Focus 2ltr '06 Buying advice......?

[DJFish]

Hi folks,
It's been absolutely ages since I last bought a car and I'm a wee bit out of practice.
I'm off to view a 5dr 2.0 petrol Focus Titanium in a couple of days, its from a franchised dealer but isn't part of the Approved Used scheme so I need to be on my toes as I stand to lose man points if I buy the wife a lemon.

Looked at one t'other day and it had no history and needed pads and discs all round so I walked away from that.

Is there anything Focus specific I should be looking for?

Any sage-like wisdom would be appreciated.
Cheers
Dave

[Justin S]

Have a look at www.honestjohn.co.uk good thing about the focus is there is a few around to be picky about one. Get a bad vibe and walk away.
Usual stuff really such as service history, hpi check, I always look at tyres, as a different make on each corner is usually a bad thing in my eyes. Discs and pads arent an issue, if you adjust the price etc. Check panel gaps, general trim wear, engine noises and if you are really unsure get it inspected.

[DJFish]

It was really the fact that the service book only had two stamps for an '06 car that really killed the deal.
The general state of the consumables didn't help mind you.

Does anyone know when a 2ltr petrol will need the cam chain replacing?

Also is there any way of verifying the service history with Ford? Some manufacturers have a centralised database where you can confirm history?

Cheers
Dave

[Justin S]

If its a 2ltr duratec ( dont trust whats on the rocker cover for names, my fiesta is labelled a duratec and is a Zetec with a cambelt) Then no, if its a Zetec, then 5 yrs or 100k miles I believe.