When did Volvos partnership with Ford end?

[The Thong]

Originally Posted by Auto Addict

To be fair these MK IV Ford Mondeos are pretty decent, solid cars a bit like a Volvo

It was probably what Ford needed. They were churning out some drab and uninspiring looking motors. I used to have all Ford once and then they started churning out motors like the Fusion, the last of the Escorts etc. I had a KA Collection as my last motor and it was a stunning little car. Ford are now churning out some nice looking motors especially the Mondeo. It’s nice to see they’re trying again.

TT

[Clan]

Originally Posted by Auto Addict

To be fair these MK IV Ford Mondeos are pretty decent, solid cars a bit like a Volvo

You would be surprised what goes wrong with these MK IV Mondeoes , just about everything over a 150,000 mile period and a lot before that too !

[Thekilt]

After owning a 2001 V70 T5, and then moving to the V50 T5, you can tell the build quality is not as good. Its all sturdy and rust resistant, however the doors dont close with the same quality (V50 sounds Tinnier) and the inside plastics creak a bit more that the V70 but that is kind of expected as the S40/V50 range are lower than the V70. However the later ranges of Volvos (V40/V60/XC60 and then the XC40/XC60/XC90/V60/V90) all seem to have the same build internally but with higher specs on the base models of each.

Personally I dont think the Ford "era" are any worse than any others at the end of the day, especially when it comes to engine quality, reliability and economy, especially if you have the Volvo engines.

[Auto Addict]

Originally Posted by Clan

You would be surprised what goes wrong with these MK IV Mondeoes , just about everything over a 150,000 mile period and a lot before that too !

Go on Clan... surprise me Joking aside I was referring to the overall package of the MK IV Mondeo rather than specific mechanical issues. @ 150,000 miles majority of cars will have numerous issues, no matter how well they've been looked after. Everything being relative, the MK IV Mondeo was a huge leap forward for FORD back in 2007/08

[The Thong]

Originally Posted by Clan

You would be surprised what goes wrong with these MK IV Mondeoes , just about everything over a 150,000 mile period and a lot before that too !

I think failure is in built in a lot of cases. Let’s be honest, long lasting cars are bad for business. Any manufacturer wants to keep selling lots of cars especially the large fleet names. I’ve seen it with Merc, they used to build vans that would do gazillions of miles inc the First gen Sprinter. After that, the quality went down hill and the car division went the same way.
I remember injectors we’re a big fail on Mondeo and Focus to the time of big money to put it right. I didn’t get involved with Mondeo, once the Sierra’s were gone I had a Probe (Mazda) and a KA. After that it was Land Rover and Honda up until I had my first Volvo. The Honda was a solid motor but the land rovers were high maintenance motors too.
Out of all the Motors I had no including vans, my 2.3D Sierra and 8th Gen Civic were probably the most reliable at high mileage.

TT

[Welton]

I've had my Volvo S40 for 11 years now and drive it daily, the biggest failing is the suspension! the Ford suspension parts have been a near constant headache.

Everything else in terms of electricals and Ford wiring looms has been spot on though.

[The Thong]

Originally Posted by Welton

I've had my Volvo S40 for 11 years now and drive it daily, the biggest failing is the suspension! the Ford suspension parts have been a near constant headache.

Everything else in terms of electricals and Ford wiring looms has been spot on though.

The front lower arms on S40/V50 are made out of toffee I think.

TT

[Thekilt]

Originally Posted by Welton

I've had my Volvo S40 for 11 years now and drive it daily, the biggest failing is the suspension! the Ford suspension parts have been a near constant headache.

Everything else in terms of electricals and Ford wiring looms has been spot on though.

when i changed mine out recently for some Bilstein 14's i noticed how poor the quality of the parts were. I also changed all the rear arms and all ,=mounts (fronts were quite new) as they were all poor too.

[Clan]

Originally Posted by Auto Addict

Go on Clan... surprise me Joking aside I was referring to the overall package of the MK IV Mondeo rather than specific mechanical issues. @ 150,000 miles majority of cars will have numerous issues, no matter how well they've been looked after. Everything being relative, the MK IV Mondeo was a huge leap forward for FORD back in 2007/08

Valve springs break,
Rockers break
Fuel pumps seize
The fuel pump drop gear housing ALWAYS leaks
Injector problems ,
EGR Valve problems
Alternators
Clutches regular at 80000 miles
Front and rear wheel bearings
Front suspension struts
Ignition switches
Heater fan motors
Heater radiators
Plastic Thermostat housings leak
Tyre pressure sensors seize in , so a new one with every tyre
Electric power steering racks break up
Air bag contact reels
Plastic clutch pedal breaks
Plastic sump is SO easy to crack .

A lot of this is the french 2.0 D engine which has since been extensively modified from the one volvo used .

parts are more expensive than volvo and a set of rear tail lights is £1400 .

[Welton]

I've replaced:

Front Wishbones (twice)
Top Mount bearings
Droplinks (x 5 sets)
Rear Lower 'stays' (x 3 sets)
Rear springs snapped (x 1 set)
All dampers were shot at 80K miles - replaced with B4's all good since.

Ford are the masters as cost-reduction, none of their cars are 'premium', you'd probably get a decent 10 years out of one and then need to replace loads of stuff it wouldn't be worth it.

Testament to Volvo is the amount of mid-90's and early-00's cars still on the roads but sadly that's not an attractive business model to make stuff so well it lasts for years