some car advice perhaps?

frankythefish

hi all,

i am a little wet around the ears on the old car front. i have very little knowledge of cars.

moving onto my second car. 1st car was an old 99 ford focus i bought in 08 and have had for the past 4 years.

can anybody advise me on car to get? i think i might stay away from ford focus this time as i' d like to try something different. one of the main reasons i bought the focus was because i liked the interior.

i am reluctant to go newer than 2005 reg. i am thinking somewhere in the ballpark of a 03 reg or so would be grand. budget wise, i guess general ballpark would be 5k, i know little of the value of cars, i am a little flexible on price.

i don't want a big arse on my car as i have tight areas to get into to get parking at work. so probably gonna go hatchback or the like.

probably looking at 4 door

engine size, 1.4 is grand i suppose, though i would n't be against moving up to 1.6 or so

any advice greatly appreciated

Bigus

You bought the best car in the first place by buying a focus ,

lots of 05 cars are inferior to a 99 focus, drive the focus into the ground for another 4 years,

monkeysnapper

I had a 99 a4 Audi and I got a 04 Peugeot , I wish I hadn't bothered ........

I agree with bigus . I actually saw a 2000 focus today and it looked great, I don't think the model had dated to much .

frankythefish

unfortunately the focus is having a lotta probs these days so holding onto it not an option really. an wanna try something new

Bigus

frankythefish wrote: »

unfortunately the focus is having a lotta probs these days so holding onto it not an option really. an wanna try something new

You'll be sorry unless you buy another focus, just saying. Go for an 04 old model, better than the later model.
Don't ask about golfs , Peugeot s Renault s alfas Citroen's around here ,so whats left in a 1.4 ?

You did well with the first focus don't look a gift horse in the mouth why no allegiance to the brand ?

frankythefish

perhaps you have a point bigus. why you say an 04 better than later model?

frankythefish

i might add bigus that i am possibly open to moving above 1.4 to 1.6 etc

Bigus

frankythefish wrote: »

perhaps you have a point bigus. why you say an 04 better than later model?

Newer model is heavier and doesn't have as sharp handling as mark one focus, other than that the design isn't as timeless .

Still an 05 focus is a better car than lots of others of that era, the only reason focus are cheap is because a hell of a lot were sold.

Bigger engined car mightn't be as good as you think , it's all about power to weight ratio, so if a bigger engined car has bigger body , it could well feel slower.

JohnBoy26

A Honda Civic Saloon is what I recommend. They are ultra reliable and are cheap to run and maintain.

A Mazda 3 would also be a good option imo. They have similar driving dynamics to a focus as they share the same chassis, but the mazda has a different engine(in petrol form) and is more reliable imo. The Civic is still a better quality car than the mazda though.

04/05 corolla? 1.4 VVT-I. Lovely, comfortable wagon.

Nonoperational

Bigus wrote: »

You'll be sorry unless you buy another focus, just saying. Go for an 04 old model, better than the later model.
Don't ask about golfs , Peugeot s Renault s alfas Citroen's around here ,so whats left in a 1.4 ?

You did well with the first focus don't look a gift horse in the mouth why no allegiance to the brand ?

My God the motors forum is going down hill. The only car to get is another focus? No. Just no.

veetwin

Nonoperational wrote: »

My God the motors forum is going down hill. The only car to get is another focus? No. Just no.

Well maybe rather than dismissing other people's suggestions you could offer your own opinion and suggest a car for the OP?

FWIW a pre 2005 Focus 1.6 petrol with a good spec/trim level would be an excellent choice. I put up probably 80K miles in a 2002 one. Great handling and reasonable power yet economical and reliable.

Mazda 3

Nonoperational

veetwin wrote: »

Well maybe rather than dismissing other people's suggestions you could offer your own opinion and suggest a car for the OP?

FWIW a pre 2005 Focus 1.6 petrol with a good spec/trim level would be an excellent choice. I put up probably 80K miles in a 2002 one. Great handling and reasonable power yet economical and reliable.

I'm not dismissing his suggestion, the Focus is a fine car. But I completely disagree that it's the only option.

Bigus

Nonoperational wrote: »

I'm not dismissing his suggestion, the Focus is a fine car. But I completely disagree that it's the only option.

So fire away with your options ?... Nonoperational we await with anticipation .

I didn't suggest its the only car , but i was helping to get frankythe fish not to overlook a focus after it serving him so well in the first place.

Also a Mazda 3 is effectively focus running gear and chassis.

dh0011

corolla

frankythefish

appreciate the feedback guys