Just been pondering the best and worst car I've owned over the past 20 years.
Spookily, the best car was a Ford Focus 1.6 Zetec, bought new in 2002, which, at 110,000 miles is still going strong - and is even on the original brake shoes. My wife drives it every day and it's still going strong.
Worst car is my current, Focus, a 1.8tdci which has just had a new clutch/flywheel at only 18 months old and 18,000 miles.
It's amazing how Ford appears to be going backwards in terms of reliability and quality. And don't even get me started on the dealer network!
Perhaps this partly explains the blue oval's current problems.
Am I unique in buying a new model of a car that's much worse than its predecessor?
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Ford are not 'going backwards'. You've just had bad experience.
Our 2007 Focus 1.6 Zetec is about the best car my family has ever owned.
Have you had the tdci from new? Could the clutch have been abused by a previous owner?
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A glance at the HJ forums suggests that a lot of people are having problems with Focus TDCIs - and Ford seems to be doing very little to address this.
This is my 4th Ford since 1997 and - I'm sorry to say - my last.
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Not representative as there are masses of them around.
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I have a theory about Ford. They tend to take one step forward and one back.
The Escort Mk3 was a very good car - the mk 4 was a dog. The Fiesta Mk3 was a good car, the Mk4 was pretty lacklustre. Can't you see a pattern developing?
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No, sorry I don't see a pattern. By your logic the Reliant Robin is about the most reliable car in Britain because there aren't any (or very few) problems logged on this forum.
A lot of manufacturers have had problems with common rail diesels and their associated complex engineering. I have seen no evidence that Ford are worse than others and may possibly be much better than some. There was a German survey where Focus came out top for reliability.
Edited by The Melting Snowman on 02/03/2009 at 20:30
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No one else want to join in? ;-)
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Actually, my dad had a Reliant Robin many years ago and it didn't need a new flywheel after 18,000 miles...
Okay, if making a decent, reilable diesel is so difficult, then why not just withdraw them and sell only petrol cars?
Yes, the Focus was six months old when I bought it, but this is a family hatchback, not a fancy supercar so it should be able to withstand a little rough treatment. I've owned around 20 cars and never needed so much as a replacement clutch before, so I don't think my driving style is to blame.
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I agree it's poor but I don't believe your experience is common considering the numbers on the road. If yours had been a hire car then it might have been subjected to rather rougher treatment than it deserved. Dual Mass Flywheels are relatively delicate things. I don't know who would make the part but I strongly suspect it's not Ford.
Edited by The Melting Snowman on 02/03/2009 at 21:15
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The Fiesta Mk3 was a good car the Mk4 was pretty lacklustre.
Much better interior, more standard equipment, the launch of the 1.25 16v engine and much improved handling than the stodgy mk3...
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Ford made good cars, reliable and nice to drive when the engineers ruled the company. Then the cost accounts moved in. At first no one noticed, then when they stopped working, niggling faults, and were just not fun to drive any more Ford did something tp claw back lost sales as people noticed. The engineers came back and gave us the Focus and a nice driving Fiesta (and that 1.25 engine cost them a fortune just to ship the heads to Japan for Yamaha to work them). Since when the cost accounts are back pairing things down, and specifying components that are just fit for purpose. Things are costed right down. Good enough for 36,000 miles probably, and let the next owner worry.
Same thing happened to the Golf at VW after the Mk2. Stodgy Mk3 in faster trims, reliability problems, and then the Mk4. Looked and felt great in the showroom, but needed lots of expensive parts after 36k. Door locks, coil packs, fuel pumps, cooling system, sensors. So many problems at Vauxhall and VW with tensioners costed down that fail, blow the engine and huge warranty claim. Up until 1989 Mercs were fab and would run and run. Now????? From the best to the worst.
My guess is all manufacturers in this economic situation will cost down every little piece of the car, demanding better prices from their suppliers to give a better profit and return. It is quite ridiculous that the scrapyards are full of very nice cars, disposed of because the repair to an ECU, clutch or autobox is not worth doing.
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A glance at the HJ forums suggests that a lot of people are having problems with Focus TDCIs - and Ford seems to be doing very little to address this.
It's only the people who have had problems that publicise the fact. I think we should have a thread exclusively for members to publicise the fact that they have had no problems with Ford (the company), Ford cars, or Ford franchised dealers. I'd probably be the most regular contributor.
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Part of the op's problem I suspect is that the dealer made a complete monkey's breakfast of the clutch replacement. Had this been done properly, first time, it would have made the situation far less annoying.
I know of lots of Focuses still giving very good service to owners at well over 100,000 miles. A VW technician friend bought one for his wife, and reckons from a component quality and reliability point of view, it's a better car than the Golf in every way.
Just one opinion, but I think he's in a good position to know.
Cheers
DP
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...I think we should have a thread exclusively for members to publicise the fact that they have had no problems with Ford (the company), Ford cars, or Ford franchised dealers. I'd probably be the most regular contributor....
I'd be contributing a good few times, and so would members of my family.
We've owned a lot of Fords over the years and everyone has given either good or very good service.
Bumped into a rep the other day who has put 200,000 trouble-free miles on a DMF Focus.
That's just one car, but then so is the OP's.
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My 1999 Mk1 was largely trouble free - a fuel sender and a wheel bearing both fixed under warranty.
I couldn't have done over 100,000 in it though. At just 54,000 the driver's seat was shot to pieces.
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I was considering buying an S-Max 6 months ago. Didn't in the end, but one of the initial worries was how good (or bad) the dealers would be.
The eventual deal-breaker was the lack of any spare wheel.
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