What's up guys?

Well here is the situation. I am now a driver of a 2001 Ford Focus ZX3 (Auto).

Sort of a new owner because I traded cars with my parents. Used to drive a 2000 Celica GT but even tho I had paid it off, my parents got into some deep financial problems and since my Celica was still under their name, it got sucked in as part of their problem, so I lost the damn thing!!!

But anywho, since the Focus is under my name, that means I can do anything to it. So what do you guys think? Is it worth it for me to keep this ZX3 with only 15,000 miles on it and upgrade a few things here and there, or should I sell her?

Thanks, and wanted to say that this board looks very informative, loving it already.

well, most of the answers on here will be a little biased, of course.

i would say keep it and mod it when you can, they are great cars.

[welcome] and congrats on the car!

Deep down inside I really do want to keep it, that is sort of a reason why I posted here, lol.

But yeah, even if it is automatic should I still keep it? The car was very well maintaned so I doubt that I could get a nice car for about $9000.

What kind of modifications should I tend to research on? The Celica that I owned was kitted with a Wings West setup and that was it. I am thinking of getting a very clean looking body kit for the Focus, which company should I be looking for regarding this? Money is a bit tight, so I cannot be spending crazy money.

I am also thinking about getting a paint job since the Focus is that ugly dark red color.

Alex

the focus is an excelent car, and has been very reliable for most of the people here, even with an auto tranny. they atx may limit you from doing some major mods, like turbo, but bolt ons should not give you much of a problem.

best thing to do is glance through the performance chat for your particular engine, once we figure out what that is [:p], and through the exterior mods forum. that should atleast give you a good place to start. and if you have more questions, try the search feature, or feel free to ask.

a decent paint job will cost you an arm and a leg, but it might be worth it when you get the cash.

Man, I have only been here for about 10 mins and you have helped me out a lot, haha, thanks!!

Yeah, I wanted a stick so that I can have more fun, but even with modding the car, I would not go all out. Will prolly drop and intake, exhaust, then focus on the exterior.

But here are the specs:
2001 ZX3
2.0L DOHC 16V Zetec
Automatic Transaxle
16" Alu 6-Spoke Wheel
Solar Tinted Glass

Anything on top of your head that I should look forward in doing?

How much does a paint job usually cost? $1000?

wow, an 01 with 15k miles. that is pretty impressive. (sorry, i missed that the frist time, lol) my 03 has 21k. i guess you can see how much i love my car.

intake and exaust always sounds good. if you want a drop, most ppl recomend an upgraded suspension that includes a drop. some people use air bags, but the upgraded suspension gives you drop and better handeling.

tint is always really popular. as well as an upgraded stereo.

for cheap mods to get you started, try debadging the back end, or painting some interior pieces.

and of course, you can find all the info you could possibly need for all of this on the site. [thumb]

you could get a new paint job for $1K, but it would be from a cheap shop. usually cheap paint jobs dont do hard to get areas, like the engine bay, or door sills, etc., if you want a full and complete job, that will be much higher quality, you are looking at 2 or 3 k, i think. though i am no paint expert, best thing to do is call around to local shops for prices cause they can very widely. but remember, you get what you pay for.

glad i could help ya. i post from work so wednesday-sunday afternoon-evening i am always on. i am quite happy to help cause it sure beats sitting here doing nothing. lol. monday and tuesday, you will never see me. i am going home in about 45 mins, so you wont be seing much more of me this evening. but there is usually always someone helpful here. if you need anything just holler, or drop me a pm. [thumb]

Thanks for the tip. Yeah, I was thinking about something else regarding the paintjob. It cost me $900 bucks for a shop here to paint and install a kit on my Celica. I say it will be about $2000 for the whole car to be painted. But really tho, this Sangria red is not that great. I would love it twice as much if it was black, ooooo....

But yeah, I checked out the exhaust, and am interested in the Focus Stealth Exhaust. Is it really $300 ish? Or can it be had for less? I will get this for sure since the stock exhaust looks weak.

How about intake? Which is the best? Injen cold air intake? I am not trying to make the car sounds like a beast or anything, I want that smooth sounding sound.

welcome to the forum. I'd say keep the focus. you can allways upgrade or swap out that auto besies there are tons of aftermarket parts and accessories for it.

i do not know much about exhausts, sorry. the stealth is a good exhaust, from the little i have read, but i would not get it because i would want the louder sound of a borla or magna-flow, but that is personal preferance.

as for the intake. Cold air intake does the most good for the engine, if i understand everything correctly, but it is also possible to get water into your engine using them. this can be avoided by adding a valve to it, but that is the extent of my knowledge on that subject. more can be found on the site though. i will see if i can find the thread i am thinking of before i have to leave work. if all else fails, i can get it for you tomorrow if you havent found it yourself.

as for the paint. yeah, i am not a big fan of read cars either. and black always does look hot on a focus. just a couple things to keep in mind though... black is generally difficult to keep clean, and makes the car hotter in the summer. if you dont have the $ for a full paint job, you might want to look into some graphics. i am usually not a fan of graphics, but if done tactfully, black on sangria red could look very nice, and be quite a bit cheaper then a full paint job. just some food for thought.

Yeah, I am very much going to keep the Focus. I think that it will be a nice little project/hobby.

You say that I can swap and auto for a stick? How? And what is the cost of doing so?

I will look around the forum for a bit, have sooo many questions, you do not even understand how excited I am with the Focus.

How much are the Borla or magna Flow? And other than a cold air intake, what is the other option?

welcome to the site man. happy to hear u r keepin the focus. i have a black focus and let me tell ya somethin' it stays clean for about 2 days max!! and u can see every little defect. but when it is clean, black is the best color in the world. if ur lookin for a cheaper exhaust, go to trubendz.com. thats where i got mine. what they do is use thier piping and use someone elses muffler. ive got the borla muffler on mine. their prices r cheaper than most. as far as intakes, if u want a cai, u'll hafta get a bypass valve so u dont get water in ur engine. but their r different styles of intakes. i have a focus central intake. still uses an air box and a snorkel. but most people on here love the volant intake. kinda like the focus central. both have an opening at the top of the air box in case u wanted to get a hood with a scoop over the air box. look up focus-central.com and u'll see what im talkin about.

I think what I am planning to do before I go all out and get a total paintjob is to get a nice kit with a wing, paint it the factory Sangria color. At least that way I can have my car matching without busting a hole in my wallet.

I think I'll pass on the CAI, so Short Ram is decent?