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Go to www.focaljet.com or www.teamfocaljet.com and select the Forums section.
Lots of great info organized into categories. I like it a lot better than Edmunds layout.
http://www.PetitionOnline.com/duratec/petition.html
1) Virus scare (my computer is company owned, and I can't take the chance)
2) It won't do any good. Ford does not listen to their customers - most of us have discovered that through Focus ownership.
2)Styling and 3)$1250 rebate. Mine is a 2001 Infra Red, Power grp, Premium Grp, Moonroof, Anti-lock brakes, Side air-bags. Sticker: $15,885. I paid $13875 after the rebate. Dealer fees/plates added $120, then 6% sales tax on top of that. There was little haggling. Could I have done better? Maybe, the problem was that I wanted a specific car. There were only three in a six state area around Western PA. I am happy with the deal and the car. After coming off four Toyotas I pray there aren't many problems. Hope this helps.
I can't wait to get my car back!!!
--tippedhat
Does anyone know where/how to get the collapsible color keyed mirrors that are on the euro spec focus? I don't know why ford dropped for the US, obviously from reading these posts it does happen that mirrors get bumped. I'm actually on vacation in Italy and the more I look at the euro focus the more I wish I had one. It's just sportier looking and the bumpers have cleaner lines. There's also a turbo diesel here that's not too shabby. I like the rear fog light and the amber directionals...ok I guess I like it all. Yes I know...whine whine whine...if I can't find the mirrors online I guess I could see about getting them here in Italy but everything is closed in august for vacation....so fat chance.
RE: Extented warranty. I think I paid 800 for mine...6yr 100k bumper to bumper $50 deductible. I love the car, and if it was japanese I would have skipped the warranty, but it has it's flaws and the 800 is well worth the piece of mind. Not to mention the rental you get for free for *any* warranty repair. If you intend on keeping it for more than 3yrs/36k then I strongly reccomend it.
She has a 2000 Nissan Sentra stick but we took mine out every time, for the three days I was there. She lives out in the country so she opened it up on the twisty back roads. If I lived there instead of the city, I might have opted for the stick, but she admitted that city driving isn't alot of fun after a while with her stick. Fortunately for her, she only goes to the state capital a few times a month. But she says she loves driving her Nissan too. She's only 5 feet tall but she had no problem finding a comfortable seating position in my car. I imagine that her Nissan was probably a better fit for her.
Charlie
2000 zx3 auto
Problems: leaky windshield washer tank if filled full, squeeky brakes on wet mornings
20,000+ miles purchased Feb 2000, built Dec 1999
Winter is coming and I'm looking forward to playing in the snow with my car :-)
Oh by the way, I had a focus SE for a rental and man, what a difference. First it was an automatic, which I hate. Second, the quality of the materials inside seemed lower. Third, the handling wasn't nearly as good with the smaller tires and lastly, the seats had ZERO support. ZX3 or upscale 4 door is well worth extra $$.
Even with it's quality problems, the focus is still the number one selling car in the world...yes..the WORLD. Maybe ford can invest more money into the small car market by takeing the HUGE profit margin from SUV's and fix some things.
What is Ford supposed to do about this? I really would like to know the steps other people with poor economy are taking to fix their situation.
About the tractor noise, I had read somewhere that it is the same transmission used in the SVT Contour. Ford had issued a service bulletin, but no recalls yet. This is one recall I'd really like Ford to do. In the mean time, I'll just crank up the CD player and pretend the noise is not there
Oh well, the original factory warranty expires at about the same time my lease expires. If my ZX3's reliability becomes iffy by then, I'll have the option of returning the car at the end of the lease. Hopefully the ZX3 holds up well and I won't have to do that. But if not, I do hope GM will bring over the Opel Corsa as the replacement for Chevy Metro.
I am so upside down that I am having to buy a used car now. I am going to go back to being a European only buyer.
It isn't a mechanical problem it is just a annoyance.
Ford I think issued a fix for the noise. it has something to do with the springs that dampens the clutch and the transmissionthey are too weak to keep the gears in consant contact with one another, and you will hear a sound like tractor at low rpms until the slack is gone.
I will try to get the service buliten number for you. hte revised springs are on the 2002s.
Customer reports a gear type noise (gear roll over) at lower rpm when first starting out and knocking at idle. Check and advise.
"Road tested & verified concern. Ran oasis and found SSM #15102, need to remove the transaxle for inspection. Recommend to perform SSM and recheck."
SSM #15102
"The fix is a new clutch disc with softer springs to dampen the gear roll-over knocking....I have 100miles on it and lots of stops and starts in high heat...and no noise...will be updating my post concerning this issue once i get more miles on it...hope this helps"
I guess I should say first time poster long time reader of this board.
I have decided to take a spin of the roulette wheel of Focus ZX3. I was wondering about peoples impressions on ordering a car from Ford.
I have been speaking to the sales dept at my dealership and they say if I want to get a 2002 ZX3 I should order it. Is this the way to go? I am not looking for anything particularly special in terms of configuration. Is there a price advantage to ordering rather than waiting for it to be on the lot? eg: negotiating the holdback, etc. and I have been told that I would have to put down a good faith deposit. I am feel kinda weird about this but I could be wrong.
Looking forward to being a ZX3 owner.
I would stay away from 2000 models. I believe the 2001 models have improved somewhat in terms of reliability. It's such a shame, too...
Still the best small hatchback available out there for the money. I have the automatic, which has been as smooth as silk. Either I'm doing city driving or long distance highway driving. So the fun shifting a stick gets tiring in the city quick, and once I'm at highway speeds, I'm not doing any of that. I've owned 4 standard shift vehicles, so I know the good and bad sides of those.
I just look at the lack of room in other small cars and I can't wait to drive or ride in mine. And I still have the maneuverability in tight spaces too that comes with a small car.
Year 2000, auto, anti-lock, autumn orange
Purchased off the lot in Feb. 2000.
4 Recalls completed, no other problems except for a leaky windshield washer filler and squeaky brakes when wet. The brakes will be fixed when the pads need changing, sometime down the road. I got the extended warranty for the long haul. After that I may want something new and different, and by then we may have alot more to choose from.
Will add snow tires this year too for my driving north.
Charlie
speaking from my own experience while purchasing my ZX3, I had an enormously hard time finding a dealer that would quote a good price on an ordered car... every time I came in to finalize the deal and place an order, they hit me with an increase in the delivery time, a change in financial terms, and the usual dealer runaround... of course, they'd then try to get me to look at a ZX3 that wasn't what I wanted, but just in etc etc... so best of luck in trying to go that route...
As for my question, I have a yellow 2001 ZX3, and I'm wondering if anyone else is having a problem with the paint job... I've already noticed a few very small chips in the finish on the hood of the car... needless to say, after only 3k miles, I'm not too thrilled about this... anyone have to raise this issue yet?
Now, speaking about delivery times...a good dealer should be able to give you a fairly accurate estimation of when you can expect the car. A salesman who just wants to tell you what you want to hear will give you a very un-realistic time frame (like 4 weeks) if he thinks that will close the sale. A salesman who wants you to buy what he's got on the lot will tell you a tall tale about getting a factory order in.
Have you attempted to have the dealer look around area dealers and work a trade for you??
Good luck
FDIII
no 2001s.