Thinking of trading in my as-new Focus ST for a Golf GTi... opinions?

Raider

Raider

Raider

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I bought my Focus ST3 in August and some might know that I recently had the gearbox completely fail. The dealership has been an absolute shower, and overall i'm disappointed to say the least.

My original reason for buying the Focus ST was that it was great fun to drive, and I got a nice discount (being part of the Ford Family Discount scheme). However apart from the problems with the dealer i've also noticed the increase in my petrol spending. Although the quoted combined MPG is around 30mpg, I average 25 mpg a week in a normal commute (not driving hard at all). I knew about the increased costs before I bought it, but I was under the understanding that with a fair no. of motorway miles a week (about 40%) i'd get close to 30 mpg. Wrong

Anyway, i'm thinking about part-exchanging the Focus to buy a Golf Gti which was one of my original options. I can probably get most of the money back on my Focus thanks to the family discount, and I'm looking at around £18k for a decent 2nd hand GTI which in the long term will save me petrol (from my research it's normal combined mpg IS around 30 mpg), and will depreciate a lot less.

So any opinions?
 
It's better built but isnt as fun - whats your priority?

What mileage do you do a month becuase I can't see 5mpg difference making savings which appear noticeable against £18,000 cars.
 
Well the Focus is more fun, but I've found that I rarely have the time to have that fun. Plus to make it really great you really need to chip it & modify. And after the failed gearbox I do not want to void my warranty. So overall I think i'm erring on the side of reliability and economy than all-out fun.

I do around 1000 miles a month probably, around half of that on A-roads / motorways.
 
Raider said:
I do around 1000 miles a month probably, around half of that on A-roads / motorways.
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Golf will save you £31 a month. Is it really worth the saving? Its not much given your finance on the car is probably 10 times that, or if you paid cash, it's a very small percentage of the price.
 
Yeah I see your point but I just feel completely letdown by the whole Ford ownership "experience". I would feel better if I got back to being in a German car and had a fresh start. :)

For reference I pay around £100 a month in finance (2 years with around £2000 left to pay).
 
The golf is a nice car, and if you are really that despondant with the focus/ford, then go for it. Too many people get hung up on money without considering the more important "happiness" factor.

I'd also agree with the fuel thing (although it's not huge), I thought my S3 was bad until I started comparing it to things like the ST, and the golf is better economy wise than the S3 is.
 
Get an old TDI for the week and a westfield/se7en or something equally fun for the weekend if you are concerned about the running costs of the ST.

5mpg saving isn't worth it as already stated.
 
As Dolph summed up nicely, it's not all about the money. It's a combination of not being satisfied with the Focus, the cost of the petrol, and the future depreciation value of the car. (Ok 2/3s money in that sense :p)

The prospect of paying more for petrol, losing more value on the car, and having to deal with the godawful dealership again should any more problems arise is not exactly leaving me a satisfied owner.

I really can't have 2 cars (no space), and I still want something that can go some when required, or when I get the time. It's just that performance isn't as high up on the list as it used to be I guess.
 
I agree with the GTTDI Idea if MPG is a primary concern. I get about 33MPG on average in my Gti so I do rather well, but on average not much better than the rest unless I really rag it.
 
Raider said:
Aren't the Golf GT's a bit pants?

33 mpg sounds good. That 'standard' use?
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The only area they fall short is the suspension setup IMO. From the factory, for a GTi, they are too softly sprung. I was disappointed with mine considering I came from a Focus 1.6 to find that the GTi rolled more than it. I got the ARB's changed for some Eibach ones and it's allot better to drive.

Oh and if I'm hyper criticle then the brakes could use some work, but this is only an issue if you are driving at speeds not allowed on the UK roads.

33MPG is from driving on a normal commute, with a bit of heavy acceleration thrown in. I can get it up to 39+MPG, indicated on the trip computer so I don't know how accurate it is IRL, but I've averaged it over a few fill ups.
 
Raider said:
So overall I think i'm erring on the side of reliability and economy than all-out fun.
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Ford is actually more reliable than VW.

Here's some info from recent Warranty Direct:

FORD 10th
2005 position 20th
Claims per 100 vehicles 30.3
Average age 4.8 years
Average mileage 49,438
Average repair cost £241
Average repair time 2.4 hours

VOLKSWAGEN 17th
2005 position 15th
Claims per 100 vehicles 33.1
Average age 4.7 years
Average mileage 52,472
Average repair cost £273
Average repair time2.4 hours
 
Have you considered a 330Cd Sport?

Fun (albeit a soot-chucker), but even better MPG and even better residual value (largely because it's older)...
 
i may be wrong but i dont think remapping it will affect the warranty, only because they dont know you've done it:)

also have you considered the focus 2.0 tdci? you could remap that ...

you have the 30% saving to look at too, i'd say it'd be unadvisable to get a vw.

the focus is a much better handling car than the golf, with a brillaint chassis.
 
barnettgs said:
Ford is actually more reliable than VW......... in one survey recently done by Warranty Direct, but that of course should be taken as simply 'a view' of 'their experience' and taken in that context, as other such tests may or may not refute this claim...
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I adjusted this to flow betterer ;)
 
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