Looking at used cars - lots of questions!

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Don't buy anything Stellantis with the 1.2 puretech engine either! Vauxhall, Peugeot, Citroen.

There are some quite large bodied cars using this engine (5008, C4, Grandland), which wrings every last horsepower out of it, not good for engine life (never mind wet belt failure) or fuel consumption.

(Same as the ecoboost, all the performance of a 2 litre with the fuel consumption of a 3 litre if you actually use it…)

Goudy

Modern engines are meant to be designed to be environmentally friendly when in actual fact are designed to help manufacturers meet CO2 emission targets when tested.

This means they tend to be small and turbo charged or small with mild hybrids systems and almost never meet expectations regarding fuel efficiency.

Part of the design of some of these engines included reducing friction, particularly in the drive to the cam shafts/valve train. This meant they ran their rubber/fibre cam belts in engine oil which for some meant disaster.

The belts breakdown and clog up the oil ways, snap and ruin the whole engine. A couple have been pointed out already like the Ford 1,0 Ecobost and the 1.2 Puretech engines. Be advised, they are literally ticking time bombs. BTW a few diesel engines do the same.

Estates haven't really been in fashion for a number of years as SUVs and Crossovers have taken over, so pickings are naturally slim and most of late plate used cars come off fleets, which don't tend to spec estates to start with.

If you search around the big car supermarkets you'll find only a few but they tended to sell better in diesel form. Estates are load luggers so people preferred the torque of a turbo diesel, so picking are getting slimmer.

Some SUV's will have a similar load area to an estate and you should find more petrol options.

Things like the Suzuki S Cross will have a bigger load area than a Focus and the normal non mild hybrid Vitara isn't far behind the Focus boot.

These Suzuki's have better petrol options than they do diesel, you can even get the Vitara with a non turbo 1.6 petrol, The M16a engine has legendary reliability but the 1.4 Boosterjet isn't far behind.

Shoxt3r

Wow - thanks for all of the replies - very useful information! I had a feeling about the Ecoboost engines, so will be avoiding those. All listings for the newer Focus have Ecoboost from what I can see, so I assume people are getting rid of them before they become a problem...

Good to know about smaller engines having turbos and subsequent problems. I was aiming for at least a 1.5/6, especially for an estate.

The £40k tax comment puts my mind at ease - I thought it applied for every year.

The gearbox playing up on the Focus is just one reason I want to replace - ever since we had a child it's never really been big enough for days out. Although we don't cover a lot of mileage, the miles done would be so much easier with a larger car (e.g. carrying bikes, for holidays etc). We're also hoping for a second child and it was a serious struggle getting the pushchair in the Focus' boot.

I'd love to get a Mondeo but most aren't local or diesel which means distance selling which I don't like the idea of, or higher tax rates. I could get a lower spec Seat Leon but again, options locally on Autotrader are limited.

Is now a good time to be buying a used car anyway? Most dealers don't have much variety - mainly city cars, coupes or SUVs.

I'm put off by an SUV after test driving a Kuga - the ride height wasn't comfortable and the boot wasn't much better than the Focus. The handling also felt very wallowy, especially on twisty roads.

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All listings for the newer Focus have Ecoboost from what I can see, so I assume people are getting rid of them before they become a problem...

People get rid just before the belt change is due as it costs a small fortune at a dealer, and is the perfect excuse to get a "new" car.

Some dealers buy these cars in cheaply if they are in good condition, get the belt done at "mates rates" or do it themselves and sell the car for top money with a brand new belt just fitted.

They can make decent cars for a few years.

Goudy

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81888009#Comment_81888009

It more likely dealers buy them cheaply, flog them on with a wafer thin warranty and when they go bang, point the customer to the useless warranty and refuse to answer the phone.

Bigwheels1111

What about an EV, If you can charge at home they are very cost effective.

I know range etc can be an issue.

I have a diesel, always had them, used to do 50k a year.

My new 2016 5008 only has 29k on the clock, in 10 years.

I've looked back over the last 5 years and found out the longest trip was I have taken was 125 miles.

So range would not be an issue.

My friend has an MG ZS EV, nice kit, pan roof etc.

Charges at night for £0.07p a kwh. does 4 miles per kwh.

So 2p a mile.

WellKnownSid

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81889792#Comment_81889792

You’d have a choice of low mileage MG5s in the 10-12k range likely with at least three years warranty remaining. They are a bit slow 0-60 is over 7 seconds but long range versions are popular road warriors and as taxis.