I BOUGHT A CHEAP FORD FOCUS 

What I love about this channel (apart from you being a really nice relatable chap) is that you feature a lot of realistic affordable cars. Not just another you tube channel doing reviews of 100k Lambos etc that are out of most peoples reach. Keep up the good work!

I had a nearly new MK2 Focus 2.0 diesel and it served me very well driving 600-700 miles a week for work. All went well until a “joy rider” in a Vauxhall Corsa swerved, crossed the white line and crashed into me head on. My lovely Focus blew every air bag, crumpled every crumple zone and saved my life. Always had a soft spot for the Ford Focus since then😊.

Perfect car for someone just needing a stop gap or 1 or 2 years dirt cheap motoring that will probably not even depreciate much. Self employed courier springs to mind - DIY service less than £40 too. The sort of car you couldn’t care less about but secretly end up being fond of for the money you saved compared to a PCP! 😀

Ha! Those stories at the end made me laugh. I took my mate to look at a £500 part-ex car at a dealer near Leyland. He literally spent an hour looking under carpets, crawling around underneath, prodding and poking anything that could be prodded and poked, inspecting every service invoice that came with it... in the end he didn't buy it 'because it looks like it's had a bit of paint on the front wing'. IT'S A £500 CAR FFS! I actually felt bad for the dealer and wanted to apologise for wasting his time.

The rant about expectations exceeding reality from "customers" who basically want the unobtainable for nothing is very relatable.

I think cheap cars are going to be big business. Hyperinflation is going to make sure of that. I think the days of indulging in lavish cars is about to come to an abrupt halt. If I were you mate I'd be looking to stock up on quality budget cars.

Out of all 4 generations of Focus, I think the MK2 is THE best all rounder because it feels like the physically biggest car of the 4 generations and it has feedback through the steering whilst also feeling solid and composed. The MK3 has a more artifical feel to the steering, and I hate the whole MPV style wipers and long windscreen they gave it. Honestly, a MK2 Ford Focus would make an excellent first car for somebody who wants something fun and cheap to drive, that will also sit solidly on the motorway and has a decent size boot.

I like this gritty, more affordable content, reminds me of looking at cars like this ten+ years ago. As you were walking around I kept thinking, 'looks clean, not perfect, but I'd buy that.' And I definitely relate to your sentiments about unrealistic expectations, they are wasting everyone's time. I always remind my gf (in this instance she asked why I was watching this) that we may be in a good place now but things could change and I'd be happy with a car like that. Keep it real.

I bought the wife a 2007 Focus in 2009. We still have it. It's a great little car. Ok so it's done 100k now but it's never broken down,cheap to run and maintain. Yes it has trolley dings and the odd scuff but as it's goes to all the car parks etc so that's expected. In my eyes anyway. Will keep it and run it into the ground as it's worth so little, yet to us it's worth loads. One day it will go bang and then a new car will be required. But until then and as long as it hangs together it's staying. Another great review Matt. 👍

I binge watched all of your videos after I found your channel. It's extremely rare to find a car RU-vidr who uploads fresh content regularly and also has a good presentation style. Keep it up, you're going to have over a million subscribers before you know it.

Great buyer analysis Matt. 6 months ago I bought a 5 year old car. It had a few very minor scratches and the odd small imperfection here and there, and I mean small. I explained to the dealer that I expected some marks on a 5 year old car. It was the first one I looked at, but I knew what I wanted. The price was in budget, I got what I wanted for my PX and it was the car was what I was looking for plus all the minor blemishes was to be expected. The dealer wished more buyers had that approach, anyway a simple transaction followed and 4 days later I met a happy sales man and concluded the deal with no complaints. Bottom line, “it is what it is”.

Fantastic!!! I love the funny stories about customers! I've said it before, and I'll say it again, we NEED a full video of customers silliness or even a series, every month a few wee stories! They are hilarious!

Haha, love the rambling about different type of costumers. Great content as usual. Cheers from Sweden.

Your videos are a great help to anyone who can’t afford a top end car. Extremely helpful and informative.

Back in 2005 I bought a Ford Approved Mondeo ST TDCi from a local Ford dealer. The dealer ripped a hole in the underside of the front splitter getting it off the transporter (and waited for me to notice when I went to collect it). Anyway, it had to go back to have the splitter repaired and painted. While it was in they gave me a Mk1 Focus as a courtesy car and I remember I had to do a long trip up the M6 to Cumbria for work. It was one of the best driving cars I'd ever driven - it felt better than the new Mondeo I'd just bought, I was amazed! I was quite sad to give it back. So, you won't be surprised to hear that when I finally sold the Mondeo I made the decision to buy... ...yeah okay I just bought another Mondeo again. Anyway the Focus was good.

Recently drove a face-lift version of same spec. Was really impressed with the steering on it, an ordinary car that is good to drive

Hi Matt bought from new a focus zetec in 2010. I was living 3 hours drive north of Sydney. A petrol 2 litre motor and only item changed was a battery. Had it serviced religiously. Sold it to a lass from Newcastle NSW for about $6000 . Had 135000 kilometres on clock and she was a happy girl. The car had done a couple of return trips to Adelaide and never missed a beat . Great value cars .

Hi.. Your Definitely going in the right direction for having affordable cars... Things have become way to expensive and people are looking for these cars all the time..

You can’t beat a good old diesel, I love the low down punch you get.

Italian here, looks that this car was owned by a fellow italian citizen, devout to this italian beate (it's the catholic rank just under the sanctification) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giuseppina_Suriano . My guess is that he is sicilian (Partinico is in the Palermo province). OVUNQUE PROTEGGIMI is italian for "Protect me everywhere (I go)", a prayer that was put on magnets and stickers with saints images inside the cars of the devout catholics (we're talking before 1980, more common in the southern part of Italy).

Hi Matt can't believe it after 3 years 2 focus reviews in a month nice to see you listen to your subscribers, had 2005 one for ten years bullet proof reliability swapped it for a 2015 newer shape one reliability still bullet proof perhaps you could review one of them as well keep up the great work.

That is surprisingly clean for a 15 year old focus, I wouldn't mind puttering around in that if I needed something now for cheap. Also perfect first car! You won't care if you put a ding or 2 in it plus it has the most important bit of kit for the summer: a working A/C.

Have driven a Focus 125 Eco, 66 reg, since 2017. Economical, does a 6 hour run to Norfolk twice a year and piddles around locally. 26k miles, 41 mpg average. Drives like new. The only thing wearing is the driver's floor mat. I've driven bigger, faster cars in the past - but this does the job. £20 road tax. Second hand prices are through the roof and my garage keeps enquiring whether I want to trade in. Not even likely. As usual, good video. For just over £2k - that car is a bargain.

Great buy Matt its in very good condition for the year. I've got a 2009 focus 1.6 tdci as my daily, in over a years ownership I've put 18,000 miles on it and its been very reliable and great fun to drive as well as being really good looking in my opinion. They were (dont know if they still are) the best selling car in the UK for reason.

As a person who is in the market for a new car at the moment I can confirm (at least from my perspective) what you’re thinking regarding your poor month. Prices are high for second hand cars, energy bills are getting crazy, inflation is bonkers and right now just doesn’t seem to be a good time to drop 25 grand on a depreciating asset.

Solid, reliable cars. Mine rusted in same place, but underneath was sound. Excellent buy you got, hope it sells👍

the mk2 focus is just a good honest car. I've had my 2005 Focus Titanium since Dec 2009. a 3dr 2.0 petrol. (not many of them, but they exist) just coming up to 90k and it cleans up super nice. i still love it.

Another great video Matt, funny, entertaining and honest. Keep them coming 👏🏻👏🏻

I have the 08 facelift to this and it’s a 1.6 petrol zetec and the engine is bulletproof, lovely to drive and handles really well, the seats are like new and I have done about 120k in it. Its on the factory clutch and it had a cam belt and water pump done just because of its age. Regular service intervals, passes every MOT well apart from the odd advisory on things that have a life but this car faultless

I love these types video's, there therapy to my soul, thank you Matt 🙏🏻

You are currently my favorite car „youtuber“ / reviewer. I feel like I can relate to you the best. Keep up the great work 💯

Looks like you’ve bought yourself a good one there Matt. As you say, neat clean and honest. Was half expecting a “oh, well…” after the two weeks later sting

I bought a 2005 Focus zetec from a neighbour having offloaded a Jag xf estate that was the most unreliable car I ever owned. Focus in comparison has never missed a beat and passed two successive mot tests. Jag was 16k, focus £1100.

Another informative and realistic assessment of an everyday car. Nice one Matt.

Great video Matt, the 2.0 litre petrol was my hire car of choice when in the south Island over a number of years!

Nice find. Not a fan of diesels myself but I get why you got this car to sell on. Its a great little workhorse and a survivor and the fact it's still here in great condition means it's been looked after

Driven a couple of police ones with well over 250k miles on - no doubt had lots of bits replaced but the engine and box were original event after hard police miles; ran and pulled perfectly well. Very good cars.

This is a perfect runabout for someone and you're absolutely right regarding expections. I don't think I'd have the patience or customer skills to sell cars, you obviously get a lot of top hats calling 🎩😁 I'd come and view it but I'm not within walking distance and I can't find my monocle so we can't go through the vehicles history together over a malt whisky 🧐😂😂😂

No excuse for car manufacturers to have body rust on a car of that age! I've got a 1995 Volvo 850 T5 wagon, It lives outside and has no rust!

The sticker says: "Protect me everywhere". It's pretty common for us Italians to take our car (either brand new or used) to the local church for a blessing from the priest. We usually offer some money to the church for it and we receive a sticker called "santino" (little saint) to protect us from accidents while on the road. Fancy ones are magnets with Saint Christopher which is the actual Saint that protects anyone involved in the transportation business, from cars, boats, train and even who simply travels by foot. I can't read who the person is on the sticker but by the way she is dressed is someone recently made Saint or under the process of it by the Vatican which in this case can only be called "blessed". And now that I am here I can add that you can take your car to your grandma that also blesses the car by throwing at it some rice or wheat grains and a little prayer. This practice is more common in the south of Italy. I hope it helps 😁👍🇮🇹

just wanted to say, through your recommendation my dad picked up a Infiniti Q50 and absolutely loves it, he kept watching your video on it and decided it was the right fit! So thank you for the work you put in and the information you provide!

I am absolutely binge watching all your videos matt lad 🤣 brilliant content approaching 200k subs aswel 👌🏻 well done laar

Been following the channel and subscribed since the discovery 3 review was uploaded. Best thing is your love for Land Rover and always show realistic affordable cars on the channel and give honest reviews. Miles better then other car reviewers on this platform. Keep it up!

Ive owned one of these since 17 I’m nearly 20 now had it 3 years I’ve not actually spent more than 500 quid on it including mot it’s boring I admit but it honestly never misses a beat I paid £900 for mine and as a first car if u can stomach the slightly higher insurance premiums then I don’t think u could get better for the money parts are also so cheap due to the fact there such a popular car great video Matt 👍

Please let us know when/if it sells, Matt. Thanks for the Ep and particularly for binning the music. 👍

I owned a 2007 Focus for 7 years and it ran like a dream and was faultless for that entrie time. The only reason I got rid of it was because the sills and a few other bits of corrosion needed doing (typical Ford) but it was a great car to own.

What I love among many things about your channel is its not all city but quite a bit of countryside and it's nice to see. From Barbados 🇧🇧

I have an 07 ZX3 and its great. Great handling, very maneuverable for city centre driving and havent had any significant mechanical problems Sadly its rusting away surprising quickly now

My wife's 2006 Zetec Climate has functioning air con - had it gassed a couple of years back. Also had the steering fluid changed. It's a shitbox really and I'm sure it'll be rust that kills it off in the end, but it still feels tight when driving it and everything works after 16 years and 100k miles. It's the lower power 1.6 petrol so it's a tad gutless, but it's a good runabout that she likes and does the job nicely. I've replaced the bonnet catch (alarm sensor flaked out in the middle of the night so needed a new one - used aftermarket, not the absurd 100 quid Ford supplied part), and I replaced a small vacuum pipe that had given up too. We paid 2500 quid for it in 2015 so it's amazing that cars that aren't much younger are still fetching such good money. Just no point in changing it now.

I bought a Ford focus mk2 55 plate for £3500 with 52,000 miles on the clock back in 2013 , I got 8 years out of that car and in the end it had a 110,000 miles on the clock and the engine was still strong but I did service it my self every 6 months , absolutely loved the car even though she was getting on a bit I had a real soft spot for that car , unfortunately last year there was a problem and pretty much the whole steering rack needed replacing and it really wasn't cost effective I am good with cars but I felt that job was to much for me to do and the safety side of it to. Focus mk2 are great second hand buy.

I own one of these and I have to say it's been a gem since I've owned it. The only notable issue with the MK2 focus that I have had to personally fix, Is the instrument cluster's solder joints go bad and the results are usually the car jumping into limp mode, speedo not displaying any speed at all on the analogue AND the digital speedometer readout, ABS stops functioning.. I've had to take my cluster apart and after a good couple of nailbiting hours I was able to fix it, Though I didn't do a very tidy job of it. Another thing, Mine is the LX model which didn't come with Any front foglights, So I nipped to the scrappers to pick up a set and a headlight switch with the front foglight setting. You can even enable things ford disabled at the factory such as cruise control etc but you do need to swap out a couple bits to make it functional and a copy of forscan with an OBD reader/writer such as the modified ELM327 with the hi-CAN and low speed CAN switch.

I bought an 06 Focus Ghia during Covid. Think it was a school run car and needed some work (brakes and various maintainable bits). Had some big things changed and Ive done a lot of work myself saving loads. Car cost me £1k and just works. I run all over the place in it and while not tons of power its quiet and comfy and most importantly reliable. Rust is a pain but I expected that. Look after a car and it looks after you. It might not be a brand new low tax beast but its not on tick. Id rather the next shape but beggars cant be choosers. Like you say, set your expectations at the right level. All I would say (as I learned with this car) is an MOT doesnt make it necessarily roadworthy. ALWAYS do your own checks or get second opinion if youre unsure. The garage that MOTd mine passed it without checking the brakes, drop links, bushes, sidelights, tyres. I knew what I was getting, many others wouldnt. Good down to earth video!

Love your channel. A lovely mixture of cars. 9 year old car and people still expecting it to be brand new. I would gladly buy a car from you. Honest guy great stock & a pleasure to watch

To be honest ford's of that era are quite reliable as I bought a 2004 Ford mondeo 2.0 tdci estate for £800 and only had to change the turbo actuator but that's it apart from the usual servicing and tyres. By the time i Ended up part exchanging it for something else the car had 257000 miles on the clock and still had plenty of life in it. Good informative video as usual matt.

Owned a Focus CC3 2.0 litre diesel for a couple of years and it was a cracking car , lovely drive with bonus of roof down in the sun . Cheap as chips at the moment and a very underrated motor .

It’s nice to see my favourite make of car getting a good video I’ve owned these since 2011 just never done me wrong thanks for the great video 👍

Respect for being brutally honest about getting it tight in your own job. Good luck.

Last year my old Fiesta indicated imminent total electronic failure so I opted to attend a local car auction.In short I bid£600 for a tidy,quiet 1600 Focus LX,that has proved excellent in every way needed. Its competative in traffic/motorways yet easy on fuel with reliable starting. Oh, it had 11 months MOT and a recent check showed no major MOT problems likely to cost much.

What a nice, honest and well-cared for example.

I'm going to be getting one of these at new year, the estate version, for 1500. 89k miles with the belt and clutch done and its got a really clean interior too. Quite happy with it

Fun videos. What I like about this channel is that I feel that it is a human being that is doing the videos, not an ''influencer'' with its ''on camera'' personality.

Love to see videos like this. I’ve recently bought my first car last month. The same 2007 Ford Focus in this colour but the titanium version for £1400. Such good value for money and brilliant to drive.

Great video. Sums up some people's expectations brilliantly. A few blemishes on an older car denote honesty really.

I own a 2004 Volvo V50, I bought it as seen and I love it, but when I say I have spent at least 4 times what it cost me on it, in the last 3 years I am not exaggerating! But is is now a fab car that I use everyday for work and I drive for a living all day, I had the air con regassed, and in the last MOT they were surprised at all the new bits underneath, but you get to a point where you need to keep going and it is a joy to drive, I like the look of that Focus and would buy it all day long

had a 2010 Mk2.5 Focus that I purchased when it was 6 months old - great car to run around in and couldn't fault it - broke down once and that was just a split 'O' ring in one of the fuel lines (allowed air in so wouldn't start). Replaced it with a 2015 Focus 1.0 Ecoboost which again has been a great car. When buying the 1.6TDCi Focus look for the post 2009 models - as well as having the facelift (still think this looks good even today) they got a revised DPF which is meant to be better and doesn't require the eolys fluid - open the fuel filler and if there is a silver magnet then it has the earlier DPF, though the one you have might not have a DPF at all

I like them, as a courtesy car last year I had a 1.6 petrol mk 2.5 (like this but different headlights), had it about a week. Drove really well and everything falls to hand easily, the indicators and wiper washer stalks just do what you expect. And it was built in Germany I think. The Yamaha 1.6 Zetec is a solid engine, abit underpowered in the mk2 onwards but liveable. Great car. Other than the underneath rust issues, the cup holder near the hand brake, the capless fuel tank letting fuel vapour out and the annoying bonnet release mechanism.

I've got addicted to these videos,ford's always have a rattle or squeak ,love them

I enjoyed the rant at the end! You should make vids of annoying things encountered on a weekly basis. I for one would deffo watch them

I can definitely confirm the market has been much quieter than the usual Easter March/April time. Usually, this is when things start to pick up. I'm in the market for something 400bhp and RWD for some summer fun (F82 M4 and Jaguar XFR are on the shortlist). Most of the adverts have been sat around for at least 2 months and some of the XFRs have been on Autotrader since around October lol! I think used high-running cost vehicles are going to drop pretty sharply in value this year, people have so much less share cash than usual.

Brilliant!!! I’m in the trade and I can completely agree. I have gone one step forward and if I see someone very fussy for 2k car I just don’t sell it to that person. Sometimes is working and save me lots of hassle;) Your clip Made my Monday, well done!!!

Enjoyable video! Cracked me up about the posh chap, I can well imagine it happening.

Classic rant at the end. Love it!

Another good one Matt. I can visualise the customers as you tell us about them. Lelel

Man this car is a beauty! Ofcourse its gonna have marks and scratches and dents and rust, but no major issues it looks great!

Thanks for removing the background music, I don't think it's necessary imo. Your commentary, and straightforward wit (plus rambling) give the videos more than enough substance and personality.

Absolutely love these videos

i like the way you service and mot your cars and get alloys done if needed. theres not many dealers go to the lengths you actually go to. always enjoy your videos nd see what your actually buying. oh and you get them valeted wow id buy a car off you if was in the market for a car. my motability car isnt looked after by the dealership who i wont mention when they have it found maccy chips under seat last time was in and i dont eat maccy chips. well done with the videos

I bought a 2006 petrol focus (£200 - bargain ) last year to be a spare car in case my L322 Range Rover let me down ( which it hasn’t thankfully but probably jinxed that now ) and it rattles, squeaks and has appalling bodywork, but full service history, and over the 12 months I’ve ended up using it as a daily run around and hasn’t even needed a light bulb. Worlds away from my RR but I’m not scared of scratching or blowing a turbo so ended up enjoying using it to do my city driving, which means now when I use my RR I am reminded how flipping lucky I am to be able to afford absolute luxury and one of the best cars on the road. I am very impressed with it. Cheap motoring at its finest.

Your honesty and insight into what to look for in the car and the profession are really interesting. Thank you so much for the insight on your dealings with customers so that we're not the annoying type. But you must also realise that by being a used car dealer you're literally increasing the average price of cheap cars for poor people. As you said, the car might as well be crushed, while we don't want you going out of business, perhaps being a used car salesman isn't a sustainable business model with the market conditions going on and maybe, maybe, maybe it might be reasonable to expect worse attitudes for the time being.

Excellent stuff Matt 👍👍

I was in the game and your tales have been experienced by me and many in the job, that Focus looks a good buy.

Love the interior of the car you started in. I actually prefer the styling of the Mark II Focus, but you want to pair it with a garish colour to make it work. Otherwise, I think the style is ageing quite nicely, whereas we all found it a bit conservative when it first came out.

It's a breath of fresh air when you find an honest car. That focus has clearly been treasured by its previous owner and probably traded in for a newer model.

5:21 they are alloys. Great design of alloy too, nice and easy to wash with just a car sponge.

On my 3rd Focus. Had a Mk1 1.6 and two Mk2.5 1.8s. First 2 were well past 120k miles before i changed them. Best cars I’ve ever had

Brilliant video as always 🙌

Is it sad that I love this generation of Focus because it has such a nice sounding indicator tick, it’s such a satisfying noise 😂 on the Mk1 focus it sounded like a sledgehammer in the dashboard 😂

Well Matt, it seems that even up here in central Scotland in sunny Kinross-shire where I live; not only do people who I talk to about cars and your channel like your down to earth honest and no nonsense approach. Even some dealers who I’ve met over the past few months like your channel and yourself. Keep up the good work buddy! Oh, mind and do another video with a shameless plug of the High Peak Autos mug. 😉

Love the impressions I'm in stitches

Thanks for the reviews, really enjoy the channel. You often mention things you do to tidy up a car, being local to you would you be able to recommend/ suggest who to see about getting my X5 headlight lamps cleared of their current cataracts and just generally having it well valeted/ buffed ! Got to stick with it for a couple of yrs before retirement and time to treat myself. Thanks

I love my 2008 ford focus 2 door coupe se, i have owned it it's whole life, it has 86 thousand miles on it, has never given me any trouble, good on gas, it has never been treated as a throw away car. They are reliable, straight forward rugged little cars, that never should be taken for beater cars.

Matt, your spot on your analysis of the over expecting upper class mummy or daddy 'wanting to save as much money by buying a reasonable banger for their spoilt son or daughter who has just got a job travelling for work, but then 2 month down the line if there's the slightest problem they then tell you they expect the earth from you and like they seemed to have learnt all their consumers rights overnight.... Many lessons learnt over time... The more money they have or the more posh they sound the more trouble they are in the long run.. I always asked myself the same question? Do I want to sell you this damn car???

I’ve got a 57 plate focus 20l petrol ghia had it 10 years 96000 yes air conditioning works privacy glass original clutch and engine cover two keys remote works brilliant car never let me down

16 year old Focuses. The rear suspension bushes all seize and they need cutting out. An expensive job if you take it to the garage. It's a fun job to do yourself though! you get to use an angle grinder and a recip. saw!

Not a bad model. I traded in my 2010 Ford Focus 1.8 TDCI three years ago thanks to Mr Khan and the London ULEZ charge which at the time was imminent. This was the best car I ever owned. It had done 165k, had not had a service in around the last 4 years. Had an oil leak, very little rust (nowhere near as much as in your video), air con was ice cold and had not been re-gassed in around 6 years. Only expense was brakes, tyres, one battery and a turbo hose. I miss it very much. I got £650 px for it which they took off on my new BMW 120D Sport. The day I got the BMW, it had to be returned due to of all things, an emissions fault. Since then, the 1 series has been good, it is lovely to have an auto but I do miss the focus. It was less complex, no computers and sensors, just a reliable diesel (lynx) engine with years and years of problem free motoring. Anyone looking to commute like me or looking for reliability but doesn’t live near the ULEZ zone, this is the car to go for. 😊

Nice motor, in’it. Love your work 👍

Regarding your rust issues on the front wheel arches, a good set of second hand front mud flaps will cover that and take it out of your eyeline 👍

I thought it was a Ford rambler but no that was just you. ( Tongue in cheek ) Love these cheap and cheerful car vids. Keep em coming Matt

Good cars. Love the "Major Henry Fothering-Smythe III" sketch :-) :-)

Watching these videos of the cheaper cars, makes me really want to own a beater - A to B car. One that is mechanically alright, however wouldn't be too fussed by the exterior/interior if it isn't too drastic.