Discussion
Insurance is under £300 for me, 33, protected NCB.
Cars are hugely underated for handling, but not great on straightline grunt with 212 bhp against other (non turbo) cars like the Civic Type R 198bhp ish, Clio Sport 197 etc.
That can be worked on if it bothers you - Ever found an RS that can't have more horses squeezed from it?!?
The steer is there but once you learn how to predict and control it, it adds to the driving experience and the benefit of the diff for feeding the throttle in when still exiting a bend is great. Pulls out bends where anything else would scrabble off to understeerland
Cars are hugely underated for handling, but not great on straightline grunt with 212 bhp against other (non turbo) cars like the Civic Type R 198bhp ish, Clio Sport 197 etc.
That can be worked on if it bothers you - Ever found an RS that can't have more horses squeezed from it?!?
The steer is there but once you learn how to predict and control it, it adds to the driving experience and the benefit of the diff for feeding the throttle in when still exiting a bend is great. Pulls out bends where anything else would scrabble off to understeerland
Some call it Junkyard 28 and some have had issues with the attitude of one of the staff there. How many folk rant on a forum about the amazing service they've had somewhere though, you only ever hear the bad!
Push come shove, a car is going to be good, ok, or s
t and it can be a bit of a lottery. Its not like they are selling their own cars, they're just a dealer, they don't know the life a car has led and are in business to make a few quid from each bonnet that goes off their lot.
By law of averages they have to flog some good vehicles as well as some rough ones, just take your suspicious eyes with you and trawl through your future next car with a fine tooth comb.
As a general point though - private sellers are always cheaper and there are some really pampered FRS' out there in private hands!
Push come shove, a car is going to be good, ok, or s
t and it can be a bit of a lottery. Its not like they are selling their own cars, they're just a dealer, they don't know the life a car has led and are in business to make a few quid from each bonnet that goes off their lot. By law of averages they have to flog some good vehicles as well as some rough ones, just take your suspicious eyes with you and trawl through your future next car with a fine tooth comb.
As a general point though - private sellers are always cheaper and there are some really pampered FRS' out there in private hands!
I recently bought my Mk1 FRS (about a month ago) - I went to see one from a dealer and one from a private seller. Both were up for the same sort of money but the private one was well cared for.
The dealer car was advertised as totally standard and with 40k miles on clock. I went to view and and noticed as we pulled off that a dump valve had been fitted (so not standard then), also noticed that it in fact 45k miles on the clock! There was very little paperwork, and no mention of the RS fobs that come with the car.
Went to see the private one. On first impressions it was not good. The guy opened up the garage and tried starting the car but with no avail. He said he hadnt driven it much and the battery had died. Anyhow he jump started it and took me out for a test drive. All was fine and he even warmed it up before booting it (a good sign that it had been looked after). The interior also looked nicer i.e. the steering wheel didn't look as worn as the dealer car.
He parked his car back up and then showed me the history of the car. Had all the documents in nice plastic wallets from year to year, had 2 sets of keys, both RS mats and one RS key fob.
I had a think about it and asked soem guys on PH what they thought and everyone (unsurprisingly) said i should buy the private one.
The guy and i came to an agreement and i bought the car. The guy and i still text each now and answered any queries i had about the car.
So, i would recommend buying from a private seller, you really can find loved examples and get an impression of the person who owned the car. You wouldn't know this from a dealer.
HTH
The dealer car was advertised as totally standard and with 40k miles on clock. I went to view and and noticed as we pulled off that a dump valve had been fitted (so not standard then), also noticed that it in fact 45k miles on the clock! There was very little paperwork, and no mention of the RS fobs that come with the car.
Went to see the private one. On first impressions it was not good. The guy opened up the garage and tried starting the car but with no avail. He said he hadnt driven it much and the battery had died. Anyhow he jump started it and took me out for a test drive. All was fine and he even warmed it up before booting it (a good sign that it had been looked after). The interior also looked nicer i.e. the steering wheel didn't look as worn as the dealer car.
He parked his car back up and then showed me the history of the car. Had all the documents in nice plastic wallets from year to year, had 2 sets of keys, both RS mats and one RS key fob.
I had a think about it and asked soem guys on PH what they thought and everyone (unsurprisingly) said i should buy the private one.
The guy and i came to an agreement and i bought the car. The guy and i still text each now and answered any queries i had about the car.
So, i would recommend buying from a private seller, you really can find loved examples and get an impression of the person who owned the car. You wouldn't know this from a dealer.
HTH
Don't forget to have a look here for your possible next car or to log it. Might be a useful tool...
www.focusrsbuildlist.co.uk
www.focusrsbuildlist.co.uk
Register on the RS Owners Club forum, and then you can see the cars for sale there. All private, enthusiasts cars, some standard and some not, depends what you want.
Members there will help you if you need someone with knowledge to look at a car for you too.
I bought mine privately, when I was looking there were loads at J28 but didn't hear good reports about them.
Members there will help you if you need someone with knowledge to look at a car for you too.
I bought mine privately, when I was looking there were loads at J28 but didn't hear good reports about them.
Nothing wrong with J28 in my opinion.
They do however take modified cars and put them back to standard so keep your eyes out when looking at a "standard" car.
They actually bought my old car off me. They would have made a fortune if they sold the parts off it.
It truely was immaculate.
They do however take modified cars and put them back to standard so keep your eyes out when looking at a "standard" car.
They actually bought my old car off me. They would have made a fortune if they sold the parts off it.
It truely was immaculate.
- 0435 I miss you!
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