My Focus is no longer with me, but it has been like a good dog, always there and never complaining. For all its blandness, this car was really, really good on all parameters on which I needed it to be.
This car has been a warrior. It was used hard and was beginning to show it. I have had daily commutes of between 8 and 20 miles each way. It carried my daughter’s bicycle in the trunk to school every morning for a long while. Before that, my son’s pram for even longer. For the past couple of years it has not spent a single second under any kind of roof but instead been parked outside with the road salt dripping from its undercarriage.
When I bought it, it had a dented rear fender which was handled under the previous owner’s insurance. A front fender was damaged when someone hit it with a van. The driver left a note and was a really friendly guy who just flat out accepted responsibility and was sorry for the inconvenience he caused. Solid dude. In August 2019 that same fender was hit when a guy changed lanes in front of me – right into my car. This dude was less solid, however. He has still not accepted responsibility and the case is not yet closed. It resulted in only minor damage, though.
Meanwhile the other front fender had rusted through and the windshield suddenly had a long crack that I don’t know how got there. But it just soldiered on.
However on April 30th 2020 it all came to a crashing end. Literally. A car slowly pulled into the road and me while I was creeping along on a school road. Her fault, but really not due to any real irresponsibility on her part, just bad luck. The car was scratched from the driver’s side front wheel past the front fender, both doors, both wheels and rear bumper. It was quickly evident that this would cost more than the legally dictated 65 percent of the car’s value to fix. So it was done. Totalled.
This came with both excitement at having to get another car as well as an onset of melancholia as the car brought back my son from the hospital when he was born. It took me home from the other end of Denmark, when I knew I had seen my mom alive for the last time. And it carried all our earthly possessions inside and in a trailer over several runs from our apartment to our first house. This included 11 boxes containing several hundred books inside the car at one time. It carried I don’t know how many loads to the dump and various tools and products for the light renovation we did on the house when we moved in.
It was also with this car that I realized a teenage dream of building a proper car audio system. The car was featured on the official Phoenix Gold Instagram and website (all installs removed now, it seems). As you may recall, I wanted to install a stereo system in it, and I did. If any of you were into car audio around the turn of the century, these components will make your mouth water. I bought them used and cheap over the past three or so years. New prices would be in excess of 5,000 USD and the sound quality matches it. While I did appreciate the significantly improved audio quality, it did not match the time and effort put in. I built it because I enjoyed doing it, and I was clear with myself about that. The effort did not match the improvement in sound quality, but if you enjoy the project, it all evens out.
Other than the audio system, I added ISOFIX car seat mounting brackets in both sides in the rear, I had a dealer install an airbag kill switch for when I put a child seat in the front passenger seat. In the trunk I put a rubber mat. I bought a late model gear knob off eBay and I believe that’s about it as far as modifications go.
I am very pleased with the overall cost of ownership. As you may know or recall from my previous posts. Cars are taxed up to 180% of the cost of the car itself in Denmark, so one car for the price of three. This impacts resale value as well – even used cars are relatively expensive in Denmark. Furthermore, there is an ownership tax based on the fuel economy. And diesel is generally around 5.50 USD/gallon, so it’s expensive.
The car cost 39,900 DKK when purchased on November 20th 2016 with 212,190 km (131,849 miles). The insurance company paid me 20,000 DKK for it this May with 269,219 km (167,285 miles) on the clock. I paid 19,000 in ownership tax and 17,000 in insurance. Total cost of maintenance and repairs just over 31,000. And fuel comes out at 39,000. To reinforce mobility, you can get a deductible for longer commutes in Denmark. I was eligible for this during part of the ownership. This comes out to 20,455. So, total cost of ownership comes out at 106,927 DKK (15,729 USD). This may seem high to Americans, but it makes for a monthly cost of 2,586 DKK/380 USD – this is two dollars short of the monthly lease of a new base Ford Fiesta to which you have to add the initial fee, fuel, insurance and ownership cost.
Overall, I’d say this car has been very economical compared to the alternatives and it has not required any repairs that cannot be excused by its age and mileage. Definitely a great argument against those that claim new cars make better financial sense because they require fewer repairs. It is just not true.
So I would recommend this car as a reliable, space efficient workhorse with better handling than you would expect. It does not stand out, however. I would rarely go for a drive without seeing another one – meaning same body shape and color.
So, as the scarred warrior died on the battlefield, we were left looking for a replacement. As always, we would like something bigger, newer, more powerful and more fuel efficient – at a low cost. My wife and I can afford to finance a new car but neither of us are particularly crazy about the idea as that’s just a lot of write-off – very little return of investment if you will.
Stay tuned for how that search turned out.
It sounds like you’ve got your money’s worth out of this one. I bought an ’02 Focus in 2011 at 96km, and it currently has 227km, with a new clutch at 217km. These are great little cars for schlepping stuff around that can accommodate 4 Fatties in relative comfort. I oil spray mine regularly every year to keep the rust bug at bay, and that seems to buy additional time and usage from most of my cars. Attached is a picture taken during a typical Ontario (salty) Winter’s day.
I rented a ’17 Focus Wagon in the UK, with the 1.0L 3 cylinder manual, and really enjoyed it. No torque to speak of, and one had to down shift a little further than my own car, but the fuel mileage was consistently over 50 mpg if driven easy.
This was one tankful on the ’17
Those are really nice and were on the shortlist for both this car and its replacement. They are relatively expensive though, and I really like not having car payments.
Good call with the rust-proofing. That’s what eventually gets most cars here in Denmark due to the road salt. As you can see above, rust was beginning to show its ugly face despite having been sprayed prior to my ownership.
I hear those mark 1s are possibly even better handlers, so I see why you keep enjoying yours.
I rented one of these wagons, also silver on black, in Germany during Drupa ’08 and drove it to visit some relatives. I believe mine had the 2.0TDCi and was wonderful on the autobahn and around the country roads. Solid, fast, quiet, and well built. My biggest takeaway was during a massive rain storm while on the Autobahn, people were literally pulling over onto the shoulder with their hazard lights on instead of continuing at a reduced pace, I was thinking I was REALLY happy I opted to pay a few dollars more for the Focus than the Smart Car I was eyeing initially when making the reservation…
Mads, it sounds like your has held together to be a good member of the family, shame about the accidents. But I’m looking forward to reading about its replacement sooner or later!
It has certainly done what was asked of it: “Remain cheap and reliable, please!”
While a nice driver, it’s not an exciting car and it replacement (COAL pending review) isn’t really either. I can feel the desire for something more fun and less sensible in the not too distant future.
Fun thing about the diesels in these – the 1.6 and 2.0 are PSA units used in Citroëns, Peugeots, Volvos, Mazdas and Fords and probably some I forget. They’re really smooth and refined. The 1.8 I had in mine is a Ford unit (known as the Lynx) developed in the eighties with commonrail added later. It’s way more rough with a very narrow powerband, but when you know the car and hit the sweetspot, it’s almost fast in those specific spots. Some sources claim more torque than the 2.0 (236 lb ft is the highest I’ve seen listed. Not bad for a light little thing like this)
THese Focus are supposed to be good cars my BIL had a diesel wagon as a company car for a while before they put the reps in diesel Mondeos he reckoned it was good to drive but lacked traction control making rapid getaway from traffic lights in the wet difficult, the PSA/Ford engines are pretty bullet proof its just a shame they dont galvanise the bodies when they build them.
Yeah, the PSA engines are good and the same goes for this old Ford unit – indestructible. The lag in the 1.8 is immense, but when the torque comes on in the wet, traction is lost completely. The PSAs are definitely more smooth engines.
My cousin had recently bought a facelifted, 2010 Titanium wagon with the same 1.8 diesel, same silver exterior and 280Kkm for 3000 euros. It is his first car, bought mainly for daily commuting 90 kilometers in one way. Last week we rode ~550 km in it for a hiking trip, it handled the highway pretty well and with a nice consumption 5,4 l/100 km. The rear legroom and the seats overall were satisfying and wouldn’t make us shift uncomfortably. Usually I happen to ride with my other friend in his Škoda Octavia I, which isn’t exactly the benchmark of comfortable seats and legroom.
When he asked me first time for an advice on buying a car, I originally recommended him to search for some 2.0 TDCIs, that is what we have at home in 2009 C-Max Titanium and are very satisfied with. Didn’t happen, at least he managed to one-up us with the equipment – his Focus has the push-button start that I really don’t care for. But on the other hand, he also got the SONY radio with Bluetooth, which we have apart from BT controls, they only mute the sound. Factory Bluetooth would be a neat feature to have.
Keep them European COALs coming, it is nice to read something relatable even for a Slovak reader! I wonder what did you replace this Focus with.
OT: Today 200 000 km showed up in the said C-Max, driven 250 km one-way to take my belongings from the non-used dorm.
As a family car, mine would have been even better in the C-Max body style, and the 2.0 is a superior engine to drive, so I hope you continue enjoying yours. There’s a lot of life left in it at only 200,000 km.
This was probably the Focus model that we here in the States didn’t get. Instead, we got a questionable restyling of the original Focus until the 2012 model came around.
One thing that blows my mind was that you had to total the car after it had only been scratched. It looked like it was still driverable.
His insurance company may have done that due to a difficulty (whether real or imagined) in matching that silver paint.
My daughter’s insurance company wrote off her Honda Jazz when it only needed a new bumper and some paint on the tailgate, because the panel shop said they would have to spray the entire body from the windshield back to get an ‘acceptable’ colour match (pearl yellow).
Well, it comes down to how much it costs to repair it. If it costs more than 65% of the car’s total value, it’s totaled. As I got 20,000 DKK (3,188 USD in today’s exchange rate) for it, it would be totaled when repairs are estimated to hit 2,072 USD. With at least a new door, two new alloy wheels, dent work along the side and respray of the length of the car with the addition of labor (around 80 USD/hour) you hit 2 grand pretty quickly.
Now from a Danish viewpoint, not much is gained by scrapping a car and importing a new one, when Danish mechanics could be working on keeping the old ones on the road. That way the money would stay in Denmark, but it’s a political decision.
Would you have been legally allowed to keep it on the road with that fairly minor damage, perhaps throwing a new silver front guard and door from the wrecking yard on it yourself?
Yeah in the US a car that was totaled with relatively minor damage can be put back on the road, easily in some states. For example my Mother In Laws old Ranger took a good hit to the door with just a tiny little dent on the cab behind the door. Insurance totaled it, she “bought it back” by taking a check for if I remember right was about $300 less than it would have been if she didn’t keep the truck. She drove it for a week or so sliding across but I went to the wrecking yard and spent $125 for a door, swapped over the lock cylinder, put it on and she drove it like that for another 5 or 6 years.
In that instance she didn’t even have to do the state patrol inspection, she took her surrendered title letter to the DMV and they issued her a new salvage title. Often they do require a state patrol inspection but that is only to check VINs and reciepts for parts purchased to rebuild the vehicle. IE trying to avoid a gone in 60 sec.
Just happened to my Mother’s 2006 Impala. Small fender bender to the front fender (and cracked the rightside mirror housing), they totalled the car.
Even though it would be an easy decision for me to keep it, I couldn’t speak for my Mother, as I have no intention of fixing the damage (I can see it’s there but it isn’t very noticeable)…but still it is damage and some people do judge you by appearance. The car only has about 70k miles on it though it was driven a fair amount early in its new purchase (several trips half-way across country) in recent years my parents really slowed down, as have I, and it probably gets less than 4000 miles per year on it now.
We’re hoping there’s no hiccup when we reregister it next April, and have had to drop collision and comprehensive (I know…keeping collision on a 14 year old car was probably not smart, but she did nonetheless…and did get something for it, though probably about what she paid previously in collision insurance itself). But its a done deal, and besides where are you going to find a sedan with a bench seat that’s got 70k miles on it or less (bench seat came in handy to transfer my Father into the car when he had effects of Multiple Myeloma and medication made him a semi-invalid overnight….I’m a big believer in them now, extinct as they are now.
I guess I could have just deferred the claim and spent my own money on fixing it, but that seems a bad deal when I got paid for it.
Mine was a Euro spec 2006 1.6 litre petrol hatch in LX spec. So air con, CD, cloth trim, steel wheels and bright blue paint. And staggering reliability. It did 120000 miles with the only unscheduled replacements being 3 head lamp bulbs.
If you imagine a Mark 1 Focus re-modelled by VW as calmer and more rational then you’re pretty close. A much calmer (and VW like style wise) interior, visually, a calmer exterior but with a neat coupe profile on the hatch, a bigger boot and more space inside. Handling maybe not quite as sharp (but it was bit bigger) but the ride was a little softer and the ergonomics of the dash were a bit more mainstream.
Again, everyone had one (UK’s best seller was the Focus from 99 to 2009, IIRC) and that was part of the appeal. “Oh, you’ve got a Focus. Thought you were into cars” ” Yes, I am. It’s best in class”