I have an admission to make

[crockers]

According to JC (not the religious guy) less common than the BMW 3 series....and a great drive too.

I like them. Mondeos that is.

 

[ringway]

IMHO, considering residual values and given that the fuel consumption of a 2.3 auto petrol engine won't be that good I think the two cars in the link below are the only way to go.

I should think that there will still be the balance of the manufacturers warranty available (take it to a MB dealer just before expiry and they'd be DELIGHTED to fine tooth comb the car for faults and rectify them at no cost to you.)

The economy of the 220CDI is exceptional considering the size of the car and this factor and the kudos of the MB brand will not only make the car worth more when you are through with it, but also make it easy to sell.


http://search.autotrader.co.uk/es-u...&ukcarsearch_full.x=103&ukcarsearch_full.y=13

 

[Rob77]

I've had 3 Mondeo company cars in the past, 2 saloons and one hatch. The first was petrol and the third a tdci (can't remember about the second one). I did over 80k miles in each, from new, in all weathers and nothing ever went wrong with them.

I'm around 6'4" and didn't find them hugely comfortable and most of the time I actually never even thought about them, they just did what I wanted of them and very well. Just a little dull maybe.

 

[Will]

Yes, in 3 years time it will be £3995 like all other Mondeos end up...

^^
He's right, you know

Wasn't the Mondeo rated as THE highest depreciating car ever in the UK a few years ago?

Sounds hard to believe with some of the cars on the market, but I think it was correct.

What a lot of the UK motoring public tend to forget is that for most people with newish cars, the largest cost of motoring is the depreciation. Not those £1k service bills, or the once in a blue moon major mechanical failure, but those ££££s each year that new cars lose because as they get older, no-one wants them.

Something to think about for us older MB owners the next time you feel down about spending a few quid fixing your pride and joy :bannana:

Not saying that new Mondeos are bad cars (far from it), just that as an overall motoring prospect, they're probably no cheaper than running a nice MB with the better residuals - or an older one and paying more out for maintenance

Will

 

[nick mercedes]

Wasn't the Mondeo rated as THE highest depreciating car ever in the UK a few years ago?

http://search.autotrader.co.uk/es-u...de=sp52rb&radius=1501&showMoreOptions=&page=1

The 2005s on page 1 are £3.5k the 2008s on the last page £21k.....

That's some money to blow in 3 years.

And could anyone really live with themselves knowing they'd paid £14k for a second hand Mondeo??

 

[imadoofus]

There are certain options that are must haves in a car for me, Auto, Heated Seats and a decent stereo. Other than that I'm not wholly bothered.

The car in your link has all those. Stereo is Sony 8 speaker, with a 6CD changer and iPod connection. I don't know if you get DAB radio on that one. Mine has it as standard, but when I was looking, in October time, it was an option.

You also get bluetooth, voice control rolleyes, cruise, quite a decent computer (so I understand - mine has a more lowly version), heated windscreen, front & rear parking sensors, dual zone climate control, aircon vents in the back seats (good for the dog ), auto dimming interior mirror, automatic lights, automatic wipers and keyless go.

 

[Carrotchomper]

We occasionally get the new shape Mondeo estates as hire cars at work... In fact I purloined one for my personal use for several weeks whilst in charge of a Manslaughter case (Swapped my Vectra with someone else who thought the Mondy was too big )

Black with rear tinted windows, they really do look the business, particularly with decent alloys. The interior is exceptionally well screwed together and everything works as it should. The stereo looks a bit low-rent, but I imagine this could be sorted by speccing inbuilt Sat-Nav.

And the TDCi goes like stink. Incredibly stable on the motorway too.

Wait until one of the hire fleets starts disposing of the new shapes and you're onto a winner

 

[nick mercedes]

Wait until one of the hire fleets starts disposing of the new shapes and you're onto a winner

An excellent point, as soon as these start to come off lease at 3 years old, they'll get very cheap.

 

[SimonsMerc]

If these had an option for two extra rear facing seats in the boot, a Ghia X Estate would be my next car.

 

[hawk20]

2008 Titanium X 2.3 Auto


But it's a Ford and I really don't like velour/cloth seats..It just seems such good value for money...am I losing my marbles?

The ad says it has leather seats doesn't it?

 

[MPG]

I've got a friend with a new Mondeo estate. Silver, black leather, six speed manual Ghia Spec. Great load lugger. He went for the Ghia rather than Titanium spec as the wheels are (I think) 16" rather than 17" which makes the ride a fair bit smoother.

 

[Carrotchomper]

An excellent point, as soon as these start to come off lease at 3 years old, they'll get very cheap.

I think the "retail" hire fleets tend to turn around their cars much quicker because of some sort of obscure financing arrangement- I was talking to someone from Thrifty who said they generally sold the Vectras at 1yr old- So then they can be marketed as "nearly new, one owner" etc.

Due to declining car retail prices now, they are holding on to them for longer, although I would not be surprised to see the Mondeos being disposed of at 2yrs old.

Having said that, they do lead a hard life!

 

[hawk20]

The thing is, I need it to be sensible in this current climate, things are tough and I can't go splurging wads of cash on luxuries so anything upto around £15,000 is sensible.

The thing is this buys a whole lot of Mondeo.....

Just before you jump, it is at least worth considering the pretty stunning offers on the MB website for an E class estate. Yes, of course I am biased as I have one and love it but it could makes sense. Here are the numbers for the E 220cdi estate:-
They throw in Avantgarde spec, plus automatic, metallic and leather all for no extra charge. And you can get a discount on top of that they are offering. The PCP over 3 years involves £4900 deposit and then £359 per month. No depreciation to worry about -just hand it back after three years and you have an extra £10k up front to keep in your business.

Or if you can do it as a business lease they offer the same car for a mere £1200 down and £400 per month over 3 years.

Less capital tied up. No car to sell when you want to change. Guaranteed depreciation. Low interest rate. And it is a Mercedes.

Just worth a thought.

 

[Mudster]

The links to the E220cdi are an eye opener.

In all honesty I generally wouldn't consider a car that size with a smallish engine like that but quite a few members on here seem to have them. Are they a little sluggish in auto guise?

I'm not bothered about it being a racing car, just a decent drive.

So on the figures above it looks like the Mondeo would lose about 10K in 18 months in real costs.

Theres a special offer on lease deals from Mercedes at the moment for E220CDi Estate with free **********e upgrade and free auto.

Lease deal is 3 + 35

£1200 deposit
£400 a month.

Thats a term cost of £15,200 then hand it back. For three year motoring. Seems like a good deal, just won't have comand and I can live without that.

So if we said the Mondeo at £14,000 used for an 08 kept for three years was worth what at 4 years old? £2,500 by the looks of Autotrader, then that car has cost £11,500 over three years....

Looking on Autotrader, the 04 E220cdis are worth around £9k-£10K which makes this the obvious pick. The only thing I'd have to figure into that is a warranty cost for the period so I don't get any nasty surprises. But a decent one is realistically closer to £18K not £14K......so £8K for two years motoring in a E220CDI

Only one other alternative, a PCP deal on a new E220CDI over three years:-

£4899 deposit
£359 a month (x35)
£15,050 GFV.

Total cost if you just hand it back = £17464.00

Looks like the Mondeo might be a false economy....

Unless anyone can pick holes in my figures?

There's not as much in these numbers as you imagine. The current lease deal on the E220's with upgrades looks very good, you just have to keep off the options list.

 

[ringway]

I bought my Vauxhall Omega 3.0V6 24V Elite Estate at exactly 1 year old in March 2000. Owned by Vauxhall, 17,000 miles. More toys than Agros..

1999 Cost new £32,500
2000 I paid £18,500

Thats £14,000 drop in a year.

About 2 years later (car then 3 years old) I wanted to change and was offered about £7/8k! for a car with such a great spec: satnav, xenons, leather, climate, bose stereo and a very capable mile swallower to boot.

That's a £25,000 loss in three years

The trouble was, it WAS a Vauxhall and they are low on image and there are lots and lots of them about (albeit not many Elite spec which in my opinion is a very good car.)

You could get a Mondeo and be happy with it until the novelty wears off, and then you would kick yourself. Maybe then, when you went to trade in for a another MB or other marque would you realise how much these cars DO plummet in value.

Even Sir Fred would see this one coming!

Painful.

 

[crockers]

You need to add in maintenance costs of each...and insurance and tax...to get the complete picture....

Then what factor for MB v Ford ?? Priceless for all other things there is Mastercard.....Damn too much television

 

[Mudster]

Here's a curveball.....

Mercedes Lease offers on C class Estate

Linky Linky

My pick out of that little lot is the C200K

3+35

Deposit £930
35 x £310

Total cost £11,780.00

So brand new C class for exactly the same cost as a 1 year old Mondeo over three years. (As long as you stay clear of the options list).

 

[hawk20]

The links to the E220cdi are an eye opener.

In all honesty I generally wouldn't consider a car that size with a smallish engine like that but quite a few members on here seem to have them. Are they a little sluggish in auto guise?

I'm not bothered about it being a racing car, just a decent drive.

.

No. Since the facelift it is 170bhp and the performance surprises most who drive one -including me. Have a look at the figures on the MB website.

Power is almost equal to the previous 270cdi but the engine is lighter so the performance is very similar. Worth driving one. I was planning to go for the 280cdi but drove both and found the 220cdi plenty enough.

For space, comfort and looks to me it has no equal.

 

[Spin_bowler]

So if we said the Mondeo at £14,000 used for an 08 kept for three years was worth what at 4 years old? £2,500 by the looks of Autotrader, then that car has cost £11,500 over three years....

Everyone who is bandying about the projected value in 3/4 years' time on Autotrader is missing the fact that all the 3/4 year old cars are the previous shape so will have fallen further than the current one will in the same time period. This, of course, will befall the current shape E-Class which is being suggested as an alternative over that time period.

If you look on Parkers a new E200K estate at £29,264 is projected to be £9,951.

PS - I admit I have a vested interest... ...I too have one. A 2.5T Titanium X fully loaded. I've had it for six months and 15K miles and nothing's broken, dropped off and no one at the golf club has laughed out loud

 

[hawk20]

Everyone who is bandying about the projected value in 3/4 years' time on Autotrader is missing the fact that all the 3/4 year old cars are the previous shape so will have fallen further than the current one will in the same time period. This, of course, will befall the current shape E-Class which is being suggested as an alternative over that time period.

If you look on Parkers a new E200K estate at £29,264 is projected to be £9,951.

PS - I admit I have a vested interest... ...I too have one. A 2.5T Titanium X fully loaded. I've had it for six months and 15K miles and nothing's broken, dropped off and no one at the golf club has laughed out loud

The Parkers figure -as so often- is nonsense. Glass's Guide -the trade bible- shows a three year old E200 Kompressor Avantgarde at £12,400 in average and £13,900 in excellent condition. But more relevant to most nowadays are the diesels and the 220cdi Avantgarde estate is £13,250 in average and £14,850 in excellent condition, 3 years old with 36k miles.

But depreciation is not an issue if the MB offers are taken as whether you take a PCP or a company lease, it is MB taking the risks on depreciation.

Recently secondhand E's have been rising in value.