2006 Focus ST - Advice needed

Fallon2304

A friend of mine is in the market for an ST. Looked on carzone, cheapest seems to be around 13-14k.

Was put in touch with someone who was selling an English registered one (bought in N.I) and went to take a look at it today.

Firstly, bodywork was immaculate, bar for one scrape on behind the rear wheel low down, where it looks like someone met a high kerb. Wheels were fine, very minor kerbing, no signs of buckling or anything like that.

Underneath is much the same, looks quite clean, no obvious signs of potential problems, no rust etc.

Engine bay is very clean, been looked after, again, no obvious knocks or noises throughout the rev range. Pulls very well in every gear, gear change is extremely nice, no crunches, clutch is connecting very well.

The owner says he has it for 8 months, he lives in a rural area in the midlands and has never got any hassle from Garda or Customs so hasn't registered it.

Mileage is just over 31000miles, It's a 2006 ST-2. Owner seems genuine, and yes I know this counts for nothing, but had no hesitation on letting me have a good look around and offering me a drive, even though it was a friend who was potentially buying it.

Here's the problem: No service history. He's done some work himself, two fresh new tires, brakes pads and oil change with fully synthetic in the last few weeks, but beyond that is a guessing game.

The v5 certificate says that it had "3 previous keepers", which seems high considering it's barely 5 years old.

Any owners/enthusiasts out there offer some informed advice for specific things to look out for given the lack of a service history.

Aesthetically and mechanically it seems to be 100%, I know my way around a car but I'm not a mechanic.

Any advice would be great

Gary ITR

For a highly strung turbo car I would walk away from it if it hadn't got a comprehensive service history, too many expensive parts on them

Atomic Pineapple

How much is he looking for the St-2?

As a comparison I bought one 2 months ago:

2007
Irish Car
48k miles
1 Owner
Full Ford Service History
Standard Spec
+
Smokers Pack
Auto Lights
Auto Wipers
Auto dim mirror

for €14k

Atlantic Dawn

Here's where it gets messy, the car is not in his name and therefore it's not his to sell, it's still registered in the name of the previous owner if your lucky or if not could be stolen. No service history on this car at this age is a no no.

Did you run a HPI check on it to see if there's anything further dodgy about it?

Anan1

Onkle wrote: »

For a highly strung turbo car I would walk away from it if it hadn't got a comprehensive service history, too many expensive parts on them

Me too, four years is a long time with potentially no servicing. And call me paranoid, but the first thing that popped into my head was crashed/repaired. The kind of person who drives a UK regd car here for eight months without registering it is probably not above pulling another kind of stroke, IMO.

Henry Ford III

Too many negatives. Look for an Irish car or a properly imported and VRT'd one (with perhaps a better spec?) both with low miles and fsh.

Avoid orange. Very chav.

http://cars.rte.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=201025198503896

I'd prefer a 3 door, but that one looks good, although check for new tyres at that mileage.

.Longshanks.

Is it just me or are 99% of ST's navy / blue?

Gary ITR

Henry Ford III wrote: »

Too many negatives. Look for an Irish car or a properly imported and VRT'd one (with perhaps a better spec?) both with low miles and fsh.

Avoid orange. Very chav.

http://cars.rte.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=201025198503896

I'd prefer a 3 door, but that one looks good, although check for new tyres at that mileage.

Did you not have an orange one?

Henry Ford III

Onkle wrote: »

Did you not have an orange one?

No Onkle, I had a blue one. A super fun car too.

Gary ITR

Henry Ford III wrote: »

No Onkle, I had a blue one. A super fun car too.

Could have sworn you had an orange one, must have been another user. I agree, they are a smashing car. I've seen 2 on dyno's now and both were very impressive

Atomic Pineapple

kev_Longshanks100 wrote: »

Is it just me or are 99% of ST's navy / blue?

Performance Blue, same as most Honda's are Championship white, its the flagship colour as such.

I wanted one in black but when I seen it in the flesh it didnt look anywhere near as nice as the Blue, other options where white and I hate white cars, orange which is just too orange and red and my last car was red.

.Longshanks.

draffodx wrote: »

Performance Blue, same as most Honda's are Championship white, its the flagship colour as such.

I wanted one in black but when I seen it in the flesh it didnt look anywhere near as nice as the Blue, other options where white and I hate white cars, orange which is just too orange and red and my last car was red.

But aint the Championship white in Honda's a different white to the normal 1.3 civics? The blue on the ST seems (to me) the same as the normal focus's.

Atomic Pineapple

kev_Longshanks100 wrote: »

But aint the Championship white in Honda's a different white to the normal 1.3 civics? The blue on the ST seems (to me) the same as the normal focus's.

Nope, you cant get Performance Blue on a normal Focus, only Vision Blue or a Sea Grey which can look blueish.

Never seen anything like Performance Blue on a normal Focus

Henry Ford III

Onkle wrote: »

Could have sworn you had an orange one, must have been another user. I agree, they are a smashing car. I've seen 2 on dyno's now and both were very impressive

I do have an orange MkII Escort RS2000 though

BArra

the high owners would worry me, has it been thrashed and what now

you wud wanna see under the steering wheel, does it look like the scart looking connector has seen use, if it has its been dreamscienced, meaning its being chipped, ie bhp upped to around 260bhp. not that its a bad thing, but it wud be a sign if its been driven by an...enthuasist

check the alloys for cracks,, they could even be internal

check the plastic protection plate under the engine, is it in tact? or has it taken a hop from a speed bump or two

check to see does the air con work, it wud need regassing around now

the st has an ecu module in the engine, sometimes prone to breaking, they are very expensive to replace

check does the esp work, linked to the ecu and not a nice thing to replace

check does the cd player play cd's, the units in the st are a bit prone to breaking and not being able to play a cd

to be honest i wudnt be happy with no service history at all, there are too many good examples of well kept ST's.

bazz26

Here is a higher spec ST-3, I'm sure there is flexibility on the price given that these cars are very hard to shift in the current economic climate:

http://www.driving.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=201021198134675

Atomic Pineapple

bazz26 wrote: »

Here is a higher spec ST-3, I'm sure there is flexibility on the price given that these cars are very hard to shift in the current economic climate:

http://www.driving.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=201021198134675

Thats great value for an ST3!

-Corkie-

draffodx wrote: »

Thats great value for an ST3!

Shes a nice motor!!! If a fella bought a 08 would he get the cheap tax. Im after getting rid of a yoke with colossul tax and dont want the same again..

Atomic Pineapple

SARASON wrote: »

Shes a nice motor!!! If a fella bought a 08 would he get the cheap tax. Im after getting rid of a yoke with colossul tax and dont want the same again..

If it was registered before June 1st 2008 its around €1260 after is €2100.

bf

draffodx wrote: »

If it was registered before June 1st 2008 its around €1260 after is €2100.

its actually €1050 if registered after 1st July 08

-Corkie-

draffodx wrote: »

If it was registered before June 1st 2008 its around €1260 after is €2100.

So your better of in this instance buying a 07 as opposed to a 08 like a normal car....

Fallon2304

He hasn't carried out a HPI check, I've advised him it would be well worth it.

Regarding the colour, I don't think it's relevant, each to their own. If it were me, I'd want one in orange, you don't see too many around.

Regarding the non payment of VRT, while I don't condone tax evasion, I certainly wouldn't see that as any sort 'extra' reason for their to be an issue. I know several people who've brought in cars and driven them for months without any major issue (And yes, before anyone arrives in on their high horse about VRT - we all know the issues)

@BArra - Thanks for the helpful post. No cracks in wheels. Protection plate was intact and although a little dirty (normal wear) didn't seem to have any sign of impact.

The car is coming in a fair bit cheaper even after being VRT'd than many of the ones of the Irish market here. Prices do seem imflated here, there is plenty of ST's on UK owners clubs for in and around 7.5 - 8k sterling. 14k euro is a fair chunk of change considering they can be imported much cheaper.

Anything else to look out for?

The car is 2006, I was under the impression the tax would be crica 800-900euro pre July 2008?? Can someone clarify this please

Atomic Pineapple

bf wrote: »

its actually €1050 if registered after 1st July 08

Seriously? Whats the Co2 emissions?

Fallon2304 wrote: »

The car is 2006, I was under the impression the tax would be crica 800-900euro pre July 2008?? Can someone clarify this please

its €1120 a year exactly before the changeover

SARASON wrote: »

So your better of in this instance buying a 07 as opposed to a 08 like a normal car....

If bf is correct then its much of a muchness, by normal car do you mean a non fun car?

EDIT: it comes in at 224g/km which does indeed put it in the €1050 bracket, I never realised that was a €1050 jump from group F (<225g/km) to group G (>225g/km) thats a ridiculous jump in a tax rate !

CarMan2010

http://www.carzone.ie/search/Ford/Focus-ST/2.5-225-/201025198560896/advert?channel=CARS&featuredListingClickThru=true ??? newish an cheap!!

daRobot

Fallon2304 wrote: »

The car is 2006, I was under the impression the tax would be crica 800-900euro pre July 2008?? Can someone clarify this please

Nope, it's 2522 cc so it's taxed as a 2.6 under the old system.

My 2008 Facelift ST-3 is for sale in a Dublin dealer at the moment. If you want any details, drop me a PM.

82dgolf

Just tell him to buy an RS he will have more fun.

David09

If the servicing parts used were genuine ford items and the work was done correctly, it doesn't matter who actually did it. Perhaps try contact he previous owners to find out why they sold it if you suspect that there may be some underlying reason.

galwaytt

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

Here's where it gets messy, the car is not in his name and therefore it's not his to sell...

Incorrect. The name in the V5C is not the owner - it's the 'keeper'. Logbook tells you nothing about who actually owns it, only who it's registered to you.

Consider: all cars on HP/Lease are effectively owned by the finance company. You don't see their names on the tax book, either.........

Atomic Pineapple

CarMan2010 wrote: »

http://www.carzone.ie/search/Ford/Focus-ST/2.5-225-/201025198560896/advert?channel=CARS&featuredListingClickThru=true ??? newish an cheap!!

That one is pure base spec though, it doesn't look like it has any of the optional extras.

David09 wrote: »

If the servicing parts used were genuine ford items and the work was done correctly, it doesn't matter who actually did it. Perhaps try contact he previous owners to find out why they sold it if you suspect that there may be some underlying reason.

I think its more the fact that there is no proof that it has been carried out at all

daRobot

I wouldn't go near an ST with no service history personally.

They're not expensive cars to get serviced through the dealer network. 160 euro first years service, and 210 for the second.

That's extremely reasonable for the performance, so anyone who skimped on this, most likely didn't care for it so well.

Atomic Pineapple

daRobot wrote: »

I wouldn't go near an ST with no service history personally.

They're not expensive cars to get serviced through the dealer network. 160 euro first years service, and 210 for the second.

That's extremely reasonable for the performance, so anyone who skimped on this, most likely didn't care for it so well.

Is that all??

Not so bad then, I thought it was going to be much more, although my next service is due on 58k miles so I presume its gonna be a big one?

daRobot

Yup, it's pretty reasonable isn't it. I'd imagine a service for the Gti is much dearer.

I suppose it offsets the higher tax costs of the ST.

Not sure what category of service is at 58k to be honest.

Nonoperational

Gti standard service is 119 at a vw dealer. Very cheap to service.

daRobot

That puts my assumptions on a epic fail so :pac:

Very cheap for vw

notel70

lovely car, I condidered one a few yrs ago but the tax put me off, although the prices seen to reflect this so your saving on the purchase price.

id say with the way prices of performance cars in ireland are at, importing would be more expensive, have patience and the right one will come up, you'll regret it if you dont have patience

What do ye think of the 3dr v 5dr, while a 3dr is a pain to live with I reckon the 3door is allot nicer, shape is real flowing and the rear door handles stick out to much in a 5dr

Henry Ford III

notel70 wrote: »

....What do ye think of the 3dr v 5dr, while a 3dr is a pain to live with I reckon the 3door is allot nicer, shape is real flowing and the rear door handles stick out to much in a 5dr

3 door is very easy to live with, even with kids in the back. Rear seat accesss is good.

They also look better and are a bit cheaper too.

.Longshanks.

draffodx, whats yours like on juice now that you've had it a few weeks

Atomic Pineapple

kev_Longshanks100 wrote: »

draffodx, whats yours like on juice now that you've had it a few weeks

Motorway driving gets 35mpg on Average.

National roads get 28 - 30mpg.

And proper driving gets 24/25mpg

Its never gone below 24mpg on me.

Its been remapped too, got 263 bhp on the dyno.

cpoh1

How much to re-map these and what extras are required to get 260hp out of curiosity? Are we talking a simple upping of boost or are extras required (intercooler etc.)?

I wouldnt be too concerned about a dealer history to be honest, once it had receipts for money spent on oil, plugs and pads etc. At the end of the day the beauty of these cars are that they have the maintenance/reliability of an everyday family car with an extra bit of poke too. They wouldnt be in the same performance bracket as say an M3 which you would insist on having a full BMWSH.

Atomic Pineapple

cpoh1 wrote: »

How much to re-map these and what extras are required to get 260hp out of curiosity? Are we talking a simple upping of boost or are extras required (intercooler etc.)?

I wouldnt be too concerned about a dealer history to be honest, once it had receipts for money spent on oil, plugs and pads etc. At the end of the day the beauty of these cars are that they have the maintenance/reliability of an everyday family car with an extra bit of poke too. They wouldnt be in the same performance bracket as say an M3 which you would insist on having a full BMWSH.

Mine only has a remap to get the 263 bhp.

BArra

a properly tuned ST can and will give a standard RS a run for its money

i had my ST serviced last week, i had to replace all brake discs, which was a disaster, but had to be done, and i also got the plugs changed.

car seems to breath a lot better, my MPG has gone up to around 26MPG, and i only do mainly short journeys