New boiler time!

[highlander]

My Coupe turns 13 next month. It was 8.5 years old when I got it.

[Welly]

I just (very quickly) scribbled a list of dates against the cars ages I owned at the time:

1991 = 5 yr old car
1993 = 10
2000 = 10
2003 = 10
2005 = 9
2006 = 7
2015 = 10

Historically then I'm all good, financially I am set for life. Provided I die next Wednesday

[Bailes1992]

The car was delivered from the factory last week and was destined to be a demonstrator.

[Welly]

My Volvo was a demonstrator at a dealer in that Newcastle. Whoever ordered it omitted to add the 'Winter Pack' which at £375 would've got me Heated Seats, Headlamp Washers and some nice mats.

I imagine it was ragged horribly from new by would be buyers or the staff.

That's a point is there still a need to 'run in' a new engine? there used to be a method of using 'favourable' revs and then slowly increasing them over a few weeks to the point where you'd take it to max revs every now and then. There's plenty written about how the first few weeks of use can dictate how the car performs for the rest of its life etc.

[Bailes1992]

I believe the run in is done at a factory and the engine has already had an oil change by the time it's fitted in the car.
I'll be sticking to the Ford 12k/12 month intervals but will be having extra oik changes at 6k/6 month intervals like I've always done with previous cars.

[Welly]

I think when the VAG 2.0 TDi came out they filled some of them with the 'wrong' oil? they left the factory with fully-syn oil and the engine just wouldn't run in; leading to high oil consumption and the rings weren't sealing. Or something.

A running in oil should be a fairly basic mineral oil and discarded after running in, fully syn is just too slippy for bedding in components.

[Bailes1992]

Wish this week would hurry up already!

[Captain Jack]

How effing much?! For a Focus! *faints*

If I had money to burn on a new car, it would have to be fully loaded (with levvers and a daily blow job facility) and it definitely wouldn't be a Focus....

Why didn't you go for a lightly* used Mondeo for probably less money? Seems like a much more suitable car based on your previous cars (a proper full sized saloon/estate).

But either way, good luck with it.

While on the subject, one of my (female) friends bought a brand new Pug 2008. I pretty much hate all the current incarnations of Peugeots, except the RCZ (Top Gear on Sunday summed it up nicely) but the 2008 is just about acceptable. But.....it came with a 1.2 petrol engine. I am surprised it moves at all.

[highlander]

Focii are nice enough cars. Our lad got himself a Focus Mk.1 1.6 petrol Zetec hatch as his first car back in November when he passed his test. It's not bad at all; everything works, it's reliable enough - paintwork is a bit tatty, little surface rust here and there, but it's sound. Surprisingly poky from a standing start, but maybe not quite got the grunt for cruising at 70 if the road is going uphill a bit.

His car cost just over a grand. Yay depreciation! However, it is an 02 plate, so is just as old as my Coupe is (though the Coupe wears her years better). My point isn't to do with "HOW MUCH?? FOR A *FOCUS*???", it's more "What's wrong with Focuses, exactly? Decent cars, and they last for ages". Mk.1 Focii are common as muck, there's at least 4 other similar-age Focii in my housing estate, and every time I go out, I see loads of them.

However, if it were me in your shoes I might have sprung a grand or two for something that's in decent shape mechanically - some naturally-aspirated petrol-engined something-or-other (any simple engine, with no high-pressure fuel pump/fuel rail/fuel injectors, no turbos), with a reasonable service history, and evidence of cambelt changes. If you need a diesel, then some simple XUD-era lump would do. And then I'd have upgraded to your Dad's beemer as planned, and flog the inbetweener car onwards - unless you've bent it round a tree or something, chances are you could probably get almost a grand for it back.

All that said, I hope you enjoy your new car - may it spend many a happy hour on the motorway, and no scary moments at the dealership's warranty claims department.

And at least it isn't a bloody Nissan Juke.


EDIT: Forgot to add - it's refreshing to see people still actually buying cars these days, rather than taking some damned finance deal, where they never actually own the car.

[Bailes1992]

I do have finance on mine I must admit.
I put £7500 down and have £220 a month to pay for 4 years.
At the end I will own the car.

I could have leased the cat for less but excess mileage charges were a worry.

[Captain Jack]

Never done finance deals. I can see the appeal but not for me.

I know it's a very highly personal thing but I very much dislike Focuses (Focii) for reasons unknown even to me. The original one is such a dull car, even in ST guise - I've driven one a few times and there's nothing in it that makes me think "oh, that's cool". It's nothing to do with reliability etc., as I am sure they make a pretty decent run around but... they just look and feel .. unappealing. And the new one has far too many resemblances of the old one.

I love Fiestas, Mondeos and even the new shape Ka. Everything else from the Blue Oval arsenal is a bit meh. My MIL bought a brand new er.. something or other - B-Max(?) and, again, it falls into the bracket of weird. It's kind of an unfinished cross-over, a concept I already dislike. It's a 1L "EcoBoost" thing, which to me just screams a disaster waiting to happen. A tiny engine with a turbo working overtime to lug around a pretty heavy lump of metal just doesn't appeal to me.

I suppose it's an upgrade from a dreary Seat Altea

But then, I drive a 407 A dull car... with a twin-turbo 2.2L diesel engine

[Welly]

You should pay a depozit of 56.00 a MOTH followed by 265 payments of 248.00 a MOTHN followed by an AMDIN charge of 4 weekly payments of 76.00 a MOTH and a final ballon payment of 11,246.00 then the car's yours, simple

Bailes you're a bit short of the target with those figures?

Where's the Mondy now? and what's happening with it? I feel a bit sorry for it.

[GingerMagic]

I too used finance when I first got our old 306, it was up for £6995 and was 3 years old at the time. I wouldn't dream of spending that much on a car normally, but we had no kids and both had cars with problems so we just put all our eggs in one basket and plumped for a 'joint' car, very committed.

Had it for 13 years and only got rid as it was a bit small for a growing family.

Sam, FWIW I think you made a good decision, although I quite liked the Beige one too...

[Bailes1992]

You should pay a depozit of 56.00 a MOTH followed by 265 payments of 248.00 a MOTHN followed by an AMDIN charge of 4 weekly payments of 76.00 a MOTH and a final ballon payment of 11,246.00 then the car's yours, simple

Bailes you're a bit short of the target with those figures?

Where's the Mondy now? and what's happening with it? I feel a bit sorry for it.

Car was £20,038.
Ford finance gave me £2000 towards the deposit for having it on a 64 plate. So the total deposit was £9,500.
My total payable including administration fees I think is £18,060.

I hope I don't regret it and is currently easily affordable. See what happens over the next 4 years!

[DaiRees]

The wife's Focus is a great car, reliable, comfortable, efficient, I still don't really understand why she wants to change it other than to have a new toy. She's downsizing to a Fiesta just because we've got one huge car and don't need a second one, the Fiesta is ideal for the school and shopping runs etc, and it's great fun to drive We think we've sourced a really nice spec one, going to see it this afternoon. The current Fiesta is pretty close in size to a Mk1 Focus anyway. It was a really difficult choice though, the new Focus is lovely, looks and feels like a really classy bit of kit. But it's just too big I think, it's a full on family car when we need a small hatchback, I'm sure the 5 grand larger price tag has had a bearing on the decision too!

We're having finance on the new car for the first time ever. Because the mortgage, credit cards, bills etc are all in my name, SWMBO hasn't got a credit rating so couldn't even get a contract phone last year, so we need to start doing something just to build a credit rating. We're assured that she'll get the finance in her name with me as a guarantor, guess we'll see eh?