Back In The Ford Family!!

[jmurray01]

As of 13:00 today, I now own a Ford again.  It has been over a year since we got rid of our old Focus (2000 LX 1.8) as the rust had got too bad on both the body and chassis, plus other issues would have made it uneconomical to fix.  Despite having over 180,000 miles on the clock, the engine had no problems and it was actually bought to be an engine donor, so its 1.8 is still on the road (hopefully!) in another Focus. 

Since then we owned a Volvo, a Nissan, a Fiat, and now have two Peugeots.  There are only two of us, so two cars is sufficient, but when I saw the Gumtree ad for this last night, I couldn't resist! 

It is a 2000 Ford Focus 1.8, 5 door hatchback in State Blue (brought back memories of our MK4 Fiesta which was that colour) with the Zetec trim-level, which includes electric front windows (drivers automatic), air conditioning and a radio cassette!!  Me being me, I am delighted with the latter.  Most would prefer a CD player though, I suspect.

Now you all know that I usually buy average to high mileage vehicles and am a firm believer that mileage isn't important, as long as it has been well treated.  But, despite that I do appreciate that the lower the mileage, the better (generally...) and for a MK1 Focus, you can't really get better than this ones. 

66,000 miles!!  Pretty good if you ask me.

The second best thing is what I paid for it.  The Gumtree listing was asking for £200, but me being me I haggled and managed to knock a tenner off (seller wasn't very negotiable... ) so got it for £190.

So for that you're probably expecting it to only have a few weeks MOT, as was I, but it is actually tested until March 2017!!  It has a good MOT history, and failed the last one only for the offside front subframe being corroded, which was replaced with one out of a less corroded Focus (and of course I'll be getting it undercoated to prevent any corrosion attacking the new one). 

As for current issues, it does have the usual "Focus electrics", whereby the central locking only works by putting the key into the drivers door and doesn't actuate the N/S/R door, which you have to lock/unlock manually from the inside.  Aside from that, it does have a drone from the O/S/F when going above 50MPH, which the previous owner thought may be the onset of a bad wheel bearing.  It could be, as when you steer right the sound goes away, and gets worse when steering left.  It is very quiet (almost unnoticeable) at the moment though, so should be OK for a while yet.

So - pictures!  I haven't cleaned it yet (its too hot and I'm too lazy), but I will...  Someday...

Original alloys in great condition, only the N/S/F is missing its centre cap, but I can pick another one of those up for a few pounds.

A level up from our previous LX...

All four tyres are Nokian winters which have over 3mm tread and are evenly worn, so will be perfect for this coming winter.  There is also a brand new fifth Nokian in the boot (not mounted to a rim though) and it has the original space-saver spare tyre.

The only bad bit is the rear arches are starting to go, as they always do.  It is mainly just surface rust at the moment though, but I need to fix it ASAP before it sets in deep.

Look at that mileage!  The seller also sold it with almost half a tank of fuel (worth £30), but I topped it up to full as I hate running low.

Locking wheel nut, and some strange "NORD-LOCK" contraption?  Anybody know what the heck that is?

Two wallets, complete with two sets of all the manuals...  I can only guess one must have gone missing at some point and they bought another, then found the original.

Sold new in October 2000 from a Ford dealer in Cheshire.

The seller (who bought it in 2012) kept it well serviced, which is wonderful to see!

Last done in March this year, and the oil is still golden.  That said, I'll get it done soon as it has done 6,000 miles since then.

If you go by the 10 year/100,000 mile rule, the timing belt is good for another four years, but I'd be tempted to do it in the next couple of years to be safe!

And that's it...  I think I got a bargain for £190, even if the car was only used as a winter beater until the MOT expires, it would be a good deal - although I aim to keep it on the road for years to come.  It still has another 120,000 miles left to go before it matches our previous Focus!  As long as I can keep the body and chassis from rotting away, the engine will do that easily.

Although I bought it for my mother, I have a feeling I'll be using it regularly alongside my 405, as it really is a great car to drive.  It took a few miles of driving to get used to the petrol engine and clutch though!  I hate not being able to move off without revving, and the fact that the clutch is so light and easy to press.  I love petrol with an automatic, but with a manual it just doesn't feel "right" to me.  But, that's probably just me!

[Joss max]

Welcome back to ford world jamie.

[jmurray01]

It's good to be back!!  I had forgotten how comfortable the old Focuses (Foci?) are.

[TomsFocus]

Crikey, my Mk2.5 has just passed 66k and I thought that was fairly low lol!!

Gotta be honest, I'm not really a fan of Mk1s but for £200 with MOT that's not a bad car!   

[chrisroberson99]

Looks great Jamie! Can't beat a MK1. 

Try and keep the mileage down though, IMO it would be a shame to rack it up as there won't be many with such low mileage around in a few years. Do use it a bit though! 

[jmurray01]

22 minutes ago, chrisroberson99 said:

Looks great Jamie! Can't beat a MK1. 

Try and keep the mileage down though, IMO it would be a shame to rack it up as there won't be many with such low mileage around in a few years. Do use it a bit though! 

Indeed you can't!

Yeah, it'll mainly be my mother who drives it, and she only commutes locally.  The 405s will be the main "mile eaters", mainly because they get 50+ MPG!  If I remember right, the MK1 will be lucky to get 30-35.

[laumk7]

Fantastic car Jamie, state blue as well looks the nuts when clayed it was the same colour as my two previous mk3 mondeos. Is it by any chance the old zetec engine as well? It's about the right age, and remember zetec didn't always mean trim level alone. Very nice car, I'm impressed 

[alexp999]

Reminds me of my first Focus, yours is no doubt in a much better state though.

Should be easy to swap the HU for the CD version too if you wanted.

[jmurray01]

15 minutes ago, laumk7 said:

Fantastic car Jamie, state blue as well looks the nuts when clayed it was the same colour as my two previous mk3 mondeos. Is it by any chance the old zetec engine as well? It's about the right age, and remember zetec didn't always mean trim level alone. Very nice car, I'm impressed 

I know, a few times I gave the Fiesta a full valet and it looked stunning.  Great colour, definitely the one I'd have chosen had I been ordering one new back in 2000!

It is indeed the 1.8 Zetec engine (but "Zetec" is the trim level also), which is the best of the line-up in my opinion.  I wouldn't even consider the 1.4 as in a car of that size/weight it would be gutless, and I'm sure the 1.6 was OK but why settle for that when you could go all the way and get the 1.8?  113BHP and 0-60 in less than 10 seconds is perfect for the car in my opinion, any less would be too slow and any more would be unnecessary. 

Despite my dislike for petrol engines, I have to say that further to taking it to Tesco tonight and driving through town, it is very smooth at low speeds and the engine is completely silent below 2,000RPM.  A actually stopped at a roundabout and thought it had stalled, until I looked down at the tachometer and saw it was still running!  Certainly different to the 405s, whose diesel clatter can be heard from a mile away!!

[Incontro]

Welcome back to the family :D

66k is indeed low miles for a car of that age! And you chose a really nice color. If you get the rust sorted, should hopefully last you a long time.

My 59 plate is almost about to hit the magical 30k mark, and I'm depressed at the thought of it lol. It's like the transition from your 20's to your 30's. No more 'youthfulness'!!

[jmurray01]

2 hours ago, Incontro said:

Welcome back to the family :D

66k is indeed low miles for a car of that age! And you chose a really nice color. If you get the rust sorted, should hopefully last you a long time.

My 59 plate is almost about to hit the magical 30k mark, and I'm depressed at the thought of it lol. It's like the transition from your 20's to your 30's. No more 'youthfulness'!!

I certainly hope so!  Just got to keep that old Ford corrosion at bay...

[GMX]

Looking good Jamie

19 hours ago, jmurray01 said:

nd some strange "NORD-LOCK" contraption?  Anybody know what the heck that is?

Almost every car I've bought has come with some odd key or device that I was unable to find what it was.  One of the Volvos had something that resembled a medical device for holding open orifices and surgical wounds, in the glove box

My Mk1 is at 39K on 54 plate.

[jmurray01]

Took the Focus out for a run today and used the jet-wash on the way home, not professional by any means, but got some decent pictures! 

Disclaimer: Fog lights were on for photographic purposes only - I'm not one of those twits who drive around with them on when there is no fog!!

I never got the chance to drive our last Focus, but having driven this one I can see why they were (and still are) such popular cars.  Whilst driving it today I realised that I was taking corners at 60, which I would normally slow down to 45-50 for in the 405s.  That isn't to say the 405s aren't good drivers, but there is only so much you can do with torsion bars as opposed to independent MacPherson struts.

[jmurray01]

On 28/08/2016 at 9:01 PM, alexp999 said:

Reminds me of my first Focus, yours is no doubt in a much better state though.

Should be easy to swap the HU for the CD version too if you wanted.

Indeed it would, and I suspect my mother would prefer that - but I refuse!  I bought it and the cassette is staying!!

Aside from vinyl, the majority of my music is on tape and I cannot stand CDs, especially in vehicles where they either become physically scratched or just don't play right in car CD players.

[V6 Lover]

Tape players don't skip...plus depending on what sort of tape player it came with you can always add a CD changer...I added one to my mk2 mondy a 5000 series tape player (the original CD changer was missing from under the passengers front seat)

Anyway...there's some nice bargains Ford wise on the second hand market at the moment.. there's a 28 thousand miles 02 foccy Hatch ghia for sale but £850...the cars barely run in....

At the moment I'm contemplating buying and old Mondeo estate purely for building materials and tip duty (I've a house to renovate)...awfully tempted to get a V6 zetec s although the ghia x is alot cheaper and better equipment...

Anyway I prefer the mk1 foccy and the facelift from 02 to 05(I've owned a 02 LX 1.6 Hatch) one of the best handling cars I've ever driven.. these motors still look great, what almost 18 years since launch in 98 I Fink's, sporty & practical are what a lot of cars claim to be...but with the foccy especially the 1.8 and 2.0 zetec are very driver Focused... [emoji2] [emoji2]

Looks like a bargain fella and nice colour which i think is" state blue"..and as for 66k well it's got years and years left...nice one

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