150k too high for used 2003 focus

[ndmk2o1o]

Ok, first time poster here, I have recently bought a used Ford focus Ghia 2k3 1.6 petrol (or have committed to as of yet anyway) having always bought used cars under 1k I would normally stay away from any mileage that high but this particular example looks to have been really cared for going off the pictures of the exterior, there are no warning lights on the dash and seller describes the focus as starting and driving perfectly, this leads me to think that with that number of miles and the general condition of the car it has been well maintained and probably just as good if not better than some of the other used cars at 80-100k I was looking at in the same price range. Never owned a Ford before though so am just looking for a bit of advice on whether or not I should be weary about a focus with that many miles, but on the other hand, if it has done that many it must have been looked after and maintained to a certain standard in order to allow it to do 150k....

I might have answered my own question here but I'm really just looking for some opinions or even better if anyone has experience with a similar Ford and miles that would be even better

[jmurray01]

It all comes down to how it was treated.  I've seen cars with over 200,000 miles on the clock run perfectly, and others with less than 50,000 miles with seized engines due to lack of maintenance.

Our first Focus, a 2000 1.8 petrol had almost 190,000 miles on the clock when we sold it, and the engine and gearbox were both still in full working order. 

[yunii]

I once bought a mondeo good few years back with 159k miles & no service history .we did our checks on it & was a sweet engine. In the 3-4 yrs of ownership all i spent apart from servicing is replacing catalitic converter & all exhaust after it. As cat was broken & clogged all silencer. That was it.but it was bulletproof & reliable.
Yunii

Sent from my SM-G925F using Tapatalk

[isetta]

how many miles are you going to do. if for example you were going to do 20k per year and want to keep it for many years it might not be the best car. 

if it all appears OK to drive and there is no exhaust smoke and it has long MOT and there is evidence that the timing belt(cam belt) has been done then the mileage would not put me off that much.

[ndmk2o1o]

Tbh it was only £310 on eBay auction and I will likely only use it for 6 months until I can buy another 7 seater (too many darn children) so I wouldn't think I would be doing much more than 5-6k at the most, I mean shes got this far what's another 5k right? Here's the condition of her, not too shabby at all for the age compared to some bangers I could of gotten for £300

[isetta]

looks good, with a car like this, whether it was good value or not mostly comes down to length of MOT and how easy it will get another one.

the body seems to last well on these. we had a 2001 focus, the slightly older one with the front indicators in the front bumper. excellent body , but all the rear suspension arms and their mounting subframe were very crusty with rust- although never failed MOT whilst we had it, and the front subframe had a hole appear on the underside of it that had to be welded. 

Do google images on     focus subframe      to see some pics.  Ours wasn't anything like as bad as some pictured. it is hard to geta good look at the front subframe unless the car is raised and you can actually get right under it.

The rear is a bit easier to see by sticking you head under the back with a torch

this is one pic which shows a bad front one:

[jmurray01]

Wow - that is a steal for £310!  From those pictures the bodywork looks immaculate, not a spec of rust which usually attacks the MK1s badly on the wheel arches and the bottom of the rear doors.

[E TEA 66]

Looking real good and i can't see why it wouldn't last another 40k or so well i got a 2002  mk1 1.6 ghia  5 door the other week but where yours has really good body work and 150k miles on the clock mine has the dreaded rust on the rear arches although it's now't serious and has only got 66.5k miles on the clock but yes these mk1's do really well if looked after and don't use anything other than 5w 30's fully synthetic  engine oil even if it's just a top up as these engines don't like anything else ...

Any how happy driving in the mean while .

[jmurray01]

30 minutes ago, E TEA 66 said:

Looking real good and i can't see why it wouldn't last another 40k or so well i got a 2002  mk1 1.6 ghia  5 door the other week but where yours has really good body work and 150k miles on the clock mine has the dreaded rust on the rear arches although it's now't serious and has only got 66.5k miles on the clock but yes these mk1's do really well if looked after and don't use anything other than 5w 30's fully synthetic  engine oil even if it's just a top up as these engines don't like anything else ...

Any how happy driving in the mean while .

Agreed.  Any engine (petrol or diesel) is perfectly capable of exceeding 200,000 miles if it is given an oil change every 6,000 miles/6 months with the correct grade of oil and isn't driven abusively.  Most Foci that I see for sale on Gumtree marked as "spares or repairs" is because of bodywork issues or something to do with the drive-train.  Usually it is a slipping clutch or corrosion that puts them to the scrap heap.  Very rarely do I see one with any engine problems, and even then it is a snapped timing belt or something that could have been avoided with proper maintenance.

Both of my Foci have rust issues, the Zetec has bad rear arches and the Ghia has one rear arch going and one front wing, plus some corrosion on the lower rear doors.  Nothing that can't be fixed though with a grinder and some spray paint!!  It is only when the rust has actually eaten through the bodywork that it becomes a serious issue and welding and/or replacement panels are required.

[E TEA 66]

1 hour ago, jmurray01 said:

Agreed.  Any engine (petrol or diesel) is perfectly capable of exceeding 200,000 miles if it is given an oil change every 6,000 miles/6 months with the correct grade of oil and isn't driven abusively.  Most Foci that I see for sale on Gumtree marked as "spares or repairs" is because of bodywork issues or something to do with the drive-train.  Usually it is a slipping clutch or corrosion that puts them to the scrap heap.  Very rarely do I see one with any engine problems, and even then it is a snapped timing belt or something that could have been avoided with proper maintenance.

Both of my Foci have rust issues, the Zetec has bad rear arches and the Ghia has one rear arch going and one front wing, plus some corrosion on the lower rear doors.  Nothing that can't be fixed though with a grinder and some spray paint!!  It is only when the rust has actually eaten through the bodywork that it becomes a serious issue and welding and/or replacement panels are required.

Quite true mate a car that's well maintained will give many miles of service quite happily and as long as you take care of the basics and replace the suspension parts when they start to go  and of course keep an eye out for rust or better still touch up chips in the paint work when they appear asap ..

Yes well mate it sounds like you will need to get round to sorting the rust on the wing and arches at some point before it gets to good a hold of the body work although serious rust on the bottom of the doors can easily be sorted by their replacement with second hand ones and i personaly when the weather and funds allow will be sorting the rust out as atm i've just treated the bad area's with Kurust which i'll still be keeping an eye on while i do other minor jobs replacing worn bushes and such as i'd like to keep this Focus for a good while as i really love it :) ..

[jmurray01]

1 hour ago, E TEA 66 said:

Quite true mate a car that's well maintained will give many miles of service quite happily and as long as you take care of the basics and replace the suspension parts when they start to go  and of course keep an eye out for rust or better still touch up chips in the paint work when they appear asap ..

Yes well mate it sounds like you will need to get round to sorting the rust on the wing and arches at some point before it gets to good a hold of the body work although serious rust on the bottom of the doors can easily be sorted by their replacement with second hand ones and i personaly when the weather and funds allow will be sorting the rust out as atm i've just treated the bad area's with Kurust which i'll still be keeping an eye on while i do other minor jobs replacing worn bushes and such as i'd like to keep this Focus for a good while as i really love it :) ..

That's what I'll be doing ASAP, so that the rust is at least covered until I get around to doing the job properly.

[E TEA 66]

10 minutes ago, jmurray01 said:

That's what I'll be doing ASAP, so that the rust is at least covered until I get around to doing the job properly.

Good man ;) just as long as you remember it's no long term fix and keep an eye on it as the winter weather and salty roads tends to affect the treated area alot quicker then  the rain does in the spring n summer ..

[jmurray01]

Just now, E TEA 66 said:

Good man ;) just as long as you remember it's no long term fix and keep an eye on it as the winter weather and salty roads tends to affect the treated area alot quicker then  the rain does in the spring n summer ..

Indeed it does, but hopefully there will be no more salt/grit on the roads now we are coming into March...  Or maybe that's just wishful thinking!

[E TEA 66]

1 minute ago, jmurray01 said:

Indeed it does, but hopefully there will be no more salt/grit on the roads now we are coming into March...  Or maybe that's just wishful thinking!

Well it just might be wishful thinking mate as the other day i read theirs suppose to be snow and storms on the way for march but fingers crossed they've got it wrong lol .