Looking at buying a MK2/2.5 Focus ST
- Thread starter traveyb
- Start date
£8k should see you into 2008 facelift territory which is where my money would go. Think they look better and nice little improvements on the interior.
Try and get a non-modified version too.
Common issues:
- Worn bushes (check for serious steering wheel wobble)
- Oil Diaphragm (fixed on facelift models, but listen out for a whining noise from the engine bay)
- Clutch (if it's been tuned, check for slip, stick it in 5th at 30 and put your foot down, it shouldn't slip)
- CV boot (drivers side housing is known for splitting, only £40 to fix, but if it hasn't been fixed, then a dry CV joint will cost £££)
Turbo housing was also improved on the facelift, so this should be fine too, but have a look for cracks.
Other than that they are very reliable, and mine hasn't cost me much to maintain over the 3.5 years I've owned it. In fact only petrol/insurance/tax have been more expensive than the 1.6 Mk1 Focus I owned previously.
I'm selling mine shortly if you can wait
Try and get a non-modified version too.
Common issues:
- Worn bushes (check for serious steering wheel wobble)
- Oil Diaphragm (fixed on facelift models, but listen out for a whining noise from the engine bay)
- Clutch (if it's been tuned, check for slip, stick it in 5th at 30 and put your foot down, it shouldn't slip)
- CV boot (drivers side housing is known for splitting, only £40 to fix, but if it hasn't been fixed, then a dry CV joint will cost £££)
Turbo housing was also improved on the facelift, so this should be fine too, but have a look for cracks.
Other than that they are very reliable, and mine hasn't cost me much to maintain over the 3.5 years I've owned it. In fact only petrol/insurance/tax have been more expensive than the 1.6 Mk1 Focus I owned previously.
I'm selling mine shortly if you can wait
Perfect thanks. Ideally I want the MK2.5/facelift as I prefer the modelling inside and outside. Ideally I want a performance blue model + climate control. Guess I might have to wait for the right one to come along.
Yeah defiantly, I tend to stay clear of anything modified.
Do they suffer from the same issues as MK2 Focus's (leaking foot wells etc?).
Happy days, I like reliable! Should have got one in the first place, it's not much more than running my 2.0 focus at the mo!
Yeah defiantly, I tend to stay clear of anything modified.
Do they suffer from the same issues as MK2 Focus's (leaking foot wells etc?).
Happy days, I like reliable! Should have got one in the first place, it's not much more than running my 2.0 focus at the mo!
So the orange ones are growing on me a bit, found this: http://www.marshallweb.co.uk/vauxhall/used-cars/32598/ford-focus/
ST-3, slightly higher millage than I would have wanted but it's a nice example
ST-3, slightly higher millage than I would have wanted but it's a nice example
Nice colour choice, and I wanted climate too, but in the end they were hard to find examples that ticked all the boxes, so climate was one I wasn't too fussed about in the end. I almost bought a performance blue with Nav + Climate, but it had white stripes on it, which put me off big time, I know they could have been taken off. But I would still know! Plus the dealer wouldn't even knock a quid off the price. In the end I ended up with my favourite colour and it was £1,500 cheaper!
Never heard of leaking foot wells on the ST. It was a common issue on the MK1 focus if the person servicing your car didn't put the pollen filter back in properly...
Ross I wish I could by your Focus, love Sea Grey
For sale in a few months! Will be sad to see it go
for reference I picked up a pre-facelift performance blue ST3, 50k miles, full service history 2 previous owners immaculate bodywork for £7000 in January. No Sat-Nav or climate but I could live without them.
I can't comment on the reliability but I'm loving it so far 2 months in.
I looked around some ST2s before I decided I wanted an ST3, the heated leather seats in the ST3 are much nicer than the cloth variety in the ST2 although I guess this comes down to personal preference.
One thing to note is due to the arrangement of the leather seating, the ST3 will only take 2 passengers in the rear compared to the ST2 which can take a 3rd rear passenger.
I can't comment on the reliability but I'm loving it so far 2 months in.
I looked around some ST2s before I decided I wanted an ST3, the heated leather seats in the ST3 are much nicer than the cloth variety in the ST2 although I guess this comes down to personal preference.
One thing to note is due to the arrangement of the leather seating, the ST3 will only take 2 passengers in the rear compared to the ST2 which can take a 3rd rear passenger.
Got my newbie guide here somewhere...
A few things to get you started:
22-25MPG average
14-16MPG on a mixed fast drive
7MPG flat out - Don't think many people see this outside of a track.
55L tank costing around £65-£70 to fill with V-Power
240-300 miles typical range
30+ achievable on a long run (I did a 360 mile round trip to Liverpool and back to Newcastle and got 35MPG)
Tyres are £80 a corner for midrange, up to around £110 for premium
Common Faults:
Alternator - £400-£450 - Revised part fitted to Facelifts
Oil Filter Diaphragm - £180+fitting - Revised part fitted as standard to the Facelifts
Slipping Clutch (Occurs normally only after remapping) - £725-£850 - £850-£1,000
Front bushes drying out – Powerflex £200
ESP Failures - £400-£1,200 (Pre-FLs ST1s such as myself don’t get this issue)
Undertray being obliterated - £53.23 (May be around £57 now)
Driveshafts - £160 refurb, £400-£500 new (each!) - Likely to fail if you've got a thing for Traffic Light GPs.
Modding:
Remaps: Stage 1: 250-270bhp (Can be done on a completely stock car)
Remaps: Stage 2+ Completely depends on the tuner. Collins Stage 2 for example recommends full mods but is 320bhp, while Bluefin can be put on a stock car but will only run around 270bhp.
RS Spark Plugs: £35-£40
Intercoolers: £240-£500
Exhausts: £600-£1,000
Induction Kits: £250-£400
Eibach Springs: £200 fitted
Bilstein b8: £550
RARB: £150-£200
BlockMod: £550-£750 (Metal shims between the liners to prevent them cracking – 5% suspected failure resulting in a new engine).
A few things to get you started:
22-25MPG average
14-16MPG on a mixed fast drive
7MPG flat out - Don't think many people see this outside of a track.
55L tank costing around £65-£70 to fill with V-Power
240-300 miles typical range
30+ achievable on a long run (I did a 360 mile round trip to Liverpool and back to Newcastle and got 35MPG)
Tyres are £80 a corner for midrange, up to around £110 for premium
Common Faults:
Alternator - £400-£450 - Revised part fitted to Facelifts
Oil Filter Diaphragm - £180+fitting - Revised part fitted as standard to the Facelifts
Slipping Clutch (Occurs normally only after remapping) - £725-£850 - £850-£1,000
Front bushes drying out – Powerflex £200
ESP Failures - £400-£1,200 (Pre-FLs ST1s such as myself don’t get this issue)
Undertray being obliterated - £53.23 (May be around £57 now)
Driveshafts - £160 refurb, £400-£500 new (each!) - Likely to fail if you've got a thing for Traffic Light GPs.
Modding:
Remaps: Stage 1: 250-270bhp (Can be done on a completely stock car)
Remaps: Stage 2+ Completely depends on the tuner. Collins Stage 2 for example recommends full mods but is 320bhp, while Bluefin can be put on a stock car but will only run around 270bhp.
RS Spark Plugs: £35-£40
Intercoolers: £240-£500
Exhausts: £600-£1,000
Induction Kits: £250-£400
Eibach Springs: £200 fitted
Bilstein b8: £550
RARB: £150-£200
BlockMod: £550-£750 (Metal shims between the liners to prevent them cracking – 5% suspected failure resulting in a new engine).
Good point made by Daz about the seating.
Pretty sure the later facelifts come with DAB as standard but don't quote me on it. I'd say make sure the heated front screen is working but you can't really tell unless you see it early morning? Not sure if these are particularly unreliable, just expensive to replace.
PB is a good colour choice, it changes vastly and looks almost purple in some light though. Remember, stripes can be removed if you don't like them and DMB do a great range of simple mods if you're into colour coding.
Try using the owners club websites, they have some very useful info.
Pretty sure the later facelifts come with DAB as standard but don't quote me on it. I'd say make sure the heated front screen is working but you can't really tell unless you see it early morning? Not sure if these are particularly unreliable, just expensive to replace.
PB is a good colour choice, it changes vastly and looks almost purple in some light though. Remember, stripes can be removed if you don't like them and DMB do a great range of simple mods if you're into colour coding.
Try using the owners club websites, they have some very useful info.
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You'll particularly enjoy the noise at full throttle, the induction roar is addictive to say the least!
Paid £12,000 for my 2010 facelift ST3 with CC, heated seats, keyless, pretty much every option bar the sat-nav.
Got the MP260 kit in that price as well, but had to pay £800 to have the clutch done as it was eating it. This is after 30,000 miles, I believe the MP260 was done straight away as well.
MPG - I get mid 20s normally, down into the teens when in slow traffic, never quite got 30mpg on the motorway mind. But then that's mainly because I love playing around.
The pros?
What an engine. Just... what an engine. Great noise, wonderful torquey delivery. It's a good, tight handling car as well, just remember that it will eat front tyres for breakfast if you push it.
I'm seriously considering moving to an RS when I can afford it.
Got the MP260 kit in that price as well, but had to pay £800 to have the clutch done as it was eating it. This is after 30,000 miles, I believe the MP260 was done straight away as well.
MPG - I get mid 20s normally, down into the teens when in slow traffic, never quite got 30mpg on the motorway mind. But then that's mainly because I love playing around.
The pros?
What an engine. Just... what an engine. Great noise, wonderful torquey delivery. It's a good, tight handling car as well, just remember that it will eat front tyres for breakfast if you push it.
I'm seriously considering moving to an RS when I can afford it.
That's what I'm talking about
I just need to change me mindset, I'm going there to buy it at the moment which is dangerous! Will defiantly give it a good test drive and make sure to give the body/engine a good looking at (and more importantly check for the clutch slip). If I did get it, what would it cost to replace the belts?
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I had one when they 1st came out in 2006. It was the ST3 in performance blue in 3 door. It was actually a company company car with fuel paid for
I did 93k in it, over 3 years and it served me very well, apart from tyres and brakes it cost the company nothing outside of servicing.
In fact I've since had a Honda Accord and I now have an A4 Avant, the ST3 was just as comfy and it was more reliable!.
Fuel Economy was poor, but oh so worth it, just to hear those pops and bangs, the engine was sublime. Sadly I will say, due to it having so much power and a big heavy engine, it wasnt the sharpest car ive ever owned. But I'd love another.
I did 93k in it, over 3 years and it served me very well, apart from tyres and brakes it cost the company nothing outside of servicing.
In fact I've since had a Honda Accord and I now have an A4 Avant, the ST3 was just as comfy and it was more reliable!.
Fuel Economy was poor, but oh so worth it, just to hear those pops and bangs, the engine was sublime. Sadly I will say, due to it having so much power and a big heavy engine, it wasnt the sharpest car ive ever owned. But I'd love another.