my first car

edijs · 05-08-2008, 09:06 PM

I have finally decided to go for it and buy a car. It's not that I just like do drive (I DO like to drive very much

), it will be really useful. And by now, the prices on public transportation have gone up so much that driving a car is almost the same or even less (!) money, plus, it's much more comfortable and fun.

Anyways, so what I'm looking at (and I'm getting it 100% by the end of this month), is this: Ford Focus Universal with a 1.6 petrol engine, built in 2005. Previously it was used by a goverment facility, thus has been maintained as necessary and all the stats (like driven kms and stuff) are 100% true.

What I wanted to hear from you guys is - have you heard anything about this model of cars - how's the driving, etc ...

donkey42 · 05-08-2008, 08:41 PM

i'm in UK & i have nearly the same model Ford Focus Estate 1.6 LX with automatic gearbox, & i have no complaints about it, but the front tires wear down quicker than the rear ones, so, i'd recommend swapping the front & rear wheels around about every 20k to 30k miles

Edit: but mines silver & 2k6 reg

edijs · 06-08-2008, 04:54 AM

It has actually been reported that Ford (well, at least the Focus of them) is having a regular problem with the front half-axises. That might be why the fron wheels are faster worn down. But thanks for the advice!

Swansen · 23-08-2008, 11:12 PM

does it have a manual or auto transmission ??

thomas234 · 24-08-2008, 06:39 AM

Looks nice, quite a popular car over here, and I heard that Fords are easy to repair should they go wrong...

I wouldn't go for an automatic any day though... I could drive a manual car when I was 10

(around someones farm in my Granddads car). Automatic cars are sluggish and use more fuel (so I'm told).

Swansen · 24-08-2008, 10:47 PM

Reason i was asking is because the manuals in those focuses are rock solid, but i can't remember if the autos were just ok, or if they have problems??

edijs · 28-08-2008, 08:09 AM

talking about rock solid, I had been driving my parents VW Passat (1999) and it had areally smooth transmission box, but this ford has a "dard" one, ie, i have to use quite a force to move the stick around, but that's prob because it's not that used.

btw, what's the avg. KMs per year in your states (mine is 20k)

Swansen · 29-08-2008, 07:41 PM

not sure of average, but i've driven around 20k (miles) a year for the last two years.

edijs · 04-09-2008, 02:58 PM

So, I got it at last. And one week in - I could say that for a first car it's quite okay. Since it was deployed as a "work car" previously in a goverment facility, it wasn't taken care of in the sense of drivers not choosing to avoid pits but instead going right into them "just because the car will be fixed by the state anyway". So, sure, there are some weird problems. For one, I don't know if it's common to Fords, but the supports for the brakes were bad and didn't squeeze the break-blocks to the brake disc evenly and I had to change the supports, the blocks and the discs. Also, there are some funny noises and the gas pedal as well as the engine are acting funny, but I hope that with time and care, that will go away or isn't bad as such. But overall speaking - I am really happy to be a owner of a car and it does actually give all the comfort, and is certainly worth all the money I'd be giving away for worthless crap (sorry for that)...

05-08-2008, 09:06 PM	#1 (permalink) Top
edijs Programmer Join Date: Sep 2006 Age: 22 Male Posts: 519 Times Helpful: 16 My Mood: Busy Status: Offline My Computer	my first car I have finally decided to go for it and buy a car. It's not that I just like do drive (I DO like to drive very much ), it will be really useful. And by now, the prices on public transportation have gone up so much that driving a car is almost the same or even less (!) money, plus, it's much more comfortable and fun. Anyways, so what I'm looking at (and I'm getting it 100% by the end of this month), is this: Ford Focus Universal with a 1.6 petrol engine, built in 2005. Previously it was used by a goverment facility, thus has been maintained as necessary and all the stats (like driven kms and stuff) are 100% true. What I wanted to hear from you guys is - have you heard anything about this model of cars - how's the driving, etc ... Attached Thumbnails __________________ Come to Latvia \| Crossfade, Element Eighty, Nickelback \| The Best Series Ever \| Love the classics: PlayStationOne \| Works well for me \| Opera rocks \| My Ride

05-08-2008, 08:41 PM	#2 (permalink) Top
donkey42 Paranoid Geeky Geek Join Date: Mar 2006 Age: 34 Male Posts: 5,817 Times Helpful: 309 My Mood: Paranoid Status: Offline My Computer	i'm in UK & i have nearly the same model Ford Focus Estate 1.6 LX with automatic gearbox, & i have no complaints about it, but the front tires wear down quicker than the rear ones, so, i'd recommend swapping the front & rear wheels around about every 20k to 30k miles Edit: but mines silver & 2k6 reg __________________ GRUB manual \| Google Linux \| Distrowatch \| Linux Chix \| Kubuntu \| My Mini City Last edited by donkey42; 05-08-2008 at 08:57 PM. Reason: edit

06-08-2008, 04:54 AM	#3 (permalink) Top
edijs Programmer Join Date: Sep 2006 Age: 22 Male Posts: 519 Times Helpful: 16 My Mood: Busy Status: Offline My Computer	It has actually been reported that Ford (well, at least the Focus of them) is having a regular problem with the front half-axises. That might be why the fron wheels are faster worn down. But thanks for the advice! __________________ Come to Latvia \| Crossfade, Element Eighty, Nickelback \| The Best Series Ever \| Love the classics: PlayStationOne \| Works well for me \| Opera rocks \| My Ride

24-08-2008, 06:39 AM	#5 (permalink) Top
thomas234 Big Geek Join Date: Feb 2006 Age: 16 Male Posts: 753 Times Helpful: 33 My Mood: Bored Status: Offline My Computer	Looks nice, quite a popular car over here, and I heard that Fords are easy to repair should they go wrong... I wouldn't go for an automatic any day though... I could drive a manual car when I was 10 (around someones farm in my Granddads car). Automatic cars are sluggish and use more fuel (so I'm told). __________________ Nikon D40 + Sigma 18-200 f/3.5-6.3 + Nikon Speedlight SB-600 Nokia N95 & 8gb card

28-08-2008, 08:09 AM	#7 (permalink) Top
edijs Programmer Join Date: Sep 2006 Age: 22 Male Posts: 519 Times Helpful: 16 My Mood: Busy Status: Offline My Computer	talking about rock solid, I had been driving my parents VW Passat (1999) and it had areally smooth transmission box, but this ford has a "dard" one, ie, i have to use quite a force to move the stick around, but that's prob because it's not that used. btw, what's the avg. KMs per year in your states (mine is 20k) __________________ Come to Latvia \| Crossfade, Element Eighty, Nickelback \| The Best Series Ever \| Love the classics: PlayStationOne \| Works well for me \| Opera rocks \| My Ride

04-09-2008, 02:58 PM	#9 (permalink) Top
edijs Programmer Join Date: Sep 2006 Age: 22 Male Posts: 519 Times Helpful: 16 My Mood: Busy Status: Offline My Computer	So, I got it at last. And one week in - I could say that for a first car it's quite okay. Since it was deployed as a "work car" previously in a goverment facility, it wasn't taken care of in the sense of drivers not choosing to avoid pits but instead going right into them "just because the car will be fixed by the state anyway". So, sure, there are some weird problems. For one, I don't know if it's common to Fords, but the supports for the brakes were bad and didn't squeeze the break-blocks to the brake disc evenly and I had to change the supports, the blocks and the discs. Also, there are some funny noises and the gas pedal as well as the engine are acting funny, but I hope that with time and care, that will go away or isn't bad as such. But overall speaking - I am really happy to be a owner of a car and it does actually give all the comfort, and is certainly worth all the money I'd be giving away for worthless crap (sorry for that)... __________________ Come to Latvia \| Crossfade, Element Eighty, Nickelback \| The Best Series Ever \| Love the classics: PlayStationOne \| Works well for me \| Opera rocks \| My Ride

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