few questions looking to buy

[xhadesx]

Hi guys. Im looking at a 2005 focus 132km for $4800.

Just had a few questions.
1. Are they a reliable car ?
2. How many kms should i expect from the engine ?
3. What things should i be looking for or asking the seller ?

Thanms in advance

[Crazy Dazz]

Originally Posted by xhadesx

Hi guys. Im looking at a 2005 focus 132km for $4800.

Just had a few questions.
1. Are they a reliable car ?
2. How many kms should i expect from the engine ?
3. What things should i be looking for or asking the seller ?

Thanms in advance

My Daughter has a 2005 Focus, and it has been uber reliable.
Only issue she's had were the brake calipers.

[Mulga]

Originally Posted by xhadesx

Hi guys. Im looking at a 2005 focus 132km for $4800.

Just had a few questions.
1. Are they a reliable car ?
2. How many kms should i expect from the engine ?
3. What things should i be looking for or asking the seller ?

Thanms in advance

We had an LS Focus 2006 (petrol) from new for 7 years and put just over 95k on the clock.....it did not miss a beat.

You did not mention if it is auto or manual....anyway you need to look for well documented service history and also check that status of the timing belt, from memory it needs to be changed after 10years or 150k...I may be wrong on this.

I've seen many LS Focus models with well over 200k and still going well....it all comes down to how well the car has been looked after and maintained.

I'm not aware of any other issues, but others may have some.

[xhadesx]

Thanks for the responses so far . It is an auto and the timing belt has been changed

[DZFord]

No need to worry about a timing belt anyway, the 05+ Focus has a timing chain with 250,000km interval.

If it's an auto, these commonly have a harsh downshift (sometimes with a clunk), from second to first, when slowly coming to a stop. Don't be alarmed by this. Also, make sure the transmission has had a service, would hate to buy a car with 10 year old transmission fluid in it.

The driveshafts on these cars can deteriorate (CV joints), so the usual quick check for driveshafts need to be done - drive slowly on full lock left and right and listen for obvious repetitive clicking / clunking. Also listen for a creaking / clicking / grinding on initial slow take off, which can be the drivers side inner CV or intermediate shaft bearings.

The engine mounts sometimes go on these cars, especially the driver's side / upper mount. These show up as excessive vibration through the car, especially at idle.

Other than that, I've had a thermostat stuck open - the car will take an excessively long time to reach operating temperature. My alternator also packed it in after about 5 years if I recall correctly.

A really annoying problem with these cars is that sometimes they develop a split in the PCV hose, which is under the intake manifold. The intake manifold usually needs to come off to fix it, which is a fairly time consuming job on these models. Touch wood, this hasn't happened to mine.