On the way home Tuesday evening the engine died. Oil all over. I had it towed to the dealer where I bought it almost 6 years ago (and 191,200 miles or so ago) just to get definite verification. I'm pretty bummed. I loved that car. They would charge me $6,000 for a remanufactured Mazda engine, so it's not worth it to fix. I've had a $1200 offer from one salvage yard, and I'm waiting to hear from another, and they both do free towing. The car has a ton of good aftermarket equipment on it, some of it brand new, unfortunately. I just put Racing Brake grooved rotors on it a couple weeks ago. Oops. Wish I could have that money back.
What I was really upset about was that I was planning to keep this car for another year or so and then get the next-gen Focus, which I fell in love with at NAIAS 2010. I really want that hatchback. So I started the process of search for other cars I could get, and none were really doing it for me in my price and fuel-efficiency range. I went to the Ford dealer where I bought my 2001 Focus ZX3 (they were a great dealer, both in sales and service--Signature Ford in Perry, MI). I test drove a 2011 Fiesta with the PowerShift dual-clutch automatic and a 2011 Focus SES with traditional auto. The Fiesta was the car I expected I would get, and it was a great car to drive, feeling more refined than it has any right to feel for a small car. The PowerShift transmission is great for a full automatic (normally I loathe automatics, but I have to get one so my wife can drive it since I bought an RX-8 with a stick shift). However, the Fiesta was just too narrow (small). The Focus was tedious to drive compared to my Mazda3 and the Fiesta. I hate it's automatic transmission, and it's not as much fun to drive as my 01 was.
The salesman could see I was not lit up by either car, and the Fusion, which I like, is more money than I want to spend. He knew I was on my way to the VW dealer near my house after I left, so they offered me a pretty good deal. They sold me a 2007 Focus SES with 5-speed manual at *their cost* (a bit more than $2,000 off the window price). They will basically pay me for the amount I don't use when the 2012 Focus comes out and buy the used car back from me. I'll probably end up having to roll a little cost into the new Focus, but I took out a two year loan, so it won't be much with the deal they made me. I'm probably the first person in the world to, in effect, pre-order a 2012 Focus (well, maybe not--who knows?). I sure hope the 2012 Focus is as good as I'm hoping, because I basically just ordered one! They're supposed to hit dealers very early next year, January or February from what I've read. The 2011s have already stopped production, I believe.
What I was really upset about was that I was planning to keep this car for another year or so and then get the next-gen Focus, which I fell in love with at NAIAS 2010. I really want that hatchback. So I started the process of search for other cars I could get, and none were really doing it for me in my price and fuel-efficiency range. I went to the Ford dealer where I bought my 2001 Focus ZX3 (they were a great dealer, both in sales and service--Signature Ford in Perry, MI). I test drove a 2011 Fiesta with the PowerShift dual-clutch automatic and a 2011 Focus SES with traditional auto. The Fiesta was the car I expected I would get, and it was a great car to drive, feeling more refined than it has any right to feel for a small car. The PowerShift transmission is great for a full automatic (normally I loathe automatics, but I have to get one so my wife can drive it since I bought an RX-8 with a stick shift). However, the Fiesta was just too narrow (small). The Focus was tedious to drive compared to my Mazda3 and the Fiesta. I hate it's automatic transmission, and it's not as much fun to drive as my 01 was.
The salesman could see I was not lit up by either car, and the Fusion, which I like, is more money than I want to spend. He knew I was on my way to the VW dealer near my house after I left, so they offered me a pretty good deal. They sold me a 2007 Focus SES with 5-speed manual at *their cost* (a bit more than $2,000 off the window price). They will basically pay me for the amount I don't use when the 2012 Focus comes out and buy the used car back from me. I'll probably end up having to roll a little cost into the new Focus, but I took out a two year loan, so it won't be much with the deal they made me. I'm probably the first person in the world to, in effect, pre-order a 2012 Focus (well, maybe not--who knows?). I sure hope the 2012 Focus is as good as I'm hoping, because I basically just ordered one! They're supposed to hit dealers very early next year, January or February from what I've read. The 2011s have already stopped production, I believe.
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it sounds like she had a good run tho!