It gives me no joy to post this - but the 2000 Focus has been replaced. I love that car dearly and when it is eventually sold I will hand over the keys with a heavy heart - but that said, the MOT did expire and to get another one would have cost over £400 in repairs, so it had to go.

Its replacement's brand does begin with a "V", but don't worry, it isn't a Vauxhall. I'd sooner be seen dead than in one of those. It is a Volvo! Or to be specific, a 1999 Volvo V40 1.8 Automatic.

The car has three months MOT, 132,000 miles and is in fantastic mechanical condition. The bodywork is decent, except for the front bumper which was partially ripped off when the previous owner parked on a tall kerb and dismounted same at a rather bad angle. It is still intact at one side and the other is held on with rope, but I am hoping that will be either fixed or replaced within the next day or two. Other than that, there is NO body rust and the scratches here-and-there can be resolved with some wax and a couple of hours of elbow grease.

I have to say though, the best bit is the purchase price, which was £100! Even if it needs a new front bumper and only lasts until the MOT expires, £100 for 3 months of motoring is pretty good in my books.

Anyway, I shall not ramble on and will leave you with some (rather poor quality) pictures of Jez, as I have named "him" given the registration number...

Well for a hundred quid you can't go wrong, it's a weeks food shopping!

Not too bad! Same age as me. B)

Is there no way you can keep the Focus? Have you decided it's fate yet? :(

Well for a hundred quid you can't go wrong, it's a weeks food shopping!

My sentiments exactly!! And going through the pile of receipts and service history it has, I can see that in the last few years it has had around £1,500 spent on it on new parts (brakes, tyres, fuel pump etc...).

Not too bad! Same age as me. B)

Is there no way you can keep the Focus? Have you decided it's fate yet? :(

Unfortunately there isn't. I already have the Fiesta which is going to cost around £400 itself to get through an MOT, and I just can't justify spending that on TWO cars, let alone one. Given that the Focus has already failed two previous MOTs badly resulting in repair bills in excess of £300, it is just not viable to repair it again. The Fiesta on the other hand has cost us £90 to buy and nothing in previous repairs, so it is a different story.

That has ford parts in it , as volvo are or were part of ford.

Yunii

Even if you do only get 3 months motoring out of it, you will get your £100 back in scrap plus a bit more!

Hope it serves you well

Unfortunately there isn't. I already have the Fiesta which is going to cost around £400 itself to get through an MOT, and I just can't justify spending that on TWO cars, let alone one. Given that the Focus has already failed two previous MOTs badly resulting in repair bills in excess of £300, it is just not viable to repair it again. The Fiesta on the other hand has cost us £90 to buy and nothing in previous repairs, so it is a different story.

That's a real shame. :( At least you're saving the Fiesta, there won't be many Mk4/5s left soon. :(

That's a real shame. :( At least you're saving the Fiesta, there won't be many Mk4/5s left soon. :(

You are right there. The MK4s are a dying breed due mainly to chassis corrosion. That's what cost our 1997 Fiesta its life back in 2013.

I will keep the '01 on the road as long as possible and replace it (when the time comes) with a late 90s Ghia model, similar to our old '97 Ghia 1.25.

Even if you do only get 3 months motoring out of it, you will get your £100 back in scrap plus a bit more!

Hope it serves you well

My thoughts exactly! Even if the Focus had passed its MOT I would have still bought that Volvo anyway (as an additional car, that is) purely for the fact is was an absolute bargain.

Well volvo and ford are one and the same these days lol buy yeah 100 quid is a fantastic deal.

Well, the bumper is secured back on to the car again (no parts required) and the local mechanic only charged £10 for 30 minutes labour. The benefits of an old car and a trustworthy mechanic!