Some nights I wake up in a hot sweat dreaming about the Manual Focus that I should have bought.

That was well written I laughed pretty hard.

 

hey man,

already brought mine in since the DCT sometimes messes up and doesnt know you're slowly idling in traffic and moving at a crawl. The bumpiness usually comes around corners when you come to a corner and slowly creep around, the electronic shifter puts you in nuetral, then you hit the gas and its still in nuetral, by the time it shifts your rpms are already high and boom. jerky jerky jerky.

I like the focus. but the shifting and 5x108 wheel patter just sucks a fatty.

 

You can easily tell when the car is not in gear because barely touching the gas has no effect. So it is best to wait until it is in gear then press the gas. Since I have learned how this car shifts I have no problems with bucking or shuddering.

 

I thought about it but the loss in $ was too much to accept for now.

 

Well most people buying a little focus I assume are in a similar boat of financing a car and of course rolling negative equity into their car as well, as is standard sub 20k car buying procedure.

Basically if you want to get out from under your car, you have to buy another new one with enough rebates to cancel out your negative equity or be withing the 125% value of the new car to roll your negative equity. More then likely it can be done, your payment will however go up.

I personally rolled 9800 dollars from 2 used Mercedes Benzs into my 2012 Focus. It was a very hard thing for the dealer to do, however I was purchasing the last 2012 focus, a manual one, that was decked out, with 4K in rebates plus D plan as my sis in law was the sales person. So I luckily ended up having a large part of my 10K debt rebated out, ending up only with financing +5K in extended warantee, service, tire, and dent plans having paid 29K for a 25.8K car.

My payment is in the new E class lease price zone, but hey better paying 600 then 960 for 2 cars, one I didnt need.

Good luck to you.

Im actually a fan of the new 5 lug set up, new wheels are fun.

 

Wow, I didn't know this was the norm for sub-$20K car purchasing...whatever happened to 20% down and a 3-4 year loan? At some point, you need to pay off what you are driving and drive it. End lecture.

I have actually thought the same thing... I have a manual, but the ST was so cool/fun when I test drove it. My issue was putting 25K miles/year on it commuting..just seemed like a poor decision to basically rag it out that way. Tires would cost me a fortune. At this point, my Focus has 3,500 miles on it and I would eat some serious depreciation if I went to trade up. I will just pay it off soon and drive it and maybe get something else when my oldest turns 16 in 5 years and he gets my current one!

 

Even up trade

I traded a one year old Hyundai Sonata for my new Focus manual and was able to do an even trade. I got x-plan pricing on the new Focus and received Edmunds trade in value for the Sonata. I find that I do not miss the extra luxuries I had on the Sonata, and I really enjoy the handling and the stick on the Focus. Glad I made the trade!

 

I still don't understand why some people believe that manual is difficult, has a high learning curve and may take months to learn, where in reality it will take about 10 min to learn the gears, about 1 hour of driving on streets to learn the shift pattern and probably 3 days to become proficient in manual driving. I got my wife to drive manual within 10 min with zero experience, since she already knew how to drive, the manual was even easier. She stalled a couple of times, but nothing that caused issues or put anyone in danger.

 

I still don't understand why some people believe that manual is difficult

I know several people who can drive stick fine, but simply prefer to have a car that takes care of it for them. Many of them aren't too crazy about driving in general and only do it when they have to.

(I enjoy going out for a road trip, so I have to take their word for it, but it's not that uncommon).

 

I just got into a 2013 5 spd manual SE full loaded and started to have second thoughts that I should have went titanium with 6 spd dual clutch. Not sure what I'm honestly missing from titanium to SE but I've got the 201A package, all the bells and whistles as they save, 10 spk radio, leather, weather, backup sensor, etc. The only thing I did not get was 18" rims (got the 17"), backup camera, push to start/remote start and of course, 6 spd dual clutch. Walked in with 2010 Focus SES owing 16, finally got 13 out of sales thanks to the wife, 3200 in rebates and walked away with a new 2013 with 3.25 financing for the balance. Wife thinks i'm nuts for doing it (but agreed to it...) but I couldnt be happier with the new focus, been wanting one since they came out six months after I got my 2010 (which I've had for 2 1/2 years off the lot).

Oh, btw, trying to teach my wife to drive manual as she learned just before getting her license and never drove manual again (about 16 years ago), it's been scary..

 

Ha! We did the exact same thing, bought the same car in different colors. I traded in a 2008 SES that I bought used, low miles, drive for 18 months, and was never happy with. Bought my loaded SE with everything but the backup and weather packages.

 

OP: Try changing your driving style. If you're not complaining about grinding gears then your transmission is 100% functional. You just need to adjust your habits.

You can't "creep along" in traffic with a stick shift, so you can't "creep along" with an automated manual DCT either. Lamborghini, VW, Porsche, etc. You can't just creep along without jerking and shuddering.

Edit: Yes, you should have gotten a stick.

 

Has anyone ever sold a fairly recent vehicle just to get something similar? Am I crazy for thinking this way? Is it not worth the wasted money?

I traded my Focus after just one year of ownership. I got $16500 which was more than I owed, so the low trade price was a little easier to take, they listed it for $19500. I didn't have any DCT issues, mine shifted smooth and didn't sputter at low speeds, it turned out I needed more car, so I moved up to a 2013 Escape. It increased what I had to borrow and my monthly payments were higher, but after a year in the Escape, it was well worth it. If you want out, the best time to trade in my opinion is when you get past negative equity, because the trade in value is going to decrease faster than your payments reduce what you owe, if that makes sense. Yes, you will take a small financial hit, but it feels better to be in a vehicle you want and not one you feel stuck with.

 

There is a guy at my working parking garage. I talked to him before I bought mine. He had a 2012 Ti. He said his was the biggest POS, wished he had a stick. Well he traded it for a 13 ST. I don't know his $$ situation but something worked for him

 

Let me get this straight...

His Mk3 Ford Focus was "the biggest POS" so he traded it for a Mk3 Ford Focus.

He's probably not the sharpest knife in the drawer.

 

I wish I had a manual also.
I hate having to put it in park to rev my engine at stoplights in a attempt to race ;D

 

Just hold the brake down harder. The DCT goes into neutral when you are stopped.

 

I like to feel part of the car, that's why I got the S 5 speed MT

 

For what it's worth, I traded in my 2012 SEL DCT (with 27k on the ticker) for the dealer's LAST 2012 Ti manual on the lot, and they cut me a smokin' deal. I couldn't be happier! [headbang]

http://www.focusfanatics.com/forum/showthread.php?t=321602

 

Well, two months later, I enjoy the car very much, still would love an ST but oh well, for the difference of what mines worth and what it would cost to get a new ST, could take that 10k plus and after market turbo with better results...

Oh, glad I went with the 5-sp manual. Air intake, injected tune, magnaflow muffler, Eibach pro plus springs, front and rear sway, since I wanted that better suspension, car is fun to drive.

 

I'm right there with you buddy, i think about trading mine in for an ST every day. I asked the dealer if they were coming out with a 6 speed manual anytime soon before I purchased and he said no. Then 2 months later they released them WTF. Been pissed ever since, I know they knew and it's not something I will ever forget. I know everyone says to do my research but I was shopping 6 or 7 different cars so it's hard to know everything (including future release dates, for all 7 models).

I bought mine used with 3k miles on it though so I might not be too much under? (just lose all that interest I paid probably?)

Then again the ST does not get the gas mileage I want. Maybe I should get something else completely...

The other negative about getting a 6 speed manual is my GF can't drive them, and often she is my DD. Then again we have 2 other automatics, they just don't get the mileage.

 

are you about 19? to me, a new car is an eight to 10-year investment so I do my research beforehand rather than after the purchase.

 

Not everybody is perfect, maybe some day. Your right, we should now every package, every option, at every level, from the S, SE, Titanium to ST, what would be an incomplete package, so on and so forth.

Salesman are like Walmart greeters, they should honesty just say hello, you come in with all the above already figured out, not expecting any advice or honest information from them, just for them to point you to the sales manager to write up the purchase, maybe help you with a test drive.

Bravo, I commend you for being so knowledgeable, planned out and perfect.

 

What comes cheaper: buying a new MT car or swapping gears? (DCT/5S MT)

 

I bought mine June 1 and someone already run something into it, looks like a shopping cart, 700 dollars in damage... Have to replace the rear valance/skirt (gives you that idea to swap it with an ST rear valance/skirt...)

 

Funny reading more and more negative DCT reports, I have not been on here much then stop in for an update and I am like, Wow! Look at all the people who area having issues.

 

The only car I have to learn to drive stick on is a 2008 Mustang Bullitt which has the same clutch and gear ratios as the Shelby gt500... bitch is hard to smoothly start driving with so much power.

The Mustang clutch seems so far away from the chair even if the brake and throttle are a good location.

A 2009 Mazdaspeed3 was very easy to drive though.

 

The Mustang clutch seems so far away from the chair even if the brake and throttle are a good location.

As someone who has driven manual transmissions for 25 years, I can tell you that many people who drive only automatic transmissions have a habit of sitting farther away from the pedals (brake/throttle) than they should. You should be able to floor the throttle or clutch without "reaching" and extending your toe out. In most cars, the reach to floor for the throttle is no different than the reach to disengage the clutch to the floor, so the ideal seat position should be very similar for autos or manuals.

You need to adjust the seat position so that it is comfortable pushing the clutch to the floor and ignore where the brake and throttle are. You will adapt to where they are in a short time.

 

Hi everyone,

If you're experiencing this concern and you haven't contacted me yet, send me a PM with your information so I can research some options to help. I'll need your VIN, dealer, mileage, daytime phone number, and full name to get started. If we have already been in touch, send me a PM with your current mileage and verify your daytime phone number so I can arrange for a follow-up call.

Crystal