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Hi

we are looking for a station wagon that can fit a couple of car seats in the back and maybe still have room for a person in between. we would like a good safety rating, and we would also like a good size boot. at the present we have a subaru forrester and find the boot short, and the interior cramped once the carseats are in, though it drives nicely.

we only have a budget of $8,000.

we've heard the ford mondeo is roomy and safe. the one we're looking at is a NZ new, 2005, ex-rental (from "yourway"). it's done 152,000kms. we would get an AA check before buying, but what do you think the pros and cons would be? are there any "typical" big ticket repairs e.g. transmission, that we could be facing for this model and kms?

could you recommend alternatives to look at? there seems to be so many options out there we don't know where to start.

thank you!

The Ford Mondeo is a good choice of vehicle but you should also consider Mazda's Atenza/6 wagon. If you plan on fitting 2 x child car seats at the rear outer seating you need to be aware that some cars in this price range might be fitted with a centre lap-strap seatbelt which is not ideal to use. You should try avoiding high mileage vehicles but if you have no other choice you need to be prepared to spend some money on necessary maintenance and repairs in the not so distant future. A car with a excellent NZ service history will help reduce the risk. At this mileage items like the transmission are at more risk of failure and being an ex-rental car with different drivers for every week/day of the year, the odds are stacked against it.

As said, I would look more towards the Mazda6 / Atenza.

The brake material on the Mondeo is very soft so you will be replacing brakes every 30 - 40,000km
The fuel pumps are a known issue in the Mondeo at these sorts of km's.
Also, they are known to blow head gaskets at higher km's.

No so much of an issue, but at high km's the trans may start to give issues.

The Mazda alternative is a much more reliable car, and is nicer to drive, although you will be paying a slightly higher price for one.

The OP would find that the Atenza/6 is quite a bit over their $8k price limit. These wagons are usually above $11k at a decent mileage. You might want to look at the older Mazda Familia wagon for a good alternative