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  May 5, 2010 3:29 a.m. Capt Slow HalfDork

  Recently my wife managed to finagle her way into a better job. However it comes with a much longer commute. After some head scratching we decided that she should be driving something that gets significantly better gas mileage than the car she is currently using for her commute (a mazdaspeed6). The car should also be as cheap as possible.

  After a bit of searching we managed to acquire a 2000 ford focus ZX3 (2.0 liter 5 speed) for $1500.

  Although the car has less than 100,000 miles there is ample evidence that it has suffered a bit in its previous life. It has a large dent in the passenger side panel just behind the door, the rear hatch hangs a little unevenly, and all 4 corners of the car exihbit some evidence of parking by braile.

  So it looks like I am going to get a chance to familiarize myself with a buffer and some touch up paint, and I probably need to find a grassroots way to straighten up the dent as much as I can for low or no bucks...

  There are a few odds and ends inside the car that needs to be attended to as well. But overall I am pretty happy with the wifes new ride.

  Any good advice for a newbie fockus owner???

  

  The shiny paint and early morning light are conspiring to make this dent look smaller than it really is...

  
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  May 5, 2010 6:33 a.m. furcylndrfoury SuperDork

  Capt Slow wrote: Any good advice for a newbie fockus owner???

  drive it like you stole it?

  "Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication." - Leonardo DaVinci

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  May 5, 2010 8:12 a.m. alfadriver Dork

  Capt Slow wrote: the rear hatch hangs a little unevenly

  that would make me a little nervous in any car I have. My HF was rear ended lightly, but not enough to show on the bumper skin. But the hatch never closed straight ever again.

  Hope your car doesn't have similar abuse.

  And based on that, I'm sure you've already changed ALL the fluids... that kind of abuse does not bode well for regular maintenence. But a lot of that can me quickly made up for- couple of quick updates will get the crud out.

  I look forward to hear reports- my buddy has a 2001 with a SPI engine in it, and he still loves it. (although, if you hear clanking from the front end, check the sway bar links- pretty easy change).

  Eric

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  May 5, 2010 11:19 a.m. Capt Slow HalfDork

  The previous owner actually kept a fairly detailed record of the maintenance. It looks like he did a decent job of keeping it mechanically maintained, he just didn't seem to care what the car looked like. But yes, all the fluids are due to be changed before any significant driving commences.

  The single most annoying thing is that the blinkers are no longer self canceling, the previous owner said that had been repaired a couple of times in the cars history but it keeps breaking. Is that a common issue with these cars? Is there an updated assembly from a slightly later model of this car that would plug in?

  1995 subaru impresa -- to be sold | 1996 Miata -- woot!

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  May 5, 2010 2:33 p.m. Nitroracer Dork

  Does that car have a clean title? The hatch and dent look a lot like my focus that was rear ended. Take a look up under the rear bumper and see what the metal looks like. Still running and driving for $1500 ain't bad.

  1968 Fairlane 500 - 1998 Camaro Z/28

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  May 5, 2010 3:39 p.m. pinchvalve SuperDork

  Swap in all the SVT parts you can find.

  "Don't Sweat the Petty Things." Yes, and Don't Pet the Sweaty Things.

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  May 5, 2010 4:22 p.m. mattbatson New Reader

  I lived outside asheville NC for a while, and the view off your driveway looks very similar... How long does it take just to get off the mountain where you live?

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  May 5, 2010 5:57 p.m. Vigo Reader

  My MS6-owner friend reports hwy mileage as 30mpg. Please let us know how much better the focus does!

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  May 5, 2010 7:17 p.m. speedblind Reader

  Not bad for $1,500. Didn't know those cars had fallen that much.

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  May 5, 2010 8:56 p.m. Capt Slow HalfDork

  Vigo wrote: My MS6-owner friend reports hwy mileage as 30mpg. Please let us know how much better the focus does!

  Whoa! I want some of what he is smoking. Is he a hypermiler? I usually average 20 mpg in the MS6 my wife who is not as much of a lead foot as I am never gets any better than 23 mpg or so...

  1995 subaru impresa -- to be sold | 1996 Miata -- woot!

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  May 5, 2010 11:19 p.m. Capt Slow HalfDork

  In reply to mattbatson:

  It takes me about 10 minuets to get to the nearest town. I work in Sunnyvale though and thats a minimum of 45 min away. Wife is going nearly to south san Fransisco every day, which is more like a minimum of an hour to an hour and fifteen away...

  The pics I have seen of the hills back east do have a striking resemblance to the terrain here.

  1995 subaru impresa -- to be sold | 1996 Miata -- woot!

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  May 6, 2010 10:41 a.m. Vigo Reader

  Hmm, hilly and traffic/low speeds may explain your mileage. Once you get out on the highway down here in Texas you pretty much hit the cruise and the recline. We have a hill country but its only about an hour or two to cross it and get back to flatness.

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  May 6, 2010 10:52 a.m. mad_machine SuperDork

  I wonder if one of those window suction cup things would pull that dent out?

  During the Sound Check, nobody can year you scream

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  May 6, 2010 2:18 p.m. Capt Slow HalfDork

  I have been thinking along similar lines, The paint appears to be mostly unbroken. I was thinking about taking off the interior trim and trying to push it out from the inside...

  I know the metal stretches a bit when bent, so it will probably not be possible to get it perfectly flat again, but I could make it a lot better.

  The other option would be to stop by a junkyard and see if I could get a replacement body panel. Though I have no idea how hard those are to remove and or install...

  1995 subaru impresa -- to be sold | 1996 Miata -- woot!

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  May 6, 2010 9:41 p.m. Wonkothesane New Reader

  In that corner of the car, a replacement panel involves cutting and welding, so that's not in budget.

  For something like that, it may be worth paying a mobile dent specialist to take a look, it might cost $100 or something, but they can probably get it out without cracking the paint and pretty close to original shape. If you try to bang it out from the inside, you'll always see the creases.
  

  A friend had a 2000 focus, what a horrible car. The 2001s and up got a LOT better. Be wary of the wheel bearings, rear brakes, key cylinder/steering lock assembly, alternator (for some reason?)... Um... I'm sure there's more. Either way, nothing TOO bad if you're reasonably handy, especially since there's another car there to drive.

  I would recommend doing an "autocross style" tech inspection every month or two to check wheel bearings & suspension movement as well as an under-car quick inspection of mounting points and swaybar endlinks. If you feel a bearing going out on it, change it immediately.

  1 Mazda == Good. 4 Mazdas == More Gooder.

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  May 6, 2010 10:09 p.m. Vigo Reader

  Dont try and jump-start any stranded motorists, either.. i esomeone with a 2000 focus whose alternator caught on fire while trying that

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  May 7, 2010 12:16 a.m. Capt Slow HalfDork

  The wheel bearings were the subject of a recall. I can see by the service history that the recall work had been preformed.

  Did that solve the issue or did people continue to have trouble after that?

  The service history shows a fairly large number of recall related services that were performed on the car. I could certainly see how that would sour ones opinion of a particular vehicle.

  1995 subaru impresa -- to be sold | 1996 Miata -- woot!

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