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Focus st170 - Tight steering and pulling side to side

Hi all my name is jason I have recently become a proud owner of an 04 plate focus st .
Mint condition for its age , but here is my problem lol
Or paranoia.
It cost me £600 it runs like a dream and is rapid but there is my problem,
Why so cheap , ihavnt had it checked out yet only breezed over by a mechanic as I had to have new bulbs and the back wiper didn't work lol .
I have never had a car with so much power but I just want to make sure it doesn't have me off the road. When I flow it it wants to pull me from side to side and also the swearing it a little tight but I'm only used to old crap focuses that drive like a bout .
Should I be worried and should I get the car checked over
I don't have a lot of spare cash and really want to keep it for ages .
If anyone can advise many thanks
Jason

Asked on 22 February 2017 by jason King

Tags: valuing a classic classic cars used cars comfortable cars valuations

1 answer

SLO76    on 23 February 2017

You talking about when you accelerate hard from very low speed or a standstill? If so then it's likely dumping 170bhp through the front wheels is just causing a spot of torque steer but if you're talking about it veering when you accelerate or slow down when travelling at say 30mph for example then it could be worn trackrod ends.

The MK I Focus was the best small family hatch of its era by a long way and good survivors will be worth money one day but it's currently going through bangerdom where it's next to worthless except for the RS.

If it's genuinely nice then keep it that way and you should sell for no loss or even a profit after running it a year or two. A tatty one will never become valuable so if there's a lot of rot then just enjoy it while it lasts.

The ST170 wasn't the best example and wasn't that well received due to its surprisingly small performance gain over the normal 2.0 Zetec. In fact the 1.8 TDCi was quicker point to point due to its vastly higher torque. So don't expect it to rocket in value any time soon like some fast Fords. It was actually a bit of a weak link in the range.

Edited by SLO76 on 23/02/2017 at 00:22

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