New or Used: Ford Fanboi Losing Focus?
Timothy writes:
I’m a recent convert from a jalopy-related website to TTAC, and couldn’t be happier. So my first time question for everyone…
I’ve got a 2001 Ford Focus ZX3, five speed with 2.0 DOHC engine. It’s got a little over 130k on it, I’ve owned it since new and paid it off many years ago. It’s starting to show it’s age (a rough idle we can’t seem to pin down, the rear bearings are making a lot of noise even though we just replaced them, and a lot of squeaks and rattles that annoy from time to time). I do love this car, and when I’m on the open highway or zipping around an on-ramp, I’m reminded why I love it. My wife also loves it, and it’s been a part of my life for ten years. Yes, I’m a sentimental fool.
So what to do? We’ve come close to pulling the trigger on a used Altima with the six-speed (the only way I’ll have one) but now that most of the decent priced ones are out of warranty, I’m leery to get into another car that could be a money pit. A Juke is also a potential, but we have an ’04 Honda Element that gets poor MPG, so we need another high MPG vehicle for long slogs.
I’m a Ford man through and through (having owned an ’86 Escort, a ’95 Contour and my Focus) so I’m considering:
2011 Fiesta. I really like this car, great mileage, nice colors, but it’s small. I’m thinking that since they aren’t selling as well as Ford hoped, there might be some wiggle room on price, but I’m not holding my breath. My wife also loves the Fiesta (but the Element is her car, this would be mine) I’m almost 34, and to be honest, I want something a bit larger and more ‘adult’. That brings me to the…
2011 Focus. This car looks really awesome, even if I do have to get the five-door if I want a hatch. But seriously? Why on earth would you price the hatch way more than the sedan (and let’s not talk about how much it costs to get cruise-control…). Of course, you can price a Fiesta right into Focus territory…
I’ve considered a lot of other vehicles, (Fit, Sentra FE+, Civic, Fusion) but I keep coming back to these two. If you couldn’t tell, having a shift-it yourself is a priority. So what should I do? Dump more money into the ’01 Focus to keep it running indefinitely, the ’11 Fiesta or ’11 Focus?
Sajeev answers:
I get you, which makes my job easy. Born and raised a Lincoln-Mercury man, my life being a screwball Ford hot-rodder ended with the demise of the Mark VIII and the New Edge Cougar. Yeah, the Jag-based Lincoln LS never shook my etch-a-sketch…but once again I digress…
Forget the Fiesta, for reasons I’ve mentioned before: it’s gonna slide into irrelevancy as Ford scales up production (and incentives) of the Focus. Putting two small Ford products in the same “space” is just as shortsided as splitting the original Taurus’ market with two platforms: the Mazda-Fusion and the Volvo-Five Hundred/Taurus. With size and fuel economy figures in mind, the Focus is a better car for the vast majority of Americans.
Question is, do you keep the current Focus while waiting for the first wave of incentives on the 2011 (now 2012) model, or “make do” with a lame-duck Focus with a few bolt-ons (better dampers, ECU re-flash) and save many, many thousands in the process. While the upcoming model looks fantastic in the flesh, consider your other needs: kids, wife, house, college, etc. Sometimes having a new kitchen is far better than any “latest and greatest” Ford product from Europe. No matter how awesome it might be.
While the current Focus sucks by fanboi standards, it’s hard to say no to a perfectly decent, nicely loaded, 1-3 year old Focus SES or SE Deluxe for $9-13k via Autotrader. Think about the big picture, and then pull the trigger when the deal is right.
Steve writes:
This is a hard one. As much as I endorse the ‘keeper’ philosophy, the Focus was an especially trying model during it’s early years. The 2000 models set a record for recalls and the 2001’s weren’t that much better. The idle/shaking/squeezing issues of these Focii are as prevalent as kudzu at the wholesale level. I tend to avoid early Focus models due to these chronic headaches and repairs.
I’m glad you’re a fan of the current model. As a final year model you would usually have the advantage of the highest quality for the model run and an incentive driven new car price. But not these days. I just don’t see Ford discounting this model much and at nearly 20k new and well equipped, there are better options out there.
I would look at a variety of two to three year old compacts and mid-sized vehicles. Not just the Focus. Get one on eBay with good miles or go local with a private owner. A CPO warranty is not a good investment in this range and you do want to know the car’s history. I would simply drive in a few different vehicles and then use the internet to help you narrow your choices. Get… the… car…. inspected…
Need help with a car buying conundrum? Email your particulars to mehta@ttac.com, and let TTAC’s collective wisdom make the decision easier… or possibly much, much harder.In a rush? Don’t be shy about asking to cut in line.
More by Sajeev Mehta and Steve Lang
Comments
Join the conversation
With 0% APR, big incentives and high quality on new cars (and high resale prices on used vehicles) it makes sense IMHO to buy new if you are looking at a slightly used car (unless the resale is aweful i.e. the current generation focus). I believe it makes even more sense if you are looking for a base model car with an MSRP around $20k. I think that if you are looking for bells and whistles used cars typically make more sense. My 2001 Saturn SL with 133k miles currently needs a new clutch, two front wheel bearings, new EVAP canister, timing chain rattle and a blown stereo speaker...not to mention rusting rear door sills. I wanted to replace with a slightly used (2 year old) car with a MT and 4 cylinder. However, finding used cars with a MT is very hard these days (unless it is a Subaru). It was also hard to accept purchasing a slightly used car with 20k miles on it when the price was only a few grand less with a higher % APR (and being stuck with a slushbox transmission). Dropping $18k on a car with 25k (potentially abused) miles is tough to swallow when you can buy brand new for a few bills more and not worry about other people's issues....while getting the proper transmission and color you want. Configuring the car you will drive for 10+ years the way you want can't be discounted in the decision factor. I recently purchased a 2011 Mazda6 i Sport with 6speed manual (Base model). They were offering 0% APR too. Not the most "frugal" car imaginable...but it is practical enough while also being fun to drive. I also plan to drive this one into the ground like I have always done with my cars (new or used). If you keep your cars a long time (10+ years) I think the lost $ in resale doesn't work out to be that bad as long as you maintain the car well and are happy with it. When you trade every 3 years is when you lose the big $. By keeping my Saturn for over 10 years, I was able to keep a lot of money in the bank so buying new wasn't as big of a hit financially. Used cars with 100k miles go for $8000-$10000....ones with 150k are going for $4000-5000. That is just madness IMHO.
The current Focus is merely a shell of the 2001 model, a complete rental grade penalty box. I drove a loaded up one, with the cool Euro rally wheels and everything... still crap. Dont bother. He likes his Focus, the new Focus is a great car. He doesnt even seem to really care about performance, so why wait for the ST?? It will be expensive. I would recommend the Mazda3, or the GTI, or even a used Volvo C30, but mileage and/or reliability wont be there for any of those. And he kept his car 10 yrs! I say go for it, bite the bullet and buy the new car. $20k is really not bad when spread over 5 yrs at a low interest rate.