[Lakes]

hi all I'm a manual gear box lover.
I have driven a few dct over the years and they worked fine, I've also owned a lot of auto trans cars. but now I'm a manual & foot operated clutch lover.
well have noticed a lot of people out there like to knock anything made by ford . but one good mate of mine I have mentioned about him in the past.
but I just saw him other day. he got a falcon tickford built xr8 5 speed manual ute back in 2000 or 2001? it came with a hand build 302 cubic inch(5.0  or 5,000cc ) v8 build in Australia . he uses it to carry motors and other parts he does machine work too and delivers the parts to his customers ( good old fashioned service!! ) some of his customers live 300k away so the ute gets used. told me it has 590,000k on it now still going strong.
he bought his wife a new Ford Focus titanium diesel dct about three years back and that has 302,000k already & no plans to trade it in yet not one problem he just changes the oil and filter and they get tyres replaced still on same brake pads as a rural car.
just thought I would mention & also he has never changed the diesel fuel filter on the focus 

[beerman]

I can only go by my experience as a Ford owner for 19 years......

Oh and my reading ACCC Sues Ford Over Its Dual-Clutch PowerShift Gearboxes [Updated] | Gizmodo Australia for example.

I have also been critical of VW for much the same reason. I am also critical of dealer service in general and their wilful ignorance of their obligations at law.

[Dazzler]

I have only owned one Ford which was my 1st car, a 1968? Cortina 440 with 100,000 miles on it. That overheated when I was on a hot date (see what I did there) with a tall brunette called Bridgitte. Could have been a good opportunity to play up, but she wasn't impressed. It was our 1st and last date

Had at least 4 Ford work vehicles though and they were all poorly screwed together and not as good as other brands of a similar vintage. They were a Ford Laser Wagon, a real bag of bolts.. just dreadful. A Ford Econovan, not half as good as the Toyota HiAce it replaced. A Ford Courier Ute, horrible compared to the other work ute we had at the time (a Ford Ranger) It was also light years behind the Holden Rodeo V6 I had in my next Job. The best of the 4 was an XR6 Turbo, but still full of rattles and stuff. Just sayin'.... 

[AlanHo]

@Lakes Your guy should do the lottery - he seems to attract good luck.

[Lakes]

I have only owned one Ford which was my 1st car, a 1968? Cortina 440 with 100,000 miles on it. That overheated when I was on a hot date (see what I did there) with a tall brunette called Bridgitte. Could have been a good opportunity to play up, but she wasn't impressed. It was our 1st and last date! :pout:

Had at least 4 Ford work vehicles though and they were all poorly screwed together and not as good as other brands of a similar vintage. They were a Ford Laser Wagon, a real bag of bolts.. just dreadful. A Ford Econovan, not half as good as the Toyota HiAce it replaced. A Ford Courier Ute, horrible compared to the other work ute we had at the time (a Ford Ranger) It was also light years behind the Holden Rodeo V6 I had in my next Job. The best of the 4 was an XR6 Turbo, but still full of rattles and stuff. Just sayin'.... 

dazz you said it all pommie fords my mate has always had German or Aussie or American ford's. pommie one's like all pommie cars ....
but dazz have you owned and drive a new car for more than three years?
bet the new i30 would not last as long as my mates ute and the ute can be totally rebuilt
he has two Bridgeport mills a crank shaft grinder a sunnen cylinder king, a sunnen rod machine, a block decking mill, a sunnen line hone a few valve seat cutters, a big cnc mill, an engine dyno computerised in a sound proof bomb proof room a five vacuum motor flow bench. to name a few. he can make anything almost ( just takes time ) he would rebuild the falcon Utes motor and gear box and diff. but think would replace the focus but it is a really good car that impressed me how strong the body is can feel the door are heavy and very solid when you close them. his brother in Sydney has a new Ford Focus rs awd turbo petrol. his brother like you replaces them every three years but this is his fourth focus.

[Lakes]

I can only go by my experience as a Ford owner for 19 years......

Oh and my reading ACCC Sues Ford Over Its Dual-Clutch PowerShift Gearboxes [Updated] | Gizmodo Australia for example.

I have also been critical of VW for much the same reason. I am also critical of dealer service in general and their wilful ignorance of their obligations at law.

not many that have done 302,000 trouble free my friend services it but it's a country car city drivers are crazy always tail gating trying to cut in and always rushing to get a parking spot, so hard on auto trans, country turbo diesel would mostly not shift gear often. this car parks itself too like a lot of new cars but his wife uses that function .

[Lakes]

the thing is this guy is a ford factory trained tech but gave that up long ago. still has a car lift in his workshop machine shop. does all own services.

[Lakes]

the v8 ute he has was the tickford built xr8 that had a hand built motor only a limited number had hand built motors also v8's last a long time as don't work very hard ( low rev's good low down torque on this model ) he replaced clutch once. 590,000k 18 year old work ute.still going strong I've driven it ( beautiful lot of torque ) ( would use a lot of fuel too)

[beerman]

I can only go by my experience as a Ford owner for 19 years......

Oh and my reading ACCC Sues Ford Over Its Dual-Clutch PowerShift Gearboxes [Updated] | Gizmodo Australia for example.

I have also been critical of VW for much the same reason. I am also critical of dealer service in general and their wilful ignorance of their obligations at law.

not many that have done 302,000 trouble free my friend services it but it's a country car city drivers are crazy always tail gating trying to cut in and always rushing to get a parking spot, so hard on auto trans, country turbo diesel would mostly not shift gear often. this car parks itself too like a lot of new cars but his wife uses that function .

None on carsales though there are about 18 with 200+ k
Gumtree has 3 in the 300 club, the highest being 331642 and 50 in the 200k club So I would suggest they last allright. There is also a GD i30 taxi that has been getting around the Gold Coast for a couple of years now which I would suggest has probably done more than its fair share of k's. 

[Dazzler]

Hey John,

My Daughter Ashley has just bought a 4 year old Focus ST with only 47,000 kms on it (184kw and around 350 NM of torque) She loves it. Hope she has a good run.

They badly wanted an RS but didn't want to spend the $$$. I'm glad they didn't (they keep blowing head gasket and stuff...)

[Lakes]

Hey John,

My Daughter Ashley has just bought a 4 year old Focus ST with only 47,000 kms on it (184kw and around 350 NM of torque) She loves it. Hope she has a good run.

They badly wanted an RS but didn't want to spend the $$$. I'm glad they didn't (they keep blowing head gasket and stuff...)

dazz my friend who has the new rs focus, thats what he had before the st he liked it, before that one he had the focus xr5 he liked that too all have been manual. before he got the xr5 he had Mazda 3 sp23
he told me when he got the focus st you needed a qalification in it as owners manual and all the gadgets you had to read up about. the rs is a nice blue colour.
I've been promised a drive.

[The Gonz]

The most common association I know with FORD is Found On Rubbish Dump.

[Dazzler]

The most common association I know with FORD is Found On Rubbish Dump.

There are a lot of derogatory ones..

What does FORD stand for?

@Lakes

Yes, most I have seen are Blue or white. Ashley's ST is Silver...

[Lakes]

The most common association I know with FORD is Found On Rubbish Dump.

There are a lot of derogatory ones..



What does FORD stand for?

@Lakes

Yes, most I have seen are Blue or white. Ashley's ST is Silver...

my friends st was silver and all his cars from the Mazda sp 23 silver.

to me ford is sir henry's sir name. Henry was a gentleman! in the other corner was just General Motors  a group of gentlemen.
like the gentleman that started Hyundai ( a remarkable story in itself!

the things Hyundai have made in house is impressive.

[beerman]

Hey John,

My Daughter Ashley has just bought a 4 year old Focus ST with only 47,000 kms on it (184kw and around 350 NM of torque) She loves it. Hope she has a good run.

They badly wanted an RS but didn't want to spend the $$$. I'm glad they didn't (they keep blowing head gasket and stuff...)

dazz my friend who has the new rs focus, thats what he had before the st he liked it, before that one he had the focus xr5 he liked that too all have been manual. before he got the xr5 he had Mazda 3 sp23
he told me when he got the focus st you needed a qalification in it as owners manual and all the gadgets you had to read up about. the rs is a nice blue colour.
I've been promised a drive.

After you read the owners manual?