice one with low mileage is hard now. Looks great, this Zetec model with the early 90s Escort Cosworth style alloys.