€10,000 plus 2000 1.8 focus

tinner777

looking for an economic car to do 60 miles a day, every day, what kind of car should i be looking at? Was thinking 1.8 tdi focus?

ottostreet

tinner777 wrote: »

looking for an economic car to do 60 miles a day, every day, what kind of car should i be looking at? Was thinking 1.8 tdi focus?

Do you really need a diesel? thats not big mileage at all

mullingar

60 x 365 = 22,000 miles/yr.

IMO this is firmly in the Diesel territory.

The 1.8 TD in the Focus is a bit of a dinosaur (old). Find yourself a high spec 1.6 TDCI, much better engine

ottostreet

mullingar wrote: »

60 x 365 = 22,000 miles/yr.

IMO this is firmly in the Diesel territory.

The 1.8 TD in the Focus is a bit of a dinosaur (old). Find yourself a high spec 1.6 TDCI, much better engine

Jesus, I may get a diesel. I wouldn't really have thought of it adding up like that.

tinner777

no but thought as it was being used every day maybe a little cheaper? Don't know mate, i'm clueless so i'm asking here

mailforkev

mullingar wrote: »

60 x 365 = 22,000 miles/yr.

Go easy on him there, I'm sure he won't be made to work all 365 days a year.

That actually works out at less than 14-15k miles a year to/from work.

I'd put that in the middle of the petrol/diesel preference bracket, so if the OP can get a petrol model for a bit cheaper than the diesel then it might make sense.

As for the car then a Focus isn't a bad choice. I drove someone else's 2007 1.8 tdci once and it had a nice bit of pace to it for what it was.

mullingar

mailforkev wrote: »

Go easy on him there, I'm sure he won't be made to work all 365 days a year.

That actually works out at less than 14-15k miles a year to/from work.

I'd put that in the middle of the petrol/diesel preference bracket, so if the OP can get a petrol model for a bit cheaper than the diesel then it might make sense.

As for the car then a Focus isn't a bad choice. I drove someone else's 2007 1.8 tdci once and it had a nice bit of pace to it for what it was.

I did think that it was odd to do exact 60 miles every day, but the OP emphasised it:

Looking for an economic car to do 60 miles a day, every day, what kind of car should i be looking at?

I do agree with the 14-15k miles, it is borderline of choosing between petrol/diesel.

tinner777

yes its every day, wife and i work opposite shifts, me mon,tue, wed, she thur fri sat and alternative sundays

tinner777

mullingar wrote: »

60 x 365 = 22,000 miles/yr.

IMO this is firmly in the Diesel territory.

The 1.8 TD in the Focus is a bit of a dinosaur (old). Find yourself a high spec 1.6 TDCI, much better engine

so should i look for one of these?

Cyrus

tinner777 wrote: »

looking for an economic car to do 60 miles a day, every day, what kind of car should i be looking at? Was thinking 1.8 tdi focus?

paying 10 k for a more economical car is a false economy, unless you want a new car anyway

tinner777

Cyrus wrote: »

paying 10 k for a more economical car is a false economy, unless you want a new car anyway

my car is falling to bits, rust, will not make it through the winter without a substantial investment in it.

Cyrus

tinner777 wrote: »

my car is falling to bits, rust, will not make it through the winter without a substantial investment in it.

fair enough!

R.O.R

I picked up a 1.8Tdci Focus last night and brought it in to work this morning - made me realise how much better the 1.6Tdci is, even in 90bhp trim.

Car had done 97,000km in just under 2 years. Bit of a shudder from the steering wheel at anything over 110km/h, but apart from that the engine was still pulling well.

At high (motorway) speeds the 1.8Tdci is better than the 1.6, but getting to that speed is much better in the 1.6.

Don't know when the fuel computer was last reset, but it was showing average fuel consumption of 5.0l/100km. Must have been reset a while ago, because I didn't change it either way in the 100km I did.

Try to get a 1.6Tdci Zetec specification.

tinner777

http://www.carzone.ie/search/Ford/Focus/1.6-TDCI/201036199485920/advert?channel=CARS

this?

R.O.R

tinner777 wrote: »

http://www.carzone.ie/search/Ford/Focus/1.6-TDCI/201036199485920/advert?channel=CARS

this?

That looks good as long as it's in budget.

Will be a UK car, so do all the relevant checks with Cartell/Motorcheck etc. to make sure it's not a write off / finance owning.

shawnee

Had a focus 1.8 tdci . Enjoyed the car , found it comfortable , reliable and loads of poke. Had service history and around 85k miles when I bought it and I put up another 85k before I sold it three years later. Would however recommend getting as low mileage as possible and with service history. Difficult to get diesels that don't have high mileage. But from my experience and I have driven quite a few diesels, the focus 1.8 is an excellent car (not the most exciting to look at ) but there are sure a lot of them out there !:D

mullingar

shawnee wrote: »

......... but there are sure a lot of them out there !:D

+1

IMO, For 1 simple reason, its the best driving car in its class.

My wife has a 1.6 TDCI 110hp Climate Zetec Spec. She loves it.

UK Import (The 110hp tune was not available in Ireland) and then retrofitted it with a second hand spotless cream leather interior with the door cards:cool:.

I must admit when doing some "spirited" driving that it puts a smile on my face . Big differences to my GS300;)

tinner777

thanks for the advice

tinner777

lads could you tell me what acceptable mileage is per year for a diesel? also when do they need big services? like a timing belt change etc?

mullingar

20k miles/ 30k km IMO is the cut off to go for a diesel.

Ford recommend 150k miles (240k km:eek:) for the diesel timing belt, but I think I will change it at 100k miles as its a bit much