[InDebtInDC]

An anonymous poster asked me this:

The person hates their 2000 Ford Focus ZX3 hatchback with 5-speed manual gearbox. The person reports a lot of problems with the car. The car is currently due for its 80k mile service, including water pump, timing belt. The clutch is possibly worn.

The person wants to know if it's worth it to get rid of the car due to imminent problems that are common with Fords. The person also wants to know how to approach buying a newish used car with more than 2 doors.


Briefly, I have personal experience with the 2000 Focus ZX3. In summary, they just plain suck. It's cheap new, but resale on that car is horrible because so many people have problems with it. If you read the reviews, the ZX3 is consistently rated lower than average for repair costs and reliability.

My recommendation would be to sell the Focus ASAP. Don't wait a single minute because that model is a ticking time bomb. Everybody I know with one reports problems as well so you're not alone.

Personally, I think Fords are some of the toughest cars to work on. I'm not against American cars. I just dislike working on Fords.


Once I decide to sell a car, I don't put a single dollar into repairs. Just clean it the best you can and sell it as-is. Don't be shock on the resale value because Fords just don't hold their value. You'll be lucky to get above $3k for it.

The timing belt will likely cost you at least $400-500 at a private garage. Twice that at a dealer. The clutch will also cost another $500 at a private garage.


As per your question about 2 vs. 4 doors, I recommend buying what fits your needs. There is really no difference between 2 and 4 door models in the same lineup, although some only comes in one configuration or another.

As I said above, you can't beat the value for a 96-00 Honda Civic CX/DX/LX/VP. I have a 98 LX 4-door. It has 130k+ miles on it, and runs like new. I maintain it normally as per the factory recommendations, and I had BG services done to flush out the fluids at 100K miles.

If you shop wisely you can find one for under $5k. If you're willing to invest a little bit up front to pick up the slack on maintenance from the previous owners, the car should last you many many years.


If you want to buy a newer used car, look at 2-3 year old models from major Japanese manufacturers (Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Mazda, Mitsubishi), although I prefer Toyota and Honda over the rest in terms of reliability and resale. Typically the last model year right before a major redesign is going to offer you the best value and reliability. New models take a few years to fix the bugs. If you're not sure, give Wikipedia a shot. The articles generally give a good outline on which design runs through which years.



If you're a little timid about buying used car, give CarMax a try. They have a really good 30 day warranty and they'll fix most of the things you complain about, within reason. I have inspected a lot of cars from CarMax and very rarely do I find major mechanical problems with them. Any minor hiccups they have fixed without problems under warranty.