Should I buy this used Ford Focus?

Spooter

Spooter

Spooter

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Hi all,

I need a new budget car for my wife and we have always had focuses and like them. As you can see we are on a low budget.

I've looked at a few and test drove this one today.

What's your thoughts.

This is the car

Positives

It's looks in good condition.
No sign of any rust in the engine area
It's a Duratec 1.8 engine (Chain not a belt)
Not bad mileage for age.
12 months MOT

Negatives

No service history
Boot doesn't stay open. They have ordered the strut to resolve.

Biggest concern

The passenger seat belt had some mould on it. The garage says the car has sat at for awhile before he bought it and the belt was shut outside.

The car had only been valeted yesterday so I suspect this was the reason but the foot wells were maybe a little damp. It has clearly been cleaned throughout though.

It drove nicely and the engine sounded healthy.

The price isn't stupid. What do you think?
 
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Well, it's not as if a Focus is a particularly rare car, so I'd probably find one with at least some historical service evidence.
 
MOT history has a couple of fails. But only for very minor stuff like fuel cap seal and indicator lights. Not something to worry about there.

They are normally pretty reliable. But there are some rust areas to check, like around the wheel arches (my Focus ST of the same age started to rust there).

But for a little bit more you could have a 2.0 Titanium which is higher spec, plus a full history. With around the same running costs.
 
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no way OP it will be hard to re sell with no service history. If you look around and wait you can pick the same thing up for 2k on a private sale nowdays. Its overpriced especially with no service history
 
Thanks for all the responses.

paradigm said:
Well, it's not as if a Focus is a particularly rare car, so I'd probably find one with at least some historical service evidence.
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True but there aren't to many 1.8 duratec engine models around my area at least.

Not worried about resale as it will be driven until it dies. I would also haggle price.

Is the service history the most concerning part?
 
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Assuming the owner paperwork checks out i think its certainly worthy of a good look at. Would the seller allow an RAC check?

Go over it with a close eye and look in engine bay and boot and along bumpers for any sign of panel repairs and so on. Not a lot seems to go wrong with these cars apart from the usual wear and tear things like brakes, exhausts and suspension.

Seems a little over priced as someone else said considering no service history but if you can knock em down a little and intend to drive it until it dies then it could be suitable. Check the clutch... park her up with hand brake on, run it for a bit then try to pull off in 4th gear with handbrake still on. If it seems to pull against the brake and doesnt just over rev then the clutch should be good.... if it just revs with the clutch pedal up then its going to need replacing and that will probably be close to £500 for a full clutch.

Exhaust should have no rattles and blowing when giving her a good rev or two... does it drive straight with no pulling? are discs and pads worn etc..... check the battery condition, are the terminals all rusty etc etc

The no service history suggests an owner who didnt take too much care and just fixed things that went wrong. Not a total deal breaker.... its a 2.5k car so if the thing is clean and mechanically sound its not going to be expensive to sort the niggles, if like you say you intend to drive it to death.
 
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The one you picked also is misadvertised as doesn't have quickclear windscreen - while mistakes do get made, I would double checking everything else is as advertised.

Just to put it into perspective this one is about 9 miles from the other one:
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201611240048042

Is a slightly better spec (Zetec Climate), so does have the quickclear window, tinted lights, and does have full service history. For £1695 it is better value, despite having 19k more miles, and only 6 month MOT.
 
Armageus said:
The one you picked also is misadvertised as doesn't have quickclear windscreen - while mistakes do get made, I would double checking everything else is as advertised.

Just to put it into perspective this one is about 9 miles from the other one:
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201611240048042

Is a slightly better spec (Zetec Climate), so does have the quickclear window, tinted lights, and does have full service history. For £1695 it is better value, despite having 19k more miles, and only 6 month MOT.
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yes that looks a better car on the whole.. the quick clear screen is very useful indeed. Might be worth a look as well.... better looking car visually i think. Also appears to have ABS ( well rear discs ) and the other one doesnt.....
 
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Thanks everyone. This is a great forum.

Ok I noticed a sticker for hartwell in the windscreen and phoned the garage. The car had a full service there in 2012 and 2013 and was traded in there on a new car this year.
 
Double check for rust and corrosion under the wheel arches and under the sides, my old mk2 was crumbling away when I took a good look, had some nasty holes that were filled in with dirt. Also the pipes that carry the power steering fluid do start to leak and split over time so have a good look under the bonnet for any fluids. The thermostat on mine also stopped working so make sure when you drive it, the temp rises correctly.

Personally I'd be looking for some money off and a full service if I was going to buy it.
 
Spooter said:
Ok I noticed a sticker for hartwell in the windscreen and phoned the garage. The car had a full service there in 2012 and 2013 and was traded in there on a new car this year.
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So it hasn't had a service for the last 3 years???

What are your objections to the one I linked?
 
Did they say how many miles were on the car when the services were done in 2012 and 2013? The car isn't that old and although I'd probably ask the garage to perform a full fluid change, oil, coolant and maybe even brake fluid, it'll likely run fine after that. As said above though, it does seem overpriced.
 
It's probably not been used in 3 years then, but should be ok. It will need all the fluids changing at least.

Low ball him and see if he accepts. If not it's probably going to sit there un-sold until they eventually have to send it to auction or scrap it. In which case they will get peanuts :P
 
Only read half of the post. Find another car.

One of the most common car going, so i am sure you will not struggle to find a decent one within budget.
 
I was hoping he'd answer "yes, probably".

In which case, the advice to the OP would immediately become "run, not walk, away" :p
 
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