Hello all
Today I was offered an '07 Focus 1.8 Sport (petrol) 5dr with only 7900 miles for £6,900 at a franchised Toyota dealership. It has a FSH with the book stamped at 12 months (at just under 4000 miles).
However, might mileage this low be a bad thing? E.g. car never run in properly, only ever used for short runs etc...
I took the car for a test drive and it felt [unsuprisingly] brand new and very tight. There were a couple of points that made me walk away and sleep on it though.
1. The clutch had a high biting point which made clutch control a little tricky. When I got back from the test drive I reversed back into a parking space at the dealer and it felt like I was about to stall it.
2. When I parked up and the engine was running idle it made a whining noise. I blipped the accelerator and the noise went only to return 15 seconds later or so. It wasn't very loud but it was audible - I only noticed after the test drive (you could only hear it from outside).
The car is immaculate - it had only just come in and was being valeted when I arrived and the salesman admitted he didn't know a lot about the car but suggested the previous owner may have been a local elderly gentleman who p/xed for a new Toyota (he was happy to show me the V5 and service book).
Any thoughts? Is it a good deal? Am I right to be cautious?
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I wouldnt worry about low mileage on a car that is still so young, plenty of time to give it a good thrashing!
You get used to clutches, they vary and with time you automatically judge the biting point.
Some cars have little noises of their own, its possible the car has stood a bit and just needs a good run. Can mention the noise and see if they can sort it as condition of sale.
Sounds a nice deal for what is a nearly new car.
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However might mileage this low be a bad thing? E.g. car never run in properly only ever used for short runs etc...
It's possible that the reason for the low mileage is that it was only used infrequently. My 2003 Focus was 16 months old when I bought it and it had only done 4000 miles. The only evidence of its infrequent use was that the brake discs were heavily rusted. With normal use they cleaned up acceptably ~ not perfectly, but sufficient to pass all the subsequent MOTs without comment from the tester. If I was really finicky I would have the rear discs renewed, but I've mellowed with age and as long as the braking is OK then I'll be happy with them until it's time to have new pads.
Edited by L'escargot on 25/04/2009 at 08:53
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Thats not that low really. I've seen cars older with less miles, and older stuff only doing 500 miles between MOTs
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Thanks for your views - sounds like I could be being over cautious then.
Do you think it's worth a go then?
The whining noise is probably my only real worry - any ideas what it might be?
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Does it still have a valid Warranty ?
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Do you think it's worth a go then?
Definitely. But when you agree to buy it, specify that it's subject to it having a satisfactory AA or RAC inspection.
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It should be under factory warranty surely? Best check that, but it wouldn't cover the clutch plate if it is knackered. Having seen how some elderly (and not so elderly!) drive it is possible the clutch is worn. The mileage itself wouldn't put me off.
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If it's only had short local journeys by someone who's, shall we say, not over confident, then the clutch may have taken a hammering. I'm sure we've all seen them locally.
The whining may well be something to do with valeting materials on the belts.
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I would ask them to sort out the whining noise and to contact me when it had been rectified, when i would go back and check it had been, before i handed over any money.
In the mean time i would try and find another Focus to drive and check how the clutch feels in comparison to this one, as someone else has already said an elderly driver and lots of short journeys can equal a very short cluth life !!
After all there are plenty of Focus' for sale out there, so if in doubt walk away and find another one.
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My last 3 cars were purchased from a car dealer who specialises in ex-motability cars so they are mostly one owner low milage jobs, in fact my present Almera was about the same age & mileage as the Focus you're looking at.
I've never had any problems with these cars whatsoever but - make sure you get a warantee with it.
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Double check the spec - I think some of the Sports from around this time didn't have aircon or the heated front screen.
It will presumably have the, er, sports suspension, which some find too firm, but as you've driven it, that shouldn't be a problem.
Not the most economical car on the road, either.
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Thanks everyone - really appreciated!
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Do you think it's worth a go then?
If the dealer has shown you the V5, why not contact the ex-owner and find out what sort of use it has had? 3000 a year isn't stupidly low for a retired owner. Years ago my daughter formed an orderly queue of 1 to buy a p-exed 106 XT which an elderly man had traded in for a new one. No problems.
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Spookily enough we have a Focus 07 Sport (1.6) that has done even fewer miles - 5500 to be exact.
It's never been used for short journeys - The mileage is low because it's only used once or twice a week. It's our second car. I have a company Mercedes and work from home, so mine gets all the heavy family use.
Even if it has been used for short journeys, it's nothing to worry about at this age especially as the oil has been changed at 4k.
Spec wise : If it has black door handles/boot handle then it's an old spec model - the spec changed around early 07, with the later spec having colour coded handles. The "sport" model was dropped around mid 2007 when they introduced Style models (which don't have alloys).
It's a bit of an off spec - All "Sports" had A/C from day 1 (along with Alloys, front fogs, electric front windows, mirrors, Remote C/L etc) but none of the "sport" models have Sport seats or Sport suspension despite being a "sport" model!! (though they do get a 3 spoke leather sports steering wheel). Oh, and none had heated front screen as standard either.
Clutch on ours has normal bite point. I don't think clutch is a major job on the petrol engines anyway - certainly no DMF to worry about.
Edited by whoopwhoop on 25/04/2009 at 19:56
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Once again thank you all for the great advice.
I have however decided to err on the side of caution and not buy the car. I'm still worried about that whining noise when the engine is idle. I'm reluctantly sticking with my Saab 9-3 (for the time being at least).
PS. That is spooky whoopwhoop! Don't tell me it's red too!
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