Hi guys,

My names Emma and I'm new to the forum, I've just turned 25 and live in sidcup kent.

I work for sony uk as a digital imaging expert (even though i use canon gear).

I don't currently have a ford but am looking at buying my first focus in the next couple of weeks, any advice would be greatly appreciated!!

I'm looking at a diesel manual as i do lots of motorway miles and like the look of the mpg, is there anything to look out for on the diesel engines from 06 onwards? (i'll probably end up with an 08-09 model).

Thanks in advance

Emma

Hi.

Welcome to the group Emma

Welcome to the forums Emma :)

Id watch out for the egr valve either buy one without one or get it blanked when you buy it

Welcome!

Good luck in your search, the cars are great to drive.

Theres plenty of guys here who can advise you on what to look out for with the diesels, i had a 2008 1.8tdci Zetec which was great; The engine is a bit old school but it turns out to be the more reliable one!

I had a dodgy clutch from the start too but i accepted that being a one off as no one else appears to have suffered from it!

Is there a particular spec youre looking for in particular?

I'm looking at zetec upwards, but I've found a really nice one in uxbridge, its a 2011 1.6 tdci 110 zetec with 25k on the clock so going to have a look tomorrow and may bring it home haha.

I like older style engines there easier to work on and bits are generally cheaper haha.

Thanks for the tip on the egr valve dan, it's something i had on a diesel pug a few years ago that done my head in.

Also thanks for the warm welcome so far guys :)

They just cause more hassle than theyre worth from what ive read from our fellow deisel owners on the foru

Nice! it is a nicer smoother engine but see how you feel on the motorway as some find it can run out of puff at those speeds.

The more experienced ones can elaborate but on the face of it:

blanking the egr valve seems a good call,

it may have a dpf - so put your foot down (ie: give it a good prod) in the lower gears on the test drive to see how much soot you can see out back - gives you an indication how clogged it is!

and i think regular oil changes (i cant remember miles - 10k? some have chosen to go as frequent as 6k) seem to keep the turbo happy :)

Happy hunting!

p.s i prefer Canon gear to Sony too :P

To be honest I'm currently driving a 1998 1.6 8v petrol astra that has no go whatsoever bless it so I'm sure the focus will surprise me haha.

As for putting my foot down in low gears i know all about that as my dad is a mechanic and I've been round cars all my life thanks to him so I've picked up a few tips from him over the years, I think the best one though was don't do what your sister done and put fairy liquid in your washer tank... made my day

canon gear rules ;)

To be honest I'm currently driving a 1998 1.6 8v petrol astra that has no go whatsoever bless it so I'm sure the focus will surprise me haha.

As for putting my foot down in low gears i know all about that as my dad is a mechanic and I've been round cars all my life thanks to him so I've picked up a few tips from him over the years, I think the best one though was don't do what your sister done and put fairy liquid in your washer tank... made my day

canon gear rules ;)

BOOOOO! V@#*+%l driver! Lol some old woman gave me a bottle of soapy water for my van washer n I was like thanks...... Lol

BOOOOO! V@#*+%l driver! Lol some old woman gave me a bottle of soapy water for my van washer n I was like thanks...... Lol

Dan i had an escort mexico for 5 years until some idiot of a vauxhall driver wrote it off, i needed a car quickly and had literally £400 to spend the astra came up so i bought it, I can honestly say I'll never have another vauxhall again, it's uncomfortable, handles like a tree on ice skates, looks tosh and is generally horrid BUT it got me out of a tight spot for 6 months and for that i am grateful to it.

It was quite funny because my sister came running indoors shouting that something was wrong and she couldn't see when she used her washers, me and my dad went out there and both fell on the floor laughing at the look on my sisters face and her car covered in bubbles

To be honest I'm currently driving a 1998 1.6 8v petrol astra that has no go whatsoever bless it so I'm sure the focus will surprise me haha.

As for putting my foot down in low gears i know all about that as my dad is a mechanic and I've been round cars all my life thanks to him so I've picked up a few tips from him over the years, I think the best one though was don't do what your sister done and put fairy liquid in your washer tank... made my day

canon gear rules ;)

Ahhh no way, my old housemate had that car too! one of a kind, it sounded like it needed an inhaler :)

you are kidding about the fairy liquid?! windscreen wipers get a foam party every now and again do they? I can see that tip sticking for some reason.....or it'd make a good prank ;)

Ahhh no way, my old housemate had that car too! one of a kind, it sounded like it needed an inhaler :)

you are kidding about the fairy liquid?! windscreen wipers get a foam party every now and again do they? I can see that tip sticking for some reason.....or it'd make a good prank ;)

According to my other half mine sounds like an apache helicopter even though it's only on 52k and is full of castrol gtx haha!!

Nope gods honest truth it was hilarious, my sister couldn't work out what we were laughing at, the fairy bottle in her hand was it for me I just burst into laughter and was on the floor in seconds closely followed by my dad doing the same, when we could breathe again we both turned and said "please tell me that bottle isn't really a fairy bottle" when she said yeah we started all over again hahaha!!!

I cant talk I used to have a corsa trip :( lol first car and all that lol.

my 1st car was a suzuki swift beat that hahaha

apache helicopter sounds cool.....maybe not when its a car but it could work the imagination!

better than an asthmatic though.... B)

please tell me she still does it?

no she's learnt unfortunately which is a shame as it was always a good laugh when she tried something in her car haha

Ive got the xperia z lol

There's nothing wrong with an xperia-z, if I didn't have the iphone5 it's what I would have got!!

I know lol it takes some cracking pictures. :)

My first car was a Cortina (Mk2) unfortunately my brother wrote that one off, he bought me a Vauxhall Victor to replace it (looked great, handled like a tank) for that I will never forgive him!! loads of cars since including Mk1 Escort Mexicos, lots of Mk 2 Escorts, Mk3, 4 and 5 Cortinas, a few Sierras and one or two divergences from ford (all but one I regret, until recently I owned a classic VW Polo, I liked that one and if ever I find the that tried to steal it and took it off the road I will kill him) however I am back in the fold and now drive a Focus estate! she has done her share of miles 314,000 of them to be honest but get up and go she does!

Phil

I have an Xperia S at present and the 12 megapixel camera is excellent.

Waiting for an insurance exchange for a cracked screen and they're trying to give me a galaxy 3 mini with a 5 megapixel camera, you can imagine that I'm not impressed with that idea.

Anyway, welcome to the forum.

In my opinion a 1.8 diesel would be your best bet, no dpf to worry about,

The engine is less refined but so much more reliable and you'll be happy with the feel and feedback you'll get.

Also the engine is very responsive to a remap so you will be able to tweak the little beast to your hearts desire.

I've got mine up to 148bhp and it goes like the proverbial off a shiny shovel.

Best of luck with your search.

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Hi guys, I was naughty and bought it today, it's a 2010 facelift model with 10k on the clock, 1.6 diesel manual, zetec spec plus parking sensors on the rear, i drove her and fell in love instantly so if all goes well i should be bringing her home on saturday as she needed to be prepped for sale properly.

I feel quite naughty but she really was nice to drive

Good effort, the obligatory photos are required.

Put your multiple cameras and snapping skills to good use. :)