Newbie: Advice required for Focus

[uturn]

Hi all,

I'm looking to buy a 2004 Ford Focus MY2003 CL 1.8L manual. My first question: Is there anything in particular, positive or negative I should be aware of before buying this car. I'm not after a performance car or such, just a comfortable, economical, reliable as a daily driver for years to come.

Also, I'm not overly keen on going to the dealership for servicing. I live in Adelaide. Is there a good, honest Ford mechanic in Adelaide who could perform routine servicing and maintenance work?

I hope I've posted in the right section. Thanks in advance!

[Ives]

Maybe you'll have better chance in getting feedback if you post your questions here
http://www.fordforums.com.au/forumdisplay.php?f=77

[Piotr]

Asif there won't be much difference in fuel consumption, stop dreaming mate. Ive never had problems fitting more than 3 ppl in my Fiesta.

[kocho]

Big difference between an AU (or any Falcon for that matter) and a Focus. Stick with a Focus. You'll fit 3 in a Focus for sure. Anyway, you haven't even said that you'll be taking people in your car!

[rodderz]

thread moved to focus forum

[zetec]

Now that tou're on the Focus forum you'll get fewer idiots trying to make you buy a clapped out old EL Falcon.

The CL manual will be economical beyond anything any Falcon could dream to achieve on petrol and probably as good as an LPG Falcon or better.

Look out for a rattle from the front right on idle indicating perhaps a worn water pump, although not a common issue, it has affected me.

Only other issues are to check for the brakes to ensure there's no vibration/grinding from the front discs and otherwise, just make sure she runs smoothly like any car.

A Focus comfortably sits 4, sure it's not a Falcon, but I've never had an issue in 4 years. It's fun to drive and has plenty of boot space for pretty much anything you throw at it, with the bonus of a complete fold flat floor that'll swallow a mountain bike without removing the wheel.

Even the base model's a pleasure to drive, they handle better than any $8,000 EL can dream of and it'll actually be worth something in a couple of years too...

Keep her regularly serviced and you'll see many many happy years. Mine's 90,000km and going strong as an Ox. I couldn't be happier with it.

[fordel]

What you talking about Zetec, i dont see anyone trying to make him buy a crapper EL ;)

[zetec]

lol the powers that be hey... nice work.

An EL is a great car if that's what you want, but one drive of the Focus with its fully independent rear suspension (just like in a BA Falcon!!) shows it is comfortable, compliant and handles really well/ It feels like a much bigger car and has good strong safety credentials that again an older model Falcon doesn't necessarily have.

Keep an eye out also for a safety pack model if you can find one, with the ABS brakes and the passenger airbag. If not, they come come standard with driver airbag and non-ABS.

[melbzetec]

I have a 5 door, and regularly carry two adults in the front, a 6 foot 15 yo, and a 5'9" 13 yo in the back....not an issue

[Miller]

After I was taken for a drive in my neighbours new focus, I was very very surprised with how the car felt. The car just felt very well built, and very tight. Hugged the road very well, and had an adequate amount of room. In my opinion they would make an almost perfect daily driver.

[zetec]

Melbzetec - That's usually Friday nights too... looks fully sick down Chapel St

Miller - Older model Foci are 100% built in Germany hence the quality. They ARE well put together, even holding up beautifully after 4 years of ownership. Newer models are designed and engineered in Germany and built in South Africa due to production constraints in Germany not being able to supply the whole world.

[Serial_Fool]

I see this place holds no needs for someones opinion. I'm not going to insult someone like previous posts but a simple 'no' would have been sufficiant instead of calling someone an idiot for their views.

[zetec]

Sorry for vilifying you, we just tend to get a little fed up with the single minded (so it seems to us anyway) approach that small cars are for girls and big cars are the only thing you should buy.

Call me oversensitive. Accept my apology.

[Serial_Fool]

No worries,
Sorry for posting something that made you feel I was putting down the focus. They're nice cars but not my cup of tea. Anyway I'll just back away from this thread.....

[uturn]

I didn't have thread subscription on, so must have missed some 'interesting' posts.

Anyhoo, the car is actually for my wife and she specifically wanted a hatchback for ease of parking etc. The cars I was considering were focus/astra/corolla etc. I looked at the fiesta but in the end decided we should get something a little bigger for weekends away with friends and the like. Our budget is also $12K.

I've test driven a few 2004 and earlier model focus and here are the points I've noticed from an initial perspective:
Pros:
- Chassis, handling for a non-sporty family hatch is fantastic and ride quality is decent too. Reminds me of the peugeot 306.
- 1.8 engine isn't exactly powerful, but has plenty for emergency acceleration if required.
- Like the exterior look of it. Funky but not over the top, and good proportions.

Cons:
- Interior looks pretty boring, lots of hard plastic and I don't like 'funkiness' transferred to interior design. But that's a personal & subjective thing.
- Whoever thought of that bonnet catch should be shot.

That's about it really. Just want a simple car that most importantly is safe and going to be reliable and economical. I have to say I was quite impressed with the handling for what is essentially a bog stock base model hatchback.

I would love to hear more feedback from owners such as Zetec and what problems they've encountered.

Also if anyone knows a reputable and not-expensive Ford mechanic who could service these cars, in Adelaide..that would be much appreciated.

thanks.

[nJm]

I'm also looking at buying a cheapish Ford Focus, although stretching to $14k so have seen a few Zetecs with 70k-100k kms on them. According to the british Magazine "What Car" the Focus is one of the most reliable used euro hatches.

Does anyone know if the Focus's use a timing belt or chain? I know with the Astra 1.8 they are a bit of an issue as they tend to break before the scheduled 80,000km interval. I don't want to buy a Focus with 90,000km only to find at the next service I have to fork out for a new timing belt...

thanks!

[real_jarod]

I have a 2002 cl 1.8l focus and heres some of the problems i've had. I've had the front left wheel bearings replaced 3 times with the hub being replaced once. I've gone through 2 sets of brake pads, had the coil pack replaced, clutch replaced, steering rack replaced, cat converter replaced, front brushes reconditioned, left rear shock is now leaking, left rear spring is rubbing on metal and cam gears and cam belt replaced. but other than that it is a nice car to drive to be honest even with all these problems. But my recomemdation is dont take it to ford to get serviced or fixed if you get one.

[FRA]

Did you run over a black cat? real jarod
Your the wrost Focus owner in this forum to have so many problems.
The Focus seems to have problems and Ford Australia needs to take a good @ the Focus and fix the problem.
I wouldn't take my dog to Ford.

[real_jarod]

Originally Posted by FRA

Did you run over a black cat? real jarod
Your the wrost Focus owner in this forum to have so many problems.
The Focus seems to have problems and Ford Australia needs to take a good @ the Focus and fix the problem.
I wouldn't take my dog to Ford.

Yeah I think I ran over several black cats. I should stay away from those cats.

[FRA]

Originally Posted by zetec

Sorry for vilifying you, we just tend to get a little fed up with the single minded (so it seems to us anyway) approach that small cars are for girls and big cars are the only thing you should buy.

Call me oversensitive. Accept my apology.

I get told from guys from work, only girls or old people drive Focus
Yesterday we're having smoko and this 3 door zetec comes into the manly RQYS car park so I told the guys look a guy is driving a Focus
Oh hes g@y
My nic name at work is Focus...LOL i'm for real

[zetec]

There's a good review in this month's Royal Auto RACV magazine on the LR Focus range, makes for a good honest read. They've not given it an overall rating but the article is clear, objective and honest stating that it's a good package and known most for its safety, handling and overall reliability with no major known issue, just raising the brake usage that front rotors can wear out early with hard braking (city driving).

LR Focus uses a Camshaft Drive Belt (otherwise known as a Timing Belt) that gets replaced at 150,000km or 10 years. Fantastic life.

The Auxiliary Belts (for alternator/water pump) are also replaced at 150,000km or 10 years.

To be honest, it's a great safe and fun package, doesn't offer any major drawbacks against other competitors whilst it may offer more/less features in some areas. Always worth spending a grand or two more for an LX if you can find one for the added safety of passenger airbag, ABS brakes, rear discs and the comfort features of front power windows, power mirrors, alloys, leather wheel and steering wheel remote audio buttons. The LX is the pick of the value range. If you can stretch further to a Zetec, it is far and away the best value model in the range for both handling, performance, comfort and features. LX is probably the honest winner.

They're best run on Premium fuel to keep them happy and return good mileage on premium, being a European engine. My Zetec is actually better on 98 RON than on 95 RON, although it specifically requires 95 minimum. Real world driving I'm seeing 10L/100km driven hard in the city, as low as 7.4L/100km on the highway for a manul. expect 0.5-1.0L worse in an auto.

I'd happily recommend one to anyone.

[uturn]

real jarod..sorry to hear about your bad luck. I do have a couple of questions though. How many kms has your car got? Also, is your car lowered or any other modifications done to it? thanks

Originally Posted by zetec

There's a good review in this month's Royal Auto RACV magazine on the LR Focus range, makes for a good honest read. They've not given it an overall rating but the article is clear, objective and honest stating that it's a good package and known most for its safety, handling and overall reliability with no major known issue, just raising the brake usage that front rotors can wear out early with hard braking (city driving).

LR Focus uses a Camshaft Drive Belt (otherwise known as a Timing Belt) that gets replaced at 150,000km or 10 years. Fantastic life.

The Auxiliary Belts (for alternator/water pump) are also replaced at 150,000km or 10 years.

To be honest, it's a great safe and fun package, doesn't offer any major drawbacks against other competitors whilst it may offer more/less features in some areas. Always worth spending a grand or two more for an LX if you can find one for the added safety of passenger airbag, ABS brakes, rear discs and the comfort features of front power windows, power mirrors, alloys, leather wheel and steering wheel remote audio buttons. The LX is the pick of the value range. If you can stretch further to a Zetec, it is far and away the best value model in the range for both handling, performance, comfort and features. LX is probably the honest winner.

They're best run on Premium fuel to keep them happy and return good mileage on premium, being a European engine. My Zetec is actually better on 98 RON than on 95 RON, although it specifically requires 95 minimum. Real world driving I'm seeing 10L/100km driven hard in the city, as low as 7.4L/100km on the highway for a manul. expect 0.5-1.0L worse in an auto.

I'd happily recommend one to anyone.

Thanks for the detailed post Zetec. We're on a strict budget of $12K so we're looking at the LR. We found one at that price, late 2004 build with only 35,000 kms for $12K. Just had a pre-purchase inspection done and the only thing that was picked up was that the front rotors were down to 20.29 mm thickness (min. allowable 20 mm).

This is not unusual with many euro cars. I have a peugeot 306 gti6 and it's exactly the same. The reason I was told is that due to the extreme cold temperatures in europe, they tend to go for a softer steel for the brake rotor as that gives better braking in cold weather. My peugeot discs were gone after 40,000 kms running factory brake pads. I replaced them with DBA and I've since done 60,000 kms on them and there is still a fair bit of meat left even though I've since been running a road/race pad compound and have done a few track days. So for the Focus, when needed I will definitely be replacing the discs with DBA or RDA.

I'm surprised that the cambelt replacement interval is 150,000 kms or 10 yrs! I wonder if anyone has had their belt fail? My peugeot's is 80,000 kms or 4 yrs, and most last that long though there have been a few isolated cases of them failing at a little under 80,000 kms but greater than 4 yrs. Cambelt & waterpump are not something I'd take a risk with considering the relatively small cost of replacement compared to the cost of an engine rebuild....

I'm not at all keen on taking my car to the dealership to pay $300 for one of their apprentices to do an oil change and not check properly for problems. With my peugeot I was lucky to find an excellent honest independant pug mechanic who charges me $120 for a service and $60/hr for all other work. The peugeot dealerships generally rort customers just because it's a 'euro' car.

I might try posting in the general forum to see if anyone knows a good independant ford mechanic in Adelaide.

[real_jarod]

[QUOTE=uturn]real jarod..sorry to hear about your bad luck. I do have a couple of questions though. How many kms has your car got? Also, is your car lowered or any other modifications done to it? thanks

My cars done 120,000 kms it not lowered or any other mods done to it.

[zetec]

uturn, I sold an ST170 to a GTi6 owner back in 2004 in my salesman days! I love those little things. He ended up selling it to his girlfriend, he couldn't get rid of it!! Can't blame him really, my Zetec will probably be the same, just have teach my girlfriend to drive manual first!!

If you have any other questions of a technical nature I'll do my best to answer them!

[uturn]

Zetec..was his name Lincoln by any chance? He owned a black gti6? If so, I know the bloke..even drove his st170 in the Adelaide hills during his trip down here. Could be a different guy though, cos he lived in Sydney.

[zetec]

That's him! Small small world isn't it! He loved that thing, really looked after it. It's thanks to his descriptions of the suspension that I decided to install full ST170 rims and suspension under my Zetec. He reckoned it was one of the best setups he had ever driven in anything for the balance between ride comfort, response and performance. I had driven a couple around the block on test drives but never gave on a good thrashing so I'm doing the next best thing now with my own!

[fordel]

Lincoln is a great guy, went on a cruise with him and the aussiefrogs when he was here in Adelaide