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Ford Focus Sedan

1997 messages,  Last post on Aug 02, 2009 at 5:57 PM

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#51 of 1997 Here we go again by xyzipp2 Dec 11, 2000 (8:57 pm)
First things first. Economics says that ANY car depreciates the most in its first year. However, I want to deal with the reason that you lost so much on your trade in paul. First, when you sign your name to the title, you don't even have to drive that car a mile and it is considered used. Any car automatically depreciates a significant amount when switching from new to used, regardless of how old a car is. It is common sense. Next, 30,000 miles is an inordinate amount of miles on a one year old car. I believe that banks and dealers expect to see about 15,000 a year, and anything over that is penalized. Thirdly, you used your focus as a trade-in. A dealer is not going to give you what the car is worth. If they did, they would be stupid. Economics 101 says, buy low, sell high. They don't give retail value, they give wholesale value. Huge difference. Any car (including foreign) when put in those circumstances (getting wholesale, high miles and only one year old)is going to show a big depreciation. It is common sense. The true test of resale is not one year after a car is made. That is absurd. Resale value is calculated over a number of years. Hence, I can't make the prediction that the Focus will hold its resale any greater or less than any other car one year out. It is ridiculous to try to postulate such a thing. I hate to say it Paul, but I think the reason you took such a big hit is because you made a very economically unwise decision. Maybe you hated the car that much. Who knows. What I do know is you can't blame the car for that. NO car is going to hold the same value or even close when put in that situation. Frankly, I am getting sick of this buy foreign or you are stupid mantra. Yeah Yeah, I know it has never been said in those exact words, but that is the prevailing thought for a few of you and it is annoying me to no end. We are told that foreign has a better build quality than the Focus. I have found that the Focus cuts fewer corners than the foreign cars do. Better stereos, better interior quality, and so on. Than there is the better re-sale. It is way to early to tell that. Better long-term reliability. Last I checked long term meant long term. That is over a length of time. Not just one year. All this foreign is better is carry over from 10-15 years ago when foreign was undeniably better than the American makes. However, the gap has been closed with a number of different models. I can almost hear the click of keyboards in response. "AHA, that proves it. You admit that American makes were inferior to foreign in the past. See...even you admit it." Back to Economics. Economics says that if there are two equally priced products that are similar in market appeal and one is inferior to the other, the inferior one will not sell. The maker of that inferior product has two choices. Improve their product in order to make it competitive or go out of business. Last I checked, the Ford Focus was outselling all the foreign makes. Well, I guess there can only be a few smart people.
#52 of 1997 Focus Resale by diana13 Dec 11, 2000 (9:59 pm)
When I bought my Focus, my fiance's father did all the negotiations. I knew I got a good deal, but according to Edmunds and Kelleys blue book my car is worth over $1,000 MORE than what I paid for it. My car has 8,000 miles on it.
#53 of 1997 Focus in the snow by diana13 Dec 11, 2000 (9:58 pm)
I live near Chicago where, today we have blizzard-like conditions. I am so proud of my Focus. It didn't slide once, and the ABS is great. I have no regrets about buying this car.
#54 of 1997 Tell All diana13 by jeremyl1 Dec 12, 2000 (12:59 am)
I am curious, what is your car and features and what did you pay for it. Sounds like you got a great deal.
#55 of 1997 Focus in the snow by dottide Dec 12, 2000 (1:21 am)
I love my ford focus. I just bought it after test driving a elantra. What a difference!! The enterior was cheap in the elantra. Once I test drove the focus I fell in love with it. My Focus is the LX 2001 sedan base model w/ac & automatic driving.It has a lot of space inside and has a quiet ride. I just love it!
#56 of 1997 ooops! by dottide Dec 12, 2000 (1:25 am)
I forgot to tell you that it snowed here in Boston, and the car handled the snow great! and I don't have ABS breaks.
#57 of 1997 . by rea98d Dec 12, 2000 (2:32 am)
"stay with Honda, Mazda, Toyota, Subaru or Nissan in the small budget car class!" Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but Mazda is a Ford
#58 of 1997 Is there a site for Fordbashers? by hotx3 Dec 12, 2000 (2:38 am)
I am puzzled by those few individuals who don't own Fords but keep visiting this site with very general, highly negative comments. Why do you waste everybody's time? I've owned plenty of Fords, and none fell apart after 35K miles (though I had an '82 that was no prize after 60K). I've asked about things that are less than perfect on the Focus - to get more out of the car. Intelligent people don't select their cars based on anecdotes or unsubstantiated generalities. All you accomplish with your posts is to make us wonder what your problem is.
#59 of 1997 Off topic, but not really.... by schmide10 Dec 12, 2000 (3:39 am)
Just as a "touche", I'm sure that there have been plenty of problems with foreign cars... for instance, I know when I was doing research for my girlfriend on cars, I came across QUITE a number of earlier complaints about the Mazda Protege... suddenly losing complete power in the middle of driving it... and this was a common complaint made by several people over there. Hmmmmm, maybe all cars/models/manufacturers aren't perfect? Hot damn, what a novel idea!! 2000 ZTS, 15500 miles since March, still going strong.
#60 of 1997 The Economics Of Owning Junk by paul116 Dec 12, 2000 (11:16 am)
My Ford Rangers were the most reliable vehicles that I have ever owned, so I put my faith in Ford when I bought the Focus. After exhaustive research and numerous test drives, I was very pleased with the Focus. That is, until it started to fall apart at 22000 miles. Then, I felt severely let down by Ford. Financially, I did not like the idea of taking a huge hit on depreciation, by far the worst first year depreciation of the last ten new cars that I have owned. But to continue to own this piece of junk such that I don't lose money on the first year of depreciation is similar to holding onto a stock that is slowly going down the drain. It is economically stupid to "wait for it to get better". I won't lie to myself. I put my faith in Ford and was let down in the worst way. They may have gotten my money this time, but never again! Also, trying to sell the Focus to a private buyer instead of trading it in was out of the question, as used Foci are sitting all over dealer lots and are not moving. I seized the opportunity for the best possible trade-in when the car decided to start behaving itself again. I knew this would not last for long, so I capitalized on this rare opportunity while I still had the chance. Yet somehow, the cuteness factor is keeping the prices high for brand new Foci, with minimal rebates and incentives (compared to the competition). If people continue to buy these cars, Ford will keep laughing all the way to the bank. Just don't say I didn't warn you! And if your Focus is still behaving itself, just hang in there. I have complete confidence that this good behavior won't last much longer!

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