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[Wayne]

Hi Chaps

my mates selling a 2 litre Ghia Silver Ford Focus with 80,000 on the clock, been well maintained, great body work for a 12 year old car, no rust, nice inside, non smoker
not sure what the spec on the Ghia is ?

any good? i have never owned one and would like to hear about the negatives and positives
i haven't test drove it yet, he wants £1150 for it

gotta be better on petrol than my 1998 2.5 V6 Omega Estate, 

[tunnie]

Oh of that age is top of its range, not sure if they did the Ghia X on the first shape ones.

Don't expect it to be massively better on fuel, its still a 2.0, would expect mid 30's average out of it.

[Wayne]

are they quiet cars on the road? i mean like "interior cabin noise at say 80mph" or driving round town

i do like a car with hardly any road noise, which as you know the Omega is lovely and quiet, can hardly hear the engine

[tunnie]

Its a small FWD car, its no motorway cruiser 

[Wayne]

Okay matey, thanks

what car should i be looking at with all the bells and whistles for about £1500
i know its not a lot, but looking for something quiet on the road with average of 35 - 40mpg if poss

i`d love a Diesel, but aint gonna find anything good for that dosh

then i have to sell my Omega which i`ll miss, but not the running costs and problems i have had with it and still have, i just want shot of it

[tunnie]

LPG the Omega or swap it for a diesel.

But remember, even spending just £700 on replacement car or LPG, will take you at least 10,000 miles to recover the cost, assuming a 30-40% saving in fuel costs.

[Del Boy]

Okay matey, thanks

what car should i be looking at with all the bells and whistles for about £1500
i know its not a lot, but looking for something quiet on the road with average of 35 - 40mpg if poss

i`d love a Diesel, but aint gonna find anything good for that dosh

then i have to sell my Omega which i`ll miss, but not the running costs and problems i have had with it and still have, i just want shot of it

E39 BMW 525d?

[Wayne]

i wish Del Boy!

[GastronomicKleptomaniac]

Okay matey, thanks

what car should i be looking at with all the bells and whistles for about £1500
i know its not a lot, but looking for something quiet on the road with average of 35 - 40mpg if poss

Mk3 Mondeo 2.0. Or similar age (2002-ish) Primera petrol. Both will do 35mpg. Or an Almera 1.5 if you really want the full 40mpg. Boring but ticks all your boxes.

E39 BMW 525d?

Whenever I see them, I always think "you've bought the wrong car". The 530d is as near as dammit as economical, quicker, and there's rarely any difference in insurance... though as you rightly imply they are a bit cheaper to buy.

[Wayne]

How about a 2004/2005 Ford Mondeo V6 2.5 Ghia X with all the gadgets? or the 2 Litre Turbo Diesel Model?
just been looking at a few and some are in as new condition inside and out, not sure what a 7 - 8 year old car is like with the "rusting" problem

[cem_devecioglu]

focus 2.0 ..  easy to repair and nothing special..electrical and mechanical failures more common than the mondeo..
mondeos definitely better in handling and consumption wont be different.. there are many alternatives for that money also..

[Wayne]

maybe i`m fighting a losing battle to find someat with all the toys on it and economical, obviously the more dosh i have the newer the car i can get, would like someat no more than 8 years old in the real world with service history

[zirk]

Mondao 2.0 had horendous issues with Intake Flaps inside the inlet manifold, causing problems ranging from poor idle to finding bits of broken flaps trying to make there way in to the cylinders. Think they sorted it around 2002/2003.

[TheBoy]

I had a 2001 Focus. It was a useless shitbox, I'd never have another.  However, I was forced to have one as a hire car in 2005 when the MV6 had an extended holiday in France. That was a useless shitbox as well. I swore I'd refuse ever driving another. Sadly, last year, the hire car company on holiday only had Focus's. That was a useless shitbox as well.

I am really trying to say something constructive about them. The engines are shit. They get scared if you show them a bend. They don't stop particularly well. They are not particularly reliable. They are not very economical.

I would rather have my right resticle removed than have another. They really are awful cars, just better than the Escort that preceeded it.


The only 2 upsides I can think of:
1) The dealers are generally less useless than Vauxhall dealers
2) It is always an utter pleasure to hand them back

[Wayne]

The Boy comes to The Rescue!  lololol!!  quality

i like that saying, i think i`ll steal it, i saw a rival Bon Jovi Tribute band on youtube, they were an USELESS SHIT BOX aswell! 

nice one,  i so need to spend my £1500 on someat half decent