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Next car for my son - recommendations please?

My teenage son has just achieved a first year of accident free motoring ........ miracle ! The P reg KA has done both him and his sister proud but really is on its last legs and he now wants to trade up to something a bit bigger but most of all reliable .......... I am thinking a 8 or 9 year old Focus would probably fit the bill ? Any issues with this one or would he do better with something else ? Would appreciate suggestions n experiences ( keep them clean please ) from you knowledgable lot here

Cheers

Reply to
andy
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I would check the insurance group of any prospective purchase first. Don't expect any big consessions for having had a license for just one year for a teenage boy. I think they go down to about group 4/4E for a 1.4.

Tim

Reply to
Tim

In message , andy writes

The Focus is a good car and pretty well sorted. Try get one with a service history and make sure the cambelt has got a decent life left in it. It should be changed at 100k or 10 years so even low mileage models will need it doing soon. They prefer OEM plugs and leads. The leads an coilpacks can sometimes fail at around 40k miles but I've known them to last until 100k with no issues. Either way, its not a huge expense if it happens.

Like a lot of Fords of this age, the central locking system can start playing tricks. Make sure all four doors lock and unlock from the remote. Also try and make sure there is at least one spare key.

The 1.4 was a bit gutless, the 1.6 is quite nice, the 1.8 has more grunt but a bit heavier on the fuel and will be more to insure.

Reply to
Paul Giverin
[...]

Some insurers load the Zetec trim level as well; it's possible that an LX will be cheaper than a Zetec with the same engine.

Thumbs up for the Focus from me by the way; having written off the one I had for ten years, I went out and got another.

Chris

Reply to
Chris Whelan

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