Hi all, looking to buy a focus on a 04 plate but carried out an mot history check and the following came up:

Nearside Rear Trailing arm rubber bush deteriorated but not resulting in excessive movement (2.4.G.2)

Offside Rear Trailing arm rubber bush deteriorated but not resulting in excessive movement (2.4.G.2)

Offside Rear Coil spring corroded (2.4.C.1b)

Centre exhaust bracket corroded

Rear discs corroded

I need to speak to seller to see if any of this work as been sorted (mot last may) but if not I was wondering how much this lot would cost? Or does all this flag up bigger issues later?

Thanks Tony

Why dont you ask the seller to put a. 12month ticket on it pointing out you know about these issues and won't buy unless rectified

All pretty muuch straight forward mate, easy enough too. Not sure on price but not the most expensive parts in the world, and all common things to go on any car really. Something to negotiate on price with if none have been done.

12 month ticket is a must... the only way you will be reassured.

rear arm bushes will be the most expensive the common issue is the bolts were never greased by ford so removal can be impossible meaning new arms with bushes the rear subframe needs dropped to do this and a 4 wheel alignment done so budget £250-£350 for that job when it says they are deteriorated in my experience they are almost shot a decent tight corner is enough to seperate the bush from the steel bolt a 12 month ticket means nothing as far as the rear bushes are concerned i had a 12 month ticket on my old mk1 and within 3 months had to have the rear bushes replaced

I wouldn't be too concerned with any of that. It is a 9 year old car. For example centre exhaust section corroded. What exhaust system isn't on an older car. Springs corrode. It is only the extent to which they have gone and they weren't to excess otherwise it would have failed the MOT.

My only concern would be the short MOT. I wouldn't buy a 2nd hand car without a long MOT. Preferably 12 Months.

the rear bushes can be almost gone but if they dont move that much its an advisory however it takes a lot of force to move them so any mot inspector wont get any or little movement out of them but when thats translated into cornering force they can move quite a bit

With regards to the rear bushes, when the time comes (if its not already been rectified) these are going to be a nightmare.. the bolts seize into the sleeves of the bush meaning they are very difficult to remove and the subframe usually needs to be removed from the car.

an mot inspector will use a pry bar to see what play is in the bushes, you will be suprised how easy it is to make the bushes move around

the springs in this case should be replaced at the same time as doing the bushes as the springs on the focus are not the easiest to remove/refit either.

depending on the state of the exhaust, new brackets can be made/fitted instead of replacing sections.

so 2 of the 3 jobs are not easy or straight forward

Cheers for the replies. So it looks like if the Rear bushes haven't been done to leave the car alone, or ask for a chunk off the asking price...

Every focus will suffer from the rear bushes failing at some stage as they all use the same setup, so I wouldn't walk away from it just because of them.

But I would certainly be looking for a good bit off as you say.

Its not a big job really.

As for those saying 'must have 12 months ticket' - You are very trusting, i have bought cars that came with a fresh MOT but were clearly failures.