Ford Focus?

I may need to buy a replacement vehicle soon for somewhere around $3k, and it seems like a ford focus would fit most of the requirements (not so old they are falling apart, enough room to carry the stuff i need, and decent milage/available with a 5 speed.). If I was to go look at one, what do i need to know to get a decent one? All I really know is i see alot of them, and the first year they had alot of problems, that were supposedly dealt with from the second year of production on.

They're good cars.... but can you get one for $3k?

better question.. would you want one that only cost $3k. I see very few of the original style on the roads any more.. and those that are either badly modified by the kids that own them, on their last legs, or, more frequently, both

I'd rather have a $3000 00/01 ZX2 than a Focus. More wheel choices, equal suspensions, and I think the ZX2 had slightly better MPG out of the same engine.

was the Zx2 the last of the escorts? if so, I agree.. I liked those cars in looks, reliability, and performance

This one was featured in this TeamZX2.com's Car of The Month.

I was happy with mine. I'd have another, and even offered to trade someone on that site my 240SX for one.

4x100 wheels, cheap good suspension options(OEM Tokico/Eibach combo), ECU chips/tunes available, 2.0 DOHC 136HP, I saw around 33 highway.

Only downside would be the lack of stuff space because although the rear seats do fold the car won't hold the same types of things a Focus hatch would.

which was the one with the open grill with the turn signals intregrated into it?

Hmm, how new of one do you have to get for it not to be a POS?

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/cto/1037789701.html http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/cto/1035759757.html http://sfbay.craigslist.org/pen/cto/1033839076.html http://sfbay.craigslist.org/scz/cto/1032755010.html http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/ctd/1032083605.html

One of those is a 2000 (which is the bad year right?) but the others are all 2001 or newer. If they are that bad I guess i wont look at one then. Any other suggestions for a reliable under $3500 car? Really as long as it has a manual tranny, has room to carry 2 people along with a decent amount of stuff, and gets over 25 mpg I dont care what it is Im going to have to sell the car i have now becasue i dont have time to fix it, and i just need a car to drive to school.

If you are hankering for a Focus check these guys out:

http://www.focussport.com

The owner (Raffi) has been a longtime racer and friend of GRM.

Try to find one with the S/R package... i've seent them pop up in your price range.

Little more power, VERY good suspension. A lot of guys grab the struts off of them to put on their BG-chassis cars. (2nd gen escort/protege/tracer)

Oh... we're back on Foci again. Sorry.... the above applies to Escorts.

May i also suggest an SVT Contour? They're hilariously entertaining cars.

93celicaGT2 wrote: May i also suggest an SVT Contour? They're hilariously entertaining cars.

Im looking for a reliable car though. lol

Travis_K wrote:

93celicaGT2 wrote: May i also suggest an SVT Contour? They're hilariously entertaining cars.

Im looking for a reliable car though. lol

Much like most cars that get a bad reliability rap sheet, if you keep up on them they aren't bad. Main problem that i've seen is timing chain.

They ain't no SHO in un-reliability, that's for sho. Hardy har har.

I'd suggest the nicest Celica Hatchback you can afford, but i'm not sure if it's what you're looking for.

Over 30mpg highway, can hold a ridiculous amount of stuff, handle great, quick enough to be entertained, and reliable as an anvil. It'll have high miles, but it really doesn't matter with these cars. And i'm not just saying that.

3k should get you either a minty 5th gen (90-93) or a nice 6th gen (94-99).

93celicaGT2 wrote: Try to find one with the S/R package... i've seent them pop up in your price range. Little more power, VERY good suspension. A lot of guys grab the struts off of them to put on their BG-chassis cars. (2nd gen escort/protege/tracer)

The S/R Suspension is OEM Tokico struts that can be had for around $160 for a set of four, and Eibach springs that can be had new ($200?), along with different sway bars.

The S/R only has like...10 more horsepower I think, which is mostly gained from a different ECU tune.

I encounter this all the time on TeamZX2. People make the S/R out to be something similar to the ACR or SI, when it's really just a normal ZX2 with $600 worth of parts attached.

2.0L Zetec = abismal in-town gas mileage.

If I hadn't bought one that was beat, and wasn't a 2000MY version, I'm pretty sure I'd be thrilled with it. An AWESOME highway car

Travis_K wrote: Hmm, how new of one do you have to get for it not to be a POS?

POS has little to do with age and a lot more to do with how well the car's been treated. While I would personally stay away from the 2000 cars, there's probably nothing wrong with one that is still out there and has had all the recalls done.

It should be fairly easy to find a Focus in your price range. What you're probably looking for is a higher mileage, low spec car that is totally unmolested. These are likely to be somebody's commuter appliance, which may need a little "deferred maintenance updating," but otherwise should be in good condition.

Once you have it, basic mods are cheap and easy. You can put the SVT brakes and suspension on it for around $1k (parts cost). I don't know much about modding the Zetec engine, but all sorts of parts are out there to do so and are also pretty cheap.

The two things to note are: (1) You want a Zetec engine, not the 2.0 litre SPI, and, (2) the rear suspension on the wagons is a little different, so you have limited aftermarket options. No. 2 won't matter if you don't want to modify the suspension.

On the ZX2, these are also great cars. If you don't care about 4-doors, I might actually go with a ZX2 in your price range. Save your time and effort looking for an S/R, though. As others have noted, you can upgrade a regular car to S/R spec for a few hundred bucks.

Full disclosure: I have an '03 SVT 3-door.

93celicaGT2 wrote: May i also suggest an SVT Contour? They're hilariously entertaining cars.

+1

my old roommate recently bought one with konis and an extra set of track wheels/tires for a little over 3000

I had a 2000, the "bad year." The mileage wasn't great, but I had precisely two things go wrong on it in the 40,000 miles I put on it besides wear items wearing out (battery, brake pads, etc). One was the button on the parking brake (bought a SVT brake handle for $30 and fixed it), the other was that issue with the cabin vent system leaking. I don't have any specific things to look out for, but I wouldn't hesitate to buy a clean one that is in good mechanical shape.

Strizzo wrote:

93celicaGT2 wrote: May i also suggest an SVT Contour? They're hilariously entertaining cars.

+1 my old roommate recently bought one with konis and an extra set of track wheels/tires for a little over 3000

+2

I sold my 138k miles CSVT 4 years ago for around that price range when I got my E46 BMW. While I loved that BMW, I still wonder if I made the right choice to sell that CSVT - great motor and handling, comfortable, supportive seats, and decent looking too. I even liked the blue interior color on mine. Pretty reliable except for water pumps and the a/c system developed a slow leak by the time I sold it.

pigeon wrote:

Strizzo wrote:

93celicaGT2 wrote: May i also suggest an SVT Contour? They're hilariously entertaining cars.

+1 my old roommate recently bought one with konis and an extra set of track wheels/tires for a little over 3000

+2 I sold my 138k miles CSVT 4 years ago for around that price range when I got my E46 BMW. While I loved that BMW, I still wonder if I made the right choice to sell that CSVT - great motor and handling, comfortable, supportive seats, and decent looking too. I even liked the blue interior color on mine. Pretty reliable except for water pumps and the a/c system developed a slow leak by the time I sold it.

I should also add that i got the chance to test drive one with a Bosal exhaust, some sort of aftermarket header, and lightweight flywheel/clutch combo. It sounded..... primal. And amazing. And i LOVED the interior. Definitely a place i wouldn't mind spending a lot of time in, and i'm REALLY picky about that. Doesn't have to be flashy, doesn't have to be leather, but it does have to have everything laid out nicely.

The one thing i seem to remember is is has the weird european antisubmarine underdash design, so with feet as big as mine you feel like you can only just get your toes on the pedals.

I had a zx3 that I later found out had been wrecked pretty badly. But while I had the car it was ok. One of the first things I did was order a new windshield washer stalk that had variable wipers, it is a plug and play thing, replaced it in under 10 minutes. I like being able to pick my own speed for the wipers.

The svt suspension bolts right up on the hatchbacks, as said before the wagon has different rears, brakes I believe are the same way so you can get rid of the rear drums if you need to.

It was not a bad car, but I enjoyed my hondas more.

mad_machine wrote: better question.. would you want one that only cost $3k.

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/cto/1035759757.html

Just so's you know:

http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/grm/teach-me-about-the-ford-focus/5988/page1/

My 95 Contour was a poor man's BMW. Cost as much to fix as a BMW (hello $1200 clutch job) and it made me a poor man. I loved the drive though. The V6 SEs are probably dirt cheap compared to SVTs. Or look at a Mercury Cougar hatchback, same basic platform as the Contour.