New car arrived this morning

[TC]

Took delivery of my new car this morning and I have to say that I am very pleased with it.

New Mondeo 2 litre with Duratec diesel engine and 6 speed gearbox is I have to say one hell of a car with so much space it has to be sat in to be believed. It is certainly a bigger car than the old Mondeo, in fact it reminds me very much of the old Granada MK3 which I owned for many years but with the 21st century touch.

I opted for the Zetec which has sufficient toys as standard to keep me happy although it was delivered with the wheels from the Titanium which I think are somewhat nicer and wider than the standard Zetec alloys. The driving position is spot on, the seats are comforable the engine is smooth and punchy with bags of low down and mid range grunt, terrific ventilation with a very effective air con system and there are a lot of neat touches such as door mrrors which are actually useable.

Early days I know, but first impressions count for a lot (even though it was my choice from a variety of manufacturers and specs available to me), so if anyone is thinking about the Mondeo and wants a regular update on how it performs bearing in mind that there are some 07 and 57 plate cars starting to appear on the slightly used market, then I will be happy to oblige.

[ligloo]

I am soooo jealous, I currently have a 53 mondeo and am absolutely desperate to get the new model.... I love them!!!

Hertz are getting some ex hire ones in about now, you've reminded me to call again tomorrow

[joecrx]

hey tc

i have been offered a £6000 car allowance , in my new job , but wondering , what is the better deal for tax reasons
ie. do i ask for a company car , or , buy a car , or just walk to work,, and pocket the money ?

[Samray]

Ford for cars and Honda for bikes ....... can't go wrong.

Liked my Grannies, and the cibber.

[TC]

hey tc

i have been offered a £6000 car allowance , in my new job , but wondering , what is the better deal for tax reasons
ie. do i ask for a company car , or , buy a car , or just walk to work,, and pocket the money ?

I pay £68 per month car tax due to the car being low emision, although I have to pay my own fuel for private mileage.

So for £68 a month I get a car that is brand new, insured, taxed, maintained and serviced and in two or three years time I get another brand spanker I think that is a pretty small price to pay on the basis that if I were to buy it myself it would cost me considerably more in monthly repayments. On the downside, I only get an 11p per mile petrol allowance which is the Government figure and has been at this rate for some time an since fuel costs were considerably less, although at the moment it allows me to break even which is fine with me altough it may be different if fuel costs continue to rise as they are.

Some of the guys (and gals I hasten to add) use their own cars and get 40p per mile, although they are not on the road anywhere near as much as I am, and they claim that they make money. However, I don't think (although I could be wrong) they can be that much in pocket as they have to cover their own insurance, tax, wear and tear, running costs etc, and of course if their vehicle breaks down they are off the road whereas I get an immediate replacement.

At my last job, the company had what is called a COS scheme (Company Car Ownership) where the employee was given an allowance and they could have any vehicle which fitted into the scale of their allowance. Because it was unde the COS scheme, they did not get taxed, their wifes could drive the car, but at the end of the three years they either paid the balance and kept the vehicle, or they sent it back and got a new one, but again all the running costs were met by the cmpany.

The downside is that you need to be on a decent payscale to get anything decent or you had to pay extra for something half nice. When I was there my payscale gave me a C Max, to upgrade to the Mondeo would have cost me about £125 extra a month, so I am still saving money paying my current level of car tax.

I am no expert, and I guess different requirements fit different thoughts, but most dealershps or lease cmpanies will tell you how it breaks down on a month by month basis, and maybe leasing is the answer.

[Firestarter]

I test drove one of the new diesel Mondeo's (think it was a 1.8 TDCI) as a hire car, and it was great - very punchy, the car itself was comfortable and good for a long journey (round trip of 400 miles that day). The wife is due to give birth in a couple of months, so we wanted a new car anyway (more reliable and a bit bigger for the ever-increasing family!), we were looking at various estates but after seeing the cavernous boot on the Mondeo hatch, we went out and bought one! Got the 2.5l petrol, though - same engine as the Focus ST . Second hand, and a reasonable price, so like TC said, some are coming out on the nearly-new market.

[joecrx]

thanks TS for those wise words , im even more confused now i will let you know how i get on cheers

[TC]

Got the 2.5l petrol, though - same engine as the Focus ST . Second hand, and a reasonable price, so like TC said, some are coming out on the nearly-new market.

I thought about going back to a petrol engine, and a friend of mine has just brought a 2.5 which is very nice, but at the end of the day I have found I actually prefer the characteristics of the diesel engine to the petrol.

If you had asked me a couple of years ago about going over to diesel you would have got some unrepeatable expletives from me, but now? The diesel is far more economical, it has far more torque, is just as smooth and in reality probably just as quick.

Must be a sign of getting old , although I draw the line at the car, when I start hankering after a diesel engined bike, that wil be the time to have me put down!

[Firestarter]

I'm the same - would always have bought petrol, but after test-driving that diesel, I'd have bought one without a second thought. It's just that this one came up first when i was looking.

The diesel was quick, but it deffo isn't as quick as this one

Drinks a lot less though...

[bigun]

I had a vectra sri turbo diesel and swore I'd never go back to petrol. Then I test drove the new vectra petrol turbo and well, it was on my drive within 2 days and I've had it a year now. It is awesome. Went from 45mpg to 22mpg like but as it only gets used at weekends now, its justifiable (to me).

[BikerGran]

My daughter has a company car and says that on day to day or month to month running expenses she's actually out of pocket BUT - it gets regularly serviced (which a car of her own might not) and she gets a courtesy car during servicing or any repairs it might need (even tho it's still almost new) so she never has to worry about getting to work. It's also a better car than she would be likely to buy for herself, so she's happy because of the peace of mind.

[HowardQ]

I had V6 Vectras for 7 years then 2 1/2 years ago I bought one of the last Alfa 156s, the 156 20v JTD...... 2.4 5 pot 4 valve diesel with 6 speed box.
Had hated diesels before this but would never go back now.
It's faster than the V6 Vectras, (top speed/ 0 to 60 and mid range) and does twice as much to the gallon.
Power is all low down, max torque as 284 ft lbs at 2000 revs, which is more than a standard 911. BHP is 175 but ECU chip will swap if needed to get 200bhp as in 159 or 220bhp as std in the (beauuuutiful) Brera, which both use the same engine.
Instant hit of torque low down, just like being on the Falco!
Couldn't afford to go back to petrol anyway, but no need to.
Just a shame to price of diesel goes up almost every day!!
£6 a gallon an rising.

[TC]

I had V6 Vectras for 7 years then 2 1/2 years ago I bought one of the last Alfa 156s, the 156 20v JTD...... 2.4 5 pot 4 valve diesel with 6 speed box.
Had hated diesels before this but would never go back now.
It's faster than the V6 Vectras, (top speed/ 0 to 60 and mid range) and does twice as much to the gallon.
Power is all low down, max torque as 284 ft lbs at 2000 revs, which is more than a standard 911. BHP is 175 but ECU chip will swap if needed to get 200bhp as in 159 or 220bhp as std in the (beauuuutiful) Brera, which both use the same engine.
Instant hit of torque low down, just like being on the Falco!
Couldn't afford to go back to petrol anyway, but no need to.
Just a shame to price of diesel goes up almost every day!!
£6 a gallon an rising.

I know what you are saying.

Although I have had my diesel for a couple of weeks now and have done over a 1000 miles, I did my first real decent journey today up to Sheffield, a round trip of just over 400 miles.

I got there and back on half a tank of fuel and the computer tells me I still have 396 miles worth of fuel in the tank That is impressive!

I completely agree with your comments about torque, and in fact when I had to revert to a petrol engined car whilst I was waiting for mine to be delivered, I actually took my wifes car (C Max diesel which is also my old company car) simply because I prefered the engine as well as the MPG.

I think mine will only get better as the engine loosens up, the gearbox is certainly getting slicker as I get some miles on the clock.

[back_marker]

Ford for cars and Honda for bikes ....... can't go wrong.

Ford: Found On Road Dead

Honda: Had One Never Do it Again

[Viking]

Ford: Found On Road Dead

Fixed Or Repaired Daily