Spare wheel

[ian price]

Hi all, first post and first (and only complaint I hope) regarding the Focus C-Max I acquired just 2 days ago, bought it from a friend of my son who is moving to Portugal, I have owned a Toyota Hilux Surf for over 16 years and to date it's been the most reliable vehicle I have ever owned, just hoping the Ford is half as good, I was disappointed that instead of a spare wheel it came with the foam kit thing, so first job is buying a real spare and jack kit for it, (all my jacks are too high to use on the Focus) what on earth are Ford thinking doing this?, after reading what you need to do when using this pump and foam I was even more astonished, it seems this stuff is only good for a slow puncture  which means if you get a blow out your stuck! I have heard some bad reports on these foam quick-repair kits and seen them in Halfords etc, and apparently tyre fitters will prob charge you more as they have a bad time getting all that s##t out when fitting a new tyre,

This car is a nice little car and the only reason for the change is my wife's "ailments" are getting worse and she is finding it harder to get in the Surf which has been lifted by around 4" (body & chassis) I made a powered side step some years ago to make it easier for her but I think time is up and a smaller "sensible" and more economical car is called for, we were intending to get a small van, Berlingo or similar but this focus came along and it has a good history and being a hatch-back it is easier to get her small mobility scooter in, it's in very good condition (almost like new) and so far we are very pleased with it, certainly much better on diesel than the Surf (which is a 2.4 TDI auto) the focus is 1800 TDI, so if anyone has a space saver spare and jack  in or around Hampshire they want to sell let me know, gonna look on eBay over the next couple of weeks, i'll stick some pics of it on soon, thanks and regards ian

[Luke4efc]

In all fairness to Ford, Top gear did prove the Toyota Hilux is basically bomb proof lol. Toyota are about the most reliable manufacturer out there imo.

Welcome to the world of modern vehicles. Spare wheels are rarely included in cars now as standard (and some not even as an option!). The foam does indeed turn a £10 puncture repair into a £100 new tyre...

[ian price]

Hi Luke and thanks for the reply, yes mate that top gear episode is what decided me on a surf over the Pajero, it really has been the best motor I ever had, most of what I've spent on it was for bling  and lift etc, it's cost very little in parts failure at MOT time in fact out of 16 MOT tests it only failed once and that was rust crept in behind the rear wheel arch flares, my son has a defender and has spent a small fortune on chassis repair welding ending in a new chassis which he had galvanised, new rear door, new cab to body joiner which meant the place he takes it (Keith Stot ?) for all this stuff had to remove the upper body to fit it, he also has a works Discovery and that costs a fortune every service

I'm afraid I am not a big fan of modern cars mate, I know their more reliable and all that but mostly they all look the same and all governed by sensors and computers, i'm more of a plugs, points and condenser bloke, a pic of my old faithful Luke