Faults:

Lots. Engine misfire, clutch, exhaust, oil and coolant leaks, rust, the list goes on.

General Comments:

This MK3 Mondeo is when the Mondeo took a turn for the worse in my opinion. After many reliable MK1's and MK2's in the family, when I bought this MK3 back in 2011 I thought it would be business as usual, but the car was not great.

Good to drive, but the 1.8 petrol engine barely did 35 mpg, and performance was not great. More reliable than the diesels however.

Not bad to look at. Exterior wise anyway. The interior is just weird looking however, and too much plastic everywhere! LX model was mid range with enough equipment. Very comfortable though.

An average car, just should have been better. Later MK4 Mondeo was better.

I scrapped this one back in 2019 just before all the covid nonsense, was glad to see the back of it.

Faults:

Turbo and injectors caused the biggest headache and were very expensive to fix.

The rest was just wear and tear as with any car; I serviced the car on time and drove carefully, and normally did longer drives not short journeys.

General Comments:

When it was working correctly the car performed great and did a solid 45 - 50 mpg.

Good looking car fun to drive. So good in-fact it is hard to believe it would be nearly twenty years old now, and could give modern cars a run for their money in the handling department. Stunning in dark blue with alloy wheels. Seats were very comfortable.

Would never get diesel again though - my friend had a 2003 1.8 petrol LX model that went for over 100,000 with no major issues, whereas my car was barely six years old when I got rid of it with low mileage!

Faults:

A week after owning this car, it started driving very sluggish and had quite a loss of power.

Had a look under the hood and it turned out to be the top turbo hose that was split (yet another common fault on these)! £150.00 later it was fixed and driving like a dream.

A month later it started getting very sluggish again, and assumed it was another turbo hose. It then started going into limp mode, and then cutting out completely; not fun in the outside lane of a motorway.

Had a look under the car and the exhaust pipe from the cat had sheared off at the flexi. £100.00 later and this was fixed.

A couple of weeks later, back to sluggish again and cutting out again. Took it to a mechanic friend (note I said mechanic, not a modern mechanic who just follows what the electronic diagnosis machine reads)! Left it with him for a few days, stripped and cleaned the turbo vanes, checked the fuel pump, fuel filter... all OK. Played around with the injectors and this was found to be the fault. Injectors needed replacing. £800 for all 4 + fitting and then having to be programmed to the car.

It was at this point I've decided to cut my losses and am now selling the car.

Such a shame, as when it's driving as it should, it's beautiful to drive and so responsive. I was averaging 525 miles to a tank, which is pretty impressive.

My biggest regret, having read the reviews before buying, was that I wish I'd listened to them!!!

I'm going to be roughly £1,500 out of pocket, but I'm not plowing a thousand pounds into a car, which in all honesty, still might not solve it!!!

My advice to anyone wishing to buy one of these... Don't waste your hard earned money, read all the reviews and believe them!!!

General Comments:

A lovely car to drive, when it's not breaking down!!!