I’m thinking about buying a Ford Focus MK3 1.6 Turbo with 147,000 miles. I’m in the UK.
The car is listed for £1950, but I’m unsure if I should buy it. It doesn’t have a service history. The MOT passed, but there was one advisory: a small oil leak on the offside upper front, which isn’t excessive.
What do you think I should do?
In the Netherlands, a similar Ford Focus MK3 1.6 Turbo in good condition would cost around €5500-€6500.
Both sounds like a bargain to me, especially if there are no transmission issues (for automatic…) I know cars are generally cheaper in the UK, but this still looks very attractive. For comparison, I paid €11,000 last year for a 2012 2.0 diesel with 130,000 km in Portugal.
Damn, 2 wks ago bought me a Dealer Maintained Focus Mk3 from 2011 first owner car 188.000km, manual 1.6 Ti-VCT (not the ecoboost engine) for €5800.-
Basically, the Ecoboost engines had a recall, so you should check if the specific car you’re looking at had the recall work done. You can look it up on the Ford website using the car’s VIN.
and a big NO for an automatic transmission.
Thx for the info. I know about the recall and that automatic transmissions can be problematic. I’m a bit worried about the high mileage, though. I’m not sure if it’s worth buying the Focus with 147k miles, especially since it’s a petrol engine.
Can this petrol engine and the car as a whole last a long time with that mileage? How reliable are the components???
The honest answer is: you never really know.
£2,000 is a low price for a Mk3 Focus. It might be a good deal, but it could also mean the seller wants to get rid of a problem. The car can last if it’s been well cared for, but at 150,000 miles, you should consider budgeting for a turbo replacement soon.
Make sure to check if the car had the recall work done. If the owner won’t give you the VIN, you can look under the hood for any unusual additions near the coolant tank.
They added a coolant level sensor and programmed it into the dashboard so you get alerts if the coolant is low or the engine is overheating. The Mk3 Focus is designed to be simple: the dashboard shows temperatures at 40°C, 90°C, and 120°C. After starting the car, it quickly shows 90°C, but the actual engine temperature might still be around 40°C. You can check the real temperature and any stored error codes in a hidden menu. If the gauge hits 120°C, it’s usually too late, and the engine might already be damaged.
So, if the car has a manual transmission, it’s worth considering. If it has an automatic transmission, don’t even think about it.
Personally, I wouldn’t buy a Mk3 1.6 Ecoboost for £2K
Check out this
Just double checked a video the owner sent me and I can confirm that I see the “unnatural” thing next to the coolant.
If the car had the recall work done, there’s a chance the engine hasn’t been damaged by overheating due to coolant loss.
However, the 1.6 Ecoboost engines are known to be problematic. They improved things with the 1.5 Ecoboost in the facelift models, but they still weren’t perfect.
make sure to avoid the 1.6 Ecoboost engine. It has a design flaw making it unreliable, and the question isn’t if it will fail, but when.
The 1.6 Ti-VCT engine might lack power, but it’s very reliable. The 1.5 TDCi is great if you maintain it well (especially the DPF). The 1.5 Ecoboost has some design issues too, but it’s less likely to fail compared to the 1.6 Ecoboost. If the 1.5 Ecoboost was replaced by Ford after April 2019, it’s a better option.
Just search online for “1.6 Ecoboost issues.” The recall only added a warning to pull over and turn off the engine before it starts burning—it didn’t actually fix the problem.
For anyone curious, this car is a 2011 Ford Focus 1.6T EcoBoost Titanium with a petrol engine and manual transmission. It has 147,000 miles on it, a 150PS engine, and a 6-speed gearbox.