Would You Buy Focus Zetec S 2009 With Following Problems?

[Divac]

Hi everyone,

I was offered a Focus Zetec S 2009 2.0 TDCi with 70,000 on a clock (last service was at 51,000) for 8000 quid. It comes with a RAC independent inspection report saying:

The exhaust has been identified as having limited life because, although there was no leakage, there is external corrosion present and the inside of the system, which may have significant deterioration, cannot be inspected.

Due to the exterior being dirty, only a limited inspection of the exterior paintwork could be carried out. Therefore some minor defects may not have been detected/noted.

The minor stone chips and scratches, indicated in this report, would benefit from repair, which would enhance the cosmetic appearance of the vehicle whilst helping to prevent further deterioration.

Uneven tyre wear; as indicated in this report, may indicate incorrect geometry which can result in excessive and rapid tyre wear. Therefore a full steering alignment and geometry check is strongly recommended.

the brake/clutch fluid level requires to be topped up. Whilst the examiner was unable to detect a leak from the systems, further investigation into the reason for the loss is strongly advised.

As the braking system's fluid content is prone to water / condensation absorption the examiner advises that the brake fluid be completely replaced, in accordance with manufacture's recommendations.

Right side light is dull.

Right headlight lens is cloudy.

Brake warning light is ON.

Both front brake discs are corroded/ridged.

Sounds like a lot of problems. What would be the worst case scenarion if I buy a car like this?

My question would be how likely is the leak in the braking system? What will the repairs cost me?

Regarding the tyres, can it be a suspension issue rather than geometry?

[Dave the Dude]

Sounds like the car has been either in an 'outside' car lot or left standing for some time. Was the previous owner a company as this sounds like the usual signs of an ex-reps company car?

Other than the headlight lens most other things seem trivial/cheap to sort out. I would tell garage that the Brake warning light/Braking system need to be sorted before ANYONE would consider a purchase!!

[Divac]

Sounds like the car has been either in an 'outside' car lot or left standing for some time. Was the previous owner a company as this sounds like the usual signs of an ex-reps company car?

Other than the headlight lens most other things seem trivial/cheap to sort out. I would tell garage that the Brake warning light/Braking system need to be sorted before ANYONE would consider a purchase!!

yes, i believe this is an ex company car. will you consider it to be an issue?

I am still wondering about the unevenly worn tyres. How expensive the problem with suspension can be?

[Mike77]

Uneven tyre wear is only tracking, about 25 quid to sort out, plus the cost of tyres if it needs them. I very much doubt it is an ex company vehicle if there is 19k miles between services, they would normally be on top of these things.... But all in all, this report wouldn't put myself off, its just a reason for some negotiations on price.

[NorthSussex]

I wouldn't buy it, it sounds like it has been neglected and missed several services, there are better cars out there. Example (http://www.ashingtonautos.co.uk/7272/main/Focus1.6_Titanium.html)

[btmaldon]

There are far better cars available for £8k with less miles on them. A dealer would only give you half that value in PX.

[leftathome]

I wouldn`t touch it either. If they can`t be bothered to have a clean car for inspection and potential faults have been identified from what they can see imagine what might be lurking elsewhere. Also you`re very close to 75k and with the 2.0 tdci engine we all know what that means !!!

[Pitmonster]

Any one (or maybe two) of those faults on their own, and I would think about it.

Put them all together and I would walk away.

They may be minor jobs, on the other hand they may not - you just don't know.

Dont go into this thinking of the best-case scenario, you have to be thinking of the absolute worst-case scenario for every job.

If the car was immaculate apart from the uneven tyre wear, then "it's just the tracking" is a reasonable thing to think.

Because of the general poor condition and other problems, it's highly probable that it's much more than that.

Almost no care and attention has been given to this car, and so what seem like minor issues could turn out to be very serious and very expensive. Careful owners get things sorted quickly before the problem becomes more serious. Careless owners let thing fester, and they just get worse. Based in the condition of the car, which type of owner do you think they are?

Assume the worst at all times.

Buy in haste, repent at leisure...

For example: the uneven tyre wear may just be tracking.

Or it may be worn bushes, worn track rod ends, bent suspension arms, bent steering rack. The cost of that could be many hundreds of pounds (when I was getting new tyres a few weeks ago somebody paid £800 for suspension work similar to what I described above. the symptom was uneven tyre wear...)

Plus the new tyres that are needed, of course

The loss of brake fluid is unexplained but it could mean a new master cylinder, servo, brake lines, or all of these. It all adds up.

And that's on top of the new discs & pads required.

The whole exhaust may need replacing, from front to back, which could cost £400-500

Also, it hasn't been serviced in 19k miles (why not!?), so the turbo is at risk. How much would that cost?

Think about the money, time and inconvenience of getting every job done, and plan for the absolute worst.

Despite the mileage, it's only 3 yrs old so it should be absolutely immaculate. This is a long long way from that, and the work could very easily run into the thousands. Worst case it could easily be £3-4k

My own Focus is 6 yrs old (with 81k) and is ten times better than this one.

I wouldn't buy it. It's a dog that hasn't been cared for, and there are far far better cars out there for the same price.

[Big_dom91]

Id shop around a bit more i baught a 59 plate zetec in july for 6k full ford service history and only had 11k on the clock

[Stoney871]

It really does sound like the car has been driven hard and not cared for.

Maybe an ex taxi or hire car?

[STEADS]

i would be wary of the brake fluid loss if not from the brakes with it being discs ll round wouls be pretty easy to detect i,d be looking at the hydraulic clutch would still bring on brake warning light due to using same resiviour could be an expensive fix .personaly if a cars not preped for a sell as i like to see cars as i,d look after it myself i steer clear if they can not be botherd to prep to me says after sales would be abismal as well

[Stoney871]

Agreed, they should sell the car as road safe and ready to drive.

If they can't be arsed to do that I'd definitely look elsewhere.

At the least I'd expect them to price accordingly.

[artscot79]

wouldnt touch it for the same reasons as the guys said sounds like a potential money pit of problems and thats just what they found theres loads to chose from far better than that mate ide walk away its a neglected car when someone lets it get like that they cant be arsed the second the warranty ran out its likely had cheap or missed servicing and had the !Removed! kicked out of it

[Divac]

Thank you guys for your opinions. I went to see the car and its service history. what stroke me was that the previous owner bought 12tyres over the last 3 years. Now this car is fitted with 13th & 14th tyre. Unfortunately, the garage failed to explain such huge number of tyres and the rest of car's history. result - I haven't bought it... thanks again guys.

[Stoney871]

If tyres have gone that fast i'd suspect a bent track arm or some kind of damage affecting the wheel alignment.

If it was purely tracking then a good tyre fitter would recognise this and rectify it.

[Pitmonster]

If tyres have gone that fast i'd suspect a bent track arm or some kind of damage affecting the wheel alignment.

If it was purely tracking then a good tyre fitter would recognise this and rectify it.

...while a bad tyre fitter would keep his mouth shut and get lots of repeat business

Although didn't the owner ask why he needed so many tyres in such a short time?

[alkyz89]

dude i bought my car 2010 zetec s in immaculate condition with only 2400 miles on the clock for £10,600 from a main ford dealer about a yr and a half ago... so based on that id say its far to expensivefor what your getting...

just my opinion