Ford Focus - Buying first car under £1000

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Thu 26 Nov 2015 17:55
Ford Focus - Buying first car under £1000 - bassplayer88

Hi, I'm new to the forum.

Have tried to seach above topic in forum but not got very far so apologies if there is a thread on this and ive missed it.

Anyway i'm new to driving and looking to buy my first car, albiet in my 30's!

I have a definate £1000 to spend possibly a couple 100 more if current ebay sales go well.

Feel ive done a reasonable amount of research online and dont have anyone close to me who is particually knowledgeable with cars, so maybe you can help.

Currently looking at;

more than10years old 1.3 endura engined Fiesta's (with lowish milage) and aware of peoples mixed feeling on them.

ford focus' up to 10 years old (with a bit more milage)

corsas

Anyway open to opinion and suggestion and sorry if this is too general a noob question for the forum.

Thanks

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Thu 26 Nov 2015 18:05
Ford Focus - Buying first car under £1000 - HandCart

HonestJohn himself rates the 1.25 litre Fiesta as a possible overall best balance of purchase price /reliability /running costs / usability (acceptability).

I quite like the 1100cc Suzuki Alto for rock-bottom costs (£30 a year tax, lots of mpg), but it depends if it's spacious (or safe) enough for you, and probably isn't good for long distances.

Corollas, Civics and Almeras are also worth a look.

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Thu 26 Nov 2015 18:12
Ford Focus - Buying first car under £1000 - scot22

It was a shame when they stopped producing the Corolla. From what I've always read a first class car.

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Thu 26 Nov 2015 18:22
Ford Focus - Buying first car under £1000 - elekie&a/c doctor

Fiesta models prior to 2002 are total rot boxes.I would avoid.A 10 year old Focus would be a solid purchase with very few problems.A 1600 model is perfectly adequate.As I have always said,No garage ever got rich fixing Focus models.

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Thu 26 Nov 2015 19:26
Ford Focus - Buying first car under £1000 - bassplayer88

Thanks, I was beginning to come to same conclusion

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Thu 26 Nov 2015 18:29
Ford Focus - Buying first car under £1000 - Andrew-T

This is a piece-of-string question, as there will be many variables to consider in addition to the obvious one of 'will it be reliable and cheap to run and insure'. One other is Will you use it for a regular long commute, or an occasional runabout? As it's your first car, if you will be spending a lot of time in it, you need to know that you will find the driving position comfortable, so you may need to try a few other models for comparison. Can you see out of it in traffic - these days, not a completely daft question.

As regards reliability, at £1K that will depend most on how the car's previous owner(s) have looked after it. Low mileage may not necessarily be a good point, and may serve just to make it a bit dearer.

Find a helpful friend to go with you as you shop around.

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Thu 26 Nov 2015 19:28
Ford Focus - Buying first car under £1000 - bassplayer88

I appreciate that.

Im 6'2 and will need to do some decent motoway journeys from time to time.

I will rarely use it for commute at cycling is MUCH faster.

Flat mate is talking big talk about polos, anythoughts?

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Thu 26 Nov 2015 20:16
Ford Focus - Buying first car under £1000 - Trilogy

I'd go for a Focus instead of a Polo. Bought my 2001 Focus three years ago with 138,000 miles on the clock. Now done 183,000 and it has been one of most reliable cars I've owned. More reliable than any of the six VWs I've run in the past.

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Thu 26 Nov 2015 20:34
Ford Focus - Buying first car under £1000 - kiss (keep it simple)

A few years ago I sold our Golf with 129k on the clock. It was 12 years old and I asked the buyer what he was looking for in a car of that age. His answer was "Rust (lack of) and history".

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Thu 26 Nov 2015 21:11
Ford Focus - Buying first car under £1000 - elekie&a/c doctor

Polos are an "OK" car ,as long as you avoid (at all costs)the 3 cylinder disaster engine.Focus is a much better drive.In fact I have 2 Focus ,one has done 60k miles and the other 160k.You would be hard pressed to tell the difference in driveability.

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Thu 26 Nov 2015 21:58
Ford Focus - Buying first car under £1000 - Ethan Edwards

Spend 750 ish on the car save the balance for the insurance. Don't forget a first policy could be ruinous if you pick the wrong vehicle. Consider telematics could save you some cash.

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Thu 26 Nov 2015 21:57
Ford Focus - Buying first car under £1000 - Avant

Welcome to the forum.

The important thing to remember - and I'm surprised no-one has said it yet - is that at this end of the market condition matters much more than make or model. Something that gives the impression of having been looked after, and if you're lucky even has some service history - is the ideal.

If you do need a steer as to make and model I agree with others that Fords are a good bet (there are lots out there to choose from), the best alternative being something Japanese, particularly Toyota. Avoid diesel at all costs.

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