I am going to look at this car at the weekend and just wondered if there was any tips on anything specific i need to check for or look for when checking it out.

Any tips very welcome.

make sure that the body is straight dents and what not's, make sure the colour of the panels match.

as for reliability issues I had a 306 2 years ago so I would be able to tell you everything but on focuses 2y down the line fingers crossed it hasn't stepped a foot wrong yet so im not sure

Thanks yeah just wondering if there are any known issues. I know most cars have several issues specific to their model so just wanted to make sure so i can check these things if there is anything. I have had a mk1 focus before so not sure if there are many new/different issues with this model.

I got a mk2 1.6tdci. Can't fault pulls like a train great on fuel ( run her on bp ultimate ). Check for any service history.

Plenty of common issues on the 1.6TDCi... DPF, turbo, injector seals, EGR, DMF... Just have a look through this forum and see how many of the threads are about the 1.6 lol!

Don't seem to be many common issues with the car around the engine though!

Thanks all so got it today! Lovely car everything is sound. One thing that struck me from reading through here is that I think this might not need eloys or what ever you call it. There is no magnet on the fuel cap but does have a DPF which is at front of engine near the turbo.

Hi good luck with your new car there not to bad 16 td just make sure you change the engine oil ever 6000 miles should be ok

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Thanks all so got it today! Lovely car everything is sound. One thing that struck me from reading through here is that I think this might not need eloys or what ever you call it. There is no magnet on the fuel cap but does have a DPF which is at front of engine near the turbo.

It will use an Eolys additive, 2009 was the crossover year where they changed to non-Eolys.

Hmm where will I find the tank and how will I know if it needs topping up?

Cyberpeds,

Hi I think we spoke on G+, :), so you got it then, where are the pics :), never owned a Diesel focus so I could not tell you where the top up is.

Is there any service history that might say it has been topped up, what miles has it done.?

It lasts a while. Mines done 50k miles without being topped up so far (to my knowledge anyway). I have a bottle ready for when it needs doing though.

If it does get low or run out it'll bring the engine management light up on the dash. It's a bit of a pain to re-fill though, you have to connect the bottle of fluid to the small tank near the fuel tank under the car then hold the bottle high and let gravity do the work.

Assuming the last time it was filled that they reset the counter you can use elmconfig to see the amount of additive used in mg. Its a 1.8l tank, the FACM fires a shot of the stuff in to the fuel when you open an close the fuel filler flap.

For now you can use the 1ml is 1mg rule, Its a little more complicated and is around 800g per litre but is close enough

they don't need to reset it tho, mine had apparently fired 16000mg since it was last topped up, so either they didn't reset it, elmconfig doesn't read it correctly or the software on the car is rubbish.

Tom, didn't you do some tests with before before you did your dpf?

Yeah I did some tests, couldn't work out the ELMConfig readings, they didn't seem right. It also said my tank was still full after 50k...

And yeah I also did DPF tests but they were crap as well, Ford software for these systems really isn't great imo!

Lost me at ELMconfig :)

It's done 96k @preee yes got it and loving it.

One odd thing I noticed tonight (noticed as its dark now) is that you lock the car up but the stereo and odometer stay lit. Stood there for about 5 mins but they never went out. Should they be staying on? I can't imagine they should!

They stay lit up on most cars nowadays for a short period of time until the various ECU's go into a sleep state, they should go out eventually and I would have thought 5 mins was enough. If they are staying permanently lit then you do have an issue.

ELMConfig is a computer programme we can use to scan the ECU's for faults and change settings....similar to what Ford use but would charge you £60 an hour for!

The dash stays lit on my Mk2.5 for about half an hour!! Not timed it but I can park up and walk up to the bank and a couple of shops and it's still lit when I get back. I does go out eventually though.