Hi, this is my first post here😊

i have just picked up a 03 focus LX 1.6 16v (Zetec SE engine) with 72.600 miles on the clock. There’s no rust on the outside bodywork and it’s in great condition , it drives smooth and everything works. I paid £450 for it ,  It didn’t come with any paperwork and a HPI check showed it was written off as a Cat D in February 2004 ( 3 months after it was registered lol) do you think I got a good deal on it? Unfortunately I haven’t been able to look underneath yet for corrosion etc maybe that will show some bad news , hopefully not.

thanks… looking forward to any replies 👍

Whether it is a good deal or not fully depends on the amount of rust underneath.

These cars are well known to rust. The Focus MK1.5 was one of the first Ford models that were completely built using waterbased sealants. Back in the days corrosion on the sealant seams was a well known problem. Many of these vehicles suffered from this problem.

Another well known point of corrosion are the rear wheel arches. The rear wheel arches are lined with a carpet like insulation material for sound insulation. During time water and other crap finds its way behind the insulation material and causes the bodywork to rust. Removing the insulation material usually results in the discovery of large rust holes.

Apart from that the Focus MK1/MK1.5 also has many of the other corrosion problems that can be expected from a Ford of that era. For example corrosion of the sills, front subframe, rear subframe, etc. can be expected.


These days most of the Focus MK1/MK1.5 vehicles are already scrapped due to age or corrosion. Very few good examples are still around so it can be worth the effort to make sure that a really good example stays in good condition. On the other hand the LX trim level and Zetec-SE engine are not really anything special which reflects on the value.

The other side of the argument is that you paid £450 outright for a working car. There are folk on here for whom that is a 'monthly' payment for their transport! Just savor what you have, and future decisions on repairs will all be based on what the car is worth. Silly to consider a £1000 repair on such a vehicle, but if a £200 repair keeps it safely on the road, that's a winner.

There are many of us in the bottom of the car chain, and personally I get great pleasure having a reliable form of transport which 5 years ago cost me a one off payment of £1000 - enjoy...

Scrap value is around £250 right now, so you can't lose any more than £200 on it.  Interestingly, it wouldn't have been worth much more than £500 10 years ago.

Cat D status would have knocked about 25% off the price when it was still fairly new.  And puts most buyers off.  But doesn't make any difference by this age.  Every 20 year old car will have had significant repairs at some point anyway.

You will have to spend a lot more than you paid to keep it on the road each year, but that's the choice you make.  Cars always cost money, either in repairs, or in depreciation...and for the unlucky people, both at the same time.

 

Thanks for the replies. I didn’t know about the rust spots behind the arches etc.. I’ll probably take a look sometime today , there’s not many round my area and the ones I’ve seen are dripping in rust lol and for its age I’m surprised how nice it drives. What will be best to use to prevent rust in the future for bodywork? 

2 hours ago, Cam3roon2k41999 said:

 What will be best to use to prevent rust in the future for bodywork? 

Likely already too late given age/quality of car. Most 'rust protection' involves a good cleaning underneath, accompanied by alot of wire brushing. Then a coat of something like Waxoyl. There are still some specialist garages around that do just rust proofing. My neighbour recently spent £800 getting his lovey 1963 Jaguar Mk2 done.

Unless I've missed it, can't see mention of an MoT here? That would certainly influence whether it's a good deal not.

4 hours ago, StephenFord said:

There are still some specialist garages around that do just rust proofing. My neighbour recently spent £800 getting his lovey 1963 Jaguar Mk2 done.

I wonder if in 60 years time people will be getting their 'Classic' EV rust proofed 🤣

52 minutes ago, unofix said:

I wonder if in 60 years time people will be getting their 'Classic' EV rust proofed 🤣

Rust proofing has come along  way from the 1960's.  well, for some manufacturers it has with exception of certain models. 

Cars of the future probably won't have much corrosive materials to need protection. 

Think in 60 years time people will wonder why we had these individual transportation devices that sat 22hrs a day on your drive. 

5 hours ago, Eric Bloodaxe said:

Unless I've missed it, can't see mention of an MoT here? That would certainly influence whether it's a good deal not.

Sorry j forgot to mention it lol. It has 9 months left and passed with the following advisory’s.

Brake pipe corroded, covered in grease or other material all (1.1.11 (c))

Front coil spring corroded both (5.3.1 (b) (i))

Fuel pipe/s corroded all

Nearside front anti-roll bar ball joint has slight play (5.3.4 (a) (i))

Nearside front track rod end ball joint has slight play (2.1.3 (b) (i))

Oil leak, but not excessive (8.4.1 (a) (i))

Rear coil spring corroded both (5.3.1 (b) (i))

Rear suspension arm corroded but not seriously weakened both (5.3.3 (b) (i))

Sub-frame corroded but not seriously weakened (5.3.3 (b) (i))

9 hours ago, Cam3roon2k41999 said:

Sorry j forgot to mention it lol. It has 9 months left and passed with the following advisory’s.

Still a bargain, you couldn't even rent a car for a week for £450!

Yes, so if you can avoid major expenditure you get 9 months motoring for £200, even if it goes for scrap after that as Tom mentioned earlier.

4 hours ago, StephenFord said:

...you couldn't even rent a car for a week for £450!

I can rent a Focus for a week for £167 over here.  

16 minutes ago, TomsFocus said:

I can rent a Focus for a week for £167 over here.  

Oopps, 8 years ago I rented a Renault Capture from Enterprise for 6 days, cost was about £450, rental prices have obviously plummeted! 😁

I remember renting a car in Spain about 20 yrs ago and was £2.34 inc insurance. And yes that was for a week!!?