New Mondeo Owner = A Few Questions

GK · 03-06-2013, 08:24 PM

Hi All,

Just recently bought an 09 MC Mondeo Zetec TDCi.

Great car which has me gobsmacked at the quality and driving experience.

I have a few newbie questions which I hope you don't mind me asking.

1. How long was the warranty period? My car was first registered in Feb 2010.

2. Would you go the full 15,000 kms between oil changes. I've only ever gone 10,000 for the longest stretch.

3. What oil do you DIYers use? Ford oil or something Aussie like Penrite or Nulon. Was thinking Nulon myself as I've always found Penrite a bit noisy.

4. Do you use genuine Ford filters or look to other sources for equivalent and cheaper bits?

5. With regular servicing, what's the expected life of the engine and gearbox?

That's all for now, but I'm sure I'm bound to have a few more questions later on! LOL!

Many thanks in advance for your replies.

GK

GK · 04-06-2013, 10:18 AM

I think that should have read just recently bought an 09 "MB" Mondeo Zetec TDCi.

Newbie mistake! LOL!

GK

ryeman · 04-06-2013, 11:48 AM

Penrite HPR5 5W-40 full synthetic is my choice ~$10/L

steve289 · 04-06-2013, 06:08 PM

[QUOTE=GK;4760281]Hi All,

Just recently bought an 09 MC Mondeo Zetec TDCi.

Great car which has me gobsmacked at the quality and driving experience.
Agree, great car. Have a MB Zetec, diesel. Great car.

1. How long was the warranty period? My car was first registered in Feb 2010.
Out of factory warranty - ran out Feb '13.

2. Would you go the full 15,000 kms between oil changes. I've only ever gone 10,000 for the longest stretch.
No probs with 15,000 km.

5. With regular servicing, what's the expected life of the engine and gearbox?
By all accounts, the Mondeo is very reliable, so should last a very long time.

Enjoy the vehicle!

GK · 04-06-2013, 07:56 PM

[QUOTE=steve289;4761510]

Quote:

Originally Posted by GK

Hi All,

Just recently bought an 09 MC Mondeo Zetec TDCi.

Great car which has me gobsmacked at the quality and driving experience.
Agree, great car. Have a MB Zetec, diesel. Great car.

1. How long was the warranty period? My car was first registered in Feb 2010. Out of factory warranty - ran out Feb '13.

2. Would you go the full 15,000 kms between oil changes. I've only ever gone 10,000 for the longest stretch.
No probs with 15,000 km.

5. With regular servicing, what's the expected life of the engine and gearbox?
By all accounts, the Mondeo is very reliable, so should last a very long time.

Enjoy the vehicle!

Thanks Steve!

Cheers,

GK

borntoshop666 · 09-06-2013, 10:56 AM

Hey GK,
good to hear you like your Car.
Mine, a MB Mondeo Titanium Diesel Wagon, has clocked up 218.000km since I bought it new in September 2010.
I started a Thread further back re what went wrong and had to be replaced.
Apart from Wear and Tear Items, a new Sunroof Switch and a Fuel Vapouriser: nothing.
Just make sure you stick to the Gearbox Oil Changes as per Hand Book. Its not cheap [@$600] at the Ford Dealer, but mine runs as smooth as on day one.
cheers and enjoy your Car

GK · 19-06-2013, 07:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by borntoshop666

Hey GK,
good to hear you like your Car.
Mine, a MB Mondeo Titanium Diesel Wagon, has clocked up 218.000km since I bought it new in September 2010.
I started a Thread further back re what went wrong and had to be replaced.
Apart from Wear and Tear Items, a new Sunroof Switch and a Fuel Vapouriser: nothing.
Just make sure you stick to the Gearbox Oil Changes as per Hand Book. Its not cheap [@$600] at the Ford Dealer, but mine runs as smooth as on day one.
cheers and enjoy your Car

Is the gearbox oil change a full flush, or just a service?

I spoke to my auto trans guy a few weeks ago who said that he'd have to get the fluid from Ford and it would cost me $400, for the service, $600 for a full flush. I'd much rather that than the $600 from Ford. That is of course, if the Ford service is indeed just a service and not the full flush.

Cheers,

George

Yellow_Festiva · 19-06-2013, 09:31 AM

What is the difference between a transmission service and flush? I always assume that a service is a flush and replacement of oils etc.

Have your services been done correctly? Diesel filter and auto service at 60k, brake fluid every 2yrs, coolant should be fine for a long while yet.

Now that its out of warranty you have the ability of taking it where you please for its upkeep.

JimStone · 19-06-2013, 11:57 PM

Back in the old days of Ford service it was

Service - drain trans, replace filter
Flush - drain trans, flush fluid from torque converter, replace filter

SSVPom · 30-07-2013, 10:42 PM

Pics of the new car, "or it didn't happen" !!

GK · 03-08-2013, 06:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SSVPom

Pics of the new car, "or it didn't happen" !!

Here you go Andy! It did happen! LOL!

Cheers,

GK

SSVPom · 09-08-2013, 10:21 PM

Looks good George !

How's the day to day economy now then ?

GK · 11-08-2013, 08:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SSVPom

Looks good George !

How's the day to day economy now then ?

Going great Andy. Two weeks running around town on a tank. The last 3 or so tanks have seen an average of 7.7ish per 100. That's combined with some Ring Road running also.

All in all, I find it's about the same cost per week to run as my AU wagon on LPG. Very happy with that.

Cheers,

GK

nevetsg · 13-08-2013, 12:18 PM

Hi, answering some of your original questions. I am just coming up on 1 year ownership with my MA TDCI.
1) n/a, already out of warranty.

2) the service history was a bit dodgy prior to the 105K service when I got mine at 110K so I did the oil/filter at 112500K just to be sure. Cheapest filter from repco at approx $16 and Oil from Ford as it was priced well at ~$53 for 5L. The filter that came out didn't have the soft white pad of the ~$40 filter that repco was selling. Supposed to take 5.5L but the 5L made it 'mostly' full so i ran with that.

3) Ford oil as $$ was about the same.

4) I completed the 120K service last week. This time I got all the filters from autopro (oil, fuel, air, cabin) as they were about $50 cheaper than next best quote. Again, the oil filter was only $17 and didn't have the little white pad.
Will prob just let this one ride out the 15,000K or 1 year.

5) Diesels are built tough so should last a long time. I have the (normal?) non Power Shift 6peed auto. It is stated as a sealed for life box that requires no servicing. This scares me but I am no engineer.

I love my TDCI but pray that the injectors never go as that will be $4K to fix.

ryeman · 13-08-2013, 06:49 PM

You just have to wonder if all the expensive technology and hyper expensive parts actually result in any real savings over the life of a vehicle. With high depreciation rates they quickly become uneconomic to repair ie white goods.

GK · 14-08-2013, 10:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ryeman

You just have to wonder if all the expensive technology and hyper expensive parts actually result in any real savings over the life of a vehicle. With high depreciation rates they quickly become uneconomic to repair ie white goods.

Fair question.

I hang on to my vehicles until they're about dead, so hopefully it'll owe me nothing when it's time to let it go!

The parts are certainly expensive though, but I'm wondering if that'll come down somewhat as the after market for these Euro vehicles becomes more established.

GK

ryeman · 14-08-2013, 11:16 AM

Yeah, the post manufacturing era in Oz will be potentially a whole new ball game.
Will we continue to be ripped off when compared to other countries?

nevetsg · 14-08-2013, 11:32 AM

Considering that most of the parts are made in China, prices should be below that of EU considering the shipping distance. It is crazy that for a lot of parts they are made in China, shipped to UK, sold to us online and flown to AU cheaper than buying locally.

ryeman · 14-08-2013, 12:02 PM

It's a sad fact it seems that most Australians don't realise how much they get ripped off.
The WSJ has an article about retiring to NZ but complaining about paying $1500 for a return air fare fm New York to Aukland.
We pay nearly $500 just to cross the ditch. Will it ever end?

GK · 15-08-2013, 11:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nevetsg

Considering that most of the parts are made in China, prices should be below that of EU considering the shipping distance. It is crazy that for a lot of parts they are made in China, shipped to UK, sold to us online and flown to AU cheaper than buying locally.

Hadn't even thought of that. Prices should be very low.

I guess once automotive parts retailers here get a good supply of Euro car stuff though, the prices will come down with the competition generated.

Hope so anyway! LOL!

GK