TheSerpent

See, that's what was confusing me! I would have thought a chassis number would be allocated before a build! Well they have given me a delivery date of the 1st of December ever since the whole process started. We constantly get late deliveries, often two or three months late so I was pretty skeptical about 01/12/05. However from the experiences you guys have had give me a bit of confidence! Many thanks to all!

OK, many thanks for that. 10 days to two weeks between dealer and delivery seems pretty reasonable. Question is - what's the time difference between chassis number and build date? EDIT: Come to think of it, my main concern was to get the Stage 4 diesel tax break. Looks like the car will made in '05 for sure and so will qualify.

Ah, so the DEATC option (the only one I specced) will slow things up a bit. Thanks for that, I'll bear it in mind! Barring 50 million rental hacks getting in the way - roughly how long is it usually from chassis number to delivery? Ages and ages or is it relatively far along?

Sorry to butt in chaps but I'm trying to inquire about how long delivery takes once a chassis number has been allocated - it seemed to me your conversastion is heading that sort of way. It's for a lowly Ghia, not an ST!

Wish I could get that kind of information - the vehicles section at work say they don't know production dates or build dates! However they have grudgingly told me that it was allocated a chassis number on the 15th. How far along is that? I expect that's the first thing that happens and they'll launch the next Focus before I get this one!!!

Full lock? A quick sneeze ought to do it...

Hi deanogtv (an ALFA man by any chance??), here's a link to what I wrote after testing a 2.0TDCi Ghia for a weekend http://www.ffoc.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.p ... ht=#799543

I'm keen to know if my Focus will actually get made this year (it's a company car and I opted for the Stage 4 2.0TDCi for the tax break), but you only get the tax break if the car is manufactured in 2005. It was ordered on the 14th of October, if I recall correctly. My question is, how can you find out when the car is being built? Presumably when you buy from new privately they can tell you but does anyone know what can be done for us company joes? The people at work probably won't know what I'm talking about so no good asking them!

Porridge cooling. Isn't technology wonderful.

If I may ask - what specifically did they object to? Seems to me that your C-Max was/is very shoddy and if you know that a significant number of people have had similar difficulties then you are probably justified in criticising the lack of quality.

Ah that'll be the bother then. Trouble is I usually deal in parts for cars that haven't been on the market for donkey's years and such parts are usually referred to as factory or just original. I'll get me coat...

OEM usually stands for Other Equipment Manufacturer. In this case it refers to companies making lights that replace the original ones - i.e. any lights you buy from anyone other than Ford can be considered OEM lights.

There's an LX estate in the car park at work. I'll snap a pic if you're interested. Myself I quite like it, but that's nothing to go by!

As far as I can see the 1.4 is only available on the Studio, LX and Sport (UK model that is), but it is available. Agreed about the 1.6, there is always a balance to be struck with smaller engines.

I've seen a few black Focus 2s and the colour does suit them nicely - the dark Zetec headlights look particularly good next to the black. A standard Mk 2 car won't be as dramatic as the old shape but it's still going to be quite attractive. If you aren't sure, drive both the 1.4 and 1.6 - that's the best way to decide and it's what test drives are for. Make the dealer do it as I find they are usually pretty reluctant. I can tell you first hand that the 5 door is not short of space. Personally I considered the old Focus a bit short on legroom and very short on boot space. The mark 2 has ple

Ha! After considerable persuasion I've got the met paint and the climate control. I went with honour green as it should avoid the matching problems and it goes with my MG Focus Ghia 5dr, 2.0 TDCi stage IV, light stone interior and DEATC climate control Now I settle in for the wait. Thanks to everyone who has chipped in here, it's been very helpful

I think I will have to go with a solid colour as I want that climate control. White is a big no no so it's red or navy. How bad is the navy? There's a mark 1.5 around the car park in navy and it actually seems to suit it!

Oh I've already made that decision - it will be the light one. The test car had the black interior and the hair from our two cats made a hell of a mess! I dont want to spend every other day hoovering the car out and the cats don't take well to being vacuumed either so that's that. I will be ordering the car very soon, I'm just finding out if I can afford to get climate control. Work get shirty if you specify too many options but I've seen a Titanium in the car park with it so they can't object if I order it too. However, the wallet might...

For stolen to order thefts? Very unlikely I know but it is at least possible - you asked for a reason, I hope you didn't mean a good one! The main problem I'd have is that it attracts unwanted attention. Given the amount of cars out there now and the amount that will be built during the life of this model there will surely be some occasions where the backlight contributes to an opportunist theft. It depends on whether the feature will be more use to you than not. Personally I don't think it's a great idea for Ford to make that choice so perhaps there should at least be an option to turn th

Well it's been and gone. Overall I am very impressed! The quality wars are very much on as this is a well screwed together car, largely made with good quality materials. Unlike my Fiesta, which has always had various squeeks and rattles, the Focus had absolutely none no matter what I did with it. The 2.0 TDCi is, I have to say, one hell of an engine. I have driven performance diesels before and they have been very impressive up to the point that they run out of puff. The difference here is that the TDCi just keeps on giving! It's excellently matched with it's gearbox, I found it difficult

You've got ESP? Damn, there goes my idea of taking a fast corner to examine the underside! The underside is a bit odd. It's a decent effort but it's a single mapped image which is why it appears a bit flat. What is really nice though is the reflected background they've added when you spin it to look down on the roof, very pretty indeed and excellently done.

It doesn't like the modified Java installation on my work machine. Works OK at home but needs reloading quite frequently as it sometimes gets stuck loading a new option or colour. Very good when it gets going though.

Really? It didn't work yesterday. I assumed they had put it on the site six months before it's ready, like they usually do.

A 2.0 TDCi Ghia is mine for the weekend as of Friday. May I just have a quick rant about dealerships? Well I will anyway. They are as much use as t*ts on a helicopter. If I were to ask to test drive a 3 door 2.0 petrol Titanium they would grudgingly dig up a 1.6 diesel Studio estate in six months time and the test drive would be 10 minutes long with some pillock bleating on in my lughole the whole time. May I now, as a company car driver, heartily recommend the Talkback club? Well I will anyway. I don't know how I came to be a member (I suspect work bungs us all in) but I am pleased that I

Excellent comparison, stormyCs and definitely worth reading. I agree with your method of customising your own car but personally I doubt the Titanium would have actually met your needs in the first place unless you specified the sports suspension option, which is one of my main gripes - why delete that on a sporting model? This car is going to be my everyday one and I rarely have the opportunity to test the handling of any car in my daily routine. Besides, I have a fast-road MGB for weekends which provides the fun! Nonetheless, all first-hand experience is very welcome. Time to book some test