Current Focus offering the latest model has an above average number of faults look at HJ good and bad section. Lots and lots of issues compared to say a Ceed or i30. The MK2 Focus certainly has sill corrosion issues which is why Ford did take the lame step of fitting a plastic strip to the area on MK2.5 vehicles.

Agree with the comments made above MK1 is a far better vehicle but really a very old car these days. The MK2 design effort was very poor and the handbrake on RHD models is in the LHD position e.g. in the passengers lap which sums up the effort Ford put in the MK2. If purchasing a MK1 or MK2 best to stock up with rust converter products as you will likely need them....

Mentioned it in another thread, but the current shape ford focus is the best mid size family car on the market.

Highly recommended

the advisories on the last MOT (brake pipes, sill corrosion and handbrake mechanism travel) would probably cost as much to fix as we got for the car. It had about 80,000 miles on the clock.

Grease the brake pipes, prise away the rubber handbrake lever boot, locate the adjuster nut which is accessible with a 10mm box spanner; tighten to four clicks of the lever. Clean up the sill rust. As long as it's not near the rear seat belt anchorage it should pass.

And that is the type of bodge that any decent MOT station will spot a million miles off and quite rightly fail the car.

In fact it happened to a family member earlier this year.

Car had a service at the local "trusted" indy prior to the MOT and was given a clean bill of health despite being almost 15 years old. Next thing I knew was a phone call with tales of woe about having failed the MOT and what to do next.

So next day I popped round and saw the failure notice which basically said that the brake pipes were smothered in grease and it was impossible to inspect them. I found the previous years MOT where corroded brake pipes were an advisory so nothing surprising really.

I also found the bill for the service where he had been charged £40 to "clean and grease the brake pipes". Relative was sure he had been told the brake pipes had been replaced but it was clear enough on the bill that was not the case so no come back.

MOT garage replaced the pipes and showed him the old ones, they were wafer thin, an emergency stop could well have been the last time he braked.

That god for the MOT garage that did a proper job, saw through the bodge and failed it.

IMHO there is no way a bodge on safety kit is acceptable. He reported the garage to Trading Standards and provided the bill and brake pipe as evidence. He has never said he had any comeback from them but I know for sure he will not be visiting that indy again.