My Ford Focus 1.6 Tdci - To Maintain Or To Upgrade To A Mk3 Focus

[Hassen]

Hi guys.

My current Ford Focus 1.6 TDCI has been working well for me for just over 2 years. It has over 108,000 miles on the clock and when I got it, it had 55,000 miles. It averages around 47-50mpg on my normal routes.

It had a major service done today, which I was expecting. Cost €301. The car has only been serviced at Ford dealerships while in the uk and with me here. There has been a good few things that are up for repair/changing now:

1. Brake pads all around front and rear

2. Right rear swing bushes worn. Will probably need replacing for both sides

3. Timing belt

4. Water pump

Total cost of above will be over €1000.

As from July of this year, I will be averaging around 640 miles per week in the car.

I am now face with a conumdrum: Repair the above, keep the car and it will keep on depreciating as now the miles are adding up or cut my loses, put €2-3k towards another car along with part exchanging the Focus.

I was planning on keeping the car for another 2 years but with this sort of mileage I am currently doing, the car will be close to 160,000 miles by the time I try to trade it in, which would result in it losing a fair bit of value.

Trying to find a Mk3 Focus for that budget but not getting a lot of results. Thinking of getting a broker to find me a nice clean UK car. Zetec S would be the ultimate goal but doubtful to get one within budget.

Would love to hear your thoughts and options.

Thanks :)

[theredfox]

hi hassen

if you can afford to change go for it like you say you it will cost you more money as parts need to be replaced due to age.

as to ford pricing for the above parts you could get your own parts and have them fit them

paul

[Hassen]

That does make sense. I have to seriously work out the sums and my budget as I think in the long term I would be losing more money by holding on to the car.

I will probably trade it in and now I am seriously considering getting a Skoda Octavia vRS 2L diesel with 170bhp. Remapped and dpf out brings it to about 209bhp! Anything to watch out for with that particular car?

Yes it will be sad to leave the Blue Oval club.

[JC600]

I think you'd be better trading in for a lower mileage newer car.....and with the mileage you do, Vrs would be a nice comfortable cruiser.

[Dales]

I had the Octavia before I bought the Focus. It was not the VRS. Just the 1.9 diesel and it was a fantastic car.

Even though my Octavia had high mileage it still drove excellent. I honestly couldn't fault the car in any way.

I just used it for work to save the mileage on the ST plus it saved me a fortune on fuel bills as the Octavia averaged between 48 and 52 mpg and the ST returns 22mpg.

Main reason for the 2nd car to use for work was my job can be a bit messy. First day I bought the ST and used it for work I got paint on my seat. luckily enough I noticed it straight away and got the paint off the seat, but I dread to think the mess it would have made to the seat if I didn't see it while the paint was still wet.

I actually seriously thought of selling the ST and buying another Octavia. But the ST just makes me smile every time I drive it.

I for one give the Skoda Octavia the thumbs up.

[Hassen]

I think you'd be better trading in for a lower mileage newer car.....and with the mileage you do, Vrs would be a nice comfortable cruiser.

The mileage is only going to increase from July onwards and my fear is that the value of the car is going to go further down and I would hate for that to happen.

[Shennas]

Hi guys.

My current Ford Focus 1.6 TDCI has been working well for me for just over 2 years. It has over 108,000 miles on the clock and when I got it, it had 55,000 miles. It averages around 47-50mpg on my normal routes.

It had a major service done today, which I was expecting. Cost €301. The car has only been serviced at Ford dealerships while in the uk and with me here. There has been a good few things that are up for repair/changing now:

1. Brake pads all around front and rear

2. Right rear swing bushes worn. Will probably need replacing for both sides

3. Timing belt

4. Water pump

Total cost of above will be over €1000.

As from July of this year, I will be averaging around 640 miles per week in the car.

I am now face with a conumdrum: Repair the above, keep the car and it will keep on depreciating as now the miles are adding up or cut my loses, put €2-3k towards another car along with part exchanging the Focus.

I was planning on keeping the car for another 2 years but with this sort of mileage I am currently doing, the car will be close to 160,000 miles by the time I try to trade it in, which would result in it losing a fair bit of value.

Trying to find a Mk3 Focus for that budget but not getting a lot of results. Thinking of getting a broker to find me a nice clean UK car. Zetec S would be the ultimate goal but doubtful to get one within budget.

Would love to hear your thoughts and options.

Thanks :)

I can say if your are doing 160,000 in the car then these cost are minor. I did 150K over 3 years before in a BMW320D. Apart the the clutch going none other than normal service parts i.e. Brake pad/discs, fuel filter and oil & filter. I personally would not upgrade as you car is going to be worth near to nothing with 160K on the clock and be about the same in reliability and cost of running.

I changed the oil every 10K rather than wait for the computer to flag a service to reduce engine ware.

[Hassen]

I had the Octavia before I bought the Focus. It was not the VRS. Just the 1.9 diesel and it was a fantastic car.

Even though my Octavia had high mileage it still drove excellent. I honestly couldn't fault the car in any way.

I just used it for work to save the mileage on the ST plus it saved me a fortune on fuel bills as the Octavia averaged between 48 and 52 mpg and the ST returns 22mpg.

Main reason for the 2nd car to use for work was my job can be a bit messy. First day I bought the ST and used it for work I got paint on my seat. luckily enough I noticed it straight away and got the paint off the seat, but I dread to think the mess it would have made to the seat if I didn't see it while the paint was still wet.

I actually seriously thought of selling the ST and buying another Octavia. But the ST just makes me smile every time I drive it.

I for one give the Skoda Octavia the thumbs up.

Thanks for the info as that's very handy to hear first hand experience. My car is used a lot for getting me to work and more driving within work as well. I need a comfortable car that would be economical on fuel. It has to be a drivers car as it will be my only car as sadly I can't afford to run another. Maybe in the future if funds allow, a nice clean Mazda MX5 MK2 would be perfect for me.

The ST would be top of the list as well but couldn't just drive it with that fuel economy lol

I think for the time being, I might hold onto the car. Plan would be to get all the parts required and get a mechanic to fit them rather than Ford dealership as the cost is too much. Hopefully that way I will save some money and keep the car going.

[Hassen]

I can say if your are doing 160,000 in the car then these cost are minor. I did 150K over 3 years before in a BMW320D. Apart the the clutch going none other than normal service parts i.e. Brake pad/discs, fuel filter and oil & filter. I personally would not upgrade as you car is going to be worth near to nothing with 160K on the clock and be about the same in reliability and cost of running.

I changed the Oil every 10K rather than wait for the computer to flag a service to reduce engine ware.

The 320D is a lovely car to drive and very comfortable. With the amount of miles you did, the usual wear and tear are normal. So far the car has been reliable and never missed a beat. The point you make about it being the same in reliability and cost of running at a higher mileage does make sense. The car is serviced regularly at around 12k miles. Planning to get Terraclean for the car to keep it running smoothly.

[theredfox]

have you anybody in mind for terraclean

[Hassen]

This is the only one I know doing it in Ireland so far.

http://www.terracleanireland.ie/

[theredfox]

no mention of price on website

[Dales]

Thing is. You recon your Focus that you have at the moment wont be worth much once you start putting the miles on it.

I personally think you would lose more if you bought the mk3 and put the miles on that in the long run.

Your car at the moment will lose value obviously with such a high mileage. but you will lose more money over all on a mk 3 or even any newer car when it comes to the re sale time.

[Hassen]

Interesting point Dales that I didn't consider. A newer car would definitely take a bigger hit on value than my nearly 5 year old car as the more money is lost in the first 3 years of ownership. I just want to minimise money lost on the car as much as possible as I know my mileage will be increasing soon and the car needs parts mentioned above.

It's such a conundrum.

Now there is a Skoda Vrs 2009 reaching here from the Uk on Wednesday thay has 53k miles and a full service history. Only issue is that bumper needs fixing.

Also found a Seat Leon FR 2010 with 40k miles and a lady owner with a fsh in a dealer 10 min from the house. Problem is that it's in white!

Both 2L diesels with about 170 bhp stock and similar chassis. Wife already has a 1.6L petrol Seat which is lovely to drive. Both above cars are kinda witjin budget.

Thoughts ?

[Dales]

I have never driven the Seat Leon.

But I have heard of a few people say they are good cars to drive, Grear road holding etc. A black Seat leon FR passes me some mornings going to work. The guy who drives it has a custom exhaust on it and it honestly sounds great.

I tell you what though, It can shift. Ok it gives out an odd puff of black smoke when he floors it. But all diesels do that.

I have recently seen a yellow one also and that can fair shift also. Seems like the FR`s take a lot of abuse by their young owners lol.

I do personally like them though as they are nice cars.

I would try getting a test drive in the Skoda Octavia though. I think you will be pleasantly surprised. Great all round family car. and the Vrs is a really nice car too.

I will admit I was more than surprised at how much I liked the Skoda. I honestly just bought it as a 2nd car to go to and from work.

But really liked how it drove, Ideal size too.

But might not be for everyone.

Hopefully I don't get on anyones bad side here as its obviously a Ford owners forum. But I sold it and bought my 57 plate Focus 1.8 diesel estate and the Focus dosnt come close to the Octavia.

Just my personal opinion and hopefully havnt offended any members lol

[Hassen]

Thanks for the info. Like you said, the Seat Leon FR is a pocket rocket. Drives very well as the chassis is well balanced. Seat brand their cars for sportiness and try to differentiate themselves from Vw.
The more I read about the Skoda, the more it sounds promising. Problem is my budget as I wasn't planning on upgrading the car so soon and don't have as much money as I would like to put towards the new car.

[Hassen]

Update:

1. Got a quote of €550 for replacing timing belt, waterpump, rear brakes and rear swing arm bushes from an independent local garage. Does that sound a bit too low is my concern now? I have never brought the car there before. Wondering if that's excluding vat.

2. The White 2010 Seat Leon FR tdi is still on sale and the garage would be interested in taking my Focus as a trade in. Going to go view and test drive it this Thursday morning.

[theredfox]

that's good price for indi got mine done at local ford last august t/belt /water pump/ rear discs/pads /rear bushes for €700 including vat

mileage is currently 86500

look forward to your update about the seat

paul

[Hassen]

Thought it was a good quote for the labour and parts given the fact that Ford were asking more than double that amount. Which garage did you use as by the sounds of it you got a good deal too.

Looking forward to testing out the Seat. I reckon it will be a riot to drive :)

[theredfox]

local ford dealer Henderson's /Sligo

[Hassen]

Slightly too far from me or else I could get the car serviced there. Cheers anyways.

[south_bound]

I had the same dilemma - 2007 Focus with just over 100,000 miles on the clock, now not worth much more than £1500-2000 as p/ex. I reckon that any depreciation on a newer model in the first year will be more than the maintenance bill to keep the existing one going for the next few years (as long as nothing major goes wrong). Its been really reliable so far and I like it so even with the thought of a big bill for the timing belt, tyres suspension I will get it done. I did the brake pads a while back, only £30 for the bits and fitted DIY. In any case, that new car feeling disappears after only a few weeks.

[Hassen]

Such a dilemma!

The depreciation on the new model would definitely not make it worth it. If I were to get anything newer, it would be a car that's at least 2-3 years old. Also, would be nice to get a bit of an upgrade. Was thinking maybe something more powerful and comfortable for motorway driving. I realised after owning the Focus for over 2 years that it gets quite noisy in the cabin on the motorway. 70-75db @120km/h. The sound deadening made a significant reduction in noise levels but it's still not on par with factory cars from Opel, Lexus or BMW. The noise does get tiring after a while.

Test driving the Seat Leon tomorrow but not putting too much hope of being to afford it by trading in my Focus even though the white colour has definitely grown on me :)

[Hassen]

Update: Went over to see the Leon and how much the dealer was willing to offer for my car. Sadly, the numbers don't add up as he was offering a lot lower than I expected for my car. This means that I will get the repairs done on the Focus and keep it for another year at least. Maybe early next year, if the financial situation improves, I will consider upgrading to a newer car.

I will be booking the car with a local independent garage to get timing belt, water pump, rear brakes and rear swing arm bushes sorted in 2 weeks time. I am seriously considering getting a Whiteline rear anti roll bar now since I am saving a fair bit of money from now using the Ford garage :)