"Top of the line car" a ford focus??? Maybe compared to a bus pass. You should have done your due diligence before purchasing junk. Any focus owner would tell you to run.

I had an 81 cougar - piece of shit my dad bought for me for my first car. Ok , the price was right but a piece of junk. Later years I had a 95 Ford Mustang GT...still miss the sound but that's about it.

Got a 3.5 year old Ford Ranger, just been for its 5th service, only ever had to change the oil. Even the battery is still going strong.

Glad its out of warranty though, no longer need to service at Ford, they don't use very good oil and charge the world for it.

Expect to have it for another 9 years, rock solid.

A Ford Focus, however. My sister had one, she won't be getting another.

To buy a Ford or Chevrolet in Thailand you must be very brave. There is a reason Ford and Chevrolet, among a few others, have a much higher depreciation.

I just sold my Toyota Vigo 3.0G AT. I had the car for 9 years and drove 180000km with it.

Breakdown=0

Tires changed at 90000km once

Break pads changed once at 100000km service

2 new batteries in 9 years

at 150000km new timing belt (standard service) and water pump, water pump was recommended by the mechanic more as a precaution.

Apart from that only regular service always at Toyota (not expensive)

Never did any service or cleaning to AC and is still blowing ice cold air.

The Vigo was the most reliable car I had in the last 25 years.

I think Ford makes very good looking cars, the Fiesta compared to the old Mazda 2 looks nicer. (I bought the Mazda five years ago)
The new Ranger is IMHO at the moment the best looking pickup in Thailand.

The Focus also looks very modern.

The new Everest coming this year is a real beauty. Ford sales people most of the time very friendly.

Only problem is service in case of a problem and if you have a problem the driving

If I should need a rental pick up for a 1 day or a week and could decide between a Vigo and a Ranger I would always take the Ranger.

Little bit like the decision between a gogo girl and a farmers daughter. For a short period the gogo girl is nice to look at and makes fun to ride, for the long run the farmers daughter is better

The old Ranger (until 2012?) and Everest were tough cars but drove live tractors.

Next month we get a Nissan X-Trail - I really hope it is the same quality as the Toyota, but I doubt it...

To buy a Ford or Chevrolet in Thailand you must be very brave. There is a reason Ford and Chevrolet, among a few others, have a much higher depreciation.

I just sold my Toyota Vigo 3.0G AT. I had the car for 9 years and drove 180000km with it.

Breakdown=0

Tires changed at 90000km once

Break pads changed once at 100000km service

2 new batteries in 9 years

at 150000km new timing belt (standard service) and water pump, water pump was recommended by the mechanic more as a precaution.

Apart from that only regular service always at Toyota (not expensive)

Never did any service or cleaning to AC and is still blowing ice cold air.

The Vigo was the most reliable car I had in the last 25 years.

I think Ford makes very good looking cars, the Fiesta compared to the old Mazda 2 looks nicer. (I bought the Mazda five years ago)

The new Ranger is IMHO at the moment the best looking pickup in Thailand.

The Focus also looks very modern.

The new Everest coming this year is a real beauty. Ford sales people most of the time very friendly.

Only problem is service in case of a problem and if you have a problem the driving

If I should need a rental pick up for a 1 day or a week and could decide between a Vigo and a Ranger I would always take the Ranger.

Little bit like the decision between a gogo girl and a farmers daughter. For a short period the gogo girl is nice to look at and makes fun to ride, for the long run the farmers daughter is better

The old Ranger (until 2012?) and Everest were tough cars but drove live tractors.

Next month we get a Nissan X-Trail - I really hope it is the same quality as the Toyota, but I doubt it...

Good report, as for your last point, why not buy a Tuna if you are so sold on Toyota? Farmer's daughter looking a little long in the tooth lol

Air conditioning pumps fail if they are not treated like turbos are meant to. Idled before switching on and after switching off. Wife has had 2 Honda ones fail int he last 4 or 5 years. Apparently this is the reason.

AC compressor is the correct term.

Does your water pump in your car need idle time ? NO

Does the water pump in your house need idle time ? NO

Do air compressors need idle time ? NO

Where did you get this idea ?

134,000 km??? "vehicle with so little mileage"???

Ford Focus........secondhand ford focus......'top of the line ????

A ford in the UK with that mileage would be heading for the scrap yard.

These 2 posts sum it up nicely.

OP's expectations of mileage are nothing but ridiculous for a little car like the Ford Focus, which, top of the line or not, will never be built in the same quality and sturdiness as cars that are designed to last a long time.

Except for a few, all small to medium size cars are consumables. They will last for about 100 to 150k Km, and at that point most of their parts will need to be replaced.

The seller of the car is the smart person in this story, he drove the car until it was nearly worn down and sold it. That's the clever thing to do with throwaway cars.

First, I have to admit I haven't bothered to read any of the replies.

I assume there's a bunch of posters that have pointed out it's not exactly a low milage car, and being is was purchased used, who knows what kind of life it had before?

In short. there's some real reasons here to cut Ford some slack.

However, let's just imagine the OP was talking about a Toyota - would we still be so willing to cut the manufacturer as much slack?

I assume there's a bunch of posters that have pointed out it's not exactly a low milage car,

Maybe not low mileage, but low-medium ? or medium at the worst ?

I would expect double this mileage before major repairs required beyond consumables.

But not knowing the service history - if any - impossible to say.

I rented a Ford Focus in the States a few years ago. Had to drive from Seattle up to Vancouver BC to pick someone up at the airport. The vehicle showed only 9000 miles on the ODO. On the way back, heard a big POW! under the hood, and then the power steering went out. It took extreme muscling to steer the car 75 miles back to the rental shop, who did not express surprise.

Sounds like the OP's Ford had some hard use before he bought it. Next time...try Toyota.

Fix Or Repair Daily

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Any vehicle nowadays with that high a mileage in such as short space of time (assuming the car is not that old) will likely give you issues. They are driven hard here in high heat, high humidity city settings... bit different to dry Texas with those big open roads.

However, the service manager's throwaway this-is-Thailand line narks me somewhat. So what he's basically saying is, put up with it because my country is crap and we don't give a ****.

Dave, Peace. My first take was, Service manager is unhappy camper. Again, nothing to do with Thailand. Meet his Mrs. problem solved.

I don't consider a Ford Focus a top of the line car at all. It was bought "USED" so the big "BUYER BEWARE" statement applies doesn't it? Ever consider this car "MAY" have been in a FLOOD. We do have them here and these are often resold as reconditioned or simply sold as if nothing happened.

OP needs to do some detective work and find a vehicle aircon shop for second opinion also where to get the p/s sorted away from Ford dealer, in my area there are Focus Taxis good place to start sure they don't frequent main dealers when the warranty runs out .

Air conditioning pumps fail if they are not treated like turbos are meant to. Idled before switching on and after switching off. Wife has had 2 Honda ones fail int he last 4 or 5 years. Apparently this is the reason.

AC compressor is the correct term.

Does your water pump in your car need idle time ? NO

Does the water pump in your house need idle time ? NO

Do air compressors need idle time ? NO

Where did you get this idea ?

Honda.

You think a water pump and an air compressor are the same ?

I think your title should read.. Why I will never buy another USED car in Thailand...

No lemon laws here and buyer beware...

I only buy new here

134,000 km??? "vehicle with so little mileage"???

I don't know where you are from, but in Texas, we don't think that a vehicle should need many parts, beyond normal service, until after it has reached more than 250,000 miles, about 400,000 km.

With all due respect I think you were rather foolish in the first place to buy a car with this mileage on the clock

Do the lower spec Focus's suffer the same issues or is this reserved for the top spec model only ?

Seems quite normal for a car of that mileage to need new components.

Thai servicing seems cheap to us, but Thais are penny pinching. Parts get swapped over when cars are sold to make a few baht savings. My experience with Fords is they are fine until about 5 years, 100k miles, then problems start, to a slightly greater degree than other makes. (Had Mondeos for 10 years)

But sure, don't buy another one, get a car with a warranty/guarantee . Thais try to buy new because they know they are likely to get screwed and they have the high resale value to rely on. Hope you have better luck with your next car, but mileage is really important and that was a high mileage car.

You think a water pump and an air compressor are the same ?

No, but an air compressor and an AC compressor are.

The AC unit is turned on and off by signal from a sensor, which actuates the clutch on the front of the compressor. You have no control of when it turns on or off.

So how can you make it run at Idle ?

Old wives tale - from the days of steam probably.

And as far as a turbo goes, unless you run it at max revs for an extended time, and then suddenly turn the engine off, no problem.

If you drive on the hiway, then on surface streets, then park in your yard, no idle time required.

For a country with a climate like Thailand, with associated roads, 134k is not low mileage.

With all due respect I think you were rather foolish in the first place to buy a car with this mileage on the clock

Mine has over 170,000 km. No issues except consumables. Burns not a drop, nor leaks any. Valve cover never been off.

It helps to know what you are buying.

Fix Or Repair Daily

For Old Retired Drivers.

Found On Rubbish Dump

or

Full Of Rusty Dents

Any more out there!

Found On Roadside Dead

I stopped buying Fords in 1973, had a mk2 cortina what a bag of sh..e. Never again.

1600E's rule, or if rich a lotus.

Now lets look at this logically, who in Thailand would buy a second hand car, with a small petrol engine( i would assume) with 8 years worth of milage and not expect trouble.

54 posts... and still none the wiser how old this vehicle is...

134k in Thailand is hardly a "vehicle with so little mileage"

Fords are not going to be the only make of car to have some problems at this point (now 150K)

Unless you know you can trust the service history then who knows for sure how it was driven or looked after previously.

If such a car runs smoothly it's a bonus, to expect it to is simply asking to be disappointed..

You got a lemon and didn't get rid of it fast enough.

Now you know what to do if something similar happens again.

Could be an ex-rental. Renters aren't always kind to their rentals.

Could be an ex-rental. Renters aren't always kind to their rentals.

Could be an ex-anything. Everyone know used cars are riskier and more prone to neglect, damaging flooding and tampering in Thailand.

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You think a water pump and an air compressor are the same ?

No, but an air compressor and an AC compressor are.

The AC unit is turned on and off by signal from a sensor, which actuates the clutch on the front of the compressor. You have no control of when it turns on or off.

So how can you make it run at Idle ?

Old wives tale - from the days of steam probably.

And as far as a turbo goes, unless you run it at max revs for an extended time, and then suddenly turn the engine off, no problem.

If you drive on the hiway, then on surface streets, then park in your yard, no idle time required.

So why compare them ?

An air compressor and car AC compressor don't compress the same gas ? Both aren't under the bonnet with under bonnet temperatures and both don't have the same amount of oil/lubrication in them, both don't do the same amount of work for their size ? Run at the same rpm ?

The bearing will run continuously which is what fails, same as a turbo. Over time in can increase failure. Do I do either myself ? Only because of getting the kids in and out the car.

134,000 km??? "vehicle with so little mileage"???

I don't know where you are from, but in Texas,....................

This ain't Texas. Welcome to Thailand