Last Monday I went to the Ford place downtown and bought a 2004 ZX3. It's only got the 2.0 in it, and it's automatic.

Did I screw myself over on this one, because I'm seriously having second thoughts about this. How much money would it take to make me happy with this car?

how much do you have? then we'll discuss options.

I'm willing to spend a lot of money on it, if it'll make me happy. Probably about half or a little more of what the cost of the cars are if I have to.

I would say put $4-5 grand and get a turbo set up. Go to www.focus-power.com and check out there set up. You will NOT be dissatisfied. Tom is the guy who owns that place. Just ask for him if you call. It is worth every penny.

~Daniel~

Is there any way I could change the transmission out sometime to make it a manual? And would that make it any faster somehow? I don't know much about cars, I'm just starting out, so I realize that's probably a really stupid question.

*edit* I can't even get this car to burn out..so yeah..I'm regretting buying this car..I should have got the SVT..friggin car salesman kept talking me out of it.

go back and trade it.

How much better would it be if I added new intake and exaust? Would it make a good difference in it? For a start, anyways?

if you want a manual now, you shouldve bought one in the first place. You can still get the ATX's pretty quick too tho.

why did you buy the car if your not happy with it??? You had to know weather you liked manual or auto tranny. Why aren't you happy with it? and why in the world would you want to do burnouts?

I never said I wanted to do burnouts, that wastes tires. I was just giving an example of how weak it was..I thought they'd be a little more powerful than that. I guess I'm not 'not happy' with it, I'm just a little disappointed. The car salesman made it out to be a lot more, and I didn't really get to test drive it that much before I got it. It was cheap, looks pretty cool, has a nice interior, and gets pretty good gas mileage. I'm just going to keep it and make it better. The way I see it, if I make it the way I want it then I'll be really happy with it. If I can't, then I'll sell it sometime.

What's different about the 04's than the 03's or earlier? Could I use parts for an 03 in my car, or would I have to get 04 parts? I'll probably try to find 04 parts anyways, but most of the stuff I find is for either an 03 Focus ZX3 or an 01 Focus ZX3. Weird.

yes you could change the atx to a manual but that'll require lots of work which you might not do, if you really want a manual just trade it in but then again there is also nothing wrong with auto, sure there are more parts for the manual but autos have some good parts too.

As for parts the 04 uses a DURAtec engine so you want to find parts for the DURATEC focus' and NOT i repeat NOT the zetec. I wouldn't recommend you jumping straight to a turbo or supercharger right away if you are just starting to learn about this stuff, mind as well start small with like a catback, cool air intake and notice the difference from those then work your way up therefore you can enjoy the speed increases :)

Yeah I was going to start small like that, with the intake and exaust, and I know some mechanics so I'm going to see if they'll help me out and show me how to do stuff. I could change the intake and exaust myself without a problem, but bigger stuff I'll have to get some help with.

*edit* Also, I have a Zetec engine. With that being so, would parts be the same as an 03 Zetec or even earlier than 03? Or what?

when exactly did you get it? Some dealerships allow you you to return it within like 3-4 days after purchase if you dislike it.

Nah, I've decided I'm going to see what I can do with it, make it kick some butt, you know.

yeah i would keep it man. You can easily buildup that auto to handle loads more power. The zetec is a good platform as many parts are available for it and many will tell you here that you can build up the zx3 to be faster then an SVT with less money which is true. So have fun with it!!

Originally posted by prototypepacifist
Yeah I was going to start small like that, with the intake and exaust, and I know some mechanics so I'm going to see if they'll help me out and show me how to do stuff. I could change the intake and exaust myself without a problem, but bigger stuff I'll have to get some help with.

*edit* Also, I have a Zetec engine. With that being so, would parts be the same as an 03 Zetec or even earlier than 03? Or what?

parts for a zetec would work for any year just make sure to read the descrition to find zx3 model...they'll always list what yr and model the product will work on, and if the seller doesn't then why buy from them ;)

Do not trade it in. You're screwed. The second you registered it, you lost 33% value of the car. No dealer will pay new car money for what is now a used car with no rebates, no finance incentives.

Unless they have a return policy 3- 4 days like someone said.

Of course the salesmen talked you into it. That is what we do. Our Motto "sell what you see, not see what you can sell [:D]