My 3rd Ford Focus - Mk2 Ghia 2.0 Petrol
Discussion
Tomorrow morning I've booked a one way train to view (and almost certainly purchase beyond anything REALLY wrong) my next car.
After almost 2 years of a boring lease car (Audi A4 1.4T) followed by some fast ones (Z4 35i, F55 Mini JCW), I've decided that for now, until I'm earning a bit more money, my ideal car is 'cheap, boring and comfortable'.
Enter - the Ford Focus Mk2 Ghia.
My third Ford Focus, this one stuck out for various reasons and only got better as I got in touch with the owner.
- Under SOTW budget
- Good servicing history (was even serviced this morning with the mechanic not picking up on any issues)
- LOTS of recent (last 2 years) work incl clutch + DMF, AC condenser/pump/regas and most of the expected consumables
- Previous owner has had it 4 years (avg. 6k miles pa)
- MOT til July (clean sheet after failing on tyres + exhaust bracket)
- The notorious Ghia wheels (prone to HEAVY corrosion) have been refurbed
- HPI check came back all good
It's also absolutely loaded with spec, including things I've only rarely seen on their own on a Mk2 Focus let alone all together
- Electric sunroof
- Keyless Entry
- Heated Leather
- Xenon Headlights
- Digital Dual Zone Climate
- The usual Ghia refinements
Pictures from the ad:
Upon contacting the owner I also found out that the rust visible on the front wing (very common on these) has since been treated and repainted professionally
The car is priced a bit over standard asking for these (I paid less for a Titanium saloon from a small dealer with similar miles 2 years ago) but more than happy to pay it considering the work taken - this car has been really looked after!
However due to the owner's work schedule, organising viewing/collection has been a bit of a juggle considering he's nearly 100 miles away.
Train departing 07:22 tomorrow morning...
After almost 2 years of a boring lease car (Audi A4 1.4T) followed by some fast ones (Z4 35i, F55 Mini JCW), I've decided that for now, until I'm earning a bit more money, my ideal car is 'cheap, boring and comfortable'.
Enter - the Ford Focus Mk2 Ghia.
My third Ford Focus, this one stuck out for various reasons and only got better as I got in touch with the owner.
- Under SOTW budget
- Good servicing history (was even serviced this morning with the mechanic not picking up on any issues)
- LOTS of recent (last 2 years) work incl clutch + DMF, AC condenser/pump/regas and most of the expected consumables
- Previous owner has had it 4 years (avg. 6k miles pa)
- MOT til July (clean sheet after failing on tyres + exhaust bracket)
- The notorious Ghia wheels (prone to HEAVY corrosion) have been refurbed
- HPI check came back all good
It's also absolutely loaded with spec, including things I've only rarely seen on their own on a Mk2 Focus let alone all together
- Electric sunroof
- Keyless Entry
- Heated Leather
- Xenon Headlights
- Digital Dual Zone Climate
- The usual Ghia refinements
Pictures from the ad:
Upon contacting the owner I also found out that the rust visible on the front wing (very common on these) has since been treated and repainted professionally
The car is priced a bit over standard asking for these (I paid less for a Titanium saloon from a small dealer with similar miles 2 years ago) but more than happy to pay it considering the work taken - this car has been really looked after!
However due to the owner's work schedule, organising viewing/collection has been a bit of a juggle considering he's nearly 100 miles away.
Train departing 07:22 tomorrow morning...
Bag's packed for tomorrow:
Book (The Phoenix Project if anyone's interested) and tablet for the train
My cigarette lighter phone charger
New vent mount for phone I've just picked up (£5.99 on Amazon) as I won't have sat nav built in for the first time in 2 years!
Bottle of water
Headphones
My 64GB music USB stick (freshly updated with the latest mirror of my "car" collection, 5,821 songs)
Mileage is approx 83k, will have an exact number and a hopefully a forecourt shot for you in about 12 hours time
ETA: Incase anyone's interested, insurance is £419 with all the extras and a £150 excess - 24 year old 'Technical Analyst', NG31 postcode, 5 years NCD, 6 years license held and access to other cars.
RFL is £235 (up £15 since the last time I had a 2.0 Mk2 Focus)
Book (The Phoenix Project if anyone's interested) and tablet for the train
My cigarette lighter phone charger
New vent mount for phone I've just picked up (£5.99 on Amazon) as I won't have sat nav built in for the first time in 2 years!
Bottle of water
Headphones
My 64GB music USB stick (freshly updated with the latest mirror of my "car" collection, 5,821 songs)
spaceship said:
Best of luck. Enjoy the journey. Always exciting, the journey to pick up a new car!
What’s the mileage?
Awesome spec btw.
Very exciting indeed, it's certainly the furthest I've traveled for a car before (and doing it the classic way, one way train ticket) - have done journeys before but never anything more than an hour and a bitWhat’s the mileage?
Awesome spec btw.
Mileage is approx 83k, will have an exact number and a hopefully a forecourt shot for you in about 12 hours time
Eyersey1234 said:
Good luck OP. Looks a nice car. I've a Mk2 1.8tdci Estate which I love, if you're interested look at the Eyerseys Autotrader Adventure thread for details.
Been reading it since it started! I thought about going for an estate this time (and there's one on AT I'd consider if this one didn't turn out alright) as I've done the saloon and the hatch (albeit a Mk2.5) before but I can't quite commit myself to an estate just yet ETA: Incase anyone's interested, insurance is £419 with all the extras and a £150 excess - 24 year old 'Technical Analyst', NG31 postcode, 5 years NCD, 6 years license held and access to other cars.
RFL is £235 (up £15 since the last time I had a 2.0 Mk2 Focus)
Edited by mholt1995 on Friday 6th September 21:37
Sten. said:
Nice shed that. It looks like one of those early dealer demo cars loaded with options, a nice find.
I was thinking the same looking at the spec, defo been used for demo purposes with a spec like that.Either that or it belonged the manager at a dealer who ticked every box.
Love these threads, can we have the usual photo at the train station please
£1,350 later, it's mine.
Some small jobs to do and maybe a medium one, full writeup to come when I get home and price/prioritise (currently sat in sainsburys cafe with a cuppa) but the cliffs are:
- There's a belt-like noise from the outside of the car, gets louder when air con is on Guessing it's auxiliary belt. Air con itself works absolutely fine (though I did notice the belt wasn't changed when the pump and condenser were), I know one of the fellas on here found this out to be water pump
- Needs tracking and balancing
- The service on Friday included an oil filter and fully synth, think I will take on the task of putting in a new air filter myself
- Boot struts are weak and the release switch feels a tad off
- Rattle from front passenger door
- wing mirror glass is cracked
- only driver has a floor mat
- the boot mat looks to be too short
- rear wiper blade is less than 100% effective
- needs a new bonnet badge as the casing has come off
- furthest nearside parking sensor is duff
- gearstick doesn't return to centre when coming out of 1st/2nd, I believe one of the other fellas on here had this too
- the aftermarket stereo doesn't have the bus for the steering column controls
So, nothing major really aside from the wheels and belt! Will be booking it in at my cousins garage when possible but for now it goes and stops perfectly fine!
Now for 2 hours 30 mins drive home with lunch somewhere on the wat
Some small jobs to do and maybe a medium one, full writeup to come when I get home and price/prioritise (currently sat in sainsburys cafe with a cuppa) but the cliffs are:
- There's a belt-like noise from the outside of the car, gets louder when air con is on Guessing it's auxiliary belt. Air con itself works absolutely fine (though I did notice the belt wasn't changed when the pump and condenser were), I know one of the fellas on here found this out to be water pump
- Needs tracking and balancing
- The service on Friday included an oil filter and fully synth, think I will take on the task of putting in a new air filter myself
- Boot struts are weak and the release switch feels a tad off
- Rattle from front passenger door
- wing mirror glass is cracked
- only driver has a floor mat
- the boot mat looks to be too short
- rear wiper blade is less than 100% effective
- needs a new bonnet badge as the casing has come off
- furthest nearside parking sensor is duff
- gearstick doesn't return to centre when coming out of 1st/2nd, I believe one of the other fellas on here had this too
- the aftermarket stereo doesn't have the bus for the steering column controls
So, nothing major really aside from the wheels and belt! Will be booking it in at my cousins garage when possible but for now it goes and stops perfectly fine!
Now for 2 hours 30 mins drive home with lunch somewhere on the wat
Eyersey1234 said:
How was the journey back?
Journey back was absolutely fine aside from the issues with the steering. 38MPG and sat very happily cruising at 70 all the way home across the motorways and down the A1.Onto the problems then.
High Priority Fixes:
There is a wobble from the steering wheel at speeds of 60- an assumed 80mph. This is easily resolved with a wheel balancing as I've had it before.
Car is pulling a bit to the right, I'd be surprised if this is anything beyond tracking.
The car is very noisy from the outside, sounds like a belt or something along those lines: video below
Inside the car with the windows open
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UzmQW7DLJQ
Outside the car, under the engine bay.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZnxcUnaqYM
Looks to be coming from the bottom left as per this picture
Medium Priority Fixes (Affects normal driving but not to detriment)
The centre-right parking sensor is not working (looks to be about £20 and a bumper off job)
The passenger side wing mirror glass has a lovely crack down it, don't think it would fail MOT in this state though (Looks to be about £20)
The gear lever requires a bit of coercion to rebound to centre after coming out of 2nd gear
The PO did not purchase the connector which allows the aftermarket radio to utilise the steering wheel controls (£20)
Low Priority Fixes (Cosmetic)
There's a scratch on the rear window
There is some shocking paint about the place
[pic]https://i.imgur.com/2tPdkeB.jpg[/[pic]
Upon getting back I realised that I never looked underneath the car when viewing it earlier. Looks like we've got some leaks (either they started occuring today- admittedly I did hear a concerning noise at one point or the bloke who did the service is blind)...
Doesn't seem to be oil or coolant as the stuff on the floor was colourless, odourless and flavourless so I'm assuming water (car ran at a solid 75C the whole trip so no concerns about the running temp). Exhaust cooling down?
Fortunately I've still got the Mini JCW til the end of October if need be so just need to arrange getting it into a garage (or at least somewhere with a ramp). Interested in any thoughts people have!
Edited by mholt1995 on Saturday 7th September 16:50
Edited by mholt1995 on Sunday 8th September 17:15
Eyersey1234 said:
Glad the journey back went well. I agree the fluid is probably water although where it could be coming from I'm not sure.
Must have been water as I've just gone out to swap the cars around and it's evaporated. Not particularly concerned about then until it fails an MOT for emissions 
Definitely an oil leak though as this was still there (not much, about a 2 pound coin's worth in terms of size of the droplet)
Edited by mholt1995 on Saturday 7th September 18:16
Thanks both - air con evaporator makes sense, though I've never noticed it this bad in terms of volume from any car, let alone my previous Focuses.
One less thing to worry about
Tracking booked for Tuesday (already have the morning off) at 10AM at National as they're progressive enough to accommodate bookings online. £15 (there's a voucher lurking online if you have a look). Once the initial high priority jobs are all sorted I'll start sharing a running total.
One less thing to worry about
Tracking booked for Tuesday (already have the morning off) at 10AM at National as they're progressive enough to accommodate bookings online. £15 (there's a voucher lurking online if you have a look). Once the initial high priority jobs are all sorted I'll start sharing a running total.
Day 2 Update
Gave the car a (minimum effort i.e. water, snow foam and more water) clean with the pressure washer this morning to get a bit more awareness of the paint to see what I'm dealing with.
For the most part the paint is actually really good aside from:
- A dent on the driver's door (squint or zoom really far out and you may be able to see it)
- Lots of tar spots, having not had a light coloured car for a couple of years I forgot about the prevalence of these. I have some tar remover so will go around the car cleaning up in a couple weeks time once the car is fully sorted mechanically.
- Nearside rear arch ever so slightly starting to go
- A couple of chips and other little marks
- In addition to the bubbling, don't think whoever did the arches bothered at all to blend between new and old
- The rear window is seriously scratched, further investigation showed that the wiper blade was well and truly FUBAR. Replaced at a cost of £9 (actually fitted it myself too) for a halfords special. Not sure on the options for correcting the scratches.
Didn't realise how shocking my attempt at this picture was
- Paint is not brilliant on the refurbed wheels (which need a seriously intensive clean, brake dust is absolutely caked on)
But yes, definitely needs a bit more attention paid with a full contact clean and maybe some polish.
Then a clean of the inside (again, minimal effort, it will definitely benefit from a deeper clean complete with wet vaccing)
- Hoovered as much as I could be bothered to (despite the car being advertised as pet free, there's an awful lot of pet hairs in the boot and on the back of the rear seats). Forgot how awful the cheap Ford carpets (and the cheap mats) are to hoover.
- Leather cleaner and elbow grease on every seat and steering wheel
Steering wheel before
Steering wheel after (it probably needs some all purpose cleaner and a bit of agitation to remove a bit more of the sheen)
- The plastic bracket for the passenger seat is broken-ish
- The drivers side hinge on the dashboard storage bit is broken-ish
I know I'm coming across as quite negative but I think I will be quite happy not spending any money on this once the steering and pulley/tensioner/whatever issue is resolved. Of course I can most likely write those costs off as discretionary and not car running costs meaning my aim to run a car for cheaper than my leases is fulfilled...
Gave the car a (minimum effort i.e. water, snow foam and more water) clean with the pressure washer this morning to get a bit more awareness of the paint to see what I'm dealing with.
For the most part the paint is actually really good aside from:
- A dent on the driver's door (squint or zoom really far out and you may be able to see it)
- Lots of tar spots, having not had a light coloured car for a couple of years I forgot about the prevalence of these. I have some tar remover so will go around the car cleaning up in a couple weeks time once the car is fully sorted mechanically.
- Nearside rear arch ever so slightly starting to go
- A couple of chips and other little marks
- In addition to the bubbling, don't think whoever did the arches bothered at all to blend between new and old
- The rear window is seriously scratched, further investigation showed that the wiper blade was well and truly FUBAR. Replaced at a cost of £9 (actually fitted it myself too) for a halfords special. Not sure on the options for correcting the scratches.
Didn't realise how shocking my attempt at this picture was
- Paint is not brilliant on the refurbed wheels (which need a seriously intensive clean, brake dust is absolutely caked on)
But yes, definitely needs a bit more attention paid with a full contact clean and maybe some polish.
Then a clean of the inside (again, minimal effort, it will definitely benefit from a deeper clean complete with wet vaccing)
- Hoovered as much as I could be bothered to (despite the car being advertised as pet free, there's an awful lot of pet hairs in the boot and on the back of the rear seats). Forgot how awful the cheap Ford carpets (and the cheap mats) are to hoover.
- Leather cleaner and elbow grease on every seat and steering wheel
Steering wheel before
Steering wheel after (it probably needs some all purpose cleaner and a bit of agitation to remove a bit more of the sheen)
- The plastic bracket for the passenger seat is broken-ish
- The drivers side hinge on the dashboard storage bit is broken-ish
I know I'm coming across as quite negative but I think I will be quite happy not spending any money on this once the steering and pulley/tensioner/whatever issue is resolved. Of course I can most likely write those costs off as discretionary and not car running costs meaning my aim to run a car for cheaper than my leases is fulfilled...
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