Possible New Purchase - Mk1 2003 1.6 petrol - what should i look out for?

[Albert27]

Hi guys,

Seen a mk1 2003 1.6 petrol advertised for sale with Mot till end of year & new cambelt just done.  Seems in reasonable condition and like a genuine sale.  What should i look out for on these cars?  Advert says clock reads 82,000 but clocks were replaced at some point and is more like 120,000. Any thoughts on this?  Asking price is £600 ono.

Any thoughts appreciated......

[JONATHAN_11_80]

The Mk 1 focus is a strong car however rust is the biggest enemy of the these cars now due to age.  The 1.6 is a good engine but doesn't like being neglected and will burn lots of oil if this is the case.  Ford were changing dash clocks free of charge at one point due to various faults so this will explain the clock change.  But at this age I wouldn't worry to much about the mileage just go on condition and how it drives.  Are there any clonks or rattles from the suspension, does the engine pull cleanly with no hesitation, check the rear and front wheel arches for rust, also check the sills for rust carefully along with the floor pan.  Is the engine oil clean etc etc

 

[isetta]

My wife had a 2001 focus for 8 years until about 18 months ago. body Shell and body panels had no rust but the back suspension subframe and suspension arms were absolutley thick with rust and you could pick bits off. I am suprised those parts never failed the mot whilst we had it. I think they probably do fail the MOT sometimes for other people based on the huge availability of cheap replacements on eBay etc.

The front suspension subframe was not quite so bad visually but a hole did appear on the underside of the subframe and had to be welded. 

It was a very reliable with very little outlay over 8 years

Front subframe hole example (worse than mine was)

 

 

[MrRedman]

I'd keep an eye out for best scrap prices 😂😂😂😂

[Damien]

If the start to rust as your last pic won't fail mot depending on how bad it's got.

once the rust starts taking over that's when action needed 

[isetta]

"I'd keep an eye out for best scrap prices 😂😂😂😂"  not sure what MrRedman means here.

"If the start to rust as your last pic won't fail mot depending on how bad it's got." not sure exactly what Damien means here. the one in the pic would most likely fail MOT as the rearmost bottom wishbone mount would most likely be considered as affected by the rust, and the forward wishbone mount is not many inches away either. 

 

[Damien]

Meaning if you have just a bit of rust starting and it's not major it will probs pass the mot.

but once it's starting to get worse n then effecting areas then it will be mot failure.

didnt notice how bad pic was so appolagies for that.

[MrRedman]

What I ment was it seems the mk1 is now starting to fill scrapyards judging by the amount now on eBay/gumtree for spares and repair although I do accept there will be plenty that have years left in them 👍

[Albert27]

Thanks for the advice guys.  I decided against this one in the end and am going to wait til later in the year and possibly get something a bit newer, maybe another mk2.5.