[Shaddow_wolf169]

when choosing your svt make sure all required maintance has been done. dont just see the car and say ooowww i want it. svt are a maintance addicted car. just spent over a 1000 dollars just for parts. water pump, belt, hoses, timing belt comp kit, brakes, thermo housing/ stat, plugs,new o2 sensors, wires and coil. well worth the cars value. make sure u keep all ur reciepts really helps for a resale. make sure they have all reciepts for the car. save yourself the pain. i only payed $2300 for the car that made it worth it. on another note these cars are not made for people with big hands. my hands are [][][][][][] up hahahaha but i love my car.

 

[wesley4x4]

svt in my mind stands for

s-beat
v-to
t-shit

yeahh every owner beats there svt.. i braught my stock svt to the drags and only ran a 16.667 i was kinda upset..

 

[Justin svt]

the guy that had my svt was so gay it wasent even funny . he drove it back and forth to his hair salon everday. needless to say the car was in mind condition

 

[flip{d2k}]

thats a note for anyone purchasing a vehicle, make sure its in good shape and well maintenance

 

[02fordsvt]

I've had mine for over a year and 10,000 miles and have yet to put a dime in it for maintenance (outside of oil changes, etc). Not all of them were beat to crap and they are still stout cars like Foci in general, but it is still good practice to check how well it was maintained by the previous owners. It could save you a lot of pain in the future.

 

[SVTF410]

when choosing your svt make sure all required maintance has been done. dont just see the car and say ooowww i want it. svt are a maintance addicted car. just spent over a 1000 dollars just for parts. water pump, belt, hoses, timing belt comp kit, brakes, thermo housing/ stat, plugs,new o2 sensors, wires and coil. well worth the cars value. make sure u keep all ur reciepts really helps for a resale. make sure they have all reciepts for the car. save yourself the pain. i only payed $2300 for the car that made it worth it. on another note these cars are not made for people with big hands. my hands are [][][][][][] up hahahaha but i love my car.

This is no different than a standard focus. If you buy a car that is approaching the 100k mark you can expect to be doing a lot of maintenance items sometime soon. i bought mine with 45k on it 2 years ago it now has 80+ and I have put less than 500 dollars in mine. Also if you consider that 1000 dollars plus what you paid for the car 2300. You have a total of 3300 invested in a very dependable car. Show me another car you can buy for 3300 that is more dependable. Or you could pay a 500 dollar a month payment for good car. I work for BMW and if you want to see a maintenance whore buy one of those.

 

[birdman_a15]

I bought mine with a 3 inch binder of receipts and records including the window sticker and sales information. The guy that had it used it to drive to school and back. He had it for 6 months and wanted to get rid of it because the gas mileage sucked. Before that, it was owned by a woman in Texas.

Mine was in ok condition. I've fixed it up since then.

 

[alex62390]

This is no different than a standard focus. If you buy a car that is approaching the 100k mark you can expect to be doing a lot of maintenance items sometime soon. i bought mine with 45k on it 2 years ago it now has 80+ and I have put less than 500 dollars in mine. Also if you consider that 1000 dollars plus what you paid for the car 2300. You have a total of 3300 invested in a very dependable car. Show me another car you can buy for 3300 that is more dependable. Or you could pay a 500 dollar a month payment for good car. I work for BMW and if you want to see a maintenance whore buy one of those.

well said and most euro cars are maintenance whores. (SAAB tech here) comparatively the SVT is easy for a 7 year old.

 

[SVTF410]

I bought mine with a 3 inch binder of receipts and records including the window sticker and sales information. The guy that had it used it to drive to school and back. He had it for 6 months and wanted to get rid of it because the gas mileage sucked. Before that, it was owned by a woman in Texas.

Mine was in ok condition. I've fixed it up since then.

If 30+mpg is bad then he should have been in a GEO

 

[DEMENTED SVTF]

Yup sometimes I have to sit there and stare a the part im replacing and say how the hell im I going to get my hand in there[scratch]. Ok here is the balance - buy a new car with payments or keep fixing the old one either way ur spending money. U can't get away with just putting gas in it lol. I know people have tried- especially when they can't remember when they had the oil changed

 

[afgray327]

Bought my svt with 65k, with 1 owner and no history of maintenance, i sprung for a 2 year warranty through usaa and paid an additional 800. so far they have paid for both front wheel bearings, all shocks and struts, 2 calipers, clutch and flywheel, and timing belt and tensioners. well worth the 800 extra i paid for it.

 

[Shaddow_wolf169]

Svt parts cost a shit load more

 

[SVTF410]

Bought my svt with 65k, with 1 owner and no history of maintenance, i sprung for a 2 year warranty through usaa and paid an additional 800. so far they have paid for both front wheel bearings, all shocks and struts, 2 calipers, clutch and flywheel, and timing belt and tensioners. well worth the 800 extra i paid for it.

Oh yeah forgot about the clutch..... so that makes about 1k i got in it. But still fo as much as i beat on it and miles i put on it in 2 years i would say 500 a year is a small price to pay for such a fun car.

 

[cmajaa]

One thing I want to mention on here(and most members are aware of this) is if you bought an SVTF w/100,000 miles or more, and the person or dealer that your getting it from can't remember or show documentation of when the timing belt was changed, then you better change it ASAP. Also be proactive with your maintenance, there's plenty of information on this site pointing out the problem areas on these cars, this applies to high mileage cars especialy, as an example, my car has 137.000 on it, I just put a new coil in it even though the car was running fine, and there was a big improvement in power and gas mileage after.

 

[benkap]

Svt parts cost a shit load more

Than for a regular Focus, or than a BMW?


The cost of maintaining a vehicle is small compared to the price of not doing it. If you keep on top of the schedule, you have better fuel mileage, less major repairs, and a car that keeps on running until the metal wears out.

As for buying a used car, you should ALWAYS do your due dilligence. You should be especially careful with a "performance" car, as they are meant to be driven hard. I once bought a 1987 Pontiac Firebird Formula 350. It was a big V8 and I was 19. I didn't even ask any questions, just wrote the check for $3500 and snatched up the keys. Within a year, I had four sensors go bad, a never ending overheating problem and eventually a blown head gasket.

 

[milanotom]

Some parts are getting tough to find, and they're considerably pricier than regular Focus parts. Even though mine has been well maintained, a number of things started going bad at around 100k. If I could do it over, I'd have sold the car when the service contract expired.

Regards,
Tom

 

[cmajaa]

Try sites like www.rockauto.com, I've been able to get Motorcraft parts on there for 50% of dealer prices and that usually includes shipping. And you'd be suprised what you can find on Amazon.com w/free shipping.

 

[replica81]

I haven't noticed a price difference on SVT Parts. My wife has a ZX5 and I have an SVT. I got my timing belt and every seal possible on that side of the motor (cam seals), idler pulley , water pump and tensioners all done at the Ford dealer for around $750 parts and labor.

On a side note, the dealer did the cam seal wrong and the seal was leaking all over the place. I took it to another Ford dealership and the previous installer damaged my exhaust cam so they had to replace that too. The camshaft was only like $200. Everything is pretty cheap on these cars. Even the alternators are only about $250 and they're the same as the ZX5. The only thing that really costs more on an SVT is the premium gas.

 

[stivo]

And I'll add that this is the most fun car I've ever owned. I travel for work quite a bit, renting cars on a regular basis. every time i get back i hit the freeway entrance just right and am so relieved to be back in my car.

Hey, these are all used cars now and you have to maintain them.

and here's a trick, as you approach the corner downshift to the right gear and stab the brake right before turning in. with the other side of your foot hit the gass and let go of the brake... and stay smooth. and when you are going fast at the end of the corner let of the gas a little and let the back kick out.

And that's how you burn up your tires. this car is too much fun!

 

[XxFocus SVTxX]

I just bought my 2002 focus svt for 400 dollars from a aunts fiancé all he did is drive it to work and back but he sold it because the timing belt snapped and now it only runs on 2 cylinders but I'm hoping that it is just some bent valves luckily my dad has a friend who owns a shop and is working on it for me for cheap but everything else is working fine but I'm still wondering if I got a dicent deal. What do u think?