What to look out for

Firblog

Hi, mates daughter is looking to buy first car, ideally below 4k.

She likes this Ford Focus 2011 for sale in Co. Donegal for €2,500 on DoneDeal

Are there any issues with these? What would he/she need to check for for?

Banzai600

im no mechanic, but buying these old-ish fords can be ok, they are usually fairly sound. I had 2007 1.2 fiesta , was pretty bombproof. just check t-belt & water pump has been done, but again, you have to take their word for it, unless they can back it up. the shocks at that age can go too, just fyi.

but looking at the add, it says 120k kms , but NCT picture states 115023 MILES , and odo says 115108 MLS ? could be a legit reason, who knows. It looks to be an import too.

buying newer doesnt guarantee the car will be flawless, i know two ppl stung by established dealers with 20k+ & 30k+ cars and had issues with them.

Atlantic Dawn

No NCT on it, out since 5th September and the ad is up for 69 days, generally anything at that price range that's not sold within about 2 weeks has been viewed by people who thought it was not worth buying. With a new NCT it would be worth viewing, as it stands no. The €600 motor tax is a turn off too.

cml387

Really optimistic looking for that with no NCT.

freshpopcorn

Car has done very little mileage since the last NCT.

You'd wonder why they haven't put it through a test.

bazz26

Just in case you don't know, that car is €600 to tax per year due to the emissions being high on that engine. A Corolla/Ceed or i30 would be a better buy imo, though you may have to drop back a year or two.