Q: I am looking to buy a car and i have found a 2002 ford focus in my price range. I want to know the reliability of this model and if there are any common problems. I owned a mercury sable for about 6 months before the transmission went out on me. I later found out this is a common problem with sables. I don't want a repeat. Please let me know. Anything is helpful! it also has 115k miles on it. does that make a difference? i know thats a lot of miles but what i want to know is are there going to be problems cause of the high miles?
A: I had an 01 Focus and it was a pretty good car. Ford had most of the problems worked out by 2002. But the early Focus was a big lemon (2000-early 2001) so stay away from them. My car was good to me, but it wasn't perfect. Other owners faired much worse. I had problems with the radio antenna connection corroding (minor but annoying) to a belt tensioner go bad (minor, but could have been major if not corrected) The 02 you are considering should be a good car. Ford hasn't produced a great transmission anytime in the past 15 years, so that's been a trouble spot with all Fords. If you are looking at a stick shift, this isn't a problem, although at 115k miles, it could need a clutch. 115k is a good amount of miles, but if the car was maintained (oil and other fluids changed at recommended times,etc.) it could last at least another 40k miles. if not much more. Ask the dealer or whoever if the have any receipts showing oil changes or repairs. If there is no history of maintenance, you don't know what you're getting into. Also, with any used car, it's buyer beware. You just don't know what that car has been through. And Carfax or Auto Check don't tell you everything either. Simply: (1 If this is the car you want, Have the car checked by a mechanic if you don't know anything about cars. It may cost you $70, but that's better then getting into $1,000s of dollars worth of car that might be a piece of junk. 2) Go to Kelley Blue Book .com or edmunds.com. Find out what they have to say about your car and find out what price you should be paying. I would honestly look for a Honda Civic or Toyota Corolla (or the Corollas twin, the Geo Prism) first. These two cars have always been a safe bet. They might be more expensive initially, but unless the car was totally abused and had no oil changes or anything, they'd be better then the Focus Good luck!