Focus C max

sparkie1984

so following on from my budget estate thread I have noticed a lot of C max cars for sale.

Has anyone owned one? We’d be looking at £1500 budget so will be high miler and either 1.8 Petrol or 1.8TDCI diesel. A 07/08 zetec  model seems to be within reach although there’s more petrol than diesel available.

We will be doing a lot of miles in it a year (approx 15-20k) and it is to ferry dogs and generally take the miles off of our 1 series which is waaay over its allocated miles.

From reading around the diesel seems like it can suffer from dual mass flywheel problems and injector problems, I don’t believe it has a DPF to worry about.

On the other hand is the 1.8 petrol a reliable engine?

Does anyone have experiences of either the car or engine?

I’m not expecting a perfect car on a tiny budget like that but I am a bit worried by the diesel reliability and whether repairs will offset the worse mpg of a petrol?

Delvey

Same answer to the Focus in your other thread
In all seriousness, it is the same engine, gearbox etc, just a different body.
I believe the petrol also suffers the same DMF issue as the diesel.
No DPF to worry about.

sparkie1984

Wasn’t sure how people find the space in them and if they’re very practical or not?

I’ll have a research into the dmf and petrol thanks

bigdan676

I don't own one but my parents do, it's a 05 plate, no flywheel problems, they use it as the main car so it gets used a lot, when they go camping with the two dogs there is plenty of space in the boot on the back seats. They have the 2Ltr deisel and its strong, plenty of pulling power and when ouy are on the main roads it's economical.
They service it every year and apart from the usual stuff that needs changing, it's been mechanicaly sound.

sparkie1984

Thanks mate, they seem to have pretty good reviews for practicality etc. There’s a perfect one a couple of miles from me however it’s a 1.8 petrol and from reading around economy isn’t great!

So now I’m torn on whether to suck up the additional cost in form of road tax and mpg or maybe travel further for a diesel, if there is one available!

AMc

Last time changed cars I did some sums and came to the conclusion that a slightly lower MPG and slightly higher tax were a price I'd pay for a better drive.  When I found a very tidy example of the car I wanted it was a simple decision.  A slightly larger engine may not have been stressed as much as a smaller one with a similar driving style?

If you take a sample mileage of 15K and multiply it but the real world figures here   tax you should have an idea of the real cost difference.  You may be surprised at how small that is, I was.
Real MPG | Honest John

I drive an '05 and '58 so I'm not being snobby, at the age you're looking at you need to consider the possibility of a major repair bill in addition to regular servicing and wear and tear components.  Starting with a fully serviced, clean car will help to reduce that risk but not remove it.  I got an unpleasant shock when the ABS unit on my car failed costing me a grand, but I'd made allowances when I decided to go for an older cheaper car that I could find the money if it needed it.
15K-20K per year on a 11-12 yr old car for £1500 is quite an ask.

I also did a total cost of ownership of my previous Merc A class which worked out at 29p per mile for everything   fuel.  That's buying the car at 3yrs and selling at 13yrs for auction value. When I looked at that then the per mile cost of lease cars looked slightly less unpleasant given I'd been driving a banger for the last 3-4 years

sparkie1984

That’s really useful, thank you!