need advice from Focus owners

[NickXR6T]

Hi Guys, was thinking of buying a Focus CL for the wife in the near future. just want to know a little about the cars as the dealer reckons there the ducks nuts but being a Ford owner myself I know the dealers sometimes tell lies. any advice welcome.
thanks in advance.

[melbzetec]

Dealers telling lies??? Who would have thought!

Duck's nuts is possibly right though. Focus in the top 10 selling cars in Australia last month. Obviously a few people like what they see.

[fairmont1998]

We've had ours nearly 12 months now and its been faultless. Great little car.

[Stormman]

I bought the SWMBO the zetec hatch manual. Very nice car to drive (so I've heard) because I can't get her out of it. Maybe I shouldn't have joked about "driving it like you stole it".

[Bucket]

Lovng my Focus Zetec...had it now for just over a year. have done 19,000K'ms on it now...getting 670Km's to a tank..sometimes as high as 690.
Would recommend upping to the Zetec....Wider Tyres help with handling as well as stiffer suspension, body kit sets if off and extra fruit inside too.
Only one issue and that was with the central locking that was all to willing to invite people in (unlocking itself). Was rectified on service though.

[xr8cobra]

i brought my girlfriend a 2004 cl focus auto 2.0 lt. this has been a fantastic little car nothing has gone wrong with it build is great and fuel economy is bloody unreal about 570 to 600 a tank and thats on shell 95 oct,we have had it 22 months and its great .i even love driving it and im a big bloke 115 kilos heaps of room and zippy too

[ieatsports_cars]

gees mum loves her focus , we had a few things go wrong but its fantastic, wouldnt recommend it if your use to a auto then hop into a amnual focus, esy car to stall if your no use to it , i very seldemly drive it, or maybe its my driving, btw she goes like a zetec recommend .

[opium]

Originally Posted by ieatsports_cars

wouldnt recommend it if your use to a auto then hop into a amnual focus, esy car to stall if your no use to it , i very seldemly drive it, or maybe its my driving

Have a good look at what you wrote...Are you drunk? :

[hursty351]

We got ours in Feb, a Black CL Manual Hatch, its a great car. In retrospect, we should have payed the extra for the smooth pack - the cruise and 4x electric windows with remote window control would have been worth it alone. Its worth noting that the windows wont go up after you take out the keys like in a falcon, and since i drive a BA falcon i cant get used to it! I have however got used to the indicators being on the wrong side!

catch ya,

Steve

[scooby]

Seems to be lots of happy owners here, but be aware that there are people like me who have major problems with our Focus. Just look on this website, there is only one Ford model that has a Fault Register...yes the Focus. That should be enough to ring the alarm bells.
The Focus is an average car, with below average build quality. Don't delude yourself to think its anything else. "German Engineered", but built in South Africa. Hang on, the suspension is Mazda, so is the engine, in fact most of the chassis is Mazda 3. Theyre not German and they don't pretend to be. The manual gearbox is Jaguar..not German.
I think the windscreen wipers might be German Euro design cause they look really schmick.
If you are lucky enough to get a good one then they are quite a nice drive. But if you have problems, remember that Ford doesn't even stock a lot of spare parts for the Focus.
Those who think I am anti Ford or something, I also own a 2006 Fiesta which is a great little car , reliable and doesn't pretend to be anything it is not........and it IS german designed AND built. No complaints there.
There are better cars around in the same price range as the Focus. I guess the main attraction is the styling and something a bit different to the zillions of Corollas/ Mazda 3's on the road. But buyer beware. Ford need to lift their game.
End of Rant.

[opium]

Fault register for the Territory too

[RJO89]

Originally Posted by opium

Have a good look at what you wrote...Are you drunk? :

Agreed!

[20focus05]

We have had a few problems but it is a good car cant help but drive it like its stolen and still get 8l/100km.
Handles fabulous
you will find that most of the problems are with finish.

[Redgy]

We just ordered ours last week. (after looking at I30, mazda 2 & 3, mitsubishi lancer, honda jazz : etc etc. ) Came down to focus or i30 and for the same money (CL with smoothpack) you get more than the hyundai (no cruise or alloys for ame $$).
Unfortunately the thing got damaged on the truck on the way to the dealer so now instead of getting it this week we are waiting till another comes from OS in July....ah well, we're giving the trade in a good flogging

Redgy

[Curly]

Ours pinged and Ford couldn't fix it. We got rid of it. Pinging is a common problem with them.

[Chicka]

Hey out there,need some advice re Engine Oil fill in the Focus....I have a pretty new Tdci Hatch, and intend to look after the Engine Oil changes in the future.
Going by the book,I need to use Ford WSS-M2C-913-B Spec oil, which I believe is a semi-synthetic oil in 5w-30.I have been to Supercheap,Autobarn,and similar places...and can't find an oil that easily complies.There are plenty of fully synthetic oils out there, but I believe that I should be using a semi-synthetic for the running-in period.One of the oils I tracked down as compliant was Havoline
Energy 5w-30...only to be told by Caltex that this is a discontinued line for the past couple of years...The list goes on Shell Helix F, Castrol Magnatec A1 5W-30,Fuchs Titan Gt1...nobody has these..Does this mean I should be pursuing a Full Synthetic, like Castrol Edge Sport 5w-30 or similar? The concensus of opinion within the various Forums,suggest that Fully Synthetic oils should not be used until maybe 12,000-15,000 kms.....any ideas please?

[RJO89]

Please search.. There's a whole archive of threads here that are hidden away ;).
See here for the oil information - http://fordforums.com.au/showthread....ully+synthetic