Ford Focus...sell me on it!

SixTwoSix

SixTwoSix

SixTwoSix

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First of all sorry for starting up another thread in my search for a new second hand car :) You may have seen my thread about the Seat Ibiza and although I really want to get one, it's at the top end of what I can afford to get something decent. The last few days at work i've had a lot of people saying why don't I get a Focus.

I've never been a fan of the Focus purely from an aesthetic point of view, the look does nothing for me. However i've just spent a little while looking through what's available in my area (gumtree, autotrader, ebay) for what I can spend and they are definately growing on me.

I gather they are fairly reliable cars, cheap for repairs and the drive is fairly comfortable and enjoyable for what they cost. I've also been told that they will last to a fairly high mileage (150k+)

I want to either get a 1.4 or 1.6L petrol, or perhaps even a 1.8 diesel. The insurance for me is about £20/month higher for the diesel but considering I average about 12k miles per year, I think i'd make enough of a saving on the MPG cost to offset the extra insurance cost, I could be way off on this though.

I've found about 6 possible Focus's in my immediate area and will be going to take a look and test drive tomorrow, as I asked in my Ibiza thread, is there anything glaringly obvious to be aware of when buying a Focus?

Oh yeah, due to a forgotten bill, my budget has dropped down to £1000/£1050 max.

Thanks in advance for any help and once again, apologies for another car buying thread.
 
At that budget you'll be lucky to get anything but something quite dog eared. Especially a diesel!

It's worth mentioning that they're pretty popular, so you'll likely find less for your money than with a - DARE I SAY IT - Mondeo :p
 
The 1.8 diesel in the Focus Mk1 you'll get for £1k is seriously old school. Tough but very noisy, very unrefined and very slow.

Get a 1.6.
 
I had my MK1 1.6 for 4 years. Great first car; comfortable, quite roomy, efficient (39MPG average). Serviced it myself, and if anything broke, it was usually quite cheap to fix. The 1.6 and the 2.0 were the pick of the engines - the 1.4 was underpowered and the 1.8 wasn't much more powerful than the 1.6, but nearly as thirsty as the 2.0 from what I heard. No experiecne with diesels.

It's absolutely nothing special but a great tool. I was actually a little sad to see mine go.
 
Sell you on it, ok ill give it a shot *clears throat*:

Hey you! are you tired of not fitting in? suffering from individualism? having free will? what you need is the same car as everyone else! its slow! its cheap and flimsy! its what everybody who doesn't care about cars, driving or staying alive needs! its just as reliable as Japanese cars have been since the 70's and what's more it can be yours for only a lot more than its actually worth!

(you may have guessed I didn't like the Focus hire car I was lumbered with a couple of years back :P)
 
I have to second Fox's comment. If you get a diesel Focus mk1 it has to be the TDCI, which you can't afford. The TDDI is horrendous. Don't get the 1.4 petrol either, it's just as bad though it won't rattle you to pieces it's just underpowered for the weight of the car.
 
ubersonic said:
Hey you! are you tired of not fitting in? suffering from individualism? having free will? what you need is the same car as everyone else! its slow! its cheap and flimsy! its what everybody who doesn't care about cars, driving or staying alive needs! its just as reliable as Japanese cars have been since the 70's and what's more it can be yours for only a lot more than its actually worth!
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He's buying a £1k car, he cannot afford to be fussy. That and half of what you've said is rubbish.
 
Thanks for the quick replies :)

My gut instinct from the start was that I want a 1.6 petrol...i've grown up in a family that despises diesel cars even though as we all know, modern diesels are pretty decent. For that reason any time anyone says diesel, alarm bells go off in my head from years of anti-diesel brainwashing as I grew up ;)

@ ubersonic...fair enough, I know they aren't stand out cars but i've got such a limited budget at the moment and it seems like a sensible car to get right now to see me over for the next 12 months.

@ Zefan...insurance on a mondeo is too much for me otherwise i'd consider it. Also the insurance for me on a 1.6 Focus is cheaper than a 1.3 Fiesta even if they are around same year and mileage...that's a strange one.

It's worth mentioning this is only a stop gap car for the next 12 months, this time next year my loan is fully paid off and I can consider something in the £5k-£7k price bracket.
 
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Flibbles said:
I have to second Fox's comment. If you get a diesel Focus mk1 it has to be the TDCI, which you can't afford. The TDDI is horrendous.
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Why is the TDDI 'horrendous'? Its a perfectly functional engine. It may be louder and less refined than other deisels out there, but certainly not horrendous.

I have had my Focus TDDi for coming up to 4 years now. Bought it at 80,000 miles as my first car, and its now at 160,000 miles. Its never ever skipped a beat. Things ive changed apart from consumables are the clutch, front springs and the cambelt. Its due the second cambelt now.

There is nothing wrong with this engine. Its pretty equal to the 1.6 engine in terms of performance mainly due to the extra torque, but its more economical. More importantly the engine is pretty much bulletproof. Keep your oil changes regular and it will give you no problems.

The early TDCi engines suffered from DMF issues and are generally more unreliable. Ideally you want an 07 onwards but I doubt you can afford that.

Id reccomend either the 1.6 or the TDDi Focus as a first car. Try to get a facelift version though (01-05) if you can. The insurance on the TDDi worked out cheaper than a 1.6 equivilent, but obviously yours may be different.
 
I've had two.

Initially a W reg 1.8 that was written off at xmas and now an 03 reg 1.6.

Average fuel consumption on the 1.6 is 42mpg too which I think is pretty decent - especially compared to the 1.8 which had similar performance but drank @ 35mpg.

It's a Ghia so the trim level's ok and comes with air con and parking sensors amongst other things.

Only issue was price as it was just over 3k - was bought off a forecourt and had low mileage.

Not sure about matching your budget but you might get a private seller letting an older version with moderate to high mileage go for that.

gt
 
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[TW]Fox;19695140 said:
He's buying a £1k car, he cannot afford to be fussy. That and half of what you've said is rubbish.
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It was mostly tongue in cheek dude, but tbh half of it was spot on, the focus is the most common car in the UK, its more expensive than cars just as good and with over 14,000 cars on auto-trader for £1k and under he can be a bit choosy if he wants to.
 
I own a 2001 focus 1.6 zetec and use it as my daily driver. If you're looking to spend a grand then definitely get the zetec spec - you get the alloys, nice seats, lots of toys etc.

The 1.6 engine is fine, it's no rocket ship but it's not sluggish and I return 41mpg.

Mine has done 132k and although I have replaced the usuals (coil pack, wheel cylinder, battery, thermostat housing) nothing major has gone wrong. It uses hardly any oil too. All of the above I did myself with tools I had at home - the beauty of the focus is it's simplicity mechanically.

The handling of the car is superb, it really is a hoot through the bends.

I paid £950 for mine with no MOT - it passed with no advisories at 118k.

As for aesthetics - it's very subjective but for me personally, a 1k focus owns a 1k.

Oh yeah, the insurance is cheaper than cheap for me (beats fiestas etc. as I'm a new driver).

EDIT: Also, the interior on mine is immaculate, apart from the air direction selector which is broken.
 
[TW]Fox;19696297 said:
Lots of toys? The zetec has no toys! It doesn't even have air con as standard!
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Aircon
Elec windows
Elec mirrors
Heated mirrors
Heated front windscreen

Suits me fine....for a grand.
 
The heated front windscreen and air con was an extra cost option, its not standard fit on the zetec.

Describing a car as having lots of toys when in reality all it has is electric front windows and power steering is plain misleading.
 
[TW]Fox;19696528 said:
The heated front windscreen and air con was an extra cost option, its not standard fit on the zetec.

Describing a car as having lots of toys when in reality all it has is electric front windows and power steering is plain misleading.
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My apologies, I didn't realise they were cost options - all 20 or so of the zetecs I looked at had both options, I guess they must have been part of a comfort pack or something?
 
shoes said:
zetec spec - you get the alloys, nice seats, lots of toys etc.
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Negative. You get nicer alloys, nicer seats, slightly stiffer suspension, front fogs, silver interior trim and that's it. Everything else like air con, quick clear windscreen, electric mirrors, etc etc was an optional extra.

:edit: Wow, it seems I have had this page open for ages :D I don't think I've ever been beaten by so much time :p
 
ah yeah I forgot the front fogs - probably because mine are buggered after an incident in the ice and a frozen mound of mud :S

The front seats are infinitely nicer though IMO - even nicer than the standard ghia ones which offer nil lateral support.
 
One of mine is buggered from an incident with a badger. I now have a great mutual respect for their kind.

The seats are a lot better, but it doesn't stop me feeling the need to stick a jumper down behind my back when doing especially long drives!
 
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