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I agree. Take it back. Focus' are so popular another suitable one can't be far away.
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Whilst I know all cars have problems, and the first user of this probably didn't bother to report the gearbox or rust under warranty (probs an ex-rental), I don't believe that the car should have been sold like that.
I would take the opportunity to reject it and get another one, there are plenty more 04 plate Focus's available.
On a slight tangent, take time to give the paintwork a THOROUGH going over on the replacement. Fords suffer very seriously from fallout caused by poor storage protection when new. Many of our new vehicles used to turn up at the dealership covered in chemical fallout, acid fallout, and more often than not, overspray of white paint everywhere (stored near shipyards where ships were being sprayed IIRC) the only way to get rid was a thorough machine polish.
If the paint feels rough to the touch when clean then look closely at it, I bet you can see flecks of paint all over it. Fortunately for Ford most customers don't look that closely and I lost count of the number of cars that we handed over covered in fallout, although curiously the Fords off Ford Direct didn't seem as bad, maybe they were cleaned properly before we got them.
Blue
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Gearbox problem sounds like faulty synchromesh on 3rd gear - is it worse when you do a 'fast' change (lots of revs in second)? Only real cure is a 'box strip and replace the synchro ring and possibly the 3rd gear (which will have the male synchro dog integral with it).
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Aprilia - yes, the problem only appears when 'fast' changing.
Thanks to you all for your advice. I'm going to contact the Ford Dealership today to see if we can sort this out.
Cheers, Peter.
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I have a 53 plate 1.6 Focus courtesy car from the dealer today, I have driven a number of Foci before however the balance between ride and handling never fails to amaze me, it rides more smoothly than my Ghia X Mondeo and handles just as well. Also while not a fire cracker the 1.6 is very crisp and free revving, also the brakes are excellent albeit drums at the rear. I have not driven a new Focus yet though if it is even a 5% improvement over the old one then it must be very good indeed.
In other words stick with a Focus, reckon you can't go far wrong.
If you are otherwise happy with the car I would give the dealer the option of repair though make it clear that you expect it done by a certain date and reserve the right to still reject the car if you are not happy with it post repair. If the dealer prefers to provide an alternative car then you might be able to use this to your advantge by gettinga better spec / low mileage / newer / prefered colour car for the same price.
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