Lad Has Decided On Which Car He Wants

[securespark]

He learnt to drive in a Fiesta Diesel and got very comfortable driving it but says he would like a Focus.

I don't know why he's arrived at that conclusion! He has decided on a budget of £3000.

We have told him Hondas are very reliable, as are Toyotas and I believe traders rate Kia and Hyundai highly.

As far as Which? magazine is concerned, Lexus are top of the shop, but they are out of his league pricewise.

Then there are the Clean Air Zones (CAZ) around the country and our good pal ULEZ in the (much less smoky) Smoke.

Of our current cars (a 2009 FR-V 2.2D and a 2002 Space Star 1.3 petrol), the first is Euro 4 and the second supposedly Euro 3.

Having looked up the CAZs round the country and the ULEZ, it seems that if you don't want to pay, the standard to go for is Euro 4 for petrol cars and Euro 6 for Diesels.

When I put the Space Star's reg in, it comes up as fee-free, which means it must be a Euro 4 engine??

This is despite being registered in late 2002 and Euro 4 coming in in January 2006.


I know things like VED and CAZ/ ULEZ charges are fluid and will become forever more punitive, but what is best to buy? Diesels in that price range have low VED rates but will most likely be Euro 4 or Euro 5. Petrols Euro 5.

Small petrols likely to be low VED too, but want to avoid the EcoBoom lumps.....

So much to think about.

 

[securespark]

Not a Focus, but this seems a lot of car for the money. Obviously high mileage, must be ex taxi! You'd want to get those seats re-covered (they have covers on but there will likely be damage to the seats underneath) and that damage to the boot fixed.

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[johnny2007]

Not a Focus, but this seems a lot of car for the money. Obviously high mileage, must be ex taxi! You'd want to get those seats re-covered (they have covers on but there will likely be damage to the seats underneath) and that damage to the boot fixed.

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It's a diesel.
They'll ban them from town centres in 2024/2025, so avoid imo.

 

[Mottie]

When I put the Space Star's reg in, it comes up as fee-free, which means it must be a Euro 4 engine??

This is despite being registered in late 2002 and Euro 4 coming in in January 2006.

My mate has a 2001 Volvo petrol and that is exempt.

 

[carmanmemoranda]

Unless you are doing high mileage regularly I would avoid diesels.

The charging zones will always be an issue, but modern diesels are not for low mileage town runabouts. The bills will be a lot dearer

 

[ETAF]

i would not buy diesel now ..... for a number of reasons, they are not good at lots of small journeys.
the cost of fuel, clean air areas, etc etc
my son managed to find an excellent focus over lockdown, petrol - been a brilliant car

I know with kids , its difficult sometimes, but i have been very luckily and mine do tend to listen to my advice , although my daughter recently purchased a diesel and now is regretting that , having a few issues - because of the small runs to school, about 2 miles
She also has this Adblue , which now has faulty sensor, and quoted £200 to replace and the car will not start after 1500 miles ........ unless full and sensor reading as full.

 

[Burnerman]

Thousands of Focus' around, likewise the Fiesta....petrols almost certainly but if a diesel is needed the Renault 1.5 dci is a wee gem.
John

 

[securespark]

What about these Ecoboom power plants?

Are they to be avoided?

 

[carmanmemoranda]

What about these Ecoboom power plants?

Are they to be avoided?

As always, it's all down to how it's been looked after, abused, neglected.

I'm old school where there was no substitute for cc, but times have changed. A well looked after ecoboom is good enough for run about use. An abused example will be expensive in the long run

 

[securespark]

I've done a bit of research on these engines and it doesn't seem good.

Highly stressed are two of the words that I have read more than once.

I've read about a sub 4 year old car with 43K suffering a cracked block, and O rings on the heating pipes adjacent to the driver's footwell failing, dumping hot coolant on drivers' feet and seizing the engine.

 

[carmanmemoranda]

On these, and similar.

Any sign of a leak or any issue needs attention straight away. The slightest neglect will bite, sooner rather than later.

There are lots of examples of these without any issues, but you tend not to hear about them.

Do I like small, highly stressed engines? No, but there's not a lot of choice

 

[securespark]

Yes! I can only find a few Focuses (?) with 1.4 lumps, which would be ideal for the lad. The next size up is 1.6, which might prove a tad expensive for insurance.

I do agree that a well-maintained vehicle is less prone to fail, but I also feel that there are some engine designs that are more reliable than others.

 

[Diver Fred]

Mates 19YO daughter loves her 2010 Honda Jazz. It isn't seen as a cool car for youngsters but it has been extremely reliable As are all Hondas.

 

[JohnD]

Mates 19YO daughter loves her 2010 Honda Jazz. It isn't seen as a cool car for youngsters but it has been extremely reliable As are all Hondas.

Cool cars are never good value.

Insurance costs will drop enormously after one or two years of safe driving.

 

[securespark]

Hmmm... Focus was chosen as it was the first one he looked at, same brand as his learner car but a bit bigger.

I'm currently looking again at Kia Ceed. The facelift was September 2009, but does anyone know when they started fitting the 1.4 Euro 5 engine?

The oldest I can find with the 1.4 Euro 5 engine is 11 plate.

Edit. OK, I know Euro 5 came in on 1/1/11, so that would be on a 60, but often manufacturers have the cars ready before the changeover date.