Review Ford Focus 1796 tdi 1999

Key strengths: comfort and fuel econmony.

Areas for improvement: fuel pump system. paintwork finish.interior fittings.utlity spare wheel

Having read favourable reviews on this car i decided to purchase a 1999 1796 cc tdi Ford focus estate.However, after only owning the car for five months, one morning it refused to start.Prior to this the car had been running extremely well and i was begining to believe that the reports that i previously had read were indeed true.Imagine then to my suprise, i was told that the chip in the fuel pump had failed.No problem,i told myself,it shouldn,t cost all that much to replace so off i went to arrange to have the car taken to a garage to have the problem resolved.A much bigger surprise awaited me however as i was then informed that the chip could not be replaced in the pump for this particular model and that a replacement pump was the only solution to put the car back on the road again.I then was told that a fuel pump would cost me approx £700 + vat and another £100 for someone from Fords to come out and recode it ( In my estimation a blatent rip off by Fords )Fortunately i was put in touch with a company (P.B Usher of Southhampton) who could supply me with a Bosch pump at the cost of £499 + vat and that it would not require recoding.I have also now found that the problem of fuel pump failure on this particular model has proved to be a very common fault.If any one out there owning a similar Ford focus who finds that his fuel pump suffers a failure sometime in the future,take heed ! Do not take it to Fords to have a replacement pump fitted by them.....It will cost you dearly ! B.Powell. The running costs for Ford Focus 1796 tdi are normal