Ford Focus ST170 - Not For Sale

[phil_lihp]

Late edit: decided to keep it.

 

It's time to move my Focus ST170 on - I realise this isn't really Autoshite material but as it got a fairly positive reception when I bought it, I thought I'd try it here before braving the general public.  I need to get some renovations finished on my home and have also accidentally bought a Marbella, plus I've realised that I've done less than 1000 miles in this car since I bought it - in fact my friend, who adores it and is very sad I'm selling, has actually done more miles in it than me as he's borrowed it a few times, including one round trip of 600 miles and also drove it home on collection day.  I'm pretty sure therefore that someone else can get better use out of it than me.

 

Important stats: 6 month's MOT remaining, currently taxed and insured, being used intermittently but now on around 110,000 miles.  

 

Full disclosure - I paid £850 for it 6 months ago from a Ford trader who was selling it as spares or repairs due to there being no evidence it had ever had its timing belt replaced.

 

In the last 6 months it has had:

 

- timing belt replacement (waterpump done a couple of years ago according to paperwork)

- two front tyres (Uniroyal Rainsport 3)

- full service (oil, oil filter, air filter, spark plugs, fuel filter, HT leads)

- coil pack

- thermostat and partial coolant flush plus repair to thermostat housing (they always leak, this one had a tiny leak but no longer does)

- front brake discs - pads are very good but new ones will come with it

- replacement air conditioning compressor and re-gas

- replacement driver's side secondhand wing mirror

- OEM Ford floor mats

- replacement remote key

 

It drives very well, there's a tiny hesitation around 2-3k revs sometimes which is a bit TADS, could be the inlet manifold these are fitted with but from what I've read that would normally put the EML on and there's no warning lights.  Once it's warmed up it's usually fine and it does go pretty quickly, revving keenly past 5000RPM.  It has the original Ford CD multichanger stereo which sounds superb, I think the ST170 was equipped with better audio equipment but I may be wrong.  It has the factory stainless steel exhaust and no modifications.  Interior is the half-leather standard ST170 fayre, has electric windows all round, electric/heated mirrors, air con, CD multichanger.

 

It has no visible rust bar one front wing, underside looks fine to me and the MOT history is good.  Interior's pretty tidy bar some wear on the driver's seat material.  In my humble opinion, Imperial Blue is THE colour for these and it does look good when it's been polished up.  Oh, and there's a decent stack of paperwork with it, although not a complete history.

 

Bad bits:

 

- paintwork is scruffy, lots of scuffs and scratches all over but no big dents or cracks in the bumpers.  The wheels are scruffy and really need repainting.

- one front wing has some rust blisters and probably isn't original

- clutch bearing is noisy - it's been like that since the day I bought it, if you lift the clutch up gently you can barely hear it

- rear tyres are Autogrip - they're OK but noisy and one's getting a bit low on tread on the outside.  If I was keeping it, I think they should be replaced soon.

- tailgate wiring is broken, another TADS (I'm going to try and fix this before it sells though, weather and time depending)  FIXED!

- front and rear wipers don't park, I've got so used to this I tend to forget about it, I think this is a common Focus thing, possibly a relay.

 

Suffice to say I'm not in this for a profit by any means, I'd like to get £1,200 if possible.  I'll listen to sensible offers though.  It's in Barnstaple, North Devon, very close to the train station and I may be able to help with collection/delivery if it's too far away.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[bolognasal spray]

Want - but wow, that kind of collection would be a total pita for me.

[mrbenn]

Just lovely. Right car but wrong time for me, sadly.

 

GLWTS.

[Cavcraft]

100% the best colour, suits these perfectly. Wasn’t Jim Bell after one of these?

[sierraman]

The clutches on these all do the whirring from the release bearing. It’s only when it becomes intrusive you are in line for a new clutch.

 

You are correct about the relays, it’s on the fuse box at the back of the dash. I think I might have some spare ones somewhere.

[phil_lihp]

The clutches on these all do the whirring from the release bearing. It’s only when it becomes intrusive you are in line for a new clutch.

 

You are correct about the relays, it’s on the fuse box at the back of the dash. I think I might have some spare ones somewhere.

 

Thank you, the clutch isn't intrusive to my mind - if you lift the clutch pedal quickly it is quite noticeable but if you raise it gently there's barely any noise.  To be honest I only really notice it if the radio's off.

 

The odd thing is that I'm pretty sure there's mention in the paperwork of it having a new clutch not that long ago, so not sure if perhaps they didn't change the bearing at the same time.

 

I've got very good at judging parking the front wipers, they're fine on wash, intermittent or constant, it's only the 'manual' single sweep that doesn't park.  The rear parks wherever it likes on intermittent but again it can easily be made to stop in the right place.  

[Jim Bell]

100% the best colour, suits these perfectly. Wasn’t Jim Bell after one of these?

Yeah but at the shallow end of the financial paddling pool. This one is far too good for me. Probably the cheapest hatch "Fast Ford" you can buy though.

 

Looks class in that colour.

[Laseraligningfoofooflanges]

Like that.. i would

 

GLWTS

[phil_lihp]

In a bizzare and unprecedented turn of events, I attempted to fix something and ACTUALLY FIXED IT WITHOUT CAUSING OTHER ISSUES.

 

Yes, the tailgate wiring has been repaired, actually wasn't a difficult job and all arse-end functions now function, including the high-level third brake light.  The rear wiper also now works properly on intermittent and parks where it's supposed to - bonus!

 

On the downside, I've misled everyone.  It has 111,000 miles on it, not 110,000 - sorry.  I'll await the storm of mis-selling complaints and phone calls.

 

I did also treat it to a quick scrub at the local car wash, those chaps aren't half fast and it does look quite nice at the moment so I took some photos - the first post above has been updated.  The images do flatter it a bit, the paintwork isn't as good as it looks but it's a good 10-footer.  The scabby front wing shows up more now than it did when I bought it but I would prefer not to go mucking about with it - full disclosure and all that.  It could be rubbed down, vactan-ed and painted without too much hassle but isn't going to look amazing, I'd probably try and get one in good condition off a breaker that's already the right colour.

 

Enjoy!

[sierraman]

Could still have had the release bearing changed, they just seem to be noisy after a very short period of time.

[omegod]

Could still have had the release bearing changed, they just seem to be noisy after a very short period of time.

 

Or it is a transmech shitarse job from ECP, those bearings last a couple of K

[sierraman]

Could be but I’ve had several of these and I’d say most of them did it.