Eyerseys Motoring Adventures.

[Eyersey1234]

I thought I'd start a thread about my car history. My first car was a then 12 year old Fiesta I inherited from my Gran when she gave up driving.

 

 

This was taken at Tolpuddle in September 2006.

 

I only had it about 6 months or so as it needed a lot of money spending so I took the decision to upgrade and bought this

 

 

I had this car from new, it was a 1.25 Style which had 30 miles on the clock when I picked it up and over the next 12 years did 173000 miles going all over the country in it. Here are a couple of other photos from my ownership.

 

 

Taken somewhere in Snowdonia in 2010

 

 

Taken in Skegness

 

Next up was this

 

 

The Panda was bought in 2008 as a back up for me and for my sister to learn to drive in. We did around 3000 miles in it in 18 months but it was sold as my sister decided driving wasn't for her.

 

Finally comes my current shed

 

 

 

Bought for £490 last October as a replacement for the Fiesta. There's a few jobs to do on it but for the money it's a really nice car. Bought at just under 174000 miles and clicked over 177000 yesterday. Here's a photo of it resting at Egglestone Abbey in County Durham.

 

 

The main jobs are investigate the EML, change the turbo boost hose, change the tailgate struts and get a couple of new front tyres soon.

 

 

 

 

[D Spares & Tyres]

So you are from Worcestershire originally? The VK plate on the red Fiesta would have come from Brooklyn Ford of Kidderminster.

[Eyersey1234]

So you are from Worcestershire originally? The VK plate on the red Fiesta would have come from Brooklyn Ford of Kidderminster.

No but I lived in Gloucester when I got the second Fiesta, it came from Bristol Street Motors in Gloucester. I would have preferred a Fusion but they were too expensive.

[Eyersey1234]

As you can probably tell I'm primarily a Ford man, my grandparents ran them for years (apart from a BX and a ZX in the 90s) and never had a major problem with them.

[Skizzer]

Ok, this is weird. I have no idea how, but I immediately knew exactly where this is:

 

Taken somewhere in Snowdonia in 2010

It’s on the road down from Capel Curig to Beddgelert, here:

 

 

https://goo.gl/maps/Wqi5xaXC7hq

 

I’ve driven past there once, over 10 years ago. Didn’t stop or anything. Still recognised it instantly and went straight to it on the map.

 

This is freaking me out.

[Eyersey1234]

Ok, this is weird. I have no idea how, but I immediately knew exactly where this is:

 

 

It’s on the road down from Capel Curig to Beddgelert, here:

 

39336F8C-F60A-48AE-98AC-1098A73744EF.jpeg

 

https://goo.gl/maps/Wqi5xaXC7hq

 

I’ve driven past there once, over 10 years ago. Didn’t stop or anything. Still recognised it instantly and went straight to it on the map.

 

This is freaking me out.

I knew it was near Capel Curig somewhere but couldn't remember where

[TheClutchBasketPodcast]

What happened to the red Fiesta? To have a car from new and put 173k on it is an amazing score! Did it give up in the end or did you sell it still running?

[Skizzer]

I knew it was near Capel Curig somewhere but couldn't remember where

Well, er, happy to help. I am seriously going properly nuts now.

 

Sorry for thread drift, carry on.

 

That Focus looks very good for under £500. What a time to be alive.

[Pillock]

I had no idea about Snowdonia but I've parked in that same spot as the Skeg picture and stayed in the hotel on the far left of the picture.

[Eyersey1234]

What happened to the red Fiesta? To have a car from new and put 173k on it is an amazing score! Did it give up in the end or did you sell it still running?

It was still running but the MOT was due and it needed quite a bit of money spending to get through, something told me it would be the thin end of the wedge so I bailed out. It was fixed up presumably by the trader I sold it to in PX against the Focus and is on SORN according to DVLA. I've no doubt the engine in it would have made 200k miles, whether the rest of the car would have done is another matter lol.

[Eyersey1234]

Well, er, happy to help. I am seriously going properly nuts now.

 

Sorry for thread drift, carry on.

 

That Focus looks very good for under £500. What a time to be alive.

I'm really pleased with the Focus, it was at a home trader near Wakefield, I rang up the day the ad came out and bought it that night. 

[Eyersey1234]

My stepdaughters boyfriend seems to like the Focus too, he had a ride in it last night and seemed impressed.

[Eyersey1234]

Another picture of the Fiesta, this was taken in Scotland in 2011 outside the holiday accommodation I was staying in with a couple of mates.

 

[Eyersey1234]

Do Foci eat headlight bulbs lol? 2 days after I bought it the passenger one blew, now the drivers one has blown

[mrbenn]

Not as far as I'm aware. Could be whoever replaced the bulbs last time got finger marks on the glass, thus creating a hot spot and leading to early failure. Or just odd timing!

 

I like your car history, btw. My parents had a Panda in that colour for 6 years and 46k miles without a single issue, it's still going strong with another owner. And £500 for that Focus is a bargain!

[Eyersey1234]

Not as far as I'm aware. Could be whoever replaced the bulbs last time got finger marks on the glass, thus creating a hot spot and leading to early failure. Or just odd timing!

 

I like your car history, btw. My parents had a Panda in that colour for 6 years and 46k miles without a single issue, it's still going strong with another owner. And £500 for that Focus is a bargain!

Thanks mrbenn. A fellow Focus owner on another forum said he averaged 2 headlights a year

[mrbenn]

Yikes. Perhaps the mk2 is more prone to blowing them.

 

I have had a mk1 Focus for just over 6 years. First headlamp (o/s) blew about 3 years ago, was replaced during a service as it blew the evening before I took it in and I had no spare. Second headlamp (n/s) blew mid last year. Third headlamp (o/s) blew earlier this week. I have replaced the last two bulbs so I know I didn't touch the glass, will be interesting to see how long they last.

[Eyersey1234]

The one today might not have been the bulb, when I changed the bulb I thought one of the connections was a bit dodgy and within a short journey to the shops the light stopped working again. I've had a fiddle around and it seems to be working now so something to keep an eye on.

[Eyersey1234]

Yikes. Perhaps the mk2 is more prone to blowing them.

 

I have had a mk1 Focus for just over 6 years. First headlamp (o/s) blew about 3 years ago, was replaced during a service as it blew the evening before I took it in and I had no spare. Second headlamp (n/s) blew mid last year. Third headlamp (o/s) blew earlier this week. I have replaced the last two bulbs so I know I didn't touch the glass, will be interesting to see how long they last.

Which engine and trim level is your Focus mrbenn?

[mrbenn]

Hmmm. You used to see replacement headlamp plugs in places like Halfords (not specifically for the Focus) so I guess poor connections must be a common issue.

 

Mine is a 1.6 (petrol) Zetec.

[Eyersey1234]

Hmmm. You used to see replacement headlamp plugs in places like Halfords (not specifically for the Focus) so I guess poor connections must be a common issue.

 

Mine is a 1.6 (petrol) Zetec.

How are you getting on with yours? We've had a few Foci in the family and never had a serious problem with any of them.

[mrbenn]

Considering I paid £1500 (from a dealer) for it at 9.5 years old with about 61k (now 16 years old with 118k) on the clock, its been very good. Parts are dirt cheap and it has been easy to live with. That said, I have had a couple of issues.

 

- it lost compression on cylinder 4 at 78k/12 years old. Not sure why, but the issue was to do with a valve in the head. Repaired for £720 inc new timing belt kit. It was worth doing the work at this time as it had just passed an MOT with no advisories, had 4 new tyres and a full new exhaust. I did scope out a replacement but it made sense to repair this one.

 

- has needed 2 bits of welding, one inside each rear wheel arch. These have fabric rear wheel arch liners that not only hold water but also rub against the front of the inner wheel arch. By happy* coincidence, this is not a million miles away from the suspension and seatbelt mount points. Fortunately, mine was caught early (I removed the liners and went prodding) so was fixed for about £120 per side.

 

- needed 2 rear lower suspension arms due to corrosion. These have a fairly complicated suspension setup using a lot of parts and bushes which is time consuming to work on. Long story short, it cost over £500 for this work. Wasn't happy about that.

 

On the plus side the car has passed the last 6 MOTs without any advisories, everything works and I still like it.

 

Which models have you had?

[Eyersey1234]

Considering I paid £1500 (from a dealer) for it at 9.5 years old with about 61k (now 16 years old with 118k) on the clock, its been very good. Parts are dirt cheap and it has been easy to live with. That said, I have had a couple of issues.

 

- it lost compression on cylinder 4 at 78k/12 years old. Not sure why, but the issue was to do with a valve in the head. Repaired for £720 inc new timing belt kit. It was worth doing the work at this time as it had just passed an MOT with no advisories, had 4 new tyres and a full new exhaust. I did scope out a replacement but it made sense to repair this one.

 

- has needed 2 bits of welding, one inside each rear wheel arch. These have fabric rear wheel arch liners that not only hold water but also rub against the front of the inner wheel arch. By happy* coincidence, this is not a million miles away from the suspension and seatbelt mount points. Fortunately, mine was caught early (I removed the liners and went prodding) so was fixed for about £120 per side.

 

- needed 2 rear lower suspension arms due to corrosion. These have a fairly complicated suspension setup using a lot of parts and bushes which is time consuming to work on. Long story short, it cost over £500 for this work. Wasn't happy about that.

 

On the plus side the car has passed the last 6 MOTs without any advisories, everything works and I still like it.

 

Which models have you had?

My mum's cousin had a Mk1 1.6 Zetec then a Mk2 1.6 Sport, both of her sons have had a Mk1 each and her younger son had a Mk2, sorry I'm not certain which models offhand.

[Guest Hooli]

173k in one of those fiestas? Can you walk yet? I uses to drive one and it took about 20mins to make my right knee ache so much I'd limp for the rest of the day.

Noisier than a van on main roads too. Oh and OMGHGF at 30k.

[mrbenn]

My mum's cousin had a Mk1 1.6 Zetec then a Mk2 1.6 Sport, both of her sons have had a Mk1 each and her younger son had a Mk2, sorry I'm not certain which models offhand.

 

Quite a few then! I quite fancy a mk2 Focus but won't change this one until it dies, which it doesn't show any signs of doing at the moment.

[Eyersey1234]

Hooli, lol the main problem was I was exhausted if I did a 300+ mile a day journey in it which I did several times, it was a good car though rarely have any trouble.

 

Mrbenn I intend on keeping this one a while, it's on 177k now and I want to get it through 200k. I can recommend the MK2.

[Guest Hooli]

Hooli, lol the main problem was I was exhausted if I did a 300+ mile a day journey in it which I did several times, it was a good car though rarely have any trouble.

 

I've got a bit of a dodgy knee & the offset throttle used to aggravate it like hell. I only drove one of these to Wiltshire & back over a weekend from Doncaster & was still limping monday afternoon.

 

The OMGHGF was due to the crap hose 'clip' that stopped* the heater hose falling onto the fan bracket. it sliced the pipe & the wonderful* ECU dampened temp gauge only mentioned the car was getting warm just after it'd cooked the engine.

[Eyersey1234]

I've got a bit of a dodgy knee & the offset throttle used to aggravate it like hell. I only drove one of these to Wiltshire & back over a weekend from Doncaster & was still limping monday afternoon.

 

The OMGHGF was due to the crap hose 'clip' that stopped* the heater hose falling onto the fan bracket. it sliced the pipe & the wonderful* ECU dampened temp gauge only mentioned the car was getting warm just after it'd cooked the engine.

Sorry to hear about your knee. I'd never really noticed the throttle being offset to be honest.

[Eyersey1234]

The first Fiesta I had was a 1.3 Equipe, one of the special editions Ford did on the Fiesta and Escort. It was basically a 1.3LX with power assisted steering. I remember us going to look at it in the showroom and the salesman showed the brochure to my Grandad and said this is the one you are getting but it's a different colour, to which my grandad responded "it's ok I'll get a wax crayon out later" typical of his sense of humour lol

[Eyersey1234]

One of the rear seatbelts in the Focus has stopped clicking in properly, anyone any ideas as to what could be causing it?