Ford Focus 99 Opinions Please

Jood

Hi Everyone,

Im changing my car and am thinking about the above, I went to see it last night, it has 59k on the clock and full service history. He's looking for 5k for it although I'll probably get him down once I have it fully checked out. What do you think, good deal??

copacetic

seems like an ok deal, i have a 99 with 44k and the only thing that went wrong in 6 years is an ignition coil. was offerred 6 as a trade in on it.
good car

cpoh1

My mother has had one for the last 18 months, a 02 plate. The drivers side electric mirror stopped working, the passenger window made a grinding sound when it was lowered and raised, the drivers door handle came away from the door card, the trim around the hand brake is loose and the passenger airbag has come loose. There were problems with the fuel pump aswell. In short a really badly built car imo, the 1.4L engine is raspy and gutless with no performance. The car has a really good reputation but god knows why.

Jood

Thanks for that, I think its all about luck as well with a car. I have a punto ( I Know I know :rolleyes: ) and I've had all the major problems you can have, head gasket and clutch amongst others so really I'm just looking for something reliable.

Edit: The focus is a 1.6l

Vegeta

its crazy isn't it how people have different experiences with cars.

My brother had a 02 focus 1.6l zetec and it was the best all rounder i have driven. He treated it like sh1t driving from clare to sligo twice a week and rarely a service. The thing was bomb proof.

Once he checked the dip stick and there was rust on it, that's how little attention he gave the car and it never gave him any trouble.

It was quite competent for a 1.6l aswell. Not fast but capable.

BoozyBabe

cpoh1 wrote:

In short a really badly built car imo, the 1.4L engine is raspy and gutless with no performance. The car has a really good reputation but god knows why.

EXACTLY what he said!

I'd imagine they're probably an ok car if you have a 1.6 or higher, but stay well away from the 1.4, they're SO heavy & underpowered it's unbelievable & extremely annoying.

I had mine for less than a year & nearly gave it away just to get rid of it, for the lack of power reasons (& don't get me wrong, I'm not a racer by any means, it just doesn't have normal expected power)

I'd hold out for a 1.6, if you really had to buy one at all (though I don't think you said what engine size the one is you're looking at)

Jood

Thanks Boozy Babe it is a 1.6l I'm looking at so thats good, and another thing I've just rang up Quinn and my premium wont change if I do decide on this car or any other 99 1.6l so thats good news, I thought I be paying out an extra hundred or something.

copacetic

BoozyBabe wrote:

EXACTLY what he said!

I'd imagine they're probably an ok car if you have a 1.6 or higher, but stay well away from the 1.4, they're SO heavy & underpowered it's unbelievable & extremely annoying.

I had mine for less than a year & nearly gave it away just to get rid of it, for the lack of power reasons (& don't get me wrong, I'm not a racer by any means, it just doesn't have normal expected power)

I'd hold out for a 1.6, if you really had to buy one at all (though I don't think you said what engine size the one is you're looking at)

What neither of them said, the 1.4 is fine, the same as a golf/astra or whatever. You need to work the gears hard to get good speed out of it but the car can handle that. You'll only notice the lack of power when fully loaded and overtaking..

Jood

daveym wrote:

What neither of them said, the 1.4 is fine, the same as a golf/astra or whatever. You need to work the gears hard to get good speed out of it but the car can handle that. You'll only notice the lack of power when fully loaded and overtaking..

I'm a city driver mostly anyway so I rarely get a chance to build up speed or overtake ( which scares the life out of me ) I have to say I'll probably notice a difference, the punto with all its problems is a fairly nippy car.

Vegeta

Who buys a 1.4l car and expects it to be quick.

I drive a 1.3 corolla and its as dead as a maggot, i knew this when i bought it. I didn't buy it for its performance though. I bought it for its economy and reliability

getting a 1.4l car and realising it is slow is like buying an apple and being shocked when it tastes like n apple.

Boozybabe did you not test drive the focus first?

HashSlinging

I recommend a '00 1.6 leon for that money, a good bit better than the focus IMO, and shares the same dash as the A3 of the same year.


http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=470103

I have a 1.4 focus and I would agree it feels underpowered after about 60 km/hr

However it feels solid, has given me zero problems in the year I hae had it and the handeling is very good.

Also it has consistantly outperfomed it closest rival the VW golf in reliability surveys since it was first made.

cpoh1

Vegeta wrote:

Who buys a 1.4l car and expects it to be quick.

I drive a 1.3 corolla and its as dead as a maggot, i knew this when i bought it. I didn't buy it for its performance though. I bought it for its economy and reliability

getting a 1.4l car and realising it is slow is like buying an apple and being shocked when it tastes like n apple.

Boozybabe did you not test drive the focus first?

I agree, however the focus is a special case if you ask me. Certainly 1.4L cars arent quick but the weight of the focus combined with a pretty gutless 1.4L engine dont help its cause. There are certainly nippier 1.4L cars out there.

nr2

I've a 99 1.6 Zetec Focus and have no problem recommending them.

I've had no problems at all with it and it gets about 35mpg in traffic & about 45mpg on long runs.

Avoid the 1.4 though - the 1.6 or the later TDi's are the ones to go for.

Curran

Had a 01 1.4l Zetec and i have to agree, it was underpowered but in corners better than most in it class (but it was my first car so had to buy the 1.4 for insurance reasons). Never had a days trouble with it.

The focus' competitors for that era ('99) would be the Almera, Astra, Golf, Corolla, and from my experiences in the cars ive driven......
Focus 1.4 Zetec 3dr..............underpowered, but handles very well and looks pretty good
Almera 1.5 3dr (04 model).......nippy, but handles like a boat (well the 04 does so im assuming so wud the 99) and looks are just ok
Astra 1.4 5dr.......................very torquey, handles very well and looks are very very dated
Golf 1.4 3dr.........................all round decent car
Corolla 1.4 3 dr....................well i wouldnt buy one on looks alone!

IMO, I'd spend my money on a Focus with a 1.6l engine or bigger, again anyday

Wing Walker

used to have the 1.6 one. Good fuel economy and on the whole, it was a well built car. Again, as was mentioned before, I had to have the ignition coil replaced at about 55K miles.

Fine car for the money imo!

cpoh1

Do you need to buy the focus though, id imagine a 99 focus would cost close to 8k. Are insurance, tax and size of the car a concern? If your younger go for something a little more adventurous, you'll be driving family cars the rest of your life!

Jood

I dont need to buy but I really like the Focus, I have my heart set on it really I was just waiting for the right one to come up, he's looking for 5k for it, my insurance wont change, tax is about a hundred extra a year so really thats the only extra expense I'll have plus the extra few quid for petrol, and you really cant put a price on reliability, after driving the Punto for a year and a half thats my main concern.

maidhc

cpoh1 wrote:

If your younger go for something a little more adventurous, you'll be driving family cars the rest of your life!

Its easy to say that, but even when you are young you want something reliable and cheap to run. You can't say that for a lot of "adventurous" cars!

I have a Focus TDCi, but will be more likely to buy a second car (Capri, or Sirocco) before changing it for something else.

cpoh1

Thats the first time ive heard reliability and ford mentioned in the same breath

Go for it so then, but be warned the focus is not an exciting car, even the 1.6L model. It was designed for transporting families while at the same time being economical. Im just a little worried that if youre sick of the punto the focus wont keep you much happier!

maidhc

cpoh1 wrote:

Thats the first time ive heard reliability and ford mentioned in the same breath

They are, I assure you.

cpoh1 wrote:

Go for it so then, but be warned the focus is not an exciting car, even the 1.6L model. It was designed for transporting families while at the same time being economical. Im just a little worried that if youre sick of the punto the focus wont keep you much happier!

It will. It is a very enjoyable car to drive, and with a decent engine it is a great car. Just because it is a volume seller doesn't detract from its dynamics.

BoozyBabe

Vegeta wrote:

Boozybabe did you not test drive the focus first?

Yes, in the city.
Not much use for a country girl!!!!

Why buy a car that you have to 'work' the gears to get any power out of it.
Yes, that's true, I had to drive like a lunatic rally driver to get the car to move at all.

Once the car gets going, yes it's as speedy as a 1.4 Golf or whatever, but for taking off / overtaking, it doesn't even come close.

As most of ye prob know by now (:D ) I'm driving a 1.4 Corolla, new model, & the difference in taking off / overtaking performance is unbelievable.

It's not going to compare in any way to the power of a 2L Tdi but that's not what we're taking about.

I've only ever driven 1.4's & the Focus was definitely by FAR the worst of them.

maidhc

BoozyBabe wrote:

Once the car gets going, yes it's as speedy as a 1.4 Golf or whatever, but for taking off / overtaking, it doesn't even come close.

Are you sure there wasn't something wrong with it? Did you try driving another Focus 1.4 for comparison?

I say as it is amazing how small things can totally kill the performance of an engine (e.g. a cracked spill pipe in a diesel).

BoozyBabe

Yea, I've driven another 2, & while mine may have been slightly worse (& I'm not even sure that it was), the others were also very dead.
The drivers of those also have to 'work' the gears to get anywhere.

I've just found (& it's been commented on) that I'm such a more relaxed driver now since changing car, & it's honestly because of how you have to drive the Focus to get any life out of it.

cpoh1

maidhc wrote:

It will. It is a very enjoyable car to drive, and with a decent engine it is a great car. Just because it is a volume seller doesn't detract from its dynamics.

Im not going to critiscise your taste in cars but its the first time ive ever heard of the focus being an enjoyable car to drive bar the rs and new st obviously. Not even the rs is considered a great car, let alone any focus with a "decent engine" in her. Its a competant car in that it gets you from a to b safely and economically with children, groceries etc. in tow.

I still think there are countless options out there in your budget that are rarer, faster, better looking and just as cheap to run and insure providing you have a decent no claims and a full licence. As I said you'll be driving a family car all your life please god someday.:D

maidhc

cpoh1 wrote:

Im not going to critiscise your taste in cars but its the first time ive ever heard of the focus being an enjoyable car to drive bar the rs and new st obviously.

Have you ever driven one?

Speaking objectively, it is far better than an 06 Passat to drive (the fanciest car I have driven). It isn't as nice a place to sit, in fact it is Pennys rather than Brown Thomas, but it is a better more involving drive.

Incidentally pretty much all "professional" reviewers regard to focus as being excellent to drive!

Please do name the rarer, faster and more enjoyable cars!

cpoh1

maidhc wrote:

Have you ever driven one?

Speaking objectively, it is far better than an 06 Passat to drive (the fanciest car I have driven). It isn't as nice a place to sit, in fact it is Pennys rather than Brown Thomas, but it is a better more involving drive.

Incidentally pretty much all "professional" reviewers regard to focus as being excellent to drive!

Please do name the rarer, faster and more enjoyable cars!

As ive mentioned earlier in the thread my mothers owned one for the last 18 months. Ive also driven all variants of the car (mk1) as far as the st170, and even though that was nippy enough it was dull to drive imo.

As for more enjoyable cars, how long is a piece of string? If I had 5 grand to spend tomorrow on a car it'd be an integra si. 180ish bhp, insurance friendly for a vtec, over 30mpg and good looking too. Even a 98 shape civic coupe does everything the focus does but is still a sportier better looking choice.

with this guys budget id be thinking (in no particular order) Civic vtec, mazda mx3, mx5(if you dont mind the two seats), toyota corolla blacktop engine (160hp), peugoet 106gti/citrown saxo vts, mitsubishi colt mivec.

All 1.6 or under and insurable if you have no claims and a lot more fun to drive without compromising fuel economy.

maidhc

cpoh1 wrote:

with this guys budget id be thinking (in no particular order) Civic vtec, mazda mx3

... mitsubishi colt mivec.

I'm afraid we will have to agree to differ!

Those cars are too much "I'm an apprentice mechanic" for my liking!

gyppo

Have to totally agree with Maidhc's point of view on the Focus. I've driven a 1.6 (saloon model), and I was blown away by how well the car handled.
Looks wise, I would'nt wet my pants over it, either from inside or outside, but I think Maidhcs point was how it drove, not how it looked.

I would imagine the 1.4l would need to be worked hard, but most 1.4l family cars are not going to set the world on fire performance wise.

Jood

cpoh1 wrote:

Thats the first time ive heard reliability and ford mentioned in the same breath

Go for it so then, but be warned the focus is not an exciting car, even the 1.6L model. It was designed for transporting families while at the same time being economical. Im just a little worried that if youre sick of the punto the focus wont keep you much happier!

To be honest I'm not really sick of the Punto I'd quite happily drive it away for another couple of years but it keeps letting me down and I have to keep paying out for repairs, most of which are minor but it adds up really, I'm not bothered with speed or anything like that I just want something I can rely on.

Vegeta

cpoh1 wrote:

As for more enjoyable cars, how long is a piece of string? If I had 5 grand to spend tomorrow on a car it'd be an integra si. 180ish bhp, insurance friendly for a vtec, over 30mpg and good looking too. Even a 98 shape civic coupe does everything the focus does but is still a sportier better looking choice.

with this guys budget id be thinking (in no particular order) Civic vtec, mazda mx3, mx5(if you dont mind the two seats), toyota corolla blacktop engine (160hp), peugoet 106gti/citrown saxo vts, mitsubishi colt mivec.

All 1.6 or under and insurable if you have no claims and a lot more fun to drive without compromising fuel economy.

Hibernian wont insure my brother on a vtec honda. He has owned and i have driven an si integra, are they not 1.8l

Also if you want hatchback just for speed, I might pick one on your list but if I want an everyday family wagon i'd be gettin the focus everytime