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which one - petrol or diesel

leoncuprar

leoncuprar

leoncuprar

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Hi

I just need something relatively cheap to run for my daily commute, 20 miles each way, 50% A roads 50% dual carriage way. total annual mileage about 10,000 miles . Budget 6k.

So pretty much decided on a focus , but knowing nothing about them when I look at these I'm not sure which would be a better buy . 1.6 petrol or 1.6 tdci

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classif...w/page/1/postcode/cv378jz/radius/30?logcode=p

or

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2010-Ford...4967849?pt=Automobiles_UK&hash=item4ac6ec7fa9
 
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1.6 TDCI has an issue with the turbo, regular oil changes every 5K miles can solve the issue as long as you keep it clean. Personally I have gone for a 2.0 TDCI which does not have the same issue (the 1.8 does not either) I'm not sure if they fixed the issue by 2009 or not. I know 2007 cars still had the problem.

http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=91541

I worked out on a similar car that doing 1000 miles I save about £60 in fuel if using the diesel over petrol, so over 10000 miles you could save around £600. So the diesel works out a fair bit cheaper to run, but it is more expensive to buy in the first place and has the potential to go wrong more than a petrol.
 
Petrol
Simpler engine, nicer to drive, sounds better, cheaper to buy (or you'll get a better one for the same money).
 
Petrol as the 1.6 tdci has issued as touched on above and I'm not sure it's worth your while bothering with the 2 litre.

I would look at a different petrol engine though, the 1.6 (in lower state of tune) is crap in the focus and the slightly more powerful one demolishes fuel for it's capacity and output.
 
I have a MK2 Focus 2.0 TDCI. I just forked out a small fortune for a new flywheel (inc. clutch) which is a common problem on diesels. Also if the injectors go they will cost £1500+ to fix! The turbo £500-£800.
At least mine is a very late pre-facelift, so has the facelift ST stereo and no DPF. The facelift looks nicer but all the diesels have the DPF. Pre facelifts don't (unless some retard specified them as an optional extra - seriously WTF?).

The petrol will be quieter, less rattly and overall WILL save you money in the long run. An extra tenner per week on fuel wins everytime in my opinion.
Also the 1.6 TDCI Focus is said to be a real turd in terms of reliability.

Without doubt get a petrol, but avoid the 115hp 1.6 petrol as it drinks like a fish.

I paid £4000 (trade in price) for my Focus in March 2012 off my Dad needing a tax disc and a wheel refurb due to white worm. I would think it is probably worth £4500 privately now in very good nick.

I would save some cash and get a good nick 2.0 petrol pre-facelift.
 
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Could you get a slightly better spec for similar money? Ghia x / titanium are a bit better equipped. I really liked the DAB and bluetooth in my titanium at the time, both worked well
 
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I don't think those wheels suffer from white worm, but mine were awfull, far worse than those in the link below. Those wheels have never seen a kerb.
For some of the MK2 Focus models Ford had the clever idea of cutting a diamond finish onto the wheel, with it being very shiney and looking snazzy. This face was not painted, only lacquered and when it got chipped by stones water got in.

Definately check the wheels do not have signs of white worm or budget for a refurb! Mine were sprayed all the Ford grey rather than remachining a new mirror finish. You really cannot tell they aren't OEM.

http://www.mk5golfgti.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,726.0.html
 
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Fire the reg number into http://www.etis.ford.com/vehicleRegSelector.do and you can see everything the car was speced with when it left the factory. Handy for comparing Ghia/Titanium and Zetec.


Recently got myself a 2005 1.6 Ghia to replace my written off Vectra and its a nice little motor with all the toys, think the Titanium mostly replaced the Ghia with the facelift so not sure if you'd still get a Ghia at the ages you are looking at. So far (according to the computer) i'm averaging 36mpg with mostly town driving and a little blasting down the dual carriageways etc. Performance ain't really too bad considering its only 100bhp.
 
I'd go with the diesel or a 2.0 petrol.

The 1.6 100BHP engine is just too underpowered in a MK2 Focus - depending what you're used to. It's lack of torque means you have to rev the balls off it to get any sort of performance from it. High revs mean it's noisy on the motorway. The 1.6 115 was much better, but for some reason they didn't fit it to the Mk2 facelift. You could save a few quid and go for a 57 plate Titanium 1.6 115. My Mum has has hers for 6 years and it's been flawlessly reliable despite being used mostly for short journeys.

I'm going to go against the grain here and say the 1.6 TDCi is not an inherently unreliable motor. If there was a 1.6 petrol and a TDCi available to me I'd be in the TDCi every time. It's faster, quieter at speed and the NVH is very good for a diesel. There have been millions of these engines sold in the Focus, as well as Peugeots, Citroens including loads of their commercial vehicles as well. If they were massively unreliable they'd be parked up at the side of every road in the country billowing out smoke from running on their engine oil from the numerous turbo failures. The Internet blows problems out of proportion - take the second post, the underlying problem is nothing to do with the turbo! The injector seals can fail on the 1.6 TDCi, it's easy to spot (you can smell it), the parts are pennies and it's not a big job to change them. Ignore it and it'll eventually block the oil feed and kill the turbo. People read forums posts and one persons problem becomes an endemic fault and must be avoided!

You should see 50mpg quite easily in a 1.6 TDCi, a 1.6 petrol will be mid 30's and a 2.0 petrol low 30's unless you're doing long motorway runs.

Avoid any low mileage TDCi's - the head mechanics at 2 Ford dealerships have both told me they see more problems with diesels drivens slowly around town, even pre-DPF's. They regularly need a run to get the engine up to temperature and a run to the redline when hot does no harm at all.

I'd suggest you try both, but I'd be surprised if you didn't find the diesel more responsive and driveable than the petrol.
 
You can check the service schedule on the etis site if you can convince it to work for the facelift. Either way the Focus in general is 12.5k/yearly for services so it would be due a major one at 75k.

The 1.8 and 2.0 are chain driven i think anyway and the aux belt(s) are 125k/8 years.
 
Yes from what I've read I think its chain driven. The advert says its just had a service, I'll have to look at the details when I view it to see if it was the major one..
 
Went to see the 2.0 titanium.. interior was spotless and a lot nicer than zetec, but the exterior was.tatty.. all four alloys were tarnished and a couple damaged where nuts have previously been.removed. one of the locking wheel nuts came off using just my hand. There were at least 4 places on the boot showing rust starting and paint bubbling. In the engine bay, the coolant level was about 1cm below minimum...and best of all the "salesman" wouldn't let me.take it out because he said.he took it out for a quick drive just before I arrived and something had gone bang , can't remember what he said he thought it was ! !

Also, in the boot by the spare wheel there were strips of a foamy tape
http://db.tt/xMF8VRE2

What's that ?
 
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