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A good condition 2008 Ford Mondeo 2.3L zetec with about 70,000km will sell for around $18,000 - it is a fair price. You will be very lucky to find a good condition car with this criteria for $14 - $15k. You should rather stick to a low mileage vehicle. The high mileage car might be cheaper to buy but you will end up spending more money maintaining and repairing the vehicle.

many thanks for your prompt response and your help.

saw 2 mondeos today and just paid a deposit for a 2008 zetec, done near 70,000k, your fair prices for my trade in and mondeo were spot on ! i have to top up 11.5k and paid another couple of hundreds to istall a reverse sensor system. This dealer appears fair and helpful and i look forward to enjoying my new mondeo next week! this car with 1 corporate owner, ex lease had been serviced by a ford dealer since new and when i called to ask they have confirmed it has been serviced as planned and all good.

Although I must say it is also a little sad to finally part way with my beloved bm of 5 years which i have enjoyed very much, but head over heart, time to move on with a newer car which also will fulfill my other needs, it is a hatch and has a tow bar, it will allow me to carry bigger items and if need be to use the tow bar.

going forward, would you generally suggest service by a Ford dealer, or any AA or MTA workshops should be good?

i read somewhere the service interval is 15K .

many thanks

Now that the car is outside of the manufacturer warranty you have the option to service the vehicle at any reputable service centre but you should follow the manufacturer’s service guidelines (stipulated in the owners/service manual).

got my mondeo yesterday....

have 2 questions:

1- tyre pressure, it has 16" tyres and the dealer who sold me the car suggested 36 kpa? (not sure abt the correct unit reference here) but the booklet stated 31 kpa(?), i have experienced before that tyre shop would also generally suggest a higher pressure and same for all 4 tyres, why and what should be the correct pressure?

2. I have been browsing the forum and read something to suggest that for a nz new car that has been serviced by dealer since new, and it is still not too old like 4 yrs and reasonably low k ( below 70), it may be worthwhile to go back to the same dealer, in this case, ford, for any possible goodwill assistance etc? that this car may require. any comment? are ford dealers as prohibitively expensive for servicing and maintenance like the dealers for other europeans like bm or mercedes? I have yet to see any independent ford specialist! any comments and/or suggestions?

perhaps another question:

- service and maintenance interval, 15,000km or 12 months, how flexible is the 12 months? this appears to be more of a service centre/dealer's requirement? The reason I think so is all or most cars now have the onboard computer to light up a light to indicate a service requirement. say for BM E46, the onboard computer will remind you when a service is required. the manual stated every 25000km for a service but the onboard computer will indicted how many more km to the next service and i noted it is usually changing but usually a little less than 25000km and it will continue the counting even after the 12 calendar months, if it is so necessary for " the 12 months" requirement for a service, don't you think the car manufacturer would have programmed the onboard computer for the service light to come up every 12 months? with the other things this onboard computer is capable of doing, this 12 months light should not be so difficult a feature to add, right?

thanks

1) Tyre pressures. The unit measurement being referred to is PSI (which is the unit used at most gas stations). Somewhere in the early 30's is about right. We'd suggest 32 PSI for this car (approximately what your handbook says).
2) Going to the main dealer (especially for the first owner) is advisable for a period of time after the warranty expires, as the dealer/manufacturer will be more lenient towards extending post-warranty goodwill assistance in the event of a failure outside the warranty period if they have serviced the car from new. As mileage increases, and the car changes hands, the manufacturer is less likely to offer post-warranty assistance. Generally, the main dealer will be more expensive than an independent garage, but theoretically, they will do the job according to the manufacturer's recommendation, they have the correct tools and equipment and will use genuine parts. However, a professional independent operator should be handle a car like a Mondeo without problem.
3) We would always recommend having the car inspected annually. Most BMW models have historically had an Annual Inspection (although the E46 had a bi-annual service). This has since recerted to annual with E90 and F30 though.

thanks.

Just to clarify point 3. Agree with annual inspection, would you say a WOF inspection, in my case it was done in June 2012 and I know at least a set of rear brake pad was changed at the time, do you consider this the annual inspection? To be more specific, the maintenance by ford dealer was at 60K last december (2011) and the suggested service interval is 15k or 12 months by ford dealer, now it has done just under 70k, and as it has been inspected in June ( WOF) does that mean I can wait for 75k or June next year for the next service?

No, a WOF Inspection is only safety related. In order to maintain your car's reliability, it pays to have a minor service at least once a year regardless of mileage. I would extend that recommendation to changing the oil and filter at least once a year too.
Other items that should be changed on a time basis are brake fluid and coolant. As an example, brake fluid is a hydroscopic fluid (meaning it retains moisture from the air). This needs to be changed on a time basis, even if the car isn't used at all. Failure to change the brake fluid will cause corrosion in brake cylinders and calipers etc. Likewise, failure to change coolant can cause cooling system problems.
Therefore, while it's not necessary to have a major service annually if you are doing a low mileage, we'd recommend taking it to your garage once a year to have a minor service.

Many thanks for the clarification.