Hello everyone,

I've finally decided to join this forum, whenever I Google questions regarding the focus St, I'm always drawn to this site and you all seem pretty helpful

I am facing redundancy at the end of the month and I have budgeted with my redundancy pay to buy myself a long deserved treat. I've always wanted a mk2 focus St but never had the budget previously to get one.
Basically my question is;
Am I now able to get a good runner within my budget?
The maximum I have available is £3.5k?
I have seen a few around with a mileage of around 125k, but I don't know the life expectancy of these engines so don't know if it would be worth the risk?
I am not an experienced mechanic, I have knowledge of the mechanics of how a car works but couldn't begin to tell you how to swap a turbo or replace a wastegate. I don't know what to look out for on this car that could or has gone wrong so any help with that would help also?
I've been stung before so I'm extremely over cautious which probably hinders me from getting a good deal. I really want to make this move as I have been impressed with all the other Ford's I've owned before and believe in the brand enough to buy a Ford for my first 'quick car'.

thank you for all of your help fordsters

 

For that sort of money either something that needs work or as you say a high mileage one they have a good engine but some cars have sufferd with the cracked liner problem try and find one with fsh and pretty standard if its high mileage.clutches are pretty weak if tuning they do have their common faults as do most cars but they are a good car for the money.happy hunting.

 

that was quick 😀 wasn't expecting anyone to come back so soon. Thank you for the response. I think that's pretty sound advice tbf. Alot of the st's in my price range seem to be unrecognisable from oem and it worries me that possibly it hasn't been tuned right.
thank you again. I'm sure I'll be posting pictures of my pride and joy if it does happen.

 

Can be a potential minefield, they are costly to run and maintain, quite expensive things can go wrong with them and there are a lot of abused examples around, especially at the cheaper end of the market. Personally I would save your money and wait until you can afford something with a few less miles and nasty modifications, might save you money in the long run!

 

thank you RitchieST.
I think it's going to be the case. The best example I've seen of a mk 2 for my price range has the tag line, 'cheapest good example in the uk'. Makes me think that the owner wants rid, not often people would accolade cheap with good example so might hold off, for an extra 2.5K there's some really nice ones around. Found a seller who only sells ST's on www.st-focus.com. Might save up until I'm within that kind of budget. Thank you for the advice

 

prices have dipped for the mk2 but massive risk buying one with that type of budget, running costs alone are sky high, personally best thing you can do is save more just as richie said

 

Earlier cars suffered with oil filter diaphrams failing,alternators packing up seat base cracking also drive shafts failing. these are just some of the common problems personaly i would save a few more pennys and get a low mileage good example as it will hold its value better and would be easier to sell on.

 

I'm glad I got an opinion now. I would have let wanting one overrule common sense. Sometimes you just need someone else to tell you it's not a good idea to realise . In hindsight I've seen how much more car for my money I can get if I be patient. Seen some nice 09-10 plate ones for 8k that look spot on. Appreciate everyone's input on this.