20 replies to this topic

[Androo]

Hi guys I'm new so sorry if I have posted in the wrong place but I just need some advice, I have seen a focus 2ltr diesel titanium for sale on a 55 plate it has 114000 miles on the clock I have been told the miles are nothing to worry about but what do you think should I stay well clear and go look at 1.6 petrol I have seen?

Thanks in advance

Andy

[mkelbie]

Timing belt should be done at that mileage so check that 1st before buying.

And in my opinion that mileage is fine if its been looked after, full service history is a must. Also consider your annual mileage and the cost of the car. I do a lot of miles so it wouldn't be cost effective for myself but it may be suitable for you. Look at the same car with less miles and work out if its a good price or not.

[Phili Smith]

Can't give you much help on 2.0 car but will vouch for ford quality on a slightly older model the 1.8 TD DI.I have had it for 3 weeks now.
My car lived most of its life as a taxi. It is the ZETEC model and is showing the signs of wear (dents, paintchips, small rustspots and worn seats/carpets) mind you I am not suprised it shows wear, it has covered an amazing 311,700 miles! and yes I have checked, it is the origional engine!!
The car is as sweet as a nut, starts first time, not smokey and has very few of the annoyances you might expect of such a high milage motor!. Yes it has been apart a few times and the plug and connection on the EGR valve were broken resulting in engine management light on! Three small spade connectors and a loan of a diagnostic/resetting tool fixed this. Windscreen wipers not parking correctly, swapped grey relays over means front fixed but need replacements to get rear working and fix perminantly. Number plate lights fastened in with gaffer tape (a visit to scrapyard will solve that) Oh and I don't have an owners handbook so still guessing my way round some things, hopefully the scrayard might result in a solution to that problem also. Seat covers given to me by a friend tidied the interior, now internally she looks well but still smells of wet dog, the owner before me used it to transport his racing greyhounds! Fabreeze is a Godsend

In short don't worry about miles! Worry about servicing! If that car goes like mine you have another 200, 000 miles to go!

[mkelbie]

Phili, what year is your car? is that the same engine in my 2007 TDCI? its the 115PSI one I believe. I have some EGR fault but told not to worry, I am just @86K now and was thinking of getting rid as I am a high mileage driver. Even gone as far as to purchase a 3rd party warranty with warranty wise as don't really want to spend 10K on replacement car to only hammer the miles again and your focus makes me think I don't need to worry

[Phili Smith]

Mine is a 54 plate and has the earlier engine the DI the main difference (as far as I can gather) is mine does not have the dreaded Duo-Mass flywheel (an idea I have no clue as to why ford took from peugeot) so if my clutch goes I don't need to worry about replacing flywheel, clutch, pressure plate, thrust bearing and sometimes even starter motor! When your clutch goes take it to a good independant garage and have them put a normal flywheel and clutch in! It will save massive headaches in long run and my mate (who runs an honest independant garage) states he always fits standard flywheel and clutch combos unless customer specifically requests duo-mass, even then he advises against.
Most of the EGR faults are caused through wiring issues (the harness is fastened to the bulkhead quite tightly and causes the wiring to stress and break) my repair further shortened my wiring so I realy need to cut clip and move harness to a better position in order to prevent future stress on it.
I was talking to a taxi driver the other night who stated he would be sorry to see his 2007 car go as he has had 200,000 miles of "Living" out of it but hated his first clutch replacement bill (he needed the starter as well) fortunately he got the none duo mass fitted and has had no problem since.
I will have to take a look under the bonnet and confirm the exact variant of engine but I know I love it! still great to drive after all these miles and very few rattles! most I do have are caused by my tools etc rattling around in back (I carry all sorts as I do maintenance as part of my job) I guess when I put the carpet back it will be a lot better (took that out to clean as it stank of dog still waiting for dry day to put it back)

Phil

[Mike77]

Not meaning to ruffle any feathers here, but fitting a single flywheel to a car designed to run a duel mass is nit a good idea.... My car had its first clutch and flywheel done at 111k, so that in my opinion is proof enough that they can last. Secondly the duel mass flywheels serve a purpose, and a lot of garages will REFUSE to fit a single flywheel in replacement as they can cause more problems than its worth. Huge vibrations through the car being just one. They are fitted for a reason, and although I had looked into the idea when mine needed replacing, after lots of research i decided to stick with the DMF. Regarding the purchase of the car,,, that kind of mileage wouldn't put me off buying, but I would want to see a solid history, as its the kind of mileage were things are going to start to need changing, or should already have been done. Turbo, clutch, flywheel, and egr being the most common, and not to forget (if this model has one) the dreaded DPF, and with the potential cost of replacing this, I would really want to know if it has been recently replaced. This is the main reason ppl opt for the 1.8tdci, as it doesn't have one. If all the paperwork adds up and the car is a decent price, go for it, but if there is no history, I would probably walk away and keep looking.

[STEADS]

the 2.0 i have has 197000 0n it engine was sound before i changed it for one with 42000 on it then the turbo blew but this was due to other reasons not the engine as long as the price reflects the mileage just one other thing to bear in mind these engines are like the proverbial rockin horse do do to get hold of if it was to fail the 2.0 that powers the mondeo is different but by what i do know they are capable of mileage way over 300000 with little service (or the guy at work has been extremly lucky lol).

[mkelbie]

Sorry to jump on the thread but its making me think I have been worried for nothing. My 2007 focus 1.8 tdci was seriously worrying me with the mileage but all these comments about the engines doing 200K+ tell me otherwise. I cancelled my warranty wise policy today and also had a good look round my car faults, cracked the plastic on my speedo fixing the rev needle but other than that and a strange clicking noise when I turn the engine off it seems fine.

Glad to hear this car will lash me at least another 2 years

[Mike77]

Think they all do the strange clicking sound on switching the engine off, mine certainly does,,, 6 or 7 times off the top of my head, its normal

[Pitmonster]

Think they all do the strange clicking sound on switching the engine off, mine certainly does,,, 6 or 7 times off the top of my head, its normal

Mine does this even when you turn the ignition on and off without actually starting the engine.

An engineer at my Ford dealer said it was the EGR valve doing a self-clean

[mkelbie]

Now you mention it I think mine does it without starting, but the ford man told me it was a fault and very expensive but don't worry about it.

[jg321]

Think they all do the strange clicking sound on switching the engine off, mine certainly does,,, 6 or 7 times off the top of my head, its normal

Never realised this until you mentioned but my 1.6 TDCi also does this clicking! Come to think of it, also does it when you don't even start the engine; just the ignition on and off!

One of the things that I noticed when I first got it was the "whining" noise it continues to make for around 2 seconds when you switch it on. Sure I read somewhere that was the fuel filter?

[Phili Smith]

Not meaning to ruffle any feathers here, but fitting a single flywheel to a car designed to run a duel mass is nit a good idea.... My car had its first clutch and flywheel done at 111k, so that in my opinion is proof enough that they can last. Secondly the duel mass flywheels serve a purpose, and a lot of garages will REFUSE to fit a single flywheel in replacement as they can cause more problems than its worth. Huge vibrations through the car being just one. They are fitted for a reason, and although I had looked into the idea when mine needed replacing, after lots of research i decided to stick with the DMF. Regarding the purchase of the car,,, that kind of mileage wouldn't put me off buying, but I would want to see a solid history, as its the kind of mileage were things are going to start to need changing, or should already have been done. Turbo, clutch, flywheel, and egr being the most common, and not to forget (if this model has one) the dreaded DPF, and with the potential cost of replacing this, I would really want to know if it has been recently replaced. This is the main reason ppl opt for the 1.8tdci, as it doesn't have one. If all the paperwork adds up and the car is a decent price, go for it, but if there is no history, I would probably walk away and keep looking.

Feathers not ruffled at all, just a comment based on what I've been told. Never heard of vibration problem and been in lots of vehicles who have had change. Not saying you are wrong or trying to cause a fight, I suppose it is just what people find that works for them.

[cragger89]

I should never have gotten rid of my first ford focus.

It was a Mk1 LX 1.8 in Aquafrost - loved it. It was my first car. The head gasket went not long after I bought it, but it was getting thrashed before the temperature gauge even showed a reading - not a good thing to do. This was at 90 ish thousand miles, when that work was done I had the timing belt and a few other bits changed, 4 years of problem free motoring. The car was up to about 130k roughly when I got rid of it - it drove no worse than my Dad's younger Mk1.5 Zetec focus. I only changed it because I wanted a BMW which was absolutely awful.

My car has done 20k miles and I do not intend on replacing it until it rusts away into nothing. So long as it is serviced properly, ford motors are as good as any of the giants in my opinion. I will never buy anything else. The only reason I got such a young one this time round was because after such a bad year of German motoring, I just wanted to indulge in something which smelt new and looked brand new whenever I wash it. I also avoided Diesel engines for some of the mentioned issues above, but so long as you are aware of what can go wrong and put money away, if it does break before you're supposed to replace it, you're not going to be in for a nasty surprise.

The BMW was full of nasty surprises for me!!

[mkelbie]

Seems a non DPF focus is a good car then I am happy with mine and will start to put money away for timing and DMF.