Faults:

When first got it, engine loss power at 3500rpm for an instant. Ford Dealer had no idea, stopped after a while and never done it again.

LHS Window slow to close. Bad seal.

Boot leaked. Fixed with silastic.

Drivers side seat frame snapped twice. Each time pulled out the seat and welded it up. Good now (Needs reinforcement).

Gearbox synchros worn a little bit.

CV seal clamps broke.

General Comments:

My first European car, and certainly not my last. I was expecting expensive repairs, and problems galore. But nearly done 20,000kms and nothing major. Not a Ford man either, but its such a great car.

Great engine, fantastic handling for a car of its size.

The little V6 isn't one of the most powerful, but can be very fuel efficient if not driven to hard, or can be a whole lot of fun keeping it up in the high revs. Pulls well to well over 100kmh. Great sleeper.

Handling is what took me. Firm, precise and fun. Happy to be punted along winding roads all day long. Spent 6 hours driving non stop one day trying every road I found.

Great car to get lost in, such comfortable seats. Lovely driver orientated interior. Comfortable driving position and I'm 6'4".

Not the cheapest car I have had to run, nor the most reliable (My old Corolla wins both those hands down), but is the best handling, funnest car I have ever driven. And I tried a fair few before I stumbled upon this sitting at my local used Ford dealer.

Ford dealer to is rather hopeless, overpriced, and after sales service and support not all that good.

If you don't mind getting your hands dirty fixing problems that arise, especially small ones, you will have trouble free motoring with no major problems. Keep up the servicing and check it over from time to time and it will last you well.

Overall, fantastic car! Great handling, lovely engine (Oh that intake note!), cheap to maintain for the car that it is. Also cheap insurance, considered a family sedan, but very sporty, fun car. (I'm 22 and costs me a quarter what it would for a 306GTi for example)

Faults:

I have had the Ford Mondeo Station Wagon for almost three years. It was purchased second hand with 22,000 km on the clock, and I have added another 53,000 since then. The car had two years left on the warranty when I got it. After having the car one week, none of the doors would close, so the locks all had to be replaced. Several months later the drivers inside door handle had to be replaced.

Two years later (now out of warranty) the hand break needed to be replaced, the rear bearing was ready to collapse (caught this in time when I took it in because something squeaked when braking). The wheel would have collapsed soon. These two repairs cost over $1000.oo. One week later the clutch needed to be replaced. This is major labour as the engine has to be taken out, and the car has been in the garage for over a week, and will cost another $1000.oo to fix.

The car is great to drive when it is working; this car was a replacement for the Ford Telstar (which at the time was very similar to the Mazda 626). I had that car for about ten years until the automatic transmission gave way, and repairs would cost more than the car was worth then.

These recent repairs did raise some concerns on reliability of Ford Modeos, at least this model vintage. I talked to the two mechanics working on the car, and asked them if they would keep this car. They said even though it only has 75,000 km on it, I can expect expensive repairs to keep coming. They have seen this with other Mondeos and European cars in general. Even though they are Ford mechanics, the do not recommend Ford cars, and state I would be better off with a Japanese car that are far more reliable (there choice a Mazda 6).

General Comments:

The Ford Mondeo is a well designed car that performs well, but is let down by reliability problems, once there is 70,000 km on the clock.

Repairs are expensive.

Mechanics do not recommend these cars.

Faults:

The aircon is a bloody joke. The first time it lasted 3 weeks, and now at 10 weeks old the dealer is having their 3rd go at fixing it.

Also the stiching in the seats is coming out.

General Comments:

Very good on the safety side of things.

A shame about the aircon.