ST24 for first car?

[XR8320]

Hi there,

I am member here mainly on the Territory forum, I am after some advice, my son is looking at his first car and likes the look of the ST24.

Are there nay major problems / issues we should be looking for if purchasing one of these?

Is around 5K a reasonable price?

Thanks

[Polyal]

I wanted one of these aswell. $5k is a good price, the only stuff to get overly worried about is basically the engine I think, it was unique on the Mondeo but shared with the Cougar, so maybe its not too bad.

Other than finding a decent mechanic who doesn't have a brain fart if its not a commy/falc you should be ok.

Full history is a must, id imagine a belt/chain change would be required around 100,000 k's if not less.

edit: also I guess the body kit could be hard to source but im sure uk ebay would have heaps of stuff...think it was a ST200 there.

[Polyal]

Just to add....Is this the one?

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Ford-Mondeo-S...item27b69e18dc

Those k's are about right for the age. When I was looking a few years ago it seemed a top notch one was around the 7-9k mark.

For a first car its great, enough power but not to much, manual, good interior, looks nice but not over the top and it has enough safety features.

The only downside I can see is sourcing any odd parts and maybe insurance as it would be a little higher than say a falcon.

[XR5-Boy]

Hi there,

I owned a Cougar for about 3.5years and I'll give you the run down on the ST24 because it's exactly the same underneath. The 2.5 Duratec V6 is rock solid. Regular oil changes and upgrade your leads/plugs as per normal and you shouldn't have a problem. Key things to look out for are bearing/hub wear and CV joints. The ST24 isn't a slouch, though not the fastest car by today's standards. However, a a front wheel drive, these parts are known to wear. Listen out for suspension squeeks as the bushes do wear after 100,000kms.

Only downside is part pricing. DO NOT get parts from Ford and try to avoid local dealers as they charge an arm and a leg. Find out what you need and order it from the states/europe. They had more of these cars and have plentiful stock on parts, so they are MUCH cheaper.

[Smoke Pursuit]

They are okay but for simliar money you will get something like a 3gen Subaru Liberty RX..

If you ask me the Subaru's a better car but then again we just sold one with 270,000 kms on the odo that never had anything done to it other then servicing every 10,000 kms brake pads, rotors and tyres..

Biggest problem with mondeo is spare parts... Subarus are AWD, have ABS and airbags.. safety is a big thing for me when looking for a first car and a tight budget.

Good luck!