Mk2 Focus purchased

[sierraman]

Bought a replacement for the old one today. £700 and its a Ghia!

[egg]

Good stuff, don't know much about the MK2, so will be good to hear about it.

[clayts450]

Decadent - does the Mk2 Ghia still have wood ?

[purplebargeken]

Interesting. How does it compare (generally) to the Mk1?

[sierraman]

Bit more solid feeling, better on motorway. More torque from 1.6 as its the TiVct engine.

[M'coli]

Shit cupholder position though, and all the character of the mk1 Focus was removed. Shame, really.

[smellypoo]

Looks good, that engine goes well - my sis has the same in saloon form and it's been a great car. We have a 2.0 saloon which has been faultless, bar a leak allowing some rainwater into the boot.

 

These feel more 'solid' and 'heavier' than the MK1, the result being the standard 1.6 (non vct) feels really quite slow compared to the MK1 with the same engine. However, particularly in Ghia form, they're well suited to nipping around town as well as running up and down the motorway - all the MK2 Ghias have cruise control which you really do appreciate on a long run.

 

It looks in good condition from the pic, those diamond-cut alloys on the Ghia always corrode. If it's been well looked after, that's a great car for £700, well bought!

[SRi05]

Good solid cars these,feel well built inside. unfortunately they rot like old Ford's love to do

[purplebargeken]

What sort of mpg does the 1.6 give, just out of interest.

[Bren]

A more substancial car than the mk1 but not as dynamic.

[SRi05]

What sort of mpg does the 1.6 give, just out of interest.

I had a 1.6 auto and it was utterly dreadful, barely got more than 22.

[sierraman]

What sort of mpg does the 1.6 give, just out of interest.

Did 43mpg on the motorway sat at 80.

[smellypoo]

Did 43mpg on the motorway sat at 80.

That's not bad.

[GrumpiusMaximus]

Lady Grumpius has a 1.4 Studio megabASe MK2 and if you ignore the performance, it's a very good car.  Spacious, practical, drives well and easy to maintain.  Battery is a bit awkward to access and the starter motor is obscured by the oil filter but maintenance-wise it's cheap, parts are plentiful and repairs are relatively simple.  It's comfortable and handles nicely too.  A 1.6 Ghia is a good shout.  Very nice indeed.

[stuboy]

a more solid feel car, but one i drove was dull.

[stripped fred]

I have a MK2 focus c-max as a back up car. It was my mum's so had it off her when she upgraded. I haven't driven it much as it's not insured now. It has the 100bhp 1.6, rather than the 115bhp version. It doesn't feel super quick but then again it seems to go along ok. No rust either as far as I can tell but it's only a 56 plate so 12 years old. Would you expect any rust at that age?

[stuboy]

Bought a replacement for the old one today. £700 and its a Ghia!

still 4 leccy windows?

[stripped fred]

Nice buy by the way. You can't go wrong at £700.

[Jams]

Massive soft spot for a mk2! Owned a 3 door a few years back. Really nice and smooth to drive decent stereo etc

 

Can't go wrong

[davehedgehog31]

Nice cars, as has been said they do feel a bit more grown up than the MK1 and certainly better looking than that disaster they replaced it with.

 

An estate would be a nice workhorse.

[SRi05]

I have a MK2 focus c-max as a back up car. It was my mum's so had it off her when she upgraded. I haven't driven it much as it's not insured now. It has the 100bhp 1.6, rather than the 115bhp version. It doesn't feel super quick but then again it seems to go along ok. No rust either as far as I can tell but it's only a 56 plate so 12 years old. Would you expect any rust at that age?

A guy on my street has a 10 plate focus estate and the rear arches are starting to go on it already

[sierraman]

Breaking the Waxoyl out in a few weeks. Its spent nearly all its life in Somerset and Guernsey so shouldn't be too crusty underneath.

[chatsharris]

My old man had one with an auto box, couldn't pull skin off of custard. With a slushbox, absolutely dreadful.

[trigger]

I bought one some weeks ago, again a 1.6 Ti-VCT manual, I'm averaging 36 mpg according to the fuel computer, I wouldn't say it was very good on fuel as it's revs high and ideally needs a 6th gear, it is quick though, especially once you wind it up, over 4000 rpm it feels like a VTEC but that's when it drinks fuel!.

 

I would say the build quality is excellent though, better than my 08 plate shape one and even more solid feeling than my old 63 plate one, at £700 that's a cheap car.

[sierraman]

I was going to service it but it appears to have been done quite recently.

 

First job is to sort out the minor surface corrosion on bottom of wings, its all solid but I'll grind it back, treat it with some loctite rust converter then a coat of paintable stonechip. Anything else in this position never works. Chips off in no time. Then it will be a session with the Waxoyl.

[sierraman]

Set about the wings tonight, grinded back to clean steel first with the paint/rust remover disc on the grinder. Actual grinding discs tend to be way too harsh for this job as are flap discs. You want something that takes the paint and surface rust off enough to get into the pitted areas and no more.

[BorniteIdentity]

Lady Grumpius has a 1.4 Studio megabASe MK2 and if you ignore the performance, it's a very good car. Spacious, practical, drives well and easy to maintain. Battery is a bit awkward to access and the starter motor is obscured by the oil filter but maintenance-wise it's cheap, parts are plentiful and repairs are relatively simple. It's comfortable and handles nicely too. A 1.6 Ghia is a good shout. Very nice indeed.

bASe? You called??!!

 

I agree about the battery. I looked at the one on our old 2006 Ghia, laughed and let the fast fit lads do it. It took them about 45 minutes whilst they fucked about with the plastic covers etc - but still cost £60!

[sierraman]

Coat of Loctite rust treatment went on, this stuff is much better than Kurust in my experience, forms lovely substrate for filling or priming. Two very small holes appeared at the base of the wings. Bit of a bodge but I used glassfibre paste, then I'll be sealing it from the back with Tigerseal. Likely to hold out as long as the car lasts so not really a bodge as I see it.

 

Next stage was start coating the Grey Stone chip, needs to be warm ideally to go on successfully, so it sat in a bucket of warm water for half hour. Then on it went, bit of an art to it, you have to have a knack of moving quick enough to avoid runs but not too quick you get dry spray. Needs a good day or two to properly cure...

 

Then I'll be giving it a top coat. Will be a crap match I expect being silver, however I'd sooner have that than rust.

[sierraman]

Finished this off tonight with some 'universal' mudflaps. Cut them to fit, £6/for 4 delivered. Should hopefully stop the shit getting inside the arches. Really impressed with the fit on them. Thought they'd be shit.

 

Pumped the base of the wings with Waxoyl before screwing them on. Job done.

[loserone]

I'm driving scary's one of these intermittently whilst he gradually replaces the suspension steering and brakes on my legacy.

 

It's nice enough, and seems to be a better design than the MK1. Except for the bloated feeling and shit cupholders