Homer Posted April 16, 2008 Share Posted April 16, 2008 I have £500-700 to spend on a daily driver to replace the terminated 5 series touring. I would like to get a slightly more modern car than the 96 5 series (a very early 90's design) so have two cars I'm considering: 97+ 2.0 or 2.5 Vectra Hatch 96+ 2.0 or 2.5 Mondeo Hatch I personally prefer the vectra as it looks a lot nicer than the Ford, but my brother in law (a car trader) said to avoid one and go for the Mondeo as it was far more reliable Does anyone have any experience of either? Which would you recommend? Are there any alternatives (without ultra mileage) in this price bracket? For other sugesstions, it needs to have a large boot area, i.e to be able to load 4x6ft plaster/mdf sheets and the like, plus be able to seat more than 2 passengers in comfort with the seats up. Fuel economy isn't important. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tooquicktostop Posted April 16, 2008 Share Posted April 16, 2008 I have owned a Mondeo ST24, it was a 97 and had galactic miles, but it had a good history and NEVER went wrong, I also brought..... a 95 mondeo si 1.8 for £400 just to get me to my parents one weekend when my Skyline was stuck in having work done, I kept it for 6 months in the end and sold it for the same £400, it never broke either. when the Ford needs work they are so cheap to fix compared to some of the more exotic second cars I have owned You would like the ST24 its a good car IMO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tDR Posted April 16, 2008 Share Posted April 16, 2008 Deffo the 2.5 Vectra - it has a nice creamy smooth v6 and was quite enjoyable to drive when my mum had one back then. The mondeo v6 just wasn't as good or as quick at the time and I heard of several reliability issues with it (can't remember what specifically, parkers would likely enlighten!) through guys my dad knew that worked in Ford dealerships. There's also the Omega - nice and roomy, RWD and had a 3.0 version of the v6 from memory? Cheers, Brian. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snake Posted April 16, 2008 Share Posted April 16, 2008 I had a 4x4 96 mondeo for about 8 years it was very reliable .i had two batteries,back box,brake pads,and two suspension bushes needed to be done in that time. The only thing is they tend to wear out front tyres on the edges. I was really Pi$$ed of when it was written off as it was sooo reliable. The car was 2.0litre si. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homer Posted April 16, 2008 Author Share Posted April 16, 2008 There's also the Omega - nice and roomy, RWD and had a 3.0 version of the v6 from memory? The Omega would be 1st choice, but it doesn't have fold down rear seats unless it's the estate, and those are out of my budget Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Posted April 16, 2008 Share Posted April 16, 2008 i bought a mondeo as my daily driver car , cheap as chips to run ,insure, parts ,1999 s reg 1800 lx great nic 800 quid, dont have to worry where i leave it, supra for weekends though ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RiceRocket Posted April 16, 2008 Share Posted April 16, 2008 What happened to your insurance payout? Thought you got £1500ish? Anyway, my offering is the Peugeot 406 Coupe 3.0 V6 naturally Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homer Posted April 16, 2008 Author Share Posted April 16, 2008 What happened to your insurance payout? Thought you got £1500ish? Anyway, my offering is the Peugeot 406 Coupe 3.0 V6 naturally I'm looking to get something cheaper now (will help towards the upcoming house move). Good suggestion on the 406, I did look at them but they're expensive for what they are and then boot space is a compromise. Had another look at the Omega's and it seems they might be an option... I could stretch to £800 for a 3.0 elite estate, that would fit the bill perfectly Perfect for towing too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Posted April 16, 2008 Share Posted April 16, 2008 Omega's are a nightmare anyway. Nothing but hassle with the electrics. Definitely the mondeo for me. Had a 2.2dti vectra and loved it but the petrol ones are just pointless imo. Plus it was only the later vectras that were any good, once they ironed out all the glitches. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Posted April 16, 2008 Share Posted April 16, 2008 U can get a scorpio cosworth for those bucks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael Posted April 16, 2008 Share Posted April 16, 2008 I'm looking for a new daily driver too so I'll watch what happens here too On the Vectra side I picked up a 2.2 SRi for a friend of mine a few years ago, cracking car, lovely throttle response, a little bit thirsty but still feels tight and modern with no major issues in a few years of happy ownership. They seem pretty cheap at the moment. I'm looking at a slightly higher price but I'm having lots of fun on pistonheads just looking at stuff for the price I have in mind only, try this: http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/list.asp?g=1&o=p&min=&max=800&Submit=Search Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faye Posted April 17, 2008 Share Posted April 17, 2008 I've got a 96 2.5 Mondeo as a runaround, I've had it for 2 years now and its been faultless. Its as an estate as well so the boot is huge when the seats are down - very handy. If you go for the 2.5 try and find out if it the water pump has been replaced recently (and whether it was a metal impellared one) - the plastic ones are a known fail point, which can easily be cured by spending around £40 on a metal one. I did look at getting a Scorpio, but having read so many horror stories about bits and bobs failing regularly/expensively the mondeo seemed a much better bet. I also concur on avoiding the Omega, a friend got one and its been nothing but trouble, so much so he had a highly modded 200SX which was more reliable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Havard Posted April 17, 2008 Share Posted April 17, 2008 Mondeo!! All day long for me. I got my 2.0TD given to me by my company and at first I hated it as it was so boring looking. I've had it two years and done 50k business miles and it's never missed a day off the road. Ford have defo gone up in my estimation but the do look really drab...... I had nothing but trouble with my Vectra Sri but was just glad that I wasn't paying the bills. Great car to drive though (when it was running)..... H. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest cj748 Posted April 17, 2008 Share Posted April 17, 2008 Out of the two, i say Mondeo. I only ever had one Vauxhall, never again. A good friend has had 4 Mondeo's with no trouble. What other options do you get from putting in that price bracket on Autotrader? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marc_p Posted April 17, 2008 Share Posted April 17, 2008 I say Vectra, just purely because I hate Mondeo's though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dazzi Posted April 17, 2008 Share Posted April 17, 2008 I say Vectra, just purely because I hate Mondeo's though. What you got against Mondeo's? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Havard Posted April 17, 2008 Share Posted April 17, 2008 I say Vectra, just purely because I hate Mondeo's though. I used to Marc, they were the true sign of the avarage man/car. After having both Vectra and Mondeo there is only one winner! H. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marc_p Posted April 17, 2008 Share Posted April 17, 2008 What you got against Mondeo's? Havard sum's it up I used to Marc, they were the true sign of the avarage man/car. After having both Vectra and Mondeo there is only one winner! H. Fair enough. I just like to stand out:( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlexM Posted April 17, 2008 Share Posted April 17, 2008 I'm looking for an estate myself, to replace this miniscule and expensive to fix fiat punto - interested in the outcome . I would avoid the Omega. One of the Managers here has one, it goes wrong at least once every couple of months and seems to sap £500+ from his pocket each time! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thorin Posted April 17, 2008 Share Posted April 17, 2008 Mondeo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaz Walker Posted April 17, 2008 Share Posted April 17, 2008 I've got 2 Mondeo V6's (MKI & MKII), they've never went wrong and are brill Gaz. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tannhauser Posted April 17, 2008 Share Posted April 17, 2008 My Diesel Mondeo was as slow as continental drift, but probably the most reliable car I've ever had - despite my neglect. Fuel economy was good, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael Posted April 17, 2008 Share Posted April 17, 2008 Homer - you may well laugh me off the forum with this one but a few chaps I chat to on another car enthusiast place swear by the Xantia diesel. Cheap to buy, even cheaper to run, they report them to be very reliable and you can run them on veg oil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thorin Posted April 17, 2008 Share Posted April 17, 2008 While we're mentioning alternatives... Octavia? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SupraAyf Posted April 17, 2008 Share Posted April 17, 2008 Homer - you may well laugh me off the forum with this one but a few chaps I chat to on another car enthusiast place swear by the Xantia diesel. Cheap to buy, even cheaper to run, they report them to be very reliable and you can run them on veg oil. Not a bad idea at all;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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