Focus buying advise

Buyer123

Hi, I'm after a bit of advise before having a look at a second hand Ford Focus.

Ford Focus 1.8 zetec (58 plate)
110k miles
Full service history
MOT December 2019
£1100
Private sale

I checked the mot history of the car and it seems pretty good with only a few minor advisories in the past but the previous mot has an advisory that I need advise with.

Nearside Front Inner Drive shaft joint worn, but not excessively (6.1.7 (c) (i))

How serious is this?
How much would it cost to fix?


Thanks in advance

EdGasketTheSecond

Very rare for an inner joint to go; it's usually the outer joint. Could be the tester made a mistake, I've had that happen.


A driveshaft and fitting might be around £250 but I wouldn't change it just on an advisory as I've had advisories one year that aren't mentioned the next even though I haven't fixed anything.

Buyer123

Thanks for the reply.

The car looks in good condition for the miles so I think I'll take a look and take it for a test drive to check for obvious problems. I had to scrap my 17 year old Mondeo last week due to a ridiculous amount of failures on its mot and I'm just looking for something cheap but reliable. My budget is higher but why spend it unless necessary..

Buyer123

EdGasketTheSecond wrote: »

Very rare for an inner joint to go; it's usually the outer joint. Could be the tester made a mistake, I've had that happen.


A driveshaft and fitting might be around £250 but I wouldn't change it just on an advisory as I've had advisories one year that aren't mentioned the next even though I haven't fixed anything.

I phoned the guy to ask about any recent work that had been done to the car and he said the driver side drive shaft was changed last year and expects the passenger side will need changing in the next 6 months due to a slight noise from that side when moving over uneven ground.

I guess that could be anything but the mot advisory is probably a good indicator.