Focus Goes Tomorrow

[Si_FlyGuy]

I was told from a few places that blackbook on my 2000 ZX3 with 32,500kms is $8000. So tomorrow, my Focus goes bye bye for a 2001 Civic Si with 55k. I have to pay a bit more, but at least this baby'll hold its resale value....besides I think the Focus is going to have a lot of problems after warranty anyway. I hope I've made the right decision.


P.S. The civic sounded really good, apparently some dude put in a Cat back Mugen exhaust in it. I didn't hear much from the front end, and I didn't really look, so I assume that there's no intake with it. Someone translate that to a non-car techie guy. Thanks.

[szw]

Your buying it from a dealership? 55k is a lot of km's for 2001 car

[Si_FlyGuy]

Yah..it's from a dealership. Still has the rest of the 5 year warranty on it, so I'm not too concerned. They also offered by far the best price that I could find on that Focus. I'm figuring that I can fetch $11k on the open market, and they offered $10,500 after much haggling (they opened at $8500).

The 2000 model year Focuses were poorly built, so I'm estimating 7-9 year life span for that car, with a lot of repairs coming at the 4 year mark. Here's my rationalization from my stupid accounting mindset. I figure the civic to depreciate about $1,500-2000 over the next year, and the focus to depreciate about $3000 approx. Warranty on the Focus runs out in 8 months, and I figure repairs of about $500 in the next year, and $800/year after...plus I know that the MTX75 transmission is a piece of crap, so toss in a new tranny in about 3-4 years for $1500 or so.

I pay $1200 more a year for the civic, and for them to take that americanjunk off me. 45,000k of warranty'll last me about 2.5-3 years at the rate that I'm driving, so I save on repairs. Although the civic doesn't handle as well as the Focus, it is faster, and comes with all options (Focus only has air, no pw, no pl, etc) including 4 wheel disc abs. (I would've gotten into 3 accidents this past week had I not practiced threshold braking).

There're a load of other reasons that I don't want to get into..but yah. I think it's a good decision....

P.S. I won't get poked fun at by you guys for driving american hehehe.

[Weapon_R]

Good choice - although a civic, it should hold value and give you at least 5-7 years of problem free driving...maybe even more!

You should be able to hear the loud growl of the intake if it had one, when you floor it. It won't be too obvious since I imagine the exhaust was drowning out most of the noise.

[Si_FlyGuy]

The exhaust was a nice rumble. I'll take a pic of it tomorrow after I pick it up. The guy says that it's Mugen, but for some reason I couldn't find any markings. Looked like a fireball style exhaust, but it didn't sound like a Harley, so it's probably a decent brand.

I laughed when the dude was telling me how his friends told him that the cat back adds 30 HP to the car.

Hehe..I really like civics. I have two friends who have civics over 300,000kms with minimal maintenance. I almost chose the 2001 Celica GT, but the automatic was too whimpy.

[Stratus_Power]

probably have to add another 10k for the GT?

but grad on new cars!

[Weapon_R]

Civic Si is good entry level car, and much less headaches than the poorly built focus (in keeping with the ford name, of course).

I dont know if its mugen, I think mugen has the name engraved, its very high quality, and some of the exhausts feature a weird ass loop that i've never seen before. Do a search on civic catbacks from mugen and compare, although there are tons of replicas and copies.

[MistaBrent]

yeah fords have really low resell values.

especially the mustang and f-150s


you can find a 2000 gt for $18k if not cheaper.

[OPGForce]

Good choice on the trade. I currently drive the same car, so if you need advice, PM me, or try posting questions at http://www.7thgencivic.com. Just curious, how much are you paying for your 2001 Civic Si, that is the same as my year, plus I have an extended 5 year warranty too? Also, just to let you know, your civic has a "Mugen" style muffler because Mugen don't make jack shit for our slow ass D-Blocks.

[Si_FlyGuy]

Originally posted by OPGForce
Good choice on the trade. I currently drive the same car, so if you need advice, PM me, or try posting questions at http://www.7thgencivic.com. Just curious, how much are you paying for your 2001 Civic Si, that is the same as my year, plus I have an extended 5 year warranty too? Also, just to let you know, your civic has a "Mugen" style muffler because Mugen don't make jack shit for our slow ass D-Blocks.

I don't think it's a Mugen....looks more like 5zigen Fireball to me...maybe even cheapass Arospeed. Oh well hehe. The rest of the car's in good shape...but I paid too much for it because I needed it to be financed by Honda...plus I really wanted to get rid of that Focus. The transmission's been worked on 3 times, front endlink, 3 recalls, damaged by Ford service department 3 times, exhaust sensor broke down twice...all in the 20 months.

BTW...almost ended up with a 2001 Celica GT but it was so whimpy, especially with the automatic.

[ramminghard]

Was it a black civic at T&T Honda?

[Si_FlyGuy]

Originally posted by ramminghard
Was it a black civic at T&T Honda?

No..it's that "either you like it or you don't" gold colored coupe in edmonton hehe.

[szw]

Originally posted by HokusFokus


No..it's that "either you like it or you don't" gold colored coupe in edmonton hehe.

those are nice

does the SI come with rims or steelies and hubcaps?

[GTS Jeff]

Originally posted by Weapon_R
Good choice - although a civic, it should hold value and give you at least 5-7 years of problem free driving...maybe even more!

You should be able to hear the loud growl of the intake if it had one, when you floor it. It won't be too obvious since I imagine the exhaust was drowning out most of the noise.

yea, intake growl is awesome! my car sounds mean now!!

[max_boost]

I really like the new styling of the new Civic Coupe. The Civic Veloz which has the factory 4 piece kit and rear spoiler is very clean and sharp looking. Now it just needs more power!

[OPGForce]

does the SI come with rims or steelies and hubcaps?

Si comes with 15" alloy wheels...here is a pic of what they look like.

[Ferio_vti]

Originally posted by szw
Your buying it from a dealership? 55k is a lot of km's for 2001 car

Like that matters, its Honda. He'll be way better off with the Civic than the Focus anyways.

[Scott]

How can i trade my domestic for an import?? I need a deal like that

[mwmhong]

Originally posted by Scott
How can i trade my domestic for an import?? I need a deal like that

TRAITOR!!!!! I mean....TRADER!!!!!

[Si_FlyGuy]

The Focus still handles better and grips a little better in the lower RPMs....but once over 4000, the VTec takes over. I just don't like the steering wheel on the Civic for some reason. Oh well.