1st Car- Focus 05!! advice???

gunnereoin

hi everyone.. this is my first post so sorry if it's not up to scratch!!
am thinking of buying my first car tomorrow.. it's an 05 focus saloon 1.6 petrol.
i'l be using the car mainly for two long journeys (400m p/w) a week other than that it's just for driving around town.. am just wondering am i going the right way with a petrol? i'm only 22 so the tax and insurance on a bigger diesel engine would be substantial..
also.. the car is being sold privately so is there any things i should look out for??
thanks in advance.. sorry for such a long post!!
car is 05.. 1.6 petrol.. 80kmiles.. fully serviced.
has anyone used mywheels.ie? is it worth doing?
thanks again!!

bazz26

400 miles per week is roughly just under 20k miles per year. In my opinion that is diesel mileage, if you are happy visiting the pump a bit more regularly then stick with the petrol but note that the Focus was available in 1.6 litre turbo diesel back in 2005 so I cannot imagine it would be much more expensive to insure than a 1.6 petrol version.

I had a 2005 Focus 1.6 TDCi and found it great on fuel, was getting over 600 miles from a full tank of diesel. It was also very nippy (110bhp version anyway).

Joey the lips

I have a ford focus 1,6 tdi LX i am having a little trouble with it at the moment but i have to say "economy" it is. I get the guts of 850k a tank of diesel.

however be careful the tax on a 05 TDI is 457 a year.

ps: if i got a mechanic to check it right i might not be getting the trouble but thankfully it does not seem to bad.

DaveJac

you would probably get 400 miles to a full tank in the petrol focus, is it the last of the old shape or first of the new shape focus's?? both give trouble with coil packs and plug leads rear suspension bushings are know to ware fairly quick too,, if the coil pack has gone or goes you might have trouble with exhaust sensors and cat convertor down the line... other than that they are a good enough car fairly comfortable service parts are cheap

af_thefragile

1.6l is gonna be pretty hot on insurance for a first car... Did you check out the insurance for it before you've decided to get the car??

Full service history is a must for these cars. Check for the bushes (as Dave said) as they go fairly quickly. Check the shocks to see if they're leaking or if the front of the car has gone a bit wooly and soft. Check underneath the car if you can spot any oil stains on the floor or the vehicle. Check the CV boot joints for any cracks. Check break lines for any cracks. Check around the engine rocker cover for any evidence of oil leaks.

motorcheck.ie is a better site imo. Yeah they're worth it if you wanna spend the little money. It can give you a bit of peace of mind know the car hasn't been crashed or doesn't have anything that doesn't matches with what its registered as.

But when it comes to buying used cars a full service history is a good thing to have. If not the engine could only might have done 70k miles but would be running like its done 170k miles if it hasn't been looked after properly.

sk8board

we've got a 1.6 petrol focus; they'll average 40mpg. more with a bit of Christian driving.

Henry Ford III

af_thefragile wrote: »

1.6l is gonna be pretty hot on insurance for a first car... Did you check out the insurance for it before you've decided to get the car??

Full service history is a must for these cars. Check for the bushes (as Dave said) as they go fairly quickly. Check the shocks to see if they're leaking or if the front of the car has gone a bit wooly and soft. Check underneath the car if you can spot any oil stains on the floor or the vehicle. Check the CV boot joints for any cracks. Check break lines for any cracks. Check around the engine rocker cover for any evidence of oil leaks.

motorcheck.ie is a better site imo. Yeah they're worth it if you wanna spend the little money. It can give you a bit of peace of mind know the car hasn't been crashed or doesn't have anything that doesn't matches with what its registered as.

But when it comes to buying used cars a full service history is a good thing to have. If not the engine could only might have done 70k miles but would be running like its done 170k miles if it hasn't been looked after properly.

Where did you get that info. from?

Suspension bushes don't fail prematurely. Nor shock absorbers. Oil leaks are not common at all.

http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/carbycar/ford/focus-ii-2004/?

af_thefragile

Henry Ford III wrote: »

Where did you get that info. from?

Suspension bushes don't fail prematurely. Nor shock absorbers. Oil leaks are not common at all.

http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/carbycar/ford/focus-ii-2004/?

Just stuff to check before buying a car... Better check it before than finding it out later...

And don't the bushes go after like 20k (or 40k) miles?

Its just stuff that's wrong with my car so I threw it out for yer man to check before buying his car.

Hal1

Things you need to carry in the boot: (mk2 focus's)

1. A coil pack
2. Some rubber hose (power steering leaks)
3. Jubily clips (for the hose)
4. Power steering fluid
5. Some rags for soakage for fluids.
6: Spare oil 5w30 semi synt.

Anyone want to add to the list. They are the only items that I can fault with this car. Apart from that it's a fairly solid car.

oldyouth

Not an '05 but my wife turned 100k on her '99 1.4 Focus yesterday and it's running like a dream. The Focus is a grand car

no1beemerfan

af_thefragile wrote: »

Just stuff to check before buying a car... Better check it before than finding it out later...

And don't the bushes go after like 20k (or 40k) miles?

Its just stuff that's wrong with my car so I threw it out for yer man to check before buying his car.

My gf's '05 focus II has 105,000 miles (168,000 kms) and I can say its been 110%. We've only had to service it and replace tyres/timing belt. It still drives and handles very very well. Still on orginal brakes etc.