My neighbour has a 54 plate Mk 1

Think there will be a bit of a crossover from 54 plate being MK 1 & MK 2 as dealers would still have had mk1 stock in sept 04 ( 54 plate time )

Be wary of the ST170. It’s not all it’s cracked up to be. Not particularly fast at all. Nothing worse than a hot hatch that isn’t hot at all – all the downsides of a hot hatch in harder suspension, poorer ride, higher running costs etc. but none of the extra go. I had a facelift MK1 1.8 Zetec which I think is the sweet spot. Not much slower than the ST170 in the real world, but still as good on the handling front. It was the best if not one of the best handling car i’ve ever driven, certainly in FWD form, and overall better than my wife’s BMW supposidly ‘Ultimate Driving Machine’ (difficult to tell with all the driver aids in modern cars). I’d love a go in a MK1 RS. i’ve had later Focus models as hire cars – they’re still good relative to the competition, but feel bigger, heavier and more sluggish handling than the MK1.

The only downside to the Focus I think is the driving position. A bit too bolt upright for me. I’ve got short legs and they feel short to me. Still comfortable, just not my preference as I prefer my legs to be a bit more outstretched.

Focii?

Wife had the Mk1 1.6 petrol Zetec when it first came out. Ace car; 50k trouble free miles from new. Very nimble but a bit gutless. A car you had to drive rather than waft around on diesel torque. It handled well, had enough toys and was a very pretty shape. The design was spot on.

We traded it for the Mk2 2.0tdci. Heavier (much), more power (much) but nowhere near as nice. By then, they’d buggered up the shape and it was a bit of a lump (comparatively). It also needed 2 clutches, a DMF and an alternator in 60k Miles.

If a 1.6 Mk1 is available with sensible miles and in good nick, it’d be a good buy. It’s more likely to be sitting in a pile of rust now and/or have massive mileage though.

couple of questions please. firstly…..trawling through the ads ive seen this focus 20 miles away from me.
its trade, so would you say its a bit overpriced and i could buy the same spec/condition cheaper private?

also, i keep seeing ‘MY’ next to the year, and im guessing its something to do with the plate being different to the year it was made. am i right? so say the car is 53, its saying it was actually made in 04 to make it seem newer?

thanks

That one in the link looks good and a check on the MOT history shows fails on minor things like wipers and tyres.

Looks like it’s been stood around loads as previously tyres have been advised for cracking and the brake disc are advised for going rusty. The discs may be ok if you start using the car enough.

I bought a polo in 2009 for mum and got that from a dealer and paid a bit more than private but it’s a good one. Personally, I’d have a look at the one in your link and use it as a base to judge others on with that one being a good one. Be quick though as it may not hang around.

Looks like the wheels are not standard on it, think they may be ST170 wheels.

Regarding the MY, 53 plate ran from 1st sept 2003 – 28/29 Feb 2004 so that one will have been registered early 2004.

Guessing MY = manufacturing year.

That’s a lot of wedge for that car, with bugger all info on it. I’d personally not bother looking for low mileage examples

At that age, just look for a regularly serviced one at the right price, and go private. Look for nice tell-tale signs like matching pairs of tyres, maybe even premium tyres. Cheesy, but I’ve also thought a lot about the car can be inferred by the person that’s selling it.

(That’s what I’d do anyhow!)

If I could find a well looked after ST 170 estate with some service history I would seriously consider getting another.

Mates just written his off. It was crap. Don’t waste your money, if you can find one. Insurance couldn’t price it as so rare , so gave him far more money that it was worth. Does the same mpg and same VED as my Mk 2 ST running 300 bhp and you would be lucky to get 150 bhp out of them let alone 170.
Mk1 is the more nimble car, but a lot of them are coming off the road with the usual Ford lack of rust protection. Check for ……. well everywhere. They will also be high miles, which if looked after is fine, but its an old car now. Wouldn’t contemplate an old diesel either.

1400 quid for a 13 year old petrol focus…..did the mk1 focus become a classic and i missed it ?

Externally difference between mk1 and mk2 is the later car is bigger,rear hatch slopes on the mk2 whereas the mk1 is more upright. Mk2 has a smoother shape but lacks some of the distinctiveness of the mk1.

If you are looking at petrols the 1.6 is fine, 1.8 isn’t much quicker but at this age I’d be guided more by condition rather than difference between 1.8 and 1.6.
Check for rust,my girlfriend’s mk1 failed it’s last MOT for rust where the rear arch meets the sill and needed welding. Bottom of the rear door skin is another area they go.

I wouldn’t discount a mk2, they still drive better thanist if the competition and are more plentiful and likely to be in better condition.

Lincoln?

I’d check:

1)https://www.gumtree.com/p/ford/ford-focus-edge-/1148049289

Ring and see if its got a recorded service history. They say “full log book”- don’t know if they mean S/H or V5.

2)https://www.gumtree.com/p/ford/ford-focus-1.6i-zetec-2004/1148428864

3)https://www.gumtree.com/p/ford/ford-focus-lx-5-door-hatchback-fsh-clean-tidy-car-drives-as-new-just-been-serviced/1149683314

All nice, all Mk1s, all cheaper than the one you’re looking at.

…..I’d probably ring about the second one initially.

thanks for going to the trouble of looking at a few 🙂

1400 quid for a 13 year old petrol focus…..did the mk1 focus become a classic and i missed it ?

theyre the sort of prices im finding tho, probably cos most of what i see is trade. might shift my preferences to just look private then….

1)https://www.gumtree.com/p/ford/ford-focus-edge-/1148049289

Ring and see if its got a recorded service history. They say “full log book”- don’t know if they mean S/H or V5.

2)https://www.gumtree.com/p/ford/ford-focus-1.6i-zetec-2004/1148428864

3)https://www.gumtree.com/p/ford/ford-focus-lx-5-door-hatchback-fsh-clean-tidy-car-drives-as-new-just-been-serviced/1149683314

All nice, all Mk1s, all cheaper than the one you’re looking at.
3rd ones removed already 😀 as for the second one, its just £100 cheaper, but doesnt have the ghia spec of my link, and also 100,000 miles against 78,000. wouldnt you prefer the one i found? (ok it may still be overpriced as its trade)

thanks guys

I had a mk1, great car, thought I was being clever and moving it on before the bills started getting more expensive …. Bought a Citroën…. Last I heard the Focus is still going strong.

Just because its at a dealer doesnt instantly make it over priced.

You get additional value from a good dealer

You get ripped off by a poor dealer.

Difficult to tell them apart but there are warning signs.

How ever i still feel that 1300 is alot of money for an old petrol car.

Out of interest- what part of the ghia spec do you feel you need ? I had a mk5 facelift ghia escort ( ie the one right before mk1. Focus) after a base model fiesta….. I prefered my fiesta all told. The wooden dash and the tempermental added extras of the ghia didnt do much for me. – electric windows/mirrors/central locking etc just meant more shit to go wrong ime and the colour coded bumpers meant the bumpers were no longer bumpers but extensions of the body shell that were as delicate.

I

I paid £750 on ebay for a 115K mile 1.6 zetec Mk1 facelift car three years ago (02 plate). Only now at 140K miles are there a few patches of rust starting to bubble through the rear wheel arches. As above it’s a fun car to drive with a decent amount of power and cheap to service, insure and run. I’d buy another.

To be honest for a car of this age and type (plentiful, easy to fix) I’d look in the private ads and ebay rather than pay a dealer’s markup.

I bought an 04 plate 1.6 petrol mk1 6.5 years ago. It had 38k at the time and has now done 127k.

It’s a great car, handles and rides well, the 1.6 is fine if you can look beyond the end of your bonnet and judge traffic, and has been cheap to run and repair. I’ll be reluctantly selling mine in a couple of months, can’t imagine getting more than £700-800 for it.

Out of interest- what part of the ghia spec do you feel you need ?

no idea, its ignorance really 🙂 i just remember the ghias being lovely back in the day so expect them to be the plushest now. could be totally wrong. id like the car to have something about it tho, heated windscreen? leather interior? sunroof would be nice but not essential and tbh most dont seem to have them. just all the things that make driving that bit more pleasurable than sitting in a drab grey plastic interior i spose 🙂

Worth noting then that not all ghias have leather interior- they were optional.

Didnt all have sun roofs either.

Heated screen started on the low spec model.

Bit more thinking and the one thing i did find on the ghia thats not on all models alhough did start further down range was adjustable lumbar support.

I fitted a drivers seat with an adjustable lumbar to he fiesta as my nod to comfort 🙂

I guess at least when your down to banger money like this the spec has little influence on the price.

100k wouldn’t deter me with a service history. As long as that’s all present, inc cambelt, I’d be happy. Don’t worry about Ghia spec, there’s nothing it adds over Zetec. Quickclear is nice 🙂

The one you saw was ok, just a little bit on the fear side, and I think it rides better with standard rubber.

Brother’s had an identical spec to the ST170 – same interior, full leather, heated seats etc… Wasn’t a bad place to be at all. Very comfortable.

To get heated windscreen which is excellent, I believe that ford did a winter pack (or somesuch).
It may have been standard on ghia but don’t rule out other cars on the basis of that. Mine is the zetec and the only thing I would like that the ghia has is the centre armrest.

Btw, it’s easy to replace the head unit if you want dab/Bluetooth, I replaced mine when the cd changer started playing up.

Sadexpunk – I used to have a Mk1 1.6 Zetec (petrol) and it was really nice. I recall the 1.8 engine having hardly any more power, but was less efficient, and even more so with the 2.0.

I installed a new stereo, which I used for about 3 months and then removed it before changing car (I bought a new Focus). I still have the stereo if you’re wanting to buy one. It’s designed to fit the double-bay of a Mk1 Focus and has the correct wiring loom and plug for that model.

It plays CDs (and MP3 CDs), has an SD card slot and USB slot. It has bluetooth and mobile phone control buttons. It’s in mint condition, still like new.

Ironically, my new Focus came with the top of the range built-in Sony stereo with phone control, and I prefer this older one !

Send me a PM if you’re interested – cheers.

Send me a PM if you’re interested – cheers.

email sent mate, thanks

The one you saw was ok, just a little bit on the fear side, and I think it rides better with standard rubber.

not sure what you mean about riding better with standard rubber. i assume its a reference to the tyres?

got to admit ive hit a bit of a brick wall with the ghias, and ive limited the mileage on searches to 80,000. ill cast a bit of a wider net to all models and 100,000.

Mk1 here. mk1

It had complicated suspension which made it a very nice drive. Engines were nothing special but the fun was in how they drove. I did about 200,000mls in various forms of focus and this was by far the best without having to dish out money on ST or RS models. we had a 1800 Zetec and sister in law had 2.0 ghia. Neither were very economical

Mk2 here Mk2

It shared it floor plan with the Mazda 3 series and tbh it was bland. The supped up versions were fun but they cost a lot more to get any fun out of them.

Personally I don’t think you will get any pleasure from a car I rated as the best car I drove. Its nothing special in terms of engines etc. The suspension becomes creeky and a bit troublesome and they are a bit rusty and unloved now.

If you must have one, my favourite was the st170 mk1. Decent on fuel and nice spec.

linkees not work for me, not sure why.

could i just ask another question please? if you buy from ebay, do you still have the same comeback if you find that the car ‘isnt as described’? or are motors different?
i ask as im having a conversation with someone on ebay about a nissan micra for my wife. ive looked at past MOTs and asked if all the advisories from the last couple of years have been sorted, he says they have.
if i was to find out a seller had told porkypies, could i return the car and claim money back? i cant really see that happening, but hey, its ebay policy right? 🙂

thanks

How would you proove they didnt happen post them being fixed….

You wouldnt have a leg to stand on imo and he knows it hence hes telling you yes to try and secure the sale.

I was part of the team that Engineered the dashboard on both the Mk1 and Mk2 Focus.

I recall my first ride as passenger in a Mk1 Focus, on site at a plant in Turkey. Straight away it felt/rode like not other car in it’s class, at that time.

TheLittlestHobo – Member
Mk1 here. mk1
It had complicated suspension which made it a very nice drive

It was the first car in class, amongst it’s peers, to have independent rear suspension.

For at least the last 15 years, Ford has worked to deliver ride and handling which is best in class. In my opinion, they ‘re pretty much on the money and have forced the other OEMs to at least try to catch up.

The interiors though? Audi are still seen to be the leaders in that discipline, at least within the industry.

seen a couple of ‘desirable rare saloon’ models over the last couple of days. cant work out if they are actually desirable or a mistake 🙂

any thoughts?

Everything wrong with the saloon in 2 images:

Marginally bigger boot with a drastically smaller lid to cripple its usefulness. If you actually want 5 seats and a boot, family car style I’m sure it’s fine for that but it takes the car slightly out of its “miraculously big small car” specialism and for cycling purposes it’s a much less usable space. Ironically if the saloon had a hatch lid it’d probably be really good.

can i just ask about the private vs dealer thing with HPI please?

if a dealer says hpi clear, id pretty much say it would be, and paperwork would probably show it. whats my best course of action with a private sale? do i ring some place to ask? do i pay for an hpi check? does it take a few seconds, hours or what?

thanks

stiiiiill looking, getting to know all the cars on ebay/gumtree/autotrader now, seeing the same ones time after time 🙂 saw a nice one i quite fancied in selby, but no service history, so too much of a gamble.

im learning a bit about the different specs, such as LX and ghia maybe tailored more for the er…. more ‘dad’ type people, flat seats etc whereas the zetec has more bucket type seats and better spec, so im concentrating mainly on private and zetec.

one thing id like to ask is, i see a fair few zetec 1.6i and then just 1.6 (no i). reading some of the forums, they seem to imply the 1.6 engines are all the same for the zetec/LX/ghia. are they? if its advertised as just 1.6, does it still have injectors? or does that ‘i’ make a difference?

thanks