i have a focus estate 1.6 petrol. Its a zetec. Its an 02 an i have done 50k in it in the last 5 years of my ownership.
no issues. just servicing, tyres etc which are all cheap anyway
low insurance (group 5), very practical and good to drive both on motorway and locally.
i would not hesitate to recomend them.
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happened to check on here just as you posted nick. that's the one i was going to look at. how is the rear legroom (i'm 6'2 and someone has to go behind me)?
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>>Would an 81k Focus actually be due a cambet yet?
No, 100K on the Zetec engine. I use our 1.6 Zetec Focus hatch as my everyday car. It's a Y plate with 110K, and I can thoroughly recommend them. I've owned a Mondeo Estate too, and would have to say that the Mk1 Focus has significantly less interior space. The MkII feels much more Mondeo like
Personally, I'd want to know the service history before making a trek to view any car. The only significant problems with ours have been a failed coil pack at 95K (which is common at that mileage) and rust on the rear wheel arches and bottom of the rear doors, so worth checking for that. If you have a fully stamped service book, including the bodywork section at the back if there is one, then the Focus has a 12 year anti-perforation warranty. Unfortunately, fully stamped service books are about as common as rocking horse droppings, in my experience of looking for a used Focus for my daughter!
Edited by dieselfitter on 01/12/2009 at 22:26
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it's not the only car i'll be looking at, but is one of my choices based purely upon web reviews - i haven't driven one.
i'm making the trip with a view to trying a few different models - the focus being the smallest, hence the check on legroom. because of my price range, i'm limited to what is available, but if garage stock don't change too much, i hope to try the focus, an octavia tdi, a passat tdi and a mondeo. i know this may appear more than a little 'scattergun', but i'm really limited up here (in orkney) as to what i can try out.
i'm hoping for something that has decent passenger space front and rear, good boot, is not too expensive to run / fix, and is nice to drive.
The 2l mondeo i tried out was all these things except economical. i'm likely to be doing decent distances once a month (250-500miles), but it won't be motorway conditions and i watched in alarm on my test drive as the petrol vanished. i'm not sure if there'll be a huge difference moving to the 1.8?
The 1.6 focus looks like a good drive and economical, although does it have the guts? or the legroom?
there are a few focus estates available within striking distance of where i'll be staying, the reviews are pretty good, but just trying to get as much of a feel for these cars as poss before deciding if i should look - my time will be limited.
sorry this is a bit on/off topic for the Focus section, but not sure i should start a different thread for related subtext....
Edited by saltybrian on 01/12/2009 at 22:55
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The 1.6 Zetec is a nice reliable engine - my dad has a 01 Focus Zetec 1.6 3 door - the power steering pump went, cost £400. Other than that, NO problems at all and he's done 70,000 miles in it. These are very reliable solid cars and shouldn't give you much trouble. If you were to get the Zetec 1.6, I would check when the cam belt was replaced as its best done earlier rather than later - it should definitely be done before the 70k or 80k mark. My dad had his changed much earlier than Ford recommend and has had no trouble with it.
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I had a 1.6 Focus hatch of a similar age, it was OK.
The biggest gripe I had was that in 5th gear it was a bit to high-geared and there was very little go, and I was generally driving it alone. If you're planning to carry more than 2 people you might find the 1.8 is a better bet.
I believe 1.6 and 1.8 have the same gearbox and ratios, hence the underwhelming performance of the 1.6.
It was reliable enough although it did leave me stranded by the side of the road when the coil pack went, replaced FOC by Ford even though it was just out of warranty.
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We look after a number of Focuses and I would say the petrol is a better bet than the TDCI. they are probably equally reliable but the petrol is much cheaper and easier to fix, which is presumably important on Orkney.
The 1.6 in an estate is a bit sluggish, you would be better off with the 1.8. These engine are basically reliable, but any Ford of this age could be showing signs of rust and you will find the ancilliary components like alternator, power steering and so on, starting to wear out. They are easy to work on though and the parts are reasonble.
Have you considered a Skoda Octavia 1.9 diesel? They are much more reliable and robust than the Ford diesels and cheap to run, especailly if you have a GSF or ECP factors nearby.
Whatever you get make sure it has been serviced. Given where you are have you thought of employing a buyer to work for you? Either a trusted independent dealer or an auction buyer? We sometimes do this for our customer (track down a good car for a customer) but no good to you, I am a long way from Scotland. there must be someone up there who can help though and save you a lot of aggro for the sake of a couple £100's.
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Re-reading the OPs requirements:
shopping around for something to replace my now-way-too-small polo (two kids and a tendency to hump around large amounts of music gear)
I don't think a 1.6 is going to be any good for you, you'll be working the engine hard so any potential saving by having a small engine will be lost as you rev it hard.
As others have suggested you might be better with an Octavia PD diesel, the tricky part will be finding one.
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>>Have you considered a Skoda Octavia 1.9 diesel? They are much more reliable and robust than the Ford diesels>
- rubbish!
The Focus is not in the Massey Ferguson league for refinement and is also years ahead dynamically.
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>>Have you considered a Skoda Octavia 1.9 diesel? They are much more reliable and robust than the Ford diesels> - rubbish! The Focus is not in the Massey Ferguson league for refinement and is also years ahead dynamically.
Sorry, but I work on these cars all day, every day. The Focus is more refined and drives better. In all other respects its a more cheaply made and inferior car. We have far more work to do on the Fords. Generally the ancilliary parts fail earlier (shocks, PAS pumps, alternators and starters are the favourites) and we are now starting to see 6-7 year old Fords with quite a bit of rust. The only rust we see on the Octavias is around the swage line on the tailgates, and then its only minor (the paint cracks).
There seems to be great sensitivity on this forum concerning Fords, especially the diesels. I cant see the point of a message board if valid comments, based on years of daily experience with these cars is continually shot down. Im not a pub mechanic or an armchair expert. I actually spend nearly every day of my life with a spanner in hand (or more likely a code reader these days). The only reason I'm sat writing this is that I'm ill at the moment and getting bored.
The idea that the TCDIs are mega reliable is ridiculous. I service a fleet of Transit diesels for a local insulation company and every one of those vehicles has had some major work done on it by me. Not one has yet passed 100 000 miles. We also service a number of taxis and some of the drivers who went over to the Fords have gone back to their Skodas. We have just had a Vectra 1.9CDT taxi go bang at 100k, the driver is not a happy man.
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Sorry but I work on these cars all day every day. The Focus is more refined and drives better. >>
Which says it all really!
There seems to be great sensitivity on this forum concerning Fords especially the diesels. I cant see the point of a message board if valid comments based on years of daily experience with these cars is continually shot down. >>
Fair point though there are many thousands of TDCis with stella mileages and totally reliable, the fact that they are more numerous means that more problems will be reported even if they are in fact average. Furthermore if you Google TDCi problems then this site is the top of the list showing that problems are not more widespread and that the small minority with issues gravitate to a site like this.
Of course take an Ocatvia or any VAG TDi v a chain cam TDCi and the latter will save nearly £1000 on cambelt changes over 150k miles.
Lastly I was reading a report in USA today on a flight to Paris this week about VW, apparently JD Power are reporting that VW reliability drops off badly after three years making them second only to Suzuki in that regard.
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We ran both an 03 (facelift) 2L Mondeo III Zetec Estate and an 04 5 Door Focus I 1.8 Zetec, at the same time, in all honesty I recall the Mondeo 2L estate being as (if not more) economical as the 1.8 Focus and it felt a lot more powerful (145PS versus 115PS IIRC).
The Mondy never dropped below 30mpg average and in mixed motoring it probably gave mid 30s with 38mpg on a run. The Focus possibly only gave high 20s but did have a lot more urban use.
The Focus required an alternator and battery under warrantee, the Mondy a reversing light switch - hardly unreliable. My sister has since run our Focus to 70K with only routine servicing required so far although her previous 1999 example required a new gearbox at 90K miles. No rust on any of our Fords.
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not as much rear leg room as the Mondy - goes without saying really. But its okay in the back. Just depends how big your passanger is and how far you are going, and your view on coping frankly.
Funnily enough i drove from London to Orkney for a 10 day holiday with 3 other adults and all their stuff in this car - it was fine and the folks in the back did not complain.
dont worry about lack of power when loaded etc. I have had all sorts of furniture/kit/people in this car and it has been totally fine. Frankly when fully loaded you dont hammer it anyway do you?
Good cars and good ownership proposition. Mines on 106k now and i'm keeping it a while longer yet. This car effectively replaced my BMW 3 Series. I enjoy driving the Ford just as much.
Check out HJ CBC also - basically a glowing report
Edited by nick1975 on 02/12/2009 at 13:04
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Re. the petrol Focus cambelt - the interval is indeed 10 years / 100k, but I think originally it was specified as 80k. At any rate, mine went at 92k (1.6 Zetec, 99 T plate), at the end of a long journey down the A1, and I was very lucky it didn't take the engine with it. Apparently not uncommon for these to go prematurely, so getting it changed a while before the 100k might be a safe option given the potential fall-out!
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