Why do I do this to myself?

"Zibodiz" (zibodiz1)
11/13/2016 at 00:41 • Filed to: car shopping, craigslist

I need a new car. Mine has 253k and is ticking; it’s only a matter of time before I lose a valve seat.

So, I’m constantly shopping for a new car. I’ve pretty well narrowed down the model I want, so I randomly searched for it on Craigslist tonight, to show my wife what it would be like.

And I found the perfect one. Posted 8 hours ago. For $1500. With 100k miles. And, of course, I’m completely broke right now.

I should just wait to shop until I have money. Of course, this one will be sold long before I have the cash. It’s just irritating, though. Of course, once I do have cash, I won’t be able to find one I can afford.

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DISCUSSION (18)

OpposResidentLexusGuy - USE20, XF20, XU30 and Press Cars > Zibodiz
11/13/2016 at 00:44

Import a LS400.

Zibodiz > OpposResidentLexusGuy - USE20, XF20, XU30 and Press Cars
11/13/2016 at 01:31

Really not sure how that applies to my predicament, but alrighty then :-)

OpposResidentLexusGuy - USE20, XF20, XU30 and Press Cars > Zibodiz
11/13/2016 at 02:11

It’s the answer to everything. Don’t let them tell you it’s Miata because everyone knows it’s LS400.

Frenchlicker > Zibodiz
11/13/2016 at 04:35

This is what I hate about the Midwest. It’s nearly impossible to find stuff like that around that price.

ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) > Zibodiz
11/13/2016 at 07:49

Don’t get an SVT unless you have a budget for maintenance and can wrench yourself.

They are great cars, I had one for 10 years and loved driving it and I still miss it. But the realities of owning one are that parts are impossible to find, expensive because they are rare, and if you cannot do it yourself labor isn’t cheap.

The timing assembly needs done every 5 years or 80k on those. The T-stat housing is prone to leaks unless you upgrade it. The intake runners are mechanical and the motor that switches their length isn’t made anymore and is hard to rebuild.

They also require premium gas, and aren’t very economical around town. I rarely saw better than 22MPG with mine in mixed driving. On the highway they do fine.

When you have an open road and can drive it properly the SVT Focus is a truly wonderful machine. But it makes a terrible commuter car and the ownership experience leaves much to be desired.

04sneaky - Boxers. Blowers. Bikes. And bitches. > ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable)
11/13/2016 at 11:34

I find this odd because mine gets 27 mpg while driving through downtown and I’ve yet to have to touch the t-stat housing. The butterfly valve motor did have to be rebuilt (although leaving it broke doesn’t hurt much outside the power band). Not all SVTs are problem-ridden. I’ve owned three over the course of the last ten years and they’ve all been great to me.

Much, much, much better than my Mazdaspeed 3 and 6. So, take it for what it’s worth.

Land_Yacht_225 > Zibodiz
11/13/2016 at 12:26

Are you sure it’s valvetrain ticking? It could be the exhaust manifold has a crack or the gasket has gone bad. At 253,000 miles it wouldn’t be outrageous. Sounds very similar to the problem we had with our 5.3 V8 TrailBlazer. We thought a hydraulic lifter was failing, turns out the GM 5.3 has a penchant for snapping off the manifold bolts at the heads.

Zibodiz > Land_Yacht_225
11/13/2016 at 12:42

I honestly don’t know. There is a small exhaust leak, but it’s been there for over a year. The ticking showed up when I drove the car hard in an autocross about a month ago; I assumed they were unrelated. I replaced the manifold, catalytic converter, and gaskets about 3 years ago, so I wasn’t inclined to assume that was the problem, although it might be. The rest of the exhaust is original, though. The tick hasn’t affected performance or efficiency though, so perhaps it is an exhaust issue.

Honestly, I love my Escort. It’s everything I want in a car (except I’d love to get a few more HP; 110 is just barely enough, hence the interest in an SVT), and it’s fun to drive (the zoom-zoom showing through). Problem is, I live in the middle of nowhere. I drive a 150-mile commute twice a week, and it’s 80 miles one-way just to pick up groceries. I need a car I can rely on. Since mine started ticking, I’ve been a little nervous about it, and it seemed like a good excuse to find something with 100k less miles. Except, of course, for the money thing.

Zibodiz > ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable)
11/13/2016 at 12:45

I don’t commute in the traditional sense; I travel a great deal on 65-MPH state highways for long distances (1k miles/week), and can’t remember the last time I hit stop-and-go traffic. I also would love to have a more powerful car, and these seem like a unicorn in the performance:efficiency ratio, and they’re a 4-door hatch with a 3rd pedal. I’m not aware of any other car that ticks off all of these boxes for under $2000.

ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) > 04sneaky - Boxers. Blowers. Bikes. And bitches.
11/13/2016 at 12:50

I had an 02 in Sonic Blue. Number 85 off the line. I had to fuss with the T-stat a couple of times. I was able to order the intake actuator when mine let go.

But I never got very good mileage with mine except for highway driving.

I have heard tell the later ones, especially the 04s were far better to live with.

ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) > Zibodiz
11/13/2016 at 12:53

Oh they are very good to drive. But they are also not a corolla. So long as one is aware of how particular they are to own it is a very good choice.

Zibodiz > ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable)
11/13/2016 at 13:35

Since I need a 4-door, that should be fine for me; I don’t think the 4-doors were available before ‘04.

Zibodiz > ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable)
11/13/2016 at 13:37

I don’t mind a finicky ride, just so long as it’s easy stuff to fix. I don’t want to have to pull the engine or transmission annually. Thermostat housings, coolant lines, MAF sensors... that doesn’t bother me at all, as long as they’re not too expensive.

ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) > Zibodiz
11/13/2016 at 13:37

They were in 03.

ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) > Zibodiz
11/13/2016 at 13:41

Parts are getting hard to find. The SVT engine was unique to the car. And the timing assembly is critical to be replaced at 5 years or 80k.

Join the forums at FocalJet.com for tons of great info if you decide to get one.

Zibodiz > ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable)
11/13/2016 at 13:51

I’ll do that, thanks!

Zibodiz > Land_Yacht_225
11/13/2016 at 13:54

I should point out that my current car is an Escort with the 2.0 SPI engine. They’re rather chronic for losing valve seats, which is why it was my first assumption.

04sneaky - Boxers. Blowers. Bikes. And bitches. > Zibodiz
11/13/2016 at 14:13

The bottom end of the car is practically stock Zetec. There are hundreds of guys that run Zetec and Duratec (05+) Foci for spec series or just cheap beginner race cars. That’s actually how my first ‘02 Sonic Blue ZX3 ended up. I had done every suspension mod you could imagine and then the guy I sold it to stripped it and turned it into an autocross monster. They are quite amazing little carsm Getrag 6-speed, a head that flows better than some V8 heads, and an interior that I think still looks great for being so simple.

I would definitely look any SVT Foci over though. They’re usually worse than any Civic Si, SRT-4 Neon, or Cobalt SS when it comes to their previous owners. People beat the shit out of them, and that might be why some end up like the other Opponaut’s above. Take car, do normal maintenance, replace spark plugs and O2 sensors (might attribute to some user’s bad gas mileage) and they can be wonderful little hatches.

Also, get it tuned. Don’t use an olf the shelf tuner. Buy a Diablo/SCT handheld and take it somewhere. All the off-shelf tunes I ran, with the exception of Tom’s SCT tune, were pig rich and did cause bad MPGs. A header, CAI (not the ones that sit in the engine bay as they just pick up hot air), and a tune will really wake these cars up. Stay away from bigger stuff until you address the fuel delivery. The stock SVT Focus fuel pump is one of the best stock Ford pieces around, but it has its limits.