Is this the car I think it is? Am I about to get ripped off? Help!

Welsh Whirlwind · 08-11-2009, 7:30 PM

I'm just about to fork out on what I thought was a 02 plate Ford Focus 1.6 LX saloon. When I arrived to look at the car it had 'Ghia' written all over the chasis. Having done a HPI check it confirms that it should be a a blue 1.6l LX saloon with a clean history.

Now am I being stupid and 'LX' is simply just a version of the Ghia model, or is the LX focus a completely different car. Unfortunately I didn't get a chance to check if the VIM numbers matched.

Could any of you fine people shed some light on this matter? Thanks a million!

mushk1n · 08-11-2009, 7:49 PM

Ford Focus Saloon (98-04) Car Review - Facts & Figures - Parker's

There you go dude, would appear the LX and Ghia are two different models - my thoughts in the first place.

Welsh Whirlwind · 08-11-2009, 8:00 PM

Thanks mate, so it would seem that this is looking dodgy then... Gutted.

Honeywell1945 · 08-11-2009, 10:01 PM

What does " written all over the chassis " mean ?

Badges on the body ?

It might be that the seller has tried to make out it is a Ghia to impress people .

LX is a trim level , Ghia is another trim but plusher .

Welsh Whirlwind · 08-11-2009, 10:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Honeywell1945

What does " written all over the chassis " mean ?

Badges on the body ?

Yes mate, badges on the body saying 'Ghia'...

Honeywell1945 · 08-11-2009, 10:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Welsh Whirlwind

Yes mate, badges on the body saying 'Ghia'...

I reckon he has put them on to make it look as if it is a Ghia to passers by & other motorists , bit of bullsh*t one upmanship .

The LX was the entry level trim , the Ghia is the top of the range trim .

Welsh Whirlwind · 08-11-2009, 10:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Honeywell1945

I reckon he has put them on to make it look as if it is a Ghia to passers by & other motorists , bit of bullsh*t one upmanship .

The LX was the entry level trim , the Ghia is the top of the range trim .

Here's some photo's does this make it any clearer?:

Honeywell1945 · 08-11-2009, 10:41 PM

According to 2 insurance quotation sites that reg is a 16v Ford Focus LX 5 door !

That is a 4 door , something doesn't look right at all , best to ask who owned it & was has been done to it .

It might have had a complete interior transplant , for whatever reason , as the alloys look Ford issue but not Ghia spec .

mushk1n · 08-11-2009, 10:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Honeywell1945

According to 2 insurance quotation sites that reg is a 16v Ford Focus LX 5 door !

That is a 4 door , something doesn't look right at all .

They don't do a 5 door so I would imagine the insurance company has just got it entered wrong in their system.

AFAIK if you do buy the car and everything is OKAY you will have to get it rebadged as an LX otherwise your insurance could be void and the po-lice(thats right, I'm hip!

) could have a go.

Welsh Whirlwind · 08-11-2009, 10:51 PM

Arrrgh! This is doing my head in...

Honeywell1945 · 08-11-2009, 10:55 PM

Ofcourse they do a 5 door , there is a Ghia model in my street , it's called a hatchback with 5 doors as a classification .

Honeywell1945 · 08-11-2009, 10:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Welsh Whirlwind

Arrrgh! This is doing my head in...

You'll need to ask some questions of the garage , I'd suspect a trim change by someone or a lot of Ghia badges have been added to fool someone .

Either way , if it is badged as a Ghia then you will need to revert it back to LX badges otherwise the insurance will be null & void if anything comes a cropper .

mushk1n · 08-11-2009, 10:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Honeywell1945

Ofcourse they do a 5 door , there is a Ghia model in my street , it's called a hatchback with 5 doors as a classification .

just reading it from parkers, Ford Focus Saloon (98-04) Car Review - Facts & Figures - Parker's none of them are classed as 5d although like you said, it is a hatchback so should be 5 doors.

dan54 · 08-11-2009, 11:47 PM

Any pics of inside?
Looks like a ghia to me,unless someones gone to a lot of trouble changing a lot of stuff.I might be wrong but on the frontways pic it looks like an armrest which Im pretty sure only ghias had.Could be an unoriginal interior as well though.

Welsh Whirlwind · 09-11-2009, 12:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dan54

Any pics of inside?
Looks like a ghia to me,unless someones gone to a lot of trouble changing a lot of stuff.I might be wrong but on the frontways pic it looks like an armrest which Im pretty sure only ghias had.Could be an unoriginal interior as well though.

Only the following...

dan54 · 09-11-2009, 12:14 AM

Pics arent the clearest but that looks like ghia seats.Trying to see if around the stereo is "wood effect" but its too fuzzy to see.

dan54 · 09-11-2009, 12:17 AM

Had another look and (dont quote me on it!) im in the high 90% that its a ghia.

Welsh Whirlwind · 09-11-2009, 12:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dan54

Had another look and (dont quote me on it!) im in the high 90% that its a ghia.

It's definately not a wood effect stereo. I can vouch for that...

FazerThou · 09-11-2009, 12:37 AM

I would be wary even if it all checks out okay.

If you were to try and trade it in and the garage did an HPI check then they would be using this info as a reason not to take the car or give you a very poor price for it.

Not saying that I wouldn't buy it if the price was right though.

petrolheed · 09-11-2009, 12:55 AM

lx doesnt come standard with front fogs usually but the big tell is the car in the pictures is a 4d and its registered as a 5d. something is far wrong. could be a ringer?

ducattigezzer · 09-11-2009, 9:03 AM

not been funny but yes ask for advise on here

but the people you should be asking these questions are the people your buying from.

2 things if your unsure about it walk away as it will always niggle in the back of your mind and your'll never be happy with it
and if you are happy with it get everything in writing before you hand over your cash

Crocodile · 09-11-2009, 9:49 AM

It's possible that the vehicle was simply registered incorrectly by the original dealer & some numpty has simply added the Ghia badges. However, it's also possible that's it's a wrong un'.

If you really want it, I would simply report my findings to the dealer & ask them to get in touch when they've got all the paperwork in order. Don't accept anything less than both the V5 & online checks reporting the correct details, including the VIN.

But then there must be plenty of others around without any question marks over them.

dts_boy · 09-11-2009, 11:08 AM

If you have so many worries whats to stop you walking away? thats what i would do, plenty more cars out there!

Decadence · 09-11-2009, 11:25 AM

AA inspection?

Welsh Whirlwind · 09-11-2009, 12:20 PM

Thanks to everyone. The reason I didn't speak to the dealer directly was because all of these questions popped into my mind upon my return journey home, then the garage had subsequently closed, hence my posting on the forum. I'm in work at the moment and can't make any calls until this eve, but by all counts this is begginning to look a little dodgy...
I know there are alot more cars out there, but I really thought I'd found a deal with this one and just wanted to make sure I wasn't just being stupid with regards to the Focus models.
When I get chance to call the garage I will, then I'll post back on here with what they say...

DVD-Man · 09-11-2009, 2:24 PM

I've got a Focus Ghia, this one appears to be a Ghia from the pictures, note trip computer to the left of the speedo, function button to control it on the end of the indicator stalk.

chrome boot handle.

Does this car have rear electric windows? The LX does not.

Cheers

Liam

Welsh Whirlwind · 09-11-2009, 2:31 PM

Well I've just got off the phone to the garage and I was told that they 'just go by what's in the cars log book, and the car is an LX according to that'.

He also said the VIN numbers match (yet I can't verify this myself personally). He could not explain why the Ghia bages were on the car.

He also said that insureres having a problem with a wrongly labelled car was 'absolute rubbish as the VIN no's match and they know exactly what the car is' - Is this true?

And just to throw another spanner in the works the front seat does have an arm rest which I believe is consistant with the Ghia model.

Could it be that this LX has been rebuilt with a Ghia body after an accident that was not recorded with the insurers?

Eitherway, I think I'm just about finished with the questions this car raises, back to the drawing board...

Welsh Whirlwind · 09-11-2009, 2:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DVD-Man

I've got a Focus Ghia, this one appears to be a Ghia from the pictures, note trip computer to the left of the speedo, function button to control it on the end of the indicator stalk.

chrome boot handle.

Does this car have rear electric windows? The LX does not.

Cheers

Liam

Yes it does...

FZR400RRSP · 09-11-2009, 2:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Welsh Whirlwind

Could it be that this LX has been rebuilt with a Ghia body after an accident that was not recorded with the insurers?

Ghia is just a trim level, not a whole different body.
Could be the previous owner has just retro-fitted Ghia parts to an LX.
Anything in the car that gives the previous owner details, so you can phone him?

Razor · 09-11-2009, 3:07 PM

This car sounds like ball ache, I would just walk away and look else where. There are too many motors out there waiting to be sold which are straight forward.

08-11-2009, 10:01 PM	#4
Honeywell1945 Member Join Date: May 2009 Thanks: Gave 89, Got 37 Posts: 717	Re: Is this the car I think it is? Am I about to get ripped off? Help! What does " written all over the chassis " mean ? Badges on the body ? It might be that the seller has tried to make out it is a Ghia to impress people . LX is a trim level , Ghia is another trim but plusher .
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08-11-2009, 10:41 PM	#8
Honeywell1945 Member Join Date: May 2009 Thanks: Gave 89, Got 37 Posts: 717	Re: Is this the car I think it is? Am I about to get ripped off? Help! According to 2 insurance quotation sites that reg is a 16v Ford Focus LX 5 door ! That is a 4 door , something doesn't look right at all , best to ask who owned it & was has been done to it . It might have had a complete interior transplant , for whatever reason , as the alloys look Ford issue but not Ghia spec . Last edited by Honeywell1945; 08-11-2009 at 10:46 PM.
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08-11-2009, 10:55 PM	#11
Honeywell1945 Member Join Date: May 2009 Thanks: Gave 89, Got 37 Posts: 717	Re: Is this the car I think it is? Am I about to get ripped off? Help! Ofcourse they do a 5 door , there is a Ghia model in my street , it's called a hatchback with 5 doors as a classification .
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