MKI Focus, Immortal?

[Willy Nilly]

I know they sold a lot of these, but they're old cars now and there are still loads of them about.

Last night I was waiting at a set of traffic lights and 3 out of the 9 cars I could see were MKI Focus's, there were loads, I lost count, on the way back across town too. Do these things never die?

Cool starry bra etc.

[lee_erm]

We've got a 1998 one we've owned from new, it's done galactic mileage now but refuses to die. Still sharp to drive too! Apart from service items it hasn't needed a thing either, with the exception of the fuel pump at 150k.

[RicharDC5]

Don't these things rust like other fords of that era?

[lee_erm]

RicharDC5 said:

Don't these things rust like other fords of that era?

Mondeos and Focuses don't rust as badly as Fiestas/Ka's/Pumas. They're on a par with any other mainstream manufacturer late 90's on with the exception of Fiesta based cars until the MK6.

Edited by lee_erm on Wednesday 8th February 18:35

[Jimmy Recard]

I really don't see as many as I see Astras and Golfs from that era. Then again, I think at the time the Astras and Golfs were more popular around here. I'm trying to think back

[Loyly]

A real winner from Ford. They pulled out the stops after the dreadful Escort that preceded the Focus. Hardy, good to drive and pleasant to sit in. They certainly made good the Astra and Golf of the era look quite crappy.

[98elise]

Loyly said:

A real winner from Ford. They pulled out the stops after the dreadful Escort that preceded the Focus. Hardy, good to drive and pleasant to sit in. They certainly made good the Astra and Golf of the era look quite crappy.

It was quite a dramatic design at the time, and IMO the best looking focus.

Jeremy Clarkson was a big fan, and ran a mk1 for quite some time.

[Mr Snrub]

98elise said:

Loyly said:

A real winner from Ford. They pulled out the stops after the dreadful Escort that preceded the Focus. Hardy, good to drive and pleasant to sit in. They certainly made good the Astra and Golf of the era look quite crappy.

It was quite a dramatic design at the time, and IMO the best looking focus.

Jeremy Clarkson was a big fan, and ran a mk1 for quite some time.

One day the mk.1 will be a sought after classic

[battered]

The styling was very new at the time, they are good looking cars. Mechanically I suppose they share a lot with the Mondeo, and my Mondeo 1.8 is proving to be pretty immortal. 2002 variant, turned 130k on Sunday, running very well. I need a fuse for the fag socket, the aircon died irreversibly years ago, and the doors are rusting a bit (tamed with Waxoyl) but everythuing else seems solid. It's a better car than it was when I bought it 35k ago in a bit of a neglected state. I reckon that if I wanted to keep replacing brakes, suspension and the occasional clutch the thing would last as long as I could be bothered keeping up repairs. The snag is the stupid tax rules that are doing their best to kill off all old cars. £270 tax pa for something that has already been built once and does 38mpg average is a nonsense when newer cars that are not significantly better on fuel are half that.

[Ahbefive]

I bought one for the Mrs as her 1st car recently for £520. It really is a sharp car to drive still and cracking value for money. I see quite a lot about too. Great cars really.

[KungFuPanda]

You've got me looking at ST170s now.

Hows about this?

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

[AlexRS2782]

I guess one of the mods on here must already consider the Mk1 Focus a classic given the subforum this thread has now been relocated to

Surely if it had to be moved the Ford section would have made more sense than a subforum about actual classic cars?

[Dogwatch]

I think it will be the Morris Minor of our times - but better rust resistance! My daughter is still carting her brood around in my old '04 with no obvious signs of rust and most of the equipment still working reliably - the remote locking would probably still work if she had changed the fob battery.

[Jimmy Recard]

AlexRS2782 said:

I guess one of the mods on here must already consider the Mk1 Focus a classic given the subforum this thread has now been relocated to

Surely if it had to be moved the Ford section would have made more sense than a subforum about actual classic cars?

One of the mods must own an S-reg and be planning to auction it

[Mr Tidy]

Jimmy Recard said:

One of the mods must own an S-reg and be planning to auction it

Good luck with that - IMHO a Focus is still a bit "white goods".

[niagra]

Ours died last year with a slipped cam belt. Had done less than 90000 miles.

[Alan L]

We have been running a 1.6 ghia for the last 18 months or so, 2 tailgate struts and an oil change and that's it, never fails to start, drives great and can leave it anywhere, it goes to the tip, b and q, the dog gets thrown in the boot and takes £20 a week in fuel, what's not to like

[Mr Snrub]

My Dad had a 2.0 Ghia for something like 10 years, aside from consumables the only thing that ever went wrong was a snapped power steering belt. Was actually a nice thing to drive, although the thing I didn't like about it and a lot of Fords from that era was the seats were far too hard.

[battered]

Alan L said:

the dog gets thrown in the boot and takes £20 a week in fuel, what's not to like

Funny dog. Most don't need fuel. Just a tin of Chappie, some biscuits and a bowl of water.

[Alan L]

battered said:

Funny dog. Most don't need fuel. Just a tin of Chappie, some biscuits and a bowl of water.

Dog fuel, he likes "wag" dog biscuits

A bag a wag a week