Ford focus.

[MuvverRussia]

Been looking at these, £4k or so gets me an 01 1.8 Zetec. Any good though? Also what are the problem areas?

Other cars i'm considering are toledos/leons/octavias.

Any other suggestions for cars that I can insure for under £2k (got £6k for car and insurance now)?

 

[ChuKKi Ninja]

I'm looking into getting a focus soon, also wanting a 1.8 zetec so would also be very interested in what you good folk have to say about them

Thanx
Dave.

 

[Matt]

Seat Toledo 1.8 20v SE That's what i'd get!

 

[Bri]

Alfa Romeo 147 2.0 TwinSpark

 

[Miguél]

I got a Ford Focus 1.8 Zetec Collection a couple of months ago for £4k. 40,000 miles, FSH, excellent condition. Brilliant car.

 

[Haircut]

I've got a '99 1.8 Zetec and have had it for over 5 years now.

Only problem that it's had other than general wear and tear was that there was a slight problem needing replacement of the HT leads a year or two ago.
Other that that it's been faultless.

Excellent handling car for its class and the 1.8 is no slouch (though it does need some revs to get it going)

Only thing is, it does drink a bit of petrol.

 

[Doonhamer]

I have a 2000 1.8 Zetec. No problems other than the switch for the air bags, apparently I need a new switch for it but other than that it hasn't missed a beat in the three years I have owned it.

Does like the petrol sometimes though, probably because it needs a kick up the arse to get it going.

 

[Jonnycoupe]

Ive got a 1.8 Zetec, its ace

Does everything on the tin and then some. Much better car than it needs to be

 

[jimblowscash]

im with bri, i had a 147 t spark, cracking car and very cheap, and slightly more exclusive trhan the run of the mill fords

 

[Zirax]

I have a 1.8 Zetec and generally I am happy. Its not going to set the world alight with its performance, but it does the job. But then again I do drive mine like I stole it most of the time. You don't really get any sort of power until you cross 3-3.5k rpm on it, and it is a rev happy engine.

MPG wise if you poodle along at 70 on the motorway I get around 37mpg, however on a private track averaging 90, with spirited driving it drops to 29.

Since getting mine, I had to work away from home and in a year I have put 20k on it. Nothing has gone wrong, and its fine sitting in it for 3-4 hours on a motorway. In all honesty I'll probably run this thing into the ground as its costing peanuts to keep going.

 

[ca9phoenix]

not going by engine just cars, i have a 01 toledeo and my wife has an 04 focus. the SEAT is comfy for longer journeys but the focus is more "chuckable" round town. having ownled an 02 1.6 zetec focus and now an 04 2.0 zetec i found them both to be greedy on the fuel and statisticly the 2.0 has the same consumption as a 330i.

that aside neither of the two focuses (foci?) have put a foot wrong however i've had a few issues with the SEAT (new front forks cos it was like a jelly)

I'd go for the focus and enjoy it

 

[Guigsy]

I had a 1.6 Focus for 3 years and it was 3 years old when I got it. It was an excellent car until I crunched it (and it faired a hell of a lot better than the C2 that rammed me). I had a few minor electrical issues like the windscreen washer button breaking and the key fob remote breaking, but no show stoppers.

I had the 1.8 as a hire car for a few hundred miles (it only has about 1k on it when I started, so it wasn't knackered yet). The 1.8 has a bit more torque in the middle, but it doesn't really feel any quicker. The 1.6 feels much smoother when you're revving the squishies off of it, it loves 6k whereas I found the 1.8 a bit gruff and it sounded less happy. I found my 1.6 more rewarding...

The 1.8 is a little quicker and a bit easier to tune (if you're in to paying your insurance company a fortune), but 1.6 is a good option and lower insurance. I'd go for a newer/better equipped 1.6 over a 1.8 if they were sitting side-by-side. Oh course the TDCi would be even nicer.... but probably not for £4k.

 

[Goliath]

Been looking at these, £4k or so gets me an 01 1.8 Zetec. Any good though? Also what are the problem areas?

Other cars i'm considering are toledos/leons/octavias.

Any other suggestions for cars that I can insure for under £2k (got £6k for car and insurance now)?

Focus is pretty much the best bet for your sort of budget. IIRC the 1.6 is group 5e to insure , with the 1.8 being not much higher. Try and find either a Zetec or an LX with the Climate Pack installed, this gives you goodies like a heated windscreen (once you've had one you'll wonder why every car doesn't have one as standard). It's getting to the point where you can be picky at that sort of price, so have a look at a few.

Common things to look out for:

Suspension bushes tend to go at around 70k miles or 5 years, if it feels a bit crashy at the back when you test drive it this is probably the problem. Not too expensive to fix

Rear wheel bearings - again, a tendency to go at around 70k miles. A speed sensitive humming sound from the rear is the giveaway.

Passenger footbath - a soggy passenger carpet means that the pollen filter at the base of the windscreen hasn't been sealed properly after a service - doesn't cost much to put right but it seems to happen every time it gets touched - It's a really bad design.

Exhaust - check that it's not blowing anywhere, as i've seen a few that have failed around the flex-joint just behind the cats. This is a £300 hit to replace.

Engines - fairly bomproof, although they will start drinking oil if you don't keep an eye on them after 60k miles. Cambelt doesn't need doing until 100,000 miles OR 10 years (if you take your grenaded engine back to ford after 6 years moaning that it's only done 60k dont expect sympathy )

 

[digitalwolf]

Did they do a 3 door 1.6 Focus with leather interior like the 1.8 Collection.

 

[Ollie's Gadgets]

Focus Chic, Black, Silver, Elle and Ebony models all have leather interior and are 3 door 1.6s.

 

[1CE]

As allways, every car has it's problems so try not to be put off by them, it's what having a car is all about .

I have a 1.4 3dr foci zetec, the greast thing is it drives like a big car, i've tryed fiesta's and what not and have to say the foci was the most comfortable and spacious doesn't help being 6'4 i guess .


Really nice cars

 

[1ofaKind]

I've got a 2000 2.0 ghia and my dad has got a very early focus 2.0 ghia. The only issue my dads car has had is with the air con - there is some valve or something which went (and on my friends focus) so when you 1st switch the air con on you get a clicking noise - works fine.

My car has had both rear wheel bearings go at <30k miles and the central locking is playing up a bit. But I have to say its been great other than these minor issues and most people I know who own them have had minimal problems.

 

[Matthew.M]

Engines - fairly bomproof, although they will start drinking oil if you don't keep an eye on them after 60k miles. Cambelt doesn't need doing until 100,000 miles OR 5 years (if you take your grenaded engine back to ford after 6 years moaning that it's only done 60k dont expect sympathy )

I thought the interval was closer to 8years? I hope it is anyway as my Focus is coming up to 5years old

 

[digitalwolf]

There doesn't seem to be much difference between the performance of the 1.6/1.8. Is the suspension on the 1.8 Collection a Zetec suspension?

 

[Goliath]

I thought the interval was closer to 8years? I hope it is anyway as my Focus is coming up to 5years old

My bad, just checked and it's 100,000 miles or 10 years Good for you though