Wise Buyer: Mondeo Fab Fords for rock-bottom prices.
The European Car of the Year winner that you can still buy for peanuts
When Ford replaced the evergreen Sierra with the all-new Mondeo, the change was nothing less than seismic. The Sierra had been well loved, but its successor switched from rear- to front-wheel drive, the styling was ultra-modern and so too was the packaging. The result was a first place in the 1994 European Car of the Year award.
Why you want one
Until the Mondeo arrived, affordable mainstream family cars were invariably dull to drive, but this sleek new saloon, estate and hatch raised the dynamic bar within a segment that until now focused almost exclusively on practicality. Suddenly you could buy a family runabout that was refined, well equipped and roomy, yet the driving experience was akin to that of a sports car. The icing on the cake is generally easy maintenance and low parts prices that guarantee bargain-basement running costs – any back-street garage can look after a Mondeo and so can you, with very few special tools being needed.
Kit levels are generous too. You’ll invariably end up with a later car that’s to at least mid-range spec, which means you’ll get an electrically heated ‘Quickclear’ windscreen, electric front windows, a driver’s airbag, a sunroof or air conditioning, a decent stereo, tinted glass and an alarm/ immobiliser.
Why now is the time to buy
There will always be a demand for any Ford in decent condition because the brand has such a massive following. But the scrappage scheme and banger racers have left fewer than 1400 Mkis on the road which is why prices for really good cars are already starting to climb; we found a couple of one-owner cars for sale privately (5000-mile 1.8 Verona and an 11,700-mile 1.8 GLX estate), both of which had asking prices of £5000. We also turned up an ‘immaculate’ 1999 ST24 hatch with 76,000 miles on the clock, also for £5000. But you don’t need to spend anything like this to secure a really superb Mondeo, as prices start at just £600 or so for something reasonable – although you should budget to spend closer to double this for a car that you might want to keep long-term.
Which one?
Most Mondeos have one of the bigger petrol engines (2.0 or 2.5 V6) and are high-spec models (usually Ghia or ST24), but there are some more prosaic examples too. Focus on condition rather than spec, but with powerful, high-spec Mondeos so cheap to buy, and with build quality generally pretty good, snapping up something luxurious is the way to go. The Mondeo arrived in February 1993 with 1.6, 1.8 or 2.0-litre Zetec 16v petrol engines or a 1.8 turbodiesel. Buyers could choose between saloon or hatchback body styles with an estate following soon after; the latter is a seriously practical classic with its 1327-litre load bay, but it’s also the rarest.
Trims ranged from relatively spartan to seriously luxurious and/or sporty; the 168bhp ST24 and the 202bhp ST200 are the most sought after, along with anything else that features the 2.5 V6 24v Duratec engine that arrived in May 1994. Rarities worth tracking down are the Citrine Yellow Si and the 4x4 Ghia and 4x4 Si.
Can you make it better?
You’re probably considering a Mondeo for some cheap family-friendly classic transport, not for
‘Easy maintenance and cheap parts guarantee very low running costs’
‘The Mondeo makes a good track day car; it did well in the BTCC in the Nineties’
tearing up the Tarmac. The Mondeo can make an excellent track day car though; it dominated the BTCC in the Nineties. The standard brakes work well but Mondeo MKIII calipers with Focus ST170 discs are a cheap upgrade.
More worthwhile is a stainless steel manifold and exhaust, which can be snapped up for £400-£500. These have a three or four-inch tailpipe bore with the latter potentially too loud on long runs, so buy carefully. An induction kit or panel filter will improve throttle response for £60-£200, while a fresh set of springs and dampers is often worthwhile. New Spax front dampers cost £85 apiece; rears are £137 each while a kit of lowering springs that will drop the car by 35mm costs £200 for four. All prices are from Burton Power.
Ford offered various RS styling parts including reprofiled bumpers and side skirts, a boot spoiler and 16in five-spoke alloy wheels. These occasionally crop up for sale and have become very collectible as they transform the Mondeo’s looks. Budget £300 to buy a bodykit in good condition.
Specialist advice
Paul Harbord has owned Mondeo Mkis for 20 years and currently has four of them. He also admins the Mk1 Mondeo register on Facebook (tinyurl.com/ yenusbud) He says: ‘There’s a big scene around modified Mondeos from this era. Such cars are cherished but sometimes an acquired taste – cars that have been left standard are often neglected as they’re bought to provide nothing more than cheap transport. The result is two sets of cars that are unlikely to appeal to the classic buyer – but there are a few low-mileage, cherished early Mondeos out there and they’re well worth tracking down.
‘Ford parts tend to be cheap, but some owners cut costs further by fitting pattern parts that often aren’t as well made. The result is they wear out in double-quick time, with items such as wishbones and anti-roll bar links often being the first to go and requiring annual replacement.
‘The very early cars don’t have immobilisers, but from May 1994 the MKI and early MKII (up to 1998) came with a red master key and two user keys.
The red one is often missing, which means that new keys can’t be programmed without a £200+ trip to a Ford dealer.
‘When buying also pay attention to the engine bay wiring as its insulation is prone to disintegrating. The only effective solution is to make a new loom which can be costly if outsourced. The 24v V6 tends to be the most sought after of these early
Mondeos, but these 2.5-litre engines can suffer from overheating and subsequent head gasket failure because of a failed plastic water pump impeller. Most of these have been swapped for a revised metal impeller type, but it’s worth looking in the service history to see if it’s been done.
‘Also, the 24v V6 motor has a runner control system on the inlet manifold with a lower inlet manifold butterfly system. The MKI is vacuum controlled and the MKII is electronically controlled; both systems can fail and replacement parts are extremely hard to obtain, but thankfully DIY repairs can be made.’