MK3 Focus - Buying Advice

[SamCappo]

Good afternoon all,

I'm making the jump from Honda to Ford (at least I think I am).

I've reserved a 2013 Ford Focus Zetec S 1.6 TDCI 115bhp @ £9,600 - I currently own a Type R (don't kill me) and they offered me a very good part exchange against the Focus, which has done only 12,500 miles!!! Crazy low mileage and the car appears in absolutely immaculate condition. 

http://www.vospers.com/used-cars/results/SA13LHB/

When I sat in the car to take it for a quick spin around the forecourt, a "change oil" message was displayed - I looked in the glove compartment to find an empty sleeve with no service book/history.

The sales person has tried to make contact with the previous owner to locate the log book, but he is deaf so waiting on email response. If he doesn't respond, they will then search the 'database' for details of servicing. The MOT history is all there by the way (it's only needed 2).

I can pull the plug at any moment - but as a result of my dissatisfaction at the initial lack of service history, they will be MOT'ing the vehicle and giving it a full service. They've also given me a 12 month platinum warranty. 

I'm going to ramp up the miles in this car over the next 5 years. Hence the need for a low mileage, reliable vehicle. HPI was all clear except the dealers "unit stocking" finance.

I guess what I am asking you kind folk, is shall I trust Ford and purchase or pull the plug and run? The car is donning Evans Halshaw licence plates (eurgh), and I assume was supplied by them from new.

I have a week until my collection date. What shall I do????

Your feedback is genuinely appreciated very much.

Sam 

 

 

[TomsFocus]

They couldn't find service history for my 2012 on the system, just told me it wasn't stored anywhere...

But as I bought privately and not from them maybe they didn't try too hard lol...  

Check the air con works and is ice cold before you take it away.  Seems to be a common issue on these and can be a pain to trace.

If you like the car and are happy with the price I don't think you should be put off by the missing history at such low mileage.  Probably worth checking the clutch if it was owned by a deaf guy though, they can't hear the revs so tend to use a lot on slow manouvres lol.

[SamCappo]

14 hours ago, TomsFocus said:

They couldn't find service history for my 2012 on the system, just told me it wasn't stored anywhere...

But as I bought privately and not from them maybe they didn't try too hard lol...  

Check the air con works and is ice cold before you take it away.  Seems to be a common issue on these and can be a pain to trace.

If you like the car and are happy with the price I don't think you should be put off by the missing history at such low mileage.  Probably worth checking the clutch if it was owned by a deaf guy though, they can't hear the revs so tend to use a lot on slow manouvres lol.

Thanks for getting back to me :-)

I'll test the air con is icy cool when I go to collect.

Regarding the clutch and the ex owners lack of hearing, you've made a very good point. I'll ask if we can go do a couple of hill starts and check for any juddering.

I guess it could be positive in a way - you would expect a deaf person to take extra care. I guess it's 50/50. Unless that was just the dealers excuse for struggling to locate the service history lol.

Car buying is just a bit of a lottery isn't it! 

I'm reasonably well covered in terms of warranty and consumer rights and if I have to put a new clutch on earlier than expected, that's just life isn't it. 

Any other things I should check before I sign on the dotted line?

Thanks again.

[Ryan_Tango]

Check the boot under the spare wheel for water (just discovered a horrible puddle of water), air con is a pain I give up on mine, check front bumper closely for peeling lacquer.

 

 

[SamCappo]

26 minutes ago, Ryan_Tango said:

Check the boot under the spare wheel for water (just discovered a horrible puddle of water), air con is a pain I give up on mine, check front bumper closely for peeling lacquer.

 

 

Hey Ryan, thanks for your tips - that looks horrible! Did you ever find out where the water came from?  Looks like you got a free McDonalds Monopoly ticket though haha!! 

I genuinely think it's been garaged most of it's life, the picture I took below was whilst the car was awaiting preparation and not valeted. 

[Ryan_Tango]

10 minutes ago, SamCappo said:

Hey Ryan, thanks for your tips - that looks horrible! Did you ever find out where the water came from?  Looks like you got a free McDonalds Monopoly ticket though haha!! 

I genuinely think it's been garaged most of it's life, the picture I took below was whilst the car was awaiting preparation and not valeted. 

 

Yes, the water is leaking in from the vents behind the bumper (common issue) I am sealing them up next week to prevent it happening again. 

[SamCappo]

15 minutes ago, Ryan_Tango said:

Yes, the water is leaking in from the vents behind the bumper (common issue) I am sealing them up next week to prevent it happening again. 

Hope you get it sorted and I'll keep my eye on it, thanks for your help. 

 

[TomsFocus]

Mine also had the water leak in the boot - another common problem on the mk3, can also come past the rear light seals as well as the vents.  You have to remember these are 'cheap' Euro cars, no Jap build quality here lol!  Door seals can also be an issue as they peel off over time and can let water in, but with that mileage they should be ok.

Not to put you off the 115ps, but I find mine drives like utter rubbish in slow speed traffic - can't seem to get a definitive answer on whether it's normal or not though and don't know anyone local with one I could try.  Can't actually find any faults with it, and changing the engine mounts has masked it well but hasn't cured it, I'm only on 45k miles btw.  It's still very jerky and not at all smooth in traffic, despite being as gentle as possible with the pedals.  It's fine out of town though, and is a decent cruiser, with a surprising amount of overtaking torque when you need it from a low powered engine with a tiny turbo.  Currently showing 63.5mpg on the trip computer, will wait until I refill to check how accurate it is though.   

As you're coming from a petrol, do you have any experience/knowledge on DPFs?  If you'll be racking up the miles on the motorway every day it should be fine, as long as you're not intending to do stop start deliveries or anything like that!

[SamCappo]

22 minutes ago, TomsFocus said:

Mine also had the water leak in the boot - another common problem on the mk3, can also come past the rear light seals as well as the vents.  You have to remember these are 'cheap' Euro cars, no Jap build quality here lol!  Door seals can also be an issue as they peel off over time and can let water in, but with that mileage they should be ok.

Not to put you off the 115ps, but I find mine drives like utter rubbish in slow speed traffic - can't seem to get a definitive answer on whether it's normal or not though and don't know anyone local with one I could try.  Can't actually find any faults with it, and changing the engine mounts has masked it well but hasn't cured it, I'm only on 45k miles btw.  It's still very jerky and not at all smooth in traffic, despite being as gentle as possible with the pedals.  It's fine out of town though, and is a decent cruiser, with a surprising amount of overtaking torque when you need it from a low powered engine with a tiny turbo.  Currently showing 63.5mpg on the trip computer, will wait until I refill to check how accurate it is though.   

As you're coming from a petrol, do you have any experience/knowledge on DPFs?  If you'll be racking up the miles on the motorway every day it should be fine, as long as you're not intending to do stop start deliveries or anything like that!

Hi Tom!

Thanks for the info on the seals, much appreciated.

I'm slightly concerned in the power difference between the Type R and the Focus, but I very much need the economy, I do over 300 miles a week and spending 250 a month on fuel at the moment! Plus the Type R is uncomfortable and noisy at motorway speeds. It's an amazing drivers car, just not a good commuter. I've heard the Mk3 Focus is sublime on the motorway/dual carriageway. I won't do hardly any town driving. My house is less than 1 mile from the A38 which takes me straight into Exeter. I'm close to Celtic Tuning and got enough money to do a bit of a remap if I'm not satisfied with the power delivery.

I have absolutely no knowledge of DPF's, although I understand how they work. Shall I drive quite heavy for my first weeks of ownership to eliminate any potential build up in the filter?

This leads me to my next question, do you even bother using the stop/start feature? I don't like the idea of an engine cutting in and out all the time in traffic.

[TomsFocus]

Yeah it's smooth and quiet on the motorway, not luxury barge smooth but still worlds apart from a Type R!

You won't need to drive heavy with the sort of driving you'll be doing, that should be more than good enough to keep the DPF clear, even if it's mostly done short journeys up to now.

Yes, I leave the stop start on all the time, it actually feels weird driving a car now where the engine doesn't stop at lights lol.  It only stops when you're in neutral and lift the clutch, so that'll be sat waiting at lights for long periods etc, it won't cut out while you're waiting at junctions with the clutch down in 1st.  Doesn't cause me any trouble at all, I find I'm still held up by slow pull aways in front, even after waiting for the engine to restart!  

[SamCappo]

That's good to know, I'm looking forward to a car which doesn't give me a bad back and headache lol!

It's nice to hear some positives about what to expect and what to be aware of - I really shouldn't have any major issues at 12k and even if I do, I should have enough spare fuel money to make the repairs haha!

 

[SamCappo]

2 hours ago, TomsFocus said:

ABOUT THE BOOT LEAK

I've just read your contributions in the boot leak topics - I won't have any issues removing the rear bumper, but mine has parking sensors... Do you know if this will be difficult, I am no electrician lol.

The reason I'm asking is I did smell a faint musty smell when I went to look at the car but just put it down to being owned by an elderly deaf guy lol. I've got a feeling it's got the dreaded boot leak .

[TomsFocus]

11 minutes ago, SamCappo said:

I've just read your contributions in the boot leak topics - I won't have any issues removing the rear bumper, but mine has parking sensors... Do you know if this will be difficult, I am no electrician lol.

The reason I'm asking is I did smell a faint musty smell when I went to look at the car but just put it down to being owned by an elderly deaf guy lol. I've got a feeling it's got the dreaded boot leak .

I'm not sure deafness affects smell in any way...  

The parking sensors are just on one large plug so easy enough to remove once the bumper is off.  I just left the sensors plugged in though and let the bumper sit on a towel rather than the concrete, there was just enough room to work around the bumper like that.

As you're buying from a dealer, they should fix it for free if there are any problems surely?  

[SamCappo]

28 minutes ago, TomsFocus said:

I'm not sure deafness affects smell in any way...  

The parking sensors are just on one large plug so easy enough to remove once the bumper is off.  I just left the sensors plugged in though and let the bumper sit on a towel rather than the concrete, there was just enough room to work around the bumper like that.

As you're buying from a dealer, they should fix it for free if there are any problems surely?  

 

Haha good point!!

Glad to know the parking sensors don't cause to much of an issue if I have to reseal those air vents. But you're right, when I go to collect and sign up if there is a puddle in the spare wheel well I'm sure they'll offer to fix it, and if they don't, I'll just ask them to extend my warranty even further or something. Use it as a bit of a bargaining chip.

Odd I'm talking about having to fix a car before I even own it lol, but I really appreciate your advice, top man.