sierraman Posted March 13, 2018 Share Posted March 13, 2018 Recent trip down south I saw a fair few S plate Focus Mk1s, really scarce sight up north. None of them seemed particularly rusty either. Now theyre getting on a bit these are real shite fodder, anyone else a fan? Banger Kenny 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cpjitservices Posted March 13, 2018 Share Posted March 13, 2018 Recent trip down south I saw a fair few S plate Focus Mk1s, really scarce sight up north. None of them seemed particularly rusty either. Now theyre getting on a bit these are real shite fodder, anyone else a fan?I had a green Mk1 Estate, 1.6. Was a good car, my first proper car! Had it about a year, I had one problem with it! The little white plastic lug on the clutch master cylinder snapped (top of the pedal), that was a right bugger to replace. 51 plate I think mine was. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slartibartfast Posted March 13, 2018 Share Posted March 13, 2018 I had a Focus 1.8 TDDI(?) as my first car. Sort of. First can I could regularly use anyway. I really liked it. I particularly liked the truck like noise the engine made for some reason, it was reassuring. Anyway I crashed it and wrote it off. I'd have another. However I'd want to do something with the cupholders which are terrible. cpjitservices 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davehedgehog31 Posted March 13, 2018 Share Posted March 13, 2018 I had a 1.8 TDCI, It was a nice car, only thing I had to change was the clutch master cylinder. That was until I crashed it into a verge and wrote it off. The rust is what would put me off another, mine was a 52 plate and although only 7 years old and low mileage at the time it was starting to go in a couple of problem areas. cpjitservices 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smellypoo Posted March 13, 2018 Share Posted March 13, 2018 Owned and ran an 'ebony' from new for about 8 years - essentially a 1.6 pez zetec with lots of extras thrown at it. Was a lovely car, went wrong twice - once was a failed coil pack (at about 2 years old) and then a failed cambelt tensioner which meant a local mechanic had to fit a head from a scrapped car for me as well as new tensioner, belt and water pump. Was due a belt which was scheduled in for a couple of weeks time, just unlucky I guess. Sold the car soon after but still have fond memories, it handled really well. Would have no reservations about buying a good, looked after one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
egg Posted March 13, 2018 Share Posted March 13, 2018 The common view is that the 1.4 was shite in these, is that true or just internet warrior talk? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John F Posted March 13, 2018 Share Posted March 13, 2018 I had a T-reg. 1.8 petrol Focus as a hire car in late 1998 when my Lotus Excel was written off. The Focus went well with the 1.8 engine and felt much better than the Lotus at 3-figure speeds, really planted on the motorway, but was bloody awful to drive in town due to the poor visibility out of its tiny windows (especially the back window, I could only reverse it properly by leaning out of the door). They're not the easiest thing to work on, it was one of the first cars I've worked on where changing a headlight bulb is a massive ball-ache. The interior & exterior styling seems to be very Marmite. I don't like it at all myself. The estate version is a bit of an improvement IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sierraman Posted March 13, 2018 Author Share Posted March 13, 2018 The 1.4 tended to need to be driven quite hard, a lot of them seemed prone to using oil as a result. Worth having if you only use it locally. I've never found them too difficult to work on, the exception being the rear trailing arm bushes, prone to the bolts shearing upon replacement. Banger Kenny 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Felly Magic Posted March 13, 2018 Share Posted March 13, 2018 Had a Y reg 1.8 Ghia saloon, bloody loved it. Huge boot, comfy velour, icy aircon, and it went like a stabbed rat. Was pissed off when it was written off, was a low miler ex giffermobile, and bsrring a couple of bumper scuffs, was minty. Would have another in a heartbeat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danthecapriman Posted March 13, 2018 Share Posted March 13, 2018 They’re way too new to be of any interest to me, but my parents had a 1.6 Zetec, 02 reg. it was the best car they’ve ever had.Never gave any trouble really, only issue was the instrument binnacle started playing up (poor solder joints aging) making the instruments go ape shit randomly and the vss playing up. Got both fixed and it gave no more trouble at all. Even the clutch and exhaust were original items when they sold it a couple of years back with 130k odd miles. Great car. mrbenn 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PiperCub Posted March 13, 2018 Share Posted March 13, 2018 Never owned one but have used a few as hire cars and company pool cars and always liked them. Was never an Escort fan and the Feck-Arse was a world away from it thankfully. I drove early examples of both the 1.6 & 1.8 and TBH thought the 1.6 was better for some reason. As someone else said, was not a fan of the high waisted design (which is now the case with almost every car) which reduced vis though. The estates are a useful mix of overall compact size and decent/useable internal loadspace, much like the 90's Astra estate was. Overall, a nice car (I'm not a Ford fan as such), the performance versions will follow the path of previous fast Fords and skyrocket in value before long. The instrument cluster failure was a very well known (They-all-do-that-Sir) Mk1 fault. Don't know about now but at one time, prob about nearly ten years ago, Ford reduced the price of the PCB to £50 to help out as demand was so high. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HH-R Posted March 13, 2018 Share Posted March 13, 2018 Fugly and gopping inside when new IMO, now they're just mostly knackered and fugly. Can't say I'd be bothered if the last one got weighed in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davehedgehog31 Posted March 13, 2018 Share Posted March 13, 2018 When I say I crashed mine, I really crashed it. Wasn't doing a smidgeon over NSL and tipped it off the road, it dug in quite a lot and flipped over. Treasured memories. Ironically, my next most serious car collision was grazing the back wing of a parked Laguna, it polished out. D Spares & Tyres, beko1987, Jim Bell and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Honey Badger Posted March 13, 2018 Share Posted March 13, 2018 I had a TDCi Ghia in black with comedy 18" Ford Rims on it and I liked the way it drove and looked when it decided to work. We had it for 2 years and it ate 2 fuel cards and pumps in that time with a 3rd on it's way out when we chopped it in for the Honda S2000, thankfully done under warranty by Central Garage in Irthlingborough (by far the best main dealer I have ever delt with, top top quality service at the time) I'd roll in a 2.0 Pez Ghia Auto with no mechanical worries, corrosion issues have probably taken most of them out by now i'd expect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fordperv Posted March 13, 2018 Share Posted March 13, 2018 Fil fp had a 1.6 mk1 facelift pez and it was a brill car, the only real problems it ever gave were, the fuel pump failing and sills rusting but they are both common faults Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Broadsword Posted March 13, 2018 Share Posted March 13, 2018 I had the TDCi on an 02 plate and that engine was a nightmare in our case. Search "flashing glowplug light". It would just cut out at random. As above, really comfortable and it has that uncanny Ford thing which gives you great steering feedback. Unbeatable on a motorway. I would buy one if it were very cheap, because they are all bound to be rotten. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twosmoke300 Posted March 13, 2018 Share Posted March 13, 2018 Rusty shite these days . sdelasal 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bren Posted March 13, 2018 Share Posted March 13, 2018 Ghia is the one to go for. We had the tdci estate - it was a cracking car. We only moved it on because we needed something bigger and I had to give one sill attention for the MOT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bren Posted March 13, 2018 Share Posted March 13, 2018 Forgot to add would have another but it would have to be mint and low mileage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayMK Posted March 13, 2018 Share Posted March 13, 2018 My son in law has had a 1.4 3 door for several years, bought with about 50K and now showing 120K. No rust, only failures to date have been a coil pack and an intermittent speedo fault. It's comfortable, goes well compared with his previous old VW Polo and does the job - but no character. egg 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Reverend Bluejeans Posted March 13, 2018 Share Posted March 13, 2018 A good one is still remarkable to drive. Good spec 1.6 or 1.8 with A/C. mrbenn 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PiperCub Posted March 13, 2018 Share Posted March 13, 2018 ^ Agreed, wouldn't touch one of the diesels unless almost given away as majority either have serious issues or are about to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sierraman Posted March 13, 2018 Author Share Posted March 13, 2018 The amount of 12-15 year old Focus Diesels running about would suggest otherwise. You are correct though, once it develops issues its a throwaway job. Banger Kenny 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cavcraft Posted March 13, 2018 Share Posted March 13, 2018 Horrible looking things, perhaps the three door ones don’t look quite as bad as the others. The diesels are appalling, simply awful cars. Still looking for more though. Partridge and Kiltox 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dome Posted March 13, 2018 Share Posted March 13, 2018 Got a run in this the other week. It was a bit second hand, some bloke called Carlos had it before me. Went well though... Joking aside a friend of mine worked at a VW dealer in the early 2000s and I used to get a shot of GTis etc. Then I drove a 1.8 Focus and it was a revelation handling wise compared to the stodgy Mk4 Golf Lacquer Peel, The Moog and mrbenn 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Squire_Dawson Posted March 13, 2018 Share Posted March 13, 2018 I remember when they came out, they cost something like £15,000 which I thought was extortionate for a Ford in that class. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiltox Posted March 13, 2018 Share Posted March 13, 2018 Horrible looking things, perhaps the three door ones don’t look quite as bad as the others. The diesels are appalling, simply awful cars. Still looking for more though.Nobody should buy any, they are terrible, only worth 50p mate egg and Cavcraft 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Felly Magic Posted March 13, 2018 Share Posted March 13, 2018 Bought this in late 2015 with 12mth ticket on, FSH with John Gross, recent cambelt & water pump for £595, and it had just over 90k on, sadly written off a few short weeks later after a rear end shunt Banger Kenny, mrbenn, Laseraligningfoofooflanges and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrumpiusMaximus Posted March 13, 2018 Share Posted March 13, 2018 Saw a MK1 saloon cabriolet today. 57 plate. Didn't manage to get a picture, was at work and that would have violated policy. EDIT: Total cock-up and utterly misidentified a MK2 as a MK1. I am ashamed. Went in one recently. My friend's Mum has one and drove us to the theatre (so we could get pissed). Was a bit odd given that I'm nearly 30 but it came flooding back. My Mum had a V-reg estate 1.6 in Pacific Green when I was 14/15 and it was an absolutely stunning car. Absolutely loved it and would have one in a heartbeat if I had the money. Ford really, really got the MK1 right. The MK2 is an excellent car too (Lady Grumpius has one) but I prefer the MK1s styling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twosmoke300 Posted March 13, 2018 Share Posted March 13, 2018 A mk1 focus saloon soft top ! Really ? GrumpiusMaximus 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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