Advice - Reliable Car for a lot of Driving

Optimus Prime

Hi guys, was hoping some of you may be able to help me out. Im looking to get a car (not new). Im driving an 05 Focus at the minute with 193,000 on the clock. I live in Athy and work in Dublin, its a petrol.

Lately its needed a lot of work, engine light issues, coil replaced 3 times, new timing belt and currently there is a humming when going between 60-80k which i think is coming from the back of the car and just doesnt sound right, not sure what it is.

Anyways i need to get myself a Diesel as i drive athy to dublin everyday. As with a lot of people i dont exactly have money to burn so looking to get a reliable second hand diesel that will drive that distance for a good few years to come.

Any suggestions on reliable cars of that type? I dont know much about cars myself so thanks a million for any suggestions in advance.

Bigus

keithgeo wrote: »

Im driving an 05 Focus at the minute with 193,000 on the clock. I live in Athy and work in Dublin, its a petrol.

new timing belt

and currently there is a humming when going between 60-80k which i think is coming from the back of the car and just doesnt sound right, not sure what it is.

Anyways i need to get myself a Diesel as i drive athy to dublin everyday. As with a lot of people i dont exactly have money to burn so looking to get a reliable second hand diesel that will drive that distance for a good few years to come.

The humming is just a wheel bearing.

An 05 focus is worth very little with 193 on it

How much a week are you spending on fuel ?

It might be better to pump the tyres harder and learn a new driving style to eek more out of your current car.

Spending money to save money can lead to bad economics

Optimus Prime

Im spending about 100euro a week on Petrol, but in the last month i have spent about 1500 on service, wheels, timing belt, coils, sparks etc.

How much do you reckon it would cost me to get that wheel bearing fixed?

Im constantly worrying about the car breaking down, when i got the car serviced the last time they guy in the garage said i needed something done with the back wheel and it would cost 300quid, when i asked him whats the worst that could happen on it (as i didnt have 300 after spending 500 on a service and timing belt) he said the wheel could come off!

I have two kids and im worried now about driving the car with them in it. I can see your point though about spending money on a diesel just for cheaper petrol, but theres a "peace of mind" element to it aswell, as in i wont be worrying constantly about it breaking down.

Bigus

Time to get a new mechanic ....unless he was quoting you for TWO rear wheel bearings.

Not a big job so maybe ring a ford dealer for a quote (just for comparison)

you've done all the major work so you should go well now for 3 or 4 years

even a 20% saving on your fuel bill will take a long time to recoup.


The mileage your doing will kill any car for depreciation

Stevie Dakota

Wheel bearing kit and fitting should be around €200 at an Indy. Kit is around €60, not a big job. Call a Ford dealer, you may be surprised. But driving on a failing bearing is not a good idea.

colm_mcm

I reckon the focus is worth about 4-4.5k tops. Get something older without common rail etc. Avensis td, old passat tdi etc.

Optimus Prime

Grand thanks guys, just for info the garage who told me that was a Ford garage in Kildare. Think ill go up to Tallaght ive been happier with them in the past even though they are more expensive.

Still in too minds about keeping it or not. I might get this wheel fixed then see what the craic is from there.

_Kaiser_

Problem is that since the wonderful scrappage scheme, a lot of decent 2nd-hand older cars have been unnecesarily junked which reduces supply and raises the price.

I've considered downgrading my current Passat to an older A6 or maybe a late E39 gen 5-series but you can't get them anywhere - at least not in diesel automatic form without spending nearly as much as I'd get for my current car.

leeroybrown

My first suggestion would be to get a recommendation for a good indy mechanic in your area. Going to a main dealer in Ireland for work on a '05 car with 193k up just doesn't make sense.

bazz26

What kind of budget do you have to spend?

Optimus Prime

My budget is 0 haha. I would be looking to get the car on finance if possible if i went down that road. I rang Tallaght ford there, im in tomorrow at nine one of the guys is coming out with me on a test drive to listen to the noise and see what it is. More money out the window.

_Kaiser_

leeroybrown wrote: »

My first suggestion would be to get a recommendation for a good indy mechanic in your area. Going to a main dealer in Ireland for work on a '05 car with 193k up just doesn't make sense.

I've a 06 Passat with 162k on it and have tried various recommended (by friends) indy's but, I've never come away happy.
I don't particularly LIKE paying main dealer prices, but at least I know the job will/should be done right - it does mean a trip up North, but I find them a lot better/nicer and cheaper than their southern counterparts.

I'd quite happily go indy if I could find a decent one - especially as she'll soon need another timing belt and that was 600-odd last time!

no1beemerfan

If it was me and I'd just spent €1,500 on repairs I'd be keeping the car. You sell the car today you may as well have flushed that €1,500 down the loo as its not going to add value to the sale price. A wheel bearing you should get done for €150 if you buy the bearing in a motor factors and get an indy to do the job for you. Its a simple and common enough job to do.

You have a new timing belt, new tyres, new coils and fresh oil. In my mind it would be mad to get rid now. Try adjusting your driving style and keep the car as empty of stuff as you can.

leeroybrown

Kaiser2000 wrote: »

it does mean a trip up North, but I find them a lot better/nicer and cheaper than their southern counterparts.

I'd definitely agree with that. The northern labour rates are much better and based on friends experience main dealers up there tend to be very good.

MrDerp

no1beemerfan wrote: »

If it was me and I'd just spent €1,500 on repairs I'd be keeping the car. You sell the car today you may as well have flushed that €1,500 down the loo as its not going to add value to the sale price. A wheel bearing you should get done for €150 if you buy the bearing in a motor factors and get an indy to do the job for you. Its a simple and common enough job to do.

You have a new timing belt, new tyres, new coils and fresh oil. In my mind it would be mad to get rid now. Try adjusting your driving style and keep the car as empty of stuff as you can.

Big time agree with this. That 1500 euro just bought you a lot of trouble free driving. The wheel bearing is a simple quick thing. I had both rear bearings done in the lifetime of my last car (05 focus too). Can't remember exact costs but I think it was about 225-240 at main ford dealer. Shop around Ford dealers too, the smaller ones often are doing 10-15% off parts.

Anyways, the time to change the car was before the work, not now, unless there's anything else you're not telling us? If you got it serviced at a Ford main dealer there should be a service sheet. Any other warnings? If not then shop around for the bearings change, drive the beast another 20,000km and then change your car.

Optimus Prime

Ive disclosed everything all the work i had done so far was in a ford garage in kildare, except i had the car looked at in tallaght ford for a smaller problem first. The service sheet in the tallaght garage was waaay more detailed then the other one, much more info like hooking it up to a computer and that, nothing of the sort on the kildare one just stuff like "changed this, or cleaned that. the tallaght one had basically a log of what was done on the car. it was a bit more expensive but i think it was worth it.

Thanks for all the advice guys, i think based on what you said im going to hang onto the car a while longer if the problem tomorrow is just the bearing. It helps to have other people point out how much money i would be wasting after getting all that work done already.

wex96

I'd buy a vw/skoda diesel thet seem to go on and on and cheap enough to fix. Imho:D

Optimus Prime

Brought it in this morning and they guy went for a spin around the block with me, he reckons its bearing, they have to stick it up and have a look at it to be sure and are going to ring me later with a price.

_Kaiser_

keithgeo wrote: »

Brought it in this morning and they guy went for a spin around the block with me, he reckons its bearing, they have to stick it up and have a look at it to be sure and are going to ring me later with a price.

If it's a "droning" noise that gets worse the faster you go then it's almost certainly a bearing.. I slid into a kerb at low speeds when we had the bad ice/snow and had to get one changed - was just under €200 for mine.

Optimus Prime

yeh i describe the noise as a load humming that gets worse between 60-80 then doesnt seem as loud 80+.

Jimmy Bottlehead

Quick recommendation... I got my wheel bearing replaced by Atlas Tyres in Drumcondra for €160. Might be slightly different price for a Focus but they were great to deal with. PM Nissandoctor on here for more details.