My first focus was purchased with my wife as a DD. its the 05 in my sig and it is great. But after I purchsed it is when I learned that the 2.3l is the bees knees. so after a few years of modding the 05 and wishing I had/or could swap a 2.3l duratec, I found THE ONE.
The 3 door hatch is the lightest and best looking, the 2.3l is the best engine and the mtx is a must! But finding those 3 requirements in the same vehicle was rediculously hard! But I did find one, almost 3 hours away from my house and I still hear about it from my wife! lol
My question is, while all that work was worth it for me to have the best fofo combo out there, what is it actually worth? $$$.
NADA is ~$4400
KBB is ~$4000
But they dont factor in the demand that the tuner communitiy has for this setup. what do you guys think!?!? This combo was only avalible in 3-4 states for 2 years. Car run great, its my DD with no major defects. regular mobile 1 full synth oil every 3500-4000mi and has a 3" SS exhaust with HFC from the flex back. It came from the factory screaming for a fsturbo and I just have never had the $$$.

My daughter has the same combination, only an '04 model. She just turned 100k with it. I used to have an '03 wagon 2.3 with auto.

From what I've seen, the 2.3 does not add any value to the vehicle. The tuner community is not big enough to effect market values. All it did for me was make it harder to find the right one, since I refused to buy a Focus with any other engine (after test-driving both the 2.3 and the 2.0 Zetec). First thing I did when looking at ads or the vehicle itself was check the VIN for the 'Z'.

yeah thats how I did it too. Got the biggest list I could of for sale foci, then just scroll down untill I saw 3 doors, then check for stick shift, if it had both of those then id check the vin for Z. Its not so much the engine itself, when I was looking to buy my second focus, I could have bought a new ST with the stick and 2.3, but I wanted it in a 3door.
I know there arent too many focus tuners around compaired to other cars, but if I were to list it on a tuner site such as FF im sure it would be more in demand than any other combo... I just ran into an ST owner that had his fofo droped with rims (coulden't see any other mods) but first thing he said is " you know how many people would kill for that car?"

Nice find. Any pics? Plans for mods or looks?

naa, she looks stock. base model (lightest stock fofo). For the longest time I wanted to go fsturbo, ac/back seat/delete, and stock SVT bumpers with st170 lights and a cage. but its just too much cash. Thats the only reason Im running a 3" with HFC. sounds good and I dident notice any power loss or gain. If anything Id like an intake and tune. But Im considering selling it because I need something that can tow a boat. Im partial to the late 90s early 2000s cherokee (not grand cherokee). While I still enjoy modding and driving my car, im at the point where a family frendly toy would be a better use of my money, so I cant even justify the $200 for an intake because Id rather spend it on a boat!