Hi there. Looking for a little advice. My wife and I are in the market for a used vehicle, and one we've come across that we particularly like is a 2000 Focus SE wagon. It's got about 48k miles on it, and is nearly spotless inside and out. It's had 2 previous owners; the last one was an older fellow who had it from 9k miles onward. He took it in for all the recalls and performed the regular maintenance like clockwork (oil change every 2500 miles, etc.). He reportedly never had any problems with the car. I took it out for a test drive and found nothing wrong; I thought it handled nicely. The dealer is asking about US$6700 for it. Overall it seems like a pretty darn good deal. It's even nice to look at.
However... we checked out the Consumer Reports guides and some other online references, and it seems that the Focus in general, and the
2000 models in particular, lacks reliability. The brakes and some of the interior hardware (seat mechanisms, seatbelts, etc.) are reportedly the biggest trouble areas, followed by the electronics and body integrity (seals, weatherstripping, squeaks, rattles, and so on).Other cars we've been looking at are a 2002 Mercury Sable with 55k miles (offering price also around US$6700) and a 1996 Subaru Outback with 93k miles (~$6300). Haven't gotten to take either of this for a spin yet, nor do I know much of anything about their histories.
So what do you folks think? Have those of you who own Focuses (esp.
2000 models) found them to be more or less unreliable than other cars? Does the fact that this particular car has been so well-maintanted and apparently trouble-free counterbalance the Focus' poor reputation for reliability?I'd be grateful for any advice or information.
Thanks, Jesse B.