Ford Mondeo 2.0 Litre Auto.

[scoobyh123]

Exactly Nick, they need reminding the customer is king from time to time. The only "hidden rule" i know of where insurance is invalidated through not having either tax or MoT is if it's being used without MoT - unless of course for a prearranged test (travel to/from) or to/from a permanent bona fide place of repair or of course home from either of these. Any other use without an MoT and your insurance is compromised.

However if the car is off the road for repairs (and for example, you're waiting on parts, perfectly feasible on something like an 800) and you have declared SORN but kept the insurance running, even without an MoT then there's no reason i know of that should invalidate the insurance. If anyone else knows of something then i hope they pipe up so we all know!

Once you've calmed down overnight i think i'd be inclined to phone them tomorrow and (with guarded aggression but humourously) demand to know what the hell they're playing at digging into history that you didn't even know about! As far as you are concerned, it's always been insured so you obviously didn't know about this until they brought it up.

[zcar12]

Thank you Dave. I had an early morning call from AF today in which they asserted again that my car was uninsured for a 6 week period but I have had no answer as to when that period started and ended. . If there is a wrong entry on a computer record somewhere then I should be able to challenge that information. But since I dont know where it is and AF has not said, I can do nothing about it. With computers, it is a case of "garbage in=garbage out".

All this has left me feeling very uneasy about dealing with AF. I keep asking myself if something else is about to pop out of the woodwork, I am feeling quite stressed today. Since both the arranged policies are not due to commence until 1st March, I dont think I can lose much by cancelling both, and starting again from scratch. I am sending them a Recorded Delivery letter today to this effect. F*** em!

With the Mondeo, which is only 2 miles way, I have the option of taking one day insurance so I can get it to and from the MoT garage which is just down the hill from me. It may need a rear suspension bush but once it is home I can take my time doing it.

[scoobyh123]

Don't blame you Nick - i'd be doing the same i think!
I'd also consider requesting dates etc as to when the car was uninsured and if that's during a period when Saga were meant to be covering you, sue them as well!

You may have driven down the road in that period and at worst, had an accident and left to pay a monstrous bill plus all the extra fines, convictions etc for no insurance, had your car impounded and so on or simply pulled by the Police on a spot check or because it flashed up on their ANPR system and again, car impounded, instant 8 points or whatever it is for no insurance and a £200 fine plus all the impound fees etc.

I'm sure there are plenty of other brokers who will do you a good deal on insurance, possibly even better without the grief that AF have already given you!

[zcar12]

Today I received confirmation that my two policies arranged through AF were cancelled. Not related but I think I should post the following warning for members:

Last week, I received the Mondeo logbook and straight away went online to declare it still SORN. I got an Email today that looked like it came from the DVLA, only closer inspection showed it to come from ADL Services.It said my SORN declaration was not complete and that I should resubmit the form. These scammers have set up a website that closely mimics the genuine DVLA site. If you complete their form, you find yourself signed up to a service that charges you via credit card £49 a month so they can store all your documents online and check any forms before they are submitted to the DVLA. To get your Credit or Debit card number they ask for 90 pence postage which you assume is reasonable. But the DVLA does not charge for postage. They appear to operate from Amsterdam and the server is located in Sweden. I got caught by them last year when submitting the form for my drivers license. Its so easy to go online, do a search and think you are on the genuine DVLA site. So always check that you are on the official DVLA website or you will find yourself being scammed. And kicking yourself later for being so stupid.

[scoobyh123]

That's pretty scary Nick! Thanks for the heads-up on it!

Glad you got sorted with AF and in light of your experience with them have given them FA!

Seems to me they acted wholly unprofessionally and broke your trust even before the date of inception. No wonder the insurance industry has a bad name with things like this happening! It might be an isolated insident but the fact is, it's one people will remember.

[zcar12]

Collected the Mondeo today. It was a strange experience to drive an auto for the first time in 35 years, since my time living in Canada. Took it for an MoT and it failed, I did not really expect a pass. The faults were:

Road wheel Bead distorted, (which they have offered to correct for me at no charge) Big hammer job!

1 rear tire below the limit on the inside shoulder.

Suspension arm ball joint excessive play offside front,.

Anti roll bar dust cover deteriorated front offside.

All in all, not too bad. I can do the repairs myself.

First impressions are that the car runs very smoothly and is quiet inside. Have not had the chance yet to really get the transmission hot and see how it performs. I am not used to pushing the pedal to the floor to make it kick down. So any problems at this stage may be due to my driving style.

[scoobyh123]

That's not too bad at all Nick! Good you're taking it easy on the auto box for now, change the fluid before you hoof it!

[zcar12]

You are quite right to say change the fluid. Once I get my MoT done, my first job will be to change the engine oil and filter, then the trans fluid.

Got the bits that I needed today. Garage gave me 2 drop links as they could not remember the type. The only difference between the 2 is that one is all steel and the other is a plastic girder type between the ball joints. First time I have ever come across that! Henry Ford would be proud. The story goes that he sent some engineers to scrap yards to find out which parts of the Model T had not worn out. He could then cheapen the part. Very canny!

Took me over an hour today to remove a rear wheel. Two of the nuts had been rounded off. Several others were odd sizes. I shall dump the two wheel wrenches that came with the car and get a new 19mm as I have some new nuts on order. Don;t want any wheels overtaking me.

Have not yet discovered where the proper jacking points are for the this car. With the 800, it is very easy to locate the jacking points on the sills. But there appear to be no jacking points on the sills for this car. Maybe I have the wrong Scissor jack for the car?

[scoobyh123]

This might help in the hunt for the non-existent jacking points Nick!

http://www.talkford.com/community/topic ... ing-point/

That seems to suggest they're hidden as reinforced sill sections that are double skinned so you need to be underneath the car to find them.
Can't remember where i spotted it (and can't find it now either!) but in the search results i found a reference to jacking point covers, the little bit of text with the search result seemed to suggest these are in the sills and the Ford jack pokes into holes revealed by removing these covers. Whether that applies to all Mondeos or just Mk1 & 2 i don't know. Have you got a handbook/owners manual (the Ford one, not the Haynes variety!) or any other literature? If not you should be able to download one here :

http://www.ford.co.uk/OwnerServices/Own ... %282001%29

That should answer your queries hopefully! The bit about changing wheels including jacking it up is in the "Wheels & Tyres" section.

[CHR15E]

They are a pain for jacking up. Even worse on mine being an ST with side skirts.

I tend to use my towbar from the rear and a section of floor at the front near the bulkhead.

Thankfully I haven't had to do mine much so not a huge deal for me.

[scoobyh123]

They are a pain for jacking up. Even worse on mine being an ST with side skirts.

I tend to use my towbar from the rear and a section of floor at the front near the bulkhead.

Thankfully I haven't had to do mine much so not a huge deal for me.

Old habits obviously die hard Chris! Sounds like typical 800 jacking points!

[CHR15E]

TBH for the front of an 800 I always used the longitudinal cross member. With a good jack it was easy enough to get all the front up from there. For the rear I would use the sill jacking point or the towbar if I wanted both sides up at once.

None of those work very well on my trailer though.

[zcar12]

Thanks guys, comments appreciated. I had a feeling that the sills might be reinforced somewhere to allow for a jacking point. Its a shame Ford did not mark the spot as you can find on the 800. Have to agree Mondeo's are a pain to jack up. As I have discovered and Chris comments, they are very heavy on the front. Never thought of using the tow bar as a jacking point. Thanks Chris. As for getting underneath the car to look for jacking points, well, those days are gone for me. Today's job is to change the bottom ball joint, I have been reading up on it. I hope for the best but am prepared for the worst.

[deano]

I always go under the front with a good jack

Always try to avoid jacking on the sills...

[CHR15E]

Random top tip, possibly.

Does your front cigarette lighter socket work off the ignition or is it live permanently?

I ask as mine was live all the time and I found it very annoying. Luckily in these the fuse has two positions to let you choose. It's probably already set for ignition switched after all these years but you never know.

Another one I've just thought about. If you ever suffer with front spring problems don't for a minute consider doing them yourself. Simply not worth the effort with how short they need to be once compressed.