04 Focus or 03 Astra

flogen

Hey folks - I'm looking at a couple of cars and wanted to see if either have much of a reputation, for better or for worse.

The first is a 04 Focus with 107k miles on the clock. The second is a 03 Astra with 80k.

I've yet to see either in the flesh but all things being equal is there anything I should bear in mind?

Option 3 (AKA the cheap and cheerful option) is a 05 Punto, but as someone in possession of a 01 model I probably know what to expect there!!

Mister Jingles

What engines ?

bazz26

If they are both 1.4 litre then the Astra has more poke than the Focus. Focus has aged a bit better than the Astra though.

flogen

Mister Jingles wrote: »

What engines ?

Sorry - both 1.4l

flogen

bazz26 wrote: »

If they are both 1.4 litre then the Astra has more poke than the Focus. Focus has aged a bit better than the Astra though.

Thanks for that - do you mean looks-wise or that it holds up better mechanically?

duffman3833

Id go with the focus in my opinion, better looking car, i did drive one myself a while back and it drove well, id stay away from FIAT (Fix It Again Tomorrow). whats your budget, im sure there plenty of cars to choose if you have a decent budget

bazz26

flogen wrote: »

Thanks for that - do you mean looks-wise or that it holds up better mechanically?

Design wise the Focus has aged better imo. Interior of that model Astra was a bit dated even way back at launch in 1998.

Larbre34

The Focus, hands down for me. Astra's have a poor enough reputation for wear in expensive areas of petrol engines.

The Focus 1.4 75 bhp would not pull you out of bed, but its durable, and simple. You might have an issue with replacing a coil at some point, but if it has been regularly serviced and the belt and pump has been replaced on time, it should be the less troublesome of the two. Its also more solid and roomier too, plus the ground breaking design of the time is holding up very well.

My partner runs a silver '03 1.4 Focus Zetec with less than 80k miles on it and the smart alloys as a train station hopper and shopping cart and frankly I feel it could go on forever.

flogen

duffman3833 wrote: »

Id go with the focus in my opinion, better looking car, i did drive one myself a while back and it drove well, id stay away from FIAT (Fix It Again Tomorrow). whats your budget, im sure there plenty of cars to choose if you have a decent budget

Thanks - to be honest I bought my 01 Punto as a starter car six years ago. Spent €1,750 on it and it owes me nothing! But if I was going for a Punto again I'd like to move up to the newer model, which isn't going to happen on my budget.

On that issue, I'm looking to spend around 3k - which I've found isn't a huge amount if you want something around 10 years old with a relatively small engine.

flogen

Larbre34 wrote: »

The Focus, hands down for me. Astra's have a poor enough reputation for wear in expensive areas of petrol engines.

The Focus 1.4 75 bhp would not pull you out of bed, but its durable, and simple. You might have an issue with replacing a coil at some point, but if it has been regularly serviced and the belt and pump has been replaced on time, it should be the less troublesome of the two. Its also more solid and roomier too, plus the ground breaking design of the time is holding up very well.

My partner runs a silver '03 1.4 Focus Zetec with less than 80k miles on it and the smart alloys as a train station hopper and shopping cart and frankly I feel it could go on forever.

Thanks - once it has even a little bit of poke I won't mind!

I'll mainly be using it for a daily commute (10k each way) and the odd long drive - so it sounds like a good fit.

bazz26

I'd look at the Toyota Corolla too, 1.4 litre is one of the most powerful in it's class and they hardly every give trouble:

http://cars.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/2004-toyota-corolla-1-4-vvti/9863684?offset=16

flogen

Thanks for that - haven't seen many Corollas but would definitely go for one at the right price.

Have seen a few 03s at around the 3k mark, but that's the first 04.

Turns out the Focus I was looking at is gone, so back to the drawing board. Good to know they're worth a look, though.

corsav6

flogen wrote: »

Thanks - to be honest I bought my 01 Punto as a starter car six years ago. Spent €1,750 on it and it owes me nothing! But if I was going for a Punto again I'd like to move up to the newer model, which isn't going to happen on my budget.

On that issue, I'm looking to spend around 3k - which I've found isn't a huge amount if you want something around 10 years old with a relatively small engine.

For 3k you would get a newer shape astra, and the 1.3 diesel is a great little engine. I have 1 for over 2 years and its been very good.

Noccy_Mondy

There was a 1.4 2002 astra in the house before, there is a 2004 1.8 diesel focus in it now. Regarding looks, the focus has to have it. Looks better from every angle, the arse of the astra is something I could never warm to.

With regards to engines and the mechanics, I can't compare like with like as such, but the astra we had was bulletproof, bought with 30k miles, clocked up 80k more with not one mechanical issue afaik. I know plenty of others that can say the same. Not the fastest, but does the job. The 1.4 in the focus seems unrefined, and just unsuited to that car, very underpowered.

I'd go for an astra on the mechanics side of things. Looks is usually a personal thing anyway.

flogen

Noccy_Mondy wrote: »

There was a 1.4 2002 astra in the house before, there is a 2004 1.8 diesel focus in it now. Regarding looks, the focus has to have it. Looks better from every angle, the arse of the astra is something I could never warm to.

With regards to engines and the mechanics, I can't compare like with like as such, but the astra we had was bulletproof, bought with 30k miles, clocked up 80k more with not one mechanical issue afaik. I know plenty of others that can say the same. Not the fastest, but does the job. The 1.4 in the focus seems unrefined, and just unsuited to that car, very underpowered.

I'd go for an astra on the mechanics side of things. Looks is usually a personal thing anyway.

Thanks for that - I've since seen one or two of the newer model Astras in my price range, so that helps on the looks-front!

Hoping to have a look at one today - will see how I get on.

flogen

So I picked up an 05 Astra from Bill Griffin Motors today for under 3k.

All looks well, bar a few minor scuffs to the paintwork, and the drive home was really nice. Will get my mechanic to give it a once over but after a very limited time frame I'm fairly happy!

Thanks for the help here.

Noccy_Mondy

The newer model is nicer than the older one.

Best of luck with it!

flogen

Yeah, definitely a bit more modern looking. Nothing special inside but nice enough for me!