Advice Please - new engine or new (used) car?

Intergalactic_Floozie

Hi all

I wonder if anyone has any opinions on our predicament?

DH's car - a 2001 Ford Mondeo Zetec 2.0l needs a new engine. Garage are going to get back to us with a price tomorrow for a reconditioned one, but couldn't even give me a estimate on how much that may be.

We've been chucking money at the car left, right and centre over the last six months (or so it seems) and only three months ago spent £800 on a new clutch, coil and other bits and bobs. Also £150 on an insurance excess to have a new bumper fitted. It's also due MOT in September so there could be shelling out for that too if it fails.

DH was made redundant a few months ago and got some money, but I'm scared stiff of spending it (there's about £3500 in an account at the moment) so, we do have some money to spend on a car (not that I would spend the full £3500) and the Mondeo repairs would be coming out of that anyway

(I've seen a Peugeot 206 W reg for £1795 - this is what I am thinking on the lines of)

DH says if we've spent hundreds on getting it repaired, then surely nothing else could go wrong once the new engine is put in place?

So - what would you do? Say we've chucked enough money at the car and scrap it? Or get it repaired - would we get another decent car for what we'd pay to have a new engine fitted in the Mondeo?

It doesn't help that we don't know any mechanics, or know of anyt reputable but reasonably priced ones, so we tend to use the nearest one to us which is reliable but not reasonably priced, which always bumps up the cost of repairs. Neither of us knows any more than the bare minimum about cars either

The other alternative is that yours truly uses shanks' Pony as DH would need to use my car to get the kids to school

goldspanners

Intergalactic_Floozie wrote: »

Hi all

I wonder if anyone has any opinions on our predicament?

DH's car - a 2001 Ford Mondeo Zetec 2.0l needs a new engine. Garage are going to get back to us with a price tomorrow for a reconditioned one, but couldn't even give me a estimate on how much that may be.

We've been chucking money at the car left, right and centre over the last six months (or so it seems) and only three months ago spent £800 on a new clutch, coil and other bits and bobs. Also £150 on an insurance excess to have a new bumper fitted. It's also due MOT in September so there could be shelling out for that too if it fails.

DH was made redundant a few months ago and got some money, but I'm scared stiff of spending it (there's about £3500 in an account at the moment) so, we do have some money to spend on a car (not that I would spend the full £3500) and the Mondeo repairs would be coming out of that anyway

(I've seen a Peugeot 206 W reg for £1795 - this is what I am thinking on the lines of)

DH says if we've spent hundreds on getting it repaired, then surely nothing else could go wrong once the new engine is put in place?

So - what would you do? Say we've chucked enough money at the car and scrap it? Or get it repaired - would we get another decent car for what we'd pay to have a new engine fitted in the Mondeo?

It doesn't help that we don't know any mechanics, or know of anyt reputable but reasonably priced ones, so we tend to use the nearest one to us which is reliable but not reasonably priced, which always bumps up the cost of repairs. Neither of us knows any more than the bare minimum about cars either

The other alternative is that yours truly uses shanks' Pony as DH would need to use my car to get the kids to school

get a reconditioned engine fitted to the mondeo rather than buy a horrid 206 that seems over priced.
what actually happened to the engine in your mondeo?

Intergalactic_Floozie

I'm not sure what happened to it (sorry) The mechanic said it was burning oil...mentioned pistons and compressors and it is a reconditioned engine they are going to source.

gilbert_and_sullivan

I think you need to find yourselves a handy little back street trustable repair shop....they do still exist but it's usually best by recommendation, good ones survive by keeping cars like yours running at affordable prices.

I wouldn't dream of putting a recon engine in your car, it will be fine with a used one from a pranged donor motor.

Your Mondeo as best i can make out has needed a clutch, thats all..the bumper is hardly the fault of the car and must have been someone's driver error.

Pug 206, you'll be forever in the workshop with it paying out for diagnostics and electrical repairs, thats if the drivers seat back doesn't collapse before you get it home.

patman99

I was in the same predicament with my Espace when the cambelt broke, I spent £300 on a cheap '97 Astra Diesel Estate, cost me another £175 to get a broken suspension arm fixed, but it is as reliable as anything, and cheap to run. Certanly cheaper than £1000 to fix the Espace.

BTW, if the Mondeo is burning oil, there is an addative you can use that cures a lot of this sort of thing, I think its called 'Amtech' or something similar. at £20 its certainly worth a punt.

Doodles22

Intergalactic_Floozie wrote: »

Hi all

I wonder if anyone has any opinions on our predicament?

DH's car - a 2001 Ford Mondeo Zetec 2.0l needs a new engine. Garage are going to get back to us with a price tomorrow for a reconditioned one, but couldn't even give me a estimate on how much that may be.

We've been chucking money at the car left, right and centre over the last six months (or so it seems) and only three months ago spent £800 on a new clutch, coil and other bits and bobs. Also £150 on an insurance excess to have a new bumper fitted. It's also due MOT in September so there could be shelling out for that too if it fails.

DH was made redundant a few months ago and got some money, but I'm scared stiff of spending it (there's about £3500 in an account at the moment) so, we do have some money to spend on a car (not that I would spend the full £3500) and the Mondeo repairs would be coming out of that anyway

(I've seen a Peugeot 206 W reg for £1795 - this is what I am thinking on the lines of)

DH says if we've spent hundreds on getting it repaired, then surely nothing else could go wrong once the new engine is put in place?

So - what would you do? Say we've chucked enough money at the car and scrap it? Or get it repaired - would we get another decent car for what we'd pay to have a new engine fitted in the Mondeo?

It doesn't help that we don't know any mechanics, or know of anyt reputable but reasonably priced ones, so we tend to use the nearest one to us which is reliable but not reasonably priced, which always bumps up the cost of repairs. Neither of us knows any more than the bare minimum about cars either

The other alternative is that yours truly uses shanks' Pony as DH would need to use my car to get the kids to school

I now where you are coming from:o

I have a 2000 plate V6 Mondeo and have in the past 8 months pulled wel over £2000 on it, I worked this out the other day.
I've had new tyres, new battery, new wipers, two new central locking motors at £130 each:eek: need head lamp, new shocks, new wheel bearing and loads of other stuff.
Well worth it, I know the cars history and like your husband says, there very little to go wrong now.

Mondeos are great, you just need to keep them well serviced, oil chnages, filters etc, when I brought mine nearly a year ago it hadn't been that looked after but now its like new:p

Intergalactic_Floozie

Thanks a lot for the replies, it's good to get someone elses perspective on these things. Just have to see what the garage says today

AdrianHi

I'm going to put forward a different point of view.
Lets take this as an example:

Doodles22 wrote: »

I now where you are coming from:o

I have a 2000 plate V6 Mondeo and have in the past 8 months pulled wel over £2000 on it,

You can pay for over a years depreciation on a nearly new Mondeo with no repairs bills (warranty) and the interest on the loan to buy it for that kind of money. The downside is you have payment commitments. The point I'm making is that a car throwing £2K a year in repairs at you is, on a long term average monthly basis, the same or more expensive than a young (but not brand new) similar car.
I always find that once a car starts throwing up these bills they continue, it's not just the engine that wears out and costs money.

If you can find a second hand engine fitted for just a few hundred then may be you could keep this old Mondeo going longer, just keep in mind that other bills are very likely to come. I would want to be rid of it personally as it sounds like a liability now. Perhaps £500-£1000 on a cheap Nissan Micra to keep you going until the job situation is resolved.
In 1992 I paid £500 to have a recon. engien fitted to a Vauxhall Cavalier. I shouldn't have bothered, £800 more in repairs over the following year. I bought a 9 month old Astra after that on a loan and I was no worse off and I had a car that worked.
Every car I've had beyond the 90-100K mark (3 I can think of after the Cavalier) showed an ever increasing trend in maintenance costs. These are well looked after cars one of which I owned since nearly new.

Intergalactic_Floozie

Does anyone have any thoughts on a T (99) to 51 plated Mercedes A140? I've seen a T one at £1895, given that I was happyish to spend £1700 on a Peugeot 106 - any thoughts?

gilbert_and_sullivan

Intergalactic_Floozie wrote: »

Does anyone have any thoughts on a T (99) to 51 plated Mercedes A140? I've seen a T one at £1895, given that I was happyish to spend £1700 on a Peugeot 106 - any thoughts?

If it's a manual it's not too bad a car, don't get any ideas that it's made like a Tiger tank like some older MB's are cos it isn't, and the newer bigger ones arn't either come to think.
Parts will be expensive, they do have problems and you would be better posting this question on one of the 2 MB forums for detailed info.

If it's automatic don't touch it.

I still believe you'd be better getting someone to put a used engine in your present car....obviously only you know if it's been neglected and trashed during your ownership, if it has then maybe other things will go wrong, but if it's been looked after reasonably well then it's got a few more years left in it yet with another engine under the bonnet.

Intergalactic_Floozie

Thanks for that, we're still waiting for garage to get back to us with a price for a reconditioned engine. We just feel stuck in limbo until then