ESSENTIAL CHECKS

Corrosion is common in the rear wheelarches and jacking points, the sills and spare wheel well. The boot can suffer from leaking light seals, failed boot seals and blocked sunroof drain holes. Door weather strips can leak too, but Ford supply replacements.

Also check for corrosion in the front and rear subframes as serious rot here is a guaranteed MOT failure. Replacements are available, but swapping old for new is a big job.

Interior trim is scarce. Ford can supply very little and these cars aren’t in scrap yards any more; if

they are, the trim is often wrecked or won’t match what you’ve got, although MKII seats and interior panels fit the MKI.

The Mondeo drives well due to the suspension bush design, but these have to be seen as consumables. Look for uneven tyre wear, which suggests the bushes need to be replaced or the subframes need re-aligning with special location pins.

The anti-freeze should have been replaced every two years. If not, the aluminium cylinder head will

have corroded internally, clogging the cooling system.

The four-cylinder petrol engines have a cam belt that should be replaced every five years or 70,000 miles.

It’s an easy DIY job, but check it’s been done as if the belt snaps the engine is destroyed. The V6 is chain-driven and can suffer from failing tensioners; replacement is a big job.

Catalytic converters can be damaged by speed bumps. All Mondeos came with one or three (24v V6)

cats, so make sure the car will pass an emissions test. A replacement cat will cost around £100 or so.

Manual gearboxes and clutches last 100-150k miles, but automatic transmissions tend to wear out after just 60-90k miles, as second gear starts to disintegrate by this point.