Hello.


First time on this board and first time posting. I'm thinking of moving up from my SE Neon to a SVT Focus. And I'm hopeing to go take a look at a used one this weekend and was wondering what I should be on the outlook for as far as problem areas go. Anything Focus specific that I should ask about or have a watchful eye on? This is my first time going to a dealership with a actual intent to maybe buy, so I want to do my homework and go in prepared.

Any and all ideas would be great. Thanks in advance.

-paul

What year is the SVT you're interested in? I'll let some of those guys chime in with their input, but I know some SVTs had clutch or flywheel issues, not sure if it was just the 02s or kinda all 3 years...

That's all I can think of off the top of my head...

Good luck at the dealer, hope you join the fold, the SVT's pretty sweet!

Ask to see a service history if it has one. See if it has had all the TSB's done to it, don't buy unless they do it.

Just look for normal stuff, keep an eye out for mods that may have been done and stock parts put back on. Check autotraderonline.com I have seen quite a few in TX.

There are alot of tsb's out on the SVT's but the main one is the clutch/flywheel issue. I have got 35K on my 02 and have not had any trouble with the clutch/flywheel (knock on wood) so I don't think everyone has had that problem. I think the clutch/flywheel issue is just more well known cause it's a pretty big deal and the owners are with out a car for a couple weeks. The only problem I have had is the sticky t/b tsb, I'm on my third (origanal and two replacments) and so far all is ok. My main concern when buying any car is miles (not so much the year), options, and condition of the car. We all pay alot for these cars so I get down on my knees and check out the rocker panels, under the hood, look along the body for dings, etc.. really pick the car over good. For the cost of the svt, the performance you get, and the options it comes with you really can not find a better car for the money. I got mine for $13K with 11k miles on it and its an 02 (bought it in Jan 04). Good luck and don't forget to have them print you out a copy of the car fax report.

It's a 2002.
Are the clutch and flywheel issues in this year for sure? And how bad are we talking here?

And I didn't even think about the TSB's, Thank you for that.
Autotrader is where I found this one at.

Don't mean to double post, but the edit button isn't working for me.

The above post was made before I saw sidney's. -Thanks for the info on the clutch/flywheel. That's puts my mind at a bit more ease. The one I'm looking at has 16K on it and that's a main reason I'm really considering buying it now instead of next year when I was planning on it. Kinda seems like a sweet deal. I just want to make sure it's not to sweet to be true. And I'm a mechanics son so picking over used cars is second nature to me.


And carfax is a must, yes.

Yeah, the '02's were the ones with the fuel pump problems, and yes, the TSB goes with pretty much any SVT model. Like sidney said earlier, really pick over the car when you check it out. Drive it at every rpm and listen. Do some twisty stuff while driving, and check engine while running at idle.

These really are great cars, I got mine for 9,800k with 30k miles on it, and it is in prestine shape. I love this car, and I have had the Clutch TSB done already, and it works wonderfully.

Good luck to you with your buy, get the carfax, listen to everything, and be nitpicky...

Peace and Rock on

whoops, that's not 9,800,000...it's $9,800...even though it's worth that much...[paranoid]

The problem with the clutch/flywheel issue is that there have been multiple TSB's on it - and only the *latest* TSB says to use the new, revised parts. Many people had the older TSB(s) performed and the same parts were put in, and eventually, the problems they had came back again.

It's easy enough to check the car, though, there are two obvious symptoms. One, there is a distinct rattle sound evident with the clutch pedal released and the transmission in neutral - when you push in the clutch, the noise goes away. Two, the clutch pedal often had seemingly random engagement points and would sometimes not grab until pretty high in the pedal travel. A car with the latest TSB performed will have a clutch that grabs almost as soon as you start to let the pedal up.

There is also a real common problem with the DSI cable, the connection point where it meets the intake manifold breaks, or the cable end clip breaks (they're both plastic). There is a TSB on that issue also. There are new revised parts for this as well, metal instead of plastic.

And, the catalytic converter heat shield is infamous for coming loose and rattling (noise usually at about 1,800 - 2,000 RPM's) - there is no Ford fix for this. They just replace it with a new one, and eventually the new one starts rattling. The only solution is to either use an enormous band clamp or just ditch the stock Ford parts.

16k on a 3 year old car?!

That's either a killer deal or there's something you don't know until you go see it. Bring dad along if possible, it never hurts to have more than one critic giving the car a look-over.

Report back what you find, I hope it's just some granny that bought an SVT and realized it wasn't what she wanted and it's in perfect shape[thumb]

^^ That averages out to about the same mileage I've been putting on mine so far. I would have about the same mileage as that if I hadn't bought mine used, too. Even with the mileage from the original owner (10,000) I'm at about 23,000 right now. [:)]

I suppose it's plausible it was not someone's DD or something... but I like my Granny hypothesis more![:)~]

Mine had low miles due to the fact that it did not sell the first time when it was brand new untill Oct. of 03. It sat on the lot for over a year. Another plus about mine is that I still have warranty till oct. 05 or another 1K miles (I'm sure the 1K will come first).