Help on buying a Focus please.

[focused]

My brother wants a Focus 1.4/1.6. He can afford upto £5000 max. Its for town use and a little motorway use occasionally. What kind of condition/year/spec' and warranty would he get for the money and are there any particular problems he should be aware of. Would you recommend a Focus @ this price.

Any help would be much appreciated guys.

[Podie]

I'd avoid the 1.4... not a good engine, and not powerful enough for the weight of the car.

The 1.6 is a good engine, so I'd go for that... even if it has higher miles on it. As long as it has been serviced properly you should be fine.

Not sure what you'll get for your budget, but I'd guess that you should be looking for a 1.6 Zetec.

[focused]

Thanks Podie, I'll pass on your comments.

[ed400]

I'd have to echo Podie's response on the 1.4...its not good at all, tends to lose a lot and I mean A LOT of oil.

For that kind of budget, i'd say you'd be looking at around a 2000 car with 50-60K on the clock. Try and get one with a good compliment of service history though.

[meeja]

Regarding High-Milers:

Mrs M runs a 1.8 Ghia with 115k on the clock, had is since it had 39k

Main dealer serviced, and has never missed a beat.

Agree about the 1.4 being too small.

Also, Brother in Law has a 1.6 3-door Zetec, which he has maxxed up a bit. Despite the slight Chavviness of it, it is a great car to drive!

[Podie]

The 1.6 is a good engine.. Rated at 100bhp, while the 1.8 is only 115bhp. IMHO the 1.6 is slightly better matched to the gearbox, but the 1.8 is still a good car. Found the 2.0 130bhp engine a bit lazy to be honest, so I still think the 1.6 is the pick of the crop.

The Zetec spec gives you most of the stuff you need.. And with the new Focus out, the prices of the older ones should drop a bit… keep an eye out for Air Con and the heated front screen… both very desirable options, and often added. Plenty of cars about, so you can afford to be picky; get a good un and you'll have no problems at all.

[White_van_man]

i have to dissagree after driving all 3 the 1.8 feels the best you have to work the 1.6 quite hard to match the 1.8 but it is still a very fun car. As for the 2 ltr it does feel very lazy but nice for doing motorway miles.
Definatly stay away from the 1.4.
My focus has done 99k and is still running very well just make sure it has a good service history and you should be fine