Ford Focus Reliability

martian1980

Hi all, I'm a first time poster in the motors section. I've been doing a lot of research on importing a diesel car from the UK, spending about 11k in total, and I've narrowed the list down to the Ford Focus, the Toyota Corolla and the Mazda3. Basically, I think the focus is a much nicer looking, nicer driving and better equipped car than the corolla. The Mazda seems good, but there's not nearly as many of them to choose from. It'd be the corolla 1.4 d4d or the focus 1.6 TDCi, zetec climate spec or above. I've always been insured on avensis' and my family has always had toyotas, none of which have ever given a hint of bother.
From reading the honest john reviews of them and the JD Power Customer Satisfaction results, it seems the corolla has far less stuff that goes wrong and always polls a lot higher in the JD Power. What I'm wondering is, how much of a chance would I be taking on reliability if I buy a focus? I'll be driving Dublin - Wexford a couple of times a week over the next couple of years and cannot have a car that leaves me standing at the side of the road waiting for the AA. I'm sorry if I come across as being a bit naive, but I've only ever driven toyotas and none of my mates have fords. Thanks for reading and sorry about the length of the post.

Tipsy Mac

I'd go with the 1.6 tdci Focus, this is the best in terms of power and VRT and road tax. You should get a current shape Focus for 11k including VRT, there's plenty of them in the UK.

martian1980

Tipsy Mac wrote: »

I'd go with the 1.6 tdci Focus, this is the best in terms of power and VRT and road tax. You should get a current shape Focus for 11k including VRT, there's plenty of them in the UK.

yeah, that's what I was thinking too. I couldn't believe the numbers of focuses to choose from. I'd probably go with something from cargiant, since they seem to be pretty good if things go wrong. I've a mate in london that I could get to pay the deposit for me and then get an RAC mechanic to give it the once over. I suppose what I'm really looking for here is people who have the focus or even fords to tell me what their experience of them is in terms of reliability. I don't think that they're really unreliable, I just thought when I saw the JD Power customer satisfaction surveys over a few years and the focus always came a good bit further down the list from the corolla that it has to mean something.

thehamo

does anybody know anywhere good you can look at cars over in England?? The onlky one i know is carcraft

martian1980

thehamo wrote: »

does anybody know anywhere good you can look at cars over in England?? The onlky one i know is carcraft

There's tonnes of places mentioned if you do a search on boards. A few examples could be

cargiant.co.uk
autotrader.co.uk
www.exchangeandmart.co.uk
www.motors.co.uk
www.motortrak.co.uk

OCD

i've had an ex-lease 1.6l petrol '00 focus saloon for 5 years and not one bit of trouble bar a recent episode with the flood waters sticking up the rear wheel brakes for a day.

i've basically abused it from the day i got it, not because i don't like it but because i generally don't have time to devote to it. never checked oil, water or any other thing under the bonnet - only the tyres get looked after. serviced at most once a year by a mechanic friend and flew through 2 NCTs since i got it. was 43k on it when i got it and i've added another 72k over some of the worst off-road conditions you can imagine (Coillte forests, farmers lands, ESB, RTE and other telecoms sites, i.e. very remote places with boulders and muck for roads!!) and it has never let me down. even had an unruly horse stick his big paw on the bonnet once and didn't dent it!!

cheap as chips to run, still does 45 mpg and never cost and arm and a leg to keep maintained. i would buy another one, no hesitation. i've also driven the TDCI version of the hatchback and other than being a bit noisier, is every bit as good as the petrol i have. good handling, lively, relatively comfortable for its class and decent boot.

in my opinion, bulletproof.

hope this helps.

focusst225owner

hi i would go for the focus 1.6 tdci i am a taxi driver and had one of them i put 160000km on the clock and no problems cheap servicing and cheap parts and is not boring unlike and toyota and the mazda i heard mazdas arnt very reliable and are expensive to maintaine

ninty9er

If it was my money it'd be the Mazda. Shares some parts with the Ford and Volvo S40...chassis AFAIK and some engines though I'm not sure which ones.

Plus you get Toyota like reliability, but most cars are just as realiable as each others these days. It's the niggly problems that cause problems with JD Power in the main.

maidhc

Have 2 fords. A mondeo with 205k miles and a Focus TDCi with 93k.

Wonderful cars that have both proven exceptionally reliable. I thought I had a problem with the turbo on the focus last week, but i traced the problem to a loose hoseclip. That is as much bother as I have had.

bazz26

focusst225owner wrote: »

hi i would go for the focus 1.6 tdci i am a taxi driver and had one of them i put 160000km on the clock and no problems cheap servicing and cheap parts and is not boring unlike and toyota and the mazda i heard mazdas arnt very reliable and are expensive to maintaine

The Mazda 3 uses the same underpinings as the Focus and uses the same diesel engine as the Focus which is a Peugeot/Citroen HDI engine which is used across a wide range of different makes of car. One of the best diesel engines in it's class too.

Mazda parts are more expensive than Ford parts but very little goes wrong with Mazdas to be honest so it probably balances itself out over the duration of ownership.

The Focus obviously has a wider range of models and specs, also is very good to drive and there are plenty to choose from. Just avoid basic models, they are difficult to sell on.

I drive a 2005 Focus TDCi myself and it is now approaching 100,000 km and I have had no problems with it in the year I have it.

Things they could improve on:

• Brakes, I find them a little poor compared to my previous cars, Ford cut corners here by fitting cheaper rear drums rather than discs, disappointing on what is otherwise a very good car.
• Cabin road noise, I find it a little loud when doing 100/120kph especially on motorways. Cabin soundproofing could be improved. I find you really do feel you are doing that speed. The Focus is best though through the corners on the B road, it sticks to the road on the bends and you are tempted to test it's limits.

rebel.ranter

OCD wrote: »

......the worst off-road conditions you can imagine (Coillte forests, farmers lands, ESB, RTE and other telecoms sites....

OCD I'd say our paths have crossed somewhere in the past!

Biro

focusst225owner wrote: »

hi i would go for the focus 1.6 tdci i am a taxi driver and had one of them i put 160000km on the clock and no problems cheap servicing and cheap parts and is not boring unlike and toyota and the mazda i heard mazdas arnt very reliable and are expensive to maintaine

Rubbish. Mazda always finish near the top of reliability surveys. The Focus and 3 share the same platform, and that 1.6 engine is from the PSA group. I've crossed out the useless info from your post, you should have stopped half way through.
OP, none of those three cars are likely to give you any problems, just go with your favourite.

martian1980

Thanks a million for the feedback on Fords everyone, much appreciated