Ford Focus - Ford Focus 1.6 - or others for £3000?

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Sun 30 May 2021 10:49
Ford Focus - Ford Focus 1.6 - or others for £3000? - abertim

Hi everyone,

I've been reading a forum quietly for a while but never posted. I am looking for a car for my small family (me, my wife and two dogs). We budgeted £3000 for it, but we could stretch the budget a bit more if the car was worth it. We are not very knowledgeable about cars but we've learned to check for bad rust, MOT history, clutch, etc. We would like to have some degree of reliability (as much as possible for the age with regular checks and maintenance), so we focused on these cars:

Ford Focus 1.6 and 1.8

Toyota Yaris 1.3

We considered Toyota Avensis Estate but I am not sure if we can get one for £3000

We considered Mazda 3 but I haven't tested if it works with the dogs space-wise

The dogs will stay in the car sometimes (with aluminet, fans, temperature control, etc.) so air conditioning is a plus.

Are there any other models that we should be considering? What age or mileage should we be looking for? Is it realistic to find a semi-decent car in the range of £3000 or do we need to increase our budget?

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Sun 30 May 2021 11:00
Ford Focus - Ford Focus 1.6 - or others for £3000? - galileo

Hi everyone,

I've been reading a forum quietly for a while but never posted. I am looking for a car for my small family (me, my wife and two dogs). We budgeted £3000 for it, but we could stretch the budget a bit more if the car was worth it. We are not very knowledgeable about cars but we've learned to check for bad rust, MOT history, clutch, etc. We would like to have some degree of reliability (as much as possible for the age with regular checks and maintenance), so we focused on these cars:

Ford Focus 1.6 and 1.8

Toyota Yaris 1.3

We considered Toyota Avensis Estate but I am not sure if we can get one for £3000

We considered Mazda 3 but I haven't tested if it works with the dogs space-wise

The dogs will stay in the car sometimes (with aluminet, fans, temperature control, etc.) so air conditioning is a plus.

Are there any other models that we should be considering? What age or mileage should we be looking for? Is it realistic to find a semi-decent car in the range of £3000 or do we need to increase our budget?

Kia Ceed and Hyundai i30 are similar size to Focus, a bit bigger than a Yaris, for £3000 you should be able to find one of these. As far as reliability goes, Kia give 7 years warranty and Hyundai 5 years. The aircon on my 12 year old i30 was still working when I had it checked and topped up for the first time last week, it still had 70% of the original gas.

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Sun 30 May 2021 11:16
Ford Focus - Ford Focus 1.6 - or others for £3000? - abertim

Thank you so much! I've never looked at Kia Ceed but it looks great - is the petrol+manual version the one you had in mind?

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Sun 30 May 2021 11:24
Ford Focus - Ford Focus 1.6 - or others for £3000? - badbusdriver

Is it realistic to find a semi-decent car in the range of £3000 or do we need to increase our budget?

Yes, it is, though you may have to spend a bit of time looking through the tat to find the nice one!.

Because of this, look at common cars because you will then have lots of choice. You have mentioned the Focus, which, as a 1.6, 1.8 or 2.0 petrol, is a big thumbs up.

The most obvious other choice, in terms of sheer numbers, is the Vauxhall Astra. Plenty of them, plenty of estates. Stick with the 1.6 petrol as i believe the 1.8 can be problematic.

We considered Toyota Avensis Estate but I am not sure if we can get one for £3000

Yes, you can, though it may be getting on in years and/or may have a higher mileage (not that this is anything to worry about if the car has been reasonably well cared for).

Also, Honda Accord estate.

Re space for the dogs, what kind are they, or more specifically, how big?. Two labs are not going to be comfortable in the back of a Yaris, but two Jack Russell's would probably be fine!.

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Sun 30 May 2021 11:31
Ford Focus - Ford Focus 1.6 - or others for £3000? - abertim

Thank you so much! That is so helpful!

I will add Vauxhall Astra and Honda accord estate to our list. Are there any common problems we should be looking at with these two?

They are two large dogs, in Yaris we planned to take the seats out and place the crates there so it's a bit of a special case. In other cars, we fold the seats down (so they need to fold down flat). It's a constant balancing act between city car and the dog car!

Edited by abertim on 30/05/2021 at 11:31

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Sun 30 May 2021 11:35
Ford Focus - Ford Focus 1.6 - or others for £3000? - badbusdriver

Obviously where you are comes into this, but using a couple of criteria (no insurance write off's, petrol engine of 1.4 or bigger, manual box), the youngest estate on Autotrader is a decent enough looking 2014 Seat Ibiza 1.4 with 103k miles. Youngest Astra is 2012, an 80k miles 1.6. Youngest Focus is 2010, youngest Toyota Avensis is a 124k mile 2010 example.

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Sun 30 May 2021 11:38
Ford Focus - Ford Focus 1.6 - or others for £3000? - elekie&a/c doctor
All good advice so far . The Accord estate is a great car , but be careful, I think you will find it falls within the higher ved tax bracket.
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Sun 30 May 2021 11:41
Ford Focus - Ford Focus 1.6 - or others for £3000? - badbusdriver

I will add Vauxhall Astra and Honda accord estate to our list. Are there any common problems we should be looking at with these two?

They are two large dogs, in Yaris we planned to take the seats out and place the crates there so it's a bit of a special case. In other cars, we fold the seats down (so they need to fold down flat). It's a constant balancing act between city car and the dog car!

Folding the seats down and putting the dogs in crates is fine as long as the crates are properly secured.

No particular reliability issues other than just age related wear and tear.

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Sun 30 May 2021 13:57
Ford Focus - Ford Focus 1.6 - or others for £3000? - abertim

Thank you so much. We are viewing 1.6 Focus today and we will see how it goes!

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Sun 30 May 2021 12:57
Ford Focus - Ford Focus 1.6 - or others for £3000? - SLO76
Give me a rough location and I’ll see what’s for sale locally that I’d view.
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Sun 30 May 2021 13:56
Ford Focus - Ford Focus 1.6 - or others for £3000? - abertim

London but we are happy to travel. I am a bit of a fan of yours! Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge.

We want to look at 2800£ Ford Focus 1.6 today with 60k - I wonder about cam belt change - should we prepare ourselves for a change now if it hasn't been changed or wait for higher mileage?

Edited by abertim on 30/05/2021 at 13:58

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Sun 30 May 2021 15:43
Ford Focus - Ford Focus 1.6 - or others for £3000? - badbusdriver

I wonder about cam belt change - should we prepare ourselves for a change now if it hasn't been changed or wait for higher mileage?

The belt change is either a certain mileage or a certain age, whichever comes first. Just had a look and if the info I found is correct, it is 10 years or 100k miles.

Edited by badbusdriver on 30/05/2021 at 15:46

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Sun 30 May 2021 15:55
Ford Focus - Ford Focus 1.6 - or others for £3000? - John F

I wonder about cam belt change - should we prepare ourselves for a change now if it hasn't been changed or wait for higher mileage?

The belt change is either a certain mileage or a certain age, whichever comes first. Just had a look and if the info I found is correct, it is 10 years or 100k miles.

This precautionary advice is indeed correct. But I wouldn't worry about the age. Modern aramid belts don't rot. The original cambelt in our stalwart Focus Estate 1.6 Zetec auto is over 20 years old. It's a sturdy set-up in this engine with a design life of 150,000 miles (which ours has achieved), and not known for failing. But as said, Ford advise a precautionary change of belt and, more importantly, its tension pulley, at 100,000 miles.

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Sun 30 May 2021 16:18
Ford Focus - Ford Focus 1.6 - or others for £3000? - badbusdriver

I wonder about cam belt change - should we prepare ourselves for a change now if it hasn't been changed or wait for higher mileage?

The belt change is either a certain mileage or a certain age, whichever comes first. Just had a look and if the info I found is correct, it is 10 years or 100k miles.

This precautionary advice is indeed correct. But I wouldn't worry about the age. Modern aramid belts don't rot. The original cambelt in our stalwart Focus Estate 1.6 Zetec auto is over 20 years old. It's a sturdy set-up in this engine with a design life of 150,000 miles (which ours has achieved), and not known for failing. But as said, Ford advise a precautionary change of belt and, more importantly, its tension pulley, at 100,000 miles.

You are probably right John, but personally, I wouldn't take the risk. Especially as, AFAIK, the timing belt on a Focus is easy and therefore relatively cheap to replace.

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Sun 30 May 2021 21:03
Ford Focus - Ford Focus 1.6 - or others for £3000? - SLO76
“ You are probably right John, but personally, I wouldn't take the risk. Especially as, AFAIK, the timing belt on a Focus is easy and therefore relatively cheap to replace.”

Agree completely. While John is right that belts rarely actually fail these days, tensioners, pulleys, water pumps or ancillaries can cause a timing belt to jump or fail. For all the cost of doing it on one of these engines it’s well worth it. The Focus is an excellent cheap family car with the robust Yamaha designed 1600 petrol. Watch for rust underneath though.
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Sun 30 May 2021 21:07
Ford Focus - Ford Focus 1.6 - or others for £3000? - SLO76
“ We want to look at 2800£ Ford Focus 1.6 today with 60k - I wonder about cam belt change - should we prepare ourselves for a change now if it hasn't been changed or wait for higher mileage?”

These are good cars with the reliable Yamaha designed 1600 petrol and they’re great fun to drive but get underneath to check for serious rot as they do rust.
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Sun 30 May 2021 22:26
Ford Focus - Ford Focus 1.6 - or others for £3000? - abertim
The one we’ve seen today wasn’t meant to be. Thank you for sending adverts - going to look at them now!
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Sun 30 May 2021 22:14
Ford Focus - Ford Focus 1.6 - or others for £3000? - SLO76
Spotted a few worthies but sub £3k pickings are slim down there so I’d up the budget a bit if you’re able.

Comfy, good to drive and reliable. Loads of room for the family and the dogs. Chain driven engine.


www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202105162687091

Same as mine, bar the colour. Mine has been utterly dependable and surprisingly decent on fuel. No timing belt to worry about.


www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202105222962601


As above, looks fresh.



www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202105062288507




Not ideal for the dogs but a private sale, good spec and a cheeky £3k offer might buy it.



www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202104271875042


Very useful family car. Reliable and good to drive.



www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202105132559810


Cheaper and older but these are good cars if you find a good one. Rust is the big worry.



www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202105012067301



Edited by SLO76 on 30/05/2021 at 22:26

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Sun 30 May 2021 22:28
Ford Focus - Ford Focus 1.6 - or others for £3000? - bazza

We have a 1.6 focus 2010 reg just turned 80k. WBAC just valued it at £2100 with a few scrapes and scratches to give you an idea. It's been a very good car over 9 years nearly, easily one of the most reliable. It's just today done 200 miles at 44mpg. Perfectly fine car, performance is fine, handles beautifully. Carries one black lab, I'm not sure 2 would fit, maybe look at the estate version.

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Sun 30 May 2021 23:49
Ford Focus - Ford Focus 1.6 - or others for £3000? - abertim
Thank you so much for the WBAC value - that’s very helpful! We just tried it today and it works - we fold the back seats down and two crates fit perfectly. :) It seems like a great car perfectly sized - my wife is afraid of parking estates in the city!

Edited by abertim on 31/05/2021 at 00:00

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Sun 30 May 2021 22:30
Ford Focus - Ford Focus 1.6 - or others for £3000? - SLO76
Toyota Verso is a very useful and long lived car if you get a good example.

www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202011065858447



www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202105152653147

Edited by SLO76 on 30/05/2021 at 22:32

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Sun 30 May 2021 23:52
Ford Focus - Ford Focus 1.6 - or others for £3000? - abertim
Thank you so much! My wife would prefer the smaller sized car (parking in the city) so we will check out the Astra first and then Fords and Toyotas you recommended too. Focus today was perfectly sized but seemed to have few problems. Do you think that oil leaks are a big worry in them?

Toyota Corolla verso looks great too!

Edited by abertim on 30/05/2021 at 23:54

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Mon 31 May 2021 13:04
Ford Focus - Ford Focus 1.6 - or others for £3000? - SLO76
Spotted this for sale privately. Not a huge boot but these are robust and good fun to drive. Chain driven engine so no timing belt to worry about. Could be a worthy budget but if it is as good as it looks.

www.gumtree.com/p/cars-vans-motorbikes/mazda-3-hat...l
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Mon 31 May 2021 13:12
Ford Focus - Ford Focus 1.6 - or others for £3000? - abertim
Thank you! I checked its last MOT. Are lower suspension arm pin or bush worn on MOT something that should have been fixed for it to be good?
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Mon 31 May 2021 13:14
Ford Focus - Ford Focus 1.6 - or others for £3000? - SLO76
This looks good value too but be wary as he’s clearly a home trader as he’s welcoming a part exchange. Not the end of the world as many advertise as a private seller to avoid Gumtrees fees but ask him if the car is registered to him at his current address. If not and he then doesn’t volunteer that he’s a dealer walk away.

www.gumtree.com/p/cars-vans-motorbikes/2008-mazda-...l

Edited by SLO76 on 31/05/2021 at 13:14

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Mon 31 May 2021 21:56
Ford Focus - Ford Focus 1.6 - or others for £3000? - abertim

Good evening - thank you. I saw an advertisement and immediately thought of our surfing adventures we love. What do you think about this one?

www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202105293224948?t...1

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Mon 31 May 2021 22:26
Ford Focus - Ford Focus 1.6 - or others for £3000? - SLO76
A very good car and from the advert sound like it had been cared for regardless of cost. The Mot history is perfect too. It’s a bit up in the money for the mileage in a private sale but I’d say it’s worth £3500 if it’s as nice as it looks in the pictures. These can easily exceed 200,000 miles if looked after and this sounds like a great example. I’d get there quickly with cash in hand. The fact that they’ve bought another Honda speaks volumes and the recent set of good quality tyres helps offset the slightly higher asking price. I was looking for one of these when my Avensis appeared, the Honda is a better car to look at and to drive but no worthy examples were on sale nearby at the time.
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Mon 31 May 2021 23:17
Ford Focus - Ford Focus 1.6 - or others for £3000? - abertim

Thank you so much, we'll hopefully have a look at it tomorrow! Now educating ourselves on what to look at in Hondas!

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Mon 31 May 2021 23:35
Ford Focus - Ford Focus 1.6 - or others for £3000? - SLO76

Thank you so much, we'll hopefully have a look at it tomorrow! Now educating ourselves on what to look at in Hondas!

Clutches and rust are the weak points, though the latter is less of an issue on this generation of Accord. Look also for poor paint repairs and accident damage. Ask to hear it start from cold and when you arrive before you start it lift the bonnet and feel the top of the engine to see if they’ve ran it before you arrived. This may suggest a starting issue or a rattling timing chain. The chain should be quiet instantly on startup on these, if it rattles at all then walk. On driving it again you want to try the clutch from cold to detect any excessive juddering. It’s a common weakness on Honda’s, it seems related to condensation building up on the clutch plate causing judder until it burns off. No big deal but it’s annoying for the first ten minutes or so of any journey if it does suffer from thus. No Ida why one does another doesn’t and the petrols are far less likely to see it. Check all electric work, especially the A/C which is another known weak point. Make sure there’s no knocks or rattles from the suspension or weird noises from the engine or transmission. They’re tough but as with any 13yr old car with 100k plus, things wear out. Feel for uneven power assistance from the electronic steering rack, try it at low speed in a car park, do several tight turns going lock to lock if possible. Electric racks can fail. Listen for a noisy thrust bearing or gearboxes bearings themselves, again these aren’t fragile but will big mileages they can wear. It should be a very quiet big car at speed.

Edited by SLO76 on 31/05/2021 at 23:39

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Tue 1 Jun 2021 17:25
Ford Focus - Ford Focus 1.6 - or others for £3000? - abertim
I wonder Is this sort of rust a big concern

ibb.co/Mfrm2VJ
ibb.co/ZJBbTvk
ibb.co/cgy8Qr1
ibb.co/pXjfjkx
ibb.co/9szRfpy
ibb.co/fGVcw0B
ibb.co/jbrnDs0
ibb.co/7nFjZXS
ibb.co/GdhW48Y
ibb.co/ypg2VZh
ibb.co/4mZNmqw
ibb.co/28BW6rK
ibb.co/RzykbKk
ibb.co/JdsR66J
ibb.co/7Kj6M4M
ibb.co/qRqCHX3
ibb.co/rs7pTrZ
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Tue 1 Jun 2021 07:44
Ford Focus - Ford Focus 1.6 - or others for £3000? - Wee Willie Winkie

"Thank you so much, we'll hopefully have a look at it tomorrow! Now educating ourselves on what to look at in Hondas!"

That Honda very much floats my boat. Private seller in what looks like a nice area, a detailed description that shows the owner has cared for the car, decent MOT history,, plenty of good photographs, attention to detail, eg the spare wheel well with spare number plate etc placed neatly.

Looks like a belter!

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Tue 1 Jun 2021 18:51
Ford Focus - Ford Focus 1.6 - or others for £3000? - abertim

Still on the lookout. One light wasn't working, the car wasn't insured so we couldn't test drive and I was told by honda enthusiasts that the amount of rust required quite a bit of work while the price was set in stone. They told us it's more than surface rust after videos and that the stabiliser could snap soon. So we walked off the deal.

Edited by abertim on 01/06/2021 at 19:01

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Tue 1 Jun 2021 20:29
Ford Focus - Ford Focus 1.6 - or others for £3000? - Wee Willie Winkie

Oh. Just goes to show that having a thorough check over is very important. On the face of it, that car was a belter!

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Tue 1 Jun 2021 20:34
Ford Focus - Ford Focus 1.6 - or others for £3000? - abertim
It was 100% perfect from the advert. Somewhat discouraged but tomorrow will be better!
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Tue 1 Jun 2021 21:39
Ford Focus - Ford Focus 1.6 - or others for £3000? - SLO76
Looks worse than it is from the pics but yes it is a little crusty under there and with no test drive possible and the seller being unwilling to move on price you were right to walk away. He won’t sell it without being willing to negotiate.
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Wed 2 Jun 2021 11:12
Ford Focus - Ford Focus 1.6 - or others for £3000? - abertim

Looking for more cars.

My friend recommended Honda Jazz - said seats are folding completely flat. I am going to set up a viewing maybe as well even if only for "in the meantime" car while we are looking for that perfect one. Going to search the forum for information about them as well. Advertisements are not great, but found Ford focus estate that might be of interest and one ford focus hatchback. Buying during the boom is not great, but this morning I have read that it is not going to get better soon, so not much choice there.

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Wed 2 Jun 2021 11:32
Ford Focus - Ford Focus 1.6 - or others for £3000? - SLO76
Well it’s good that you’re casting the net as wide as possible. At this money you often see very tidy examples of the Mk II Jazz coming up for sale and they’re usually well cared for with full history and low in the miles. They’re very reliable and exceptionally economical, as cheap cars they’re brilliant. The only downside is that they’re pretty drab to drive. The bigger 1.4 is the one to have but the 1.2 will be fine around the town. Both will do 50mpg plus easily and the only two issues you need to watch for are rust and worn clutches. Mk I’s were prone to thrust and gearbox bearings wearing out but the Mk II isn’t guilty of it. Check the A/C is working if fitted.



www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202010235341437




www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202106013310003

Edited by SLO76 on 02/06/2021 at 12:05

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Wed 2 Jun 2021 23:31
Ford Focus - Ford Focus 1.6 - or others for £3000? - abertim
We viewed couple of Hondas today and my wife fell in love with 2011 model. BUT there was a rattling sound in the engine (which we are going to ask our mechanic about) and there was tinkling when wheels were turned fully (shock absorbers? Power steering?) so hopefully we are going to view and purchase one of the 2011+ models soon.

I am starting to like the whole car search - and I feel like we’re getting better at recognising potential problems in the car through reading forums, watching YT videos and viewing and testing quite a few cars. Getting feedback here has been perhaps the most brilliant part of the process and makes it much better too.

Edited by abertim on 02/06/2021 at 23:32

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Fri 4 Jun 2021 23:25
Ford Focus - Ford Focus 1.6 - or others for £3000? - abertim
And we got Honda Jazz from 2013 with FSH and 70k miles- we used engine code reader and checked it every way we could - we got it from the dealer and negotiated the price - he got more money than at times before the boom, and we got the price cheaper than the second best - all are happy.

Thank you everyone for help! I hope the thread will be useful for others with suggestions and all the knowledge.
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Sat 5 Jun 2021 08:10
Ford Focus - Ford Focus 1.6 - or others for £3000? - SLO76
Very reliable and highly practical little cars which are very cheap to run. A wise option and well bought by the sounds of it. I hope it serves you well.
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Sat 5 Jun 2021 07:23
Ford Focus - Ford Focus 1.6 - or others for £3000? - barney100

My dog has a Volvo V70 '08 vintage. They are ideal and plenty about. Having said that I know someone who has two huskys and a samoyed dog who uses a a mini, it's like watching the Tardis empty when they get out and getting in has been well sussed by the dogs. However for Sega and I an estate is best.

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Sun 6 Jun 2021 21:12
Ford Focus - Ford Focus 1.6 - or others for £3000? - abertim
We will definitely be looking for something bigger long-term too! It just didn’t work during the boom for now and it’s much easier to view cars without pressure- estate/van/suv will be next for us too!

The new worry is catalytic converter in London on the Jazz :)
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