Joey's Focus Thread: Dragon Slayer

Joey D · May 14, 2011

So I picked up my new 2012 Ford Focus Titanium this afternoon. It was a long wait since they were having a hard time getting it delivered from the factory, which was a head scratcher since the car is made in Wayne, MI which is maybe an hour down the road.

Here is the only picture I have of it right now since my camera is in the car and I'm beat from a party last night that involved the consumption of way to much alcohol. More pictures to follow tomorrow along with the GTP sign.

Drivetrain:

2.0L I4 160hp / 146 lb.ft.
6 Speed Double Clutch Automatic With Select Shift

Options:

Tuxedo Black
Charcoal Black Leather Interior With Heated Sport Seats
Winter Package
MyFord Touch
Microsoft Sync
Sony sound system with 10" subwoolfer, Sirus & HD radio
Reverse sensors
Rain sensing windscreen wipers

So far I love it, I've already driving in 75 miles just because I can. The handling isn't as crisp as the MINI but it's a much bigger and heavier car. There is a ton of room in it and the sound system is phenomenal. I do wish it had a moonroof but I'll live without one.

Oh and as for the MINI is had some mechanical problems which were going to be way to expensive to fix, like almost $10,000 to fix, and it just wasn't worth it. I took the money I would have spent with that and just put it down on a new car. The Focus wasn't really my first choice but it is the best American car I've driven. It has a great fit and finish inside and feels like a quality product. I'm happy I chose a Ford.

===

Important Bits of the Thread:

===

Modifications

Retro Solutions 6000K 35W HID Kit for Low Beams
Phillips Crystal Vision High Beams
Noyka 2500K Yellow Fog Light Bulbs
V-LED 194 White LED Corner Light Bulbs
Stealth Bulbs in Rear Indicators
Putco 194 White LED Reverse Lamp Bulbs
Lamin-X smoked headlamps & yellow fog light tint
Saarland German Plate
Steeda Cold Air Intake
Steeda under hood bling
Team Dynamics Pro Race 1.2, 18x8/5x108/+40
235/40/18 BFGoodrich g-Force Sport COMP-2
2.25" Magnaflow CBE

L_Hamilton · May 14, 2011

Looks really nice, man. Congrats on the purchase. And of course the avatar to go with it. :lol:

motortrend · May 14, 2011

Cool looking Focus there, shame you had to let go of the MINI. Enjoy the car!

Omnis · May 14, 2011

Can you ship me your broken mini? I'll fix it and sell it.

NLxAROSA · May 14, 2011

Looks very nice in black. 👍

astrosdude91 · May 14, 2011

So are you gonna become a typical Ford owner and be all douchey? :lol:

And then I remember I used to own a Ranger.

Nice Focus there, Joey D! Hopefully it will last a lot longer than the Mini.

And I'm liking the new Avatar. But you still have the Mini one on CE.

Rotary Junkie · May 14, 2011

astrosdude91
So are you gonna become a typical Ford owner and be all douchey?
And then I remember I used to own a Ranger.

I thought that was reserved for people who ditched their Ford products for Toyotas... :dopey:

Congrats on the purchase Joey, looks good. Needs low and new wheels for better fitment. :lol:

What, does anything not?

astrosdude91 · May 14, 2011

Rotary Junkie
I thought that was reserved for people who ditched their Ford products for Toyotas...

I will never hear the end of that, will I? :lol:

SVX · May 14, 2011

I saw the title and I was like "What happened to his Cooper?". Congrats on the new car, but it's a shame you had to let the Cooper go. Whats going to happen with it, are you going to sell it or something?

TheBook · May 14, 2011

Chances are he traded it in, is my guess. Although if he kept it...

Joey. Autocross monster. Build one.

Nice car, BTW, I took one around a parking lot a couple weeks ago and really didn't mind it. 👍

Motorcitydriver · May 14, 2011

They have done a nice job with the Focus, we did a lot of work in the plant to help convert it from trucks to small platform cars.

Joey D · May 14, 2011

Thanks for the comments guys.

I am looking at rims and tires for it but it probably won't be till after I get more secure employment. I've thought about OZ Superturismo GT's. There aren't a ton of options for the car since it has a weird bolt pattern and centre bore I guess. I am not going to lower it, I'm passed thinking about that since the car has a 100,000 mile warranty and maintenance programme that covers pretty much everything but tires.

The MINI was traded in to the tune of $10,000 which isn't bad.

Cale · May 14, 2011

You could probably get some ST wheels when people start buying them and swapping rims.

ND4SPD · May 14, 2011

What exactly was wrong with the cooper? Nice choice on the focus too!

Joey D · May 14, 2011

The MINI needed a new transmission, front driver side wheel bearing, struts, and CV joints. I didn't want to spend the kind of money it would cost to repair all of that, the trans was almost $10,000 alone because apparently you can't rebuild MINI transmissions for whatever reason.

Keef · May 14, 2011

Import dealerships won't bother rebuilding an engine or transmission, or anything really. They just replace it. That's the policy of Mazda and Nissan, at least. Rebuilding isn't worth the time and labor cost. Automatics are particular are outrageous to fix or replace, and I have no idea what all these fancy new units will cost to replace in 10 years.

How many miles did the Mini exit with?

NISM0_SKYLINE · May 15, 2011

Needs moar low.

But seriously, I like the new Focus it looks WAY better then the last gen Focus we had. Good choice with the 5 Door, the Sedan just doesn't cut it looks wise.

Jim Prower · May 15, 2011

Interesting, I just saw my first today, a Sedan. Congrats on the hatch.

Darn, if I'd known about the MINI, I might have bought it from you. I know you've cared well for it.

Joey D · May 15, 2011

Keef
How many miles did the Mini exit with?

72,000 and some change. Quite a few miles for only three and a half years of driving. I fully plan on reaching the same with the Focus too, although with my job situation right now I might not put on as many as I used too. Although two or three road trips are already being planned for the summer!

And Jim you wouldn't have wanted the MINI, it needed so much work done to it you would have gone broke. I managed to find a used transmission for $2,500 and it would have been a couple hundred to ship it to me. Then it would have been another $3,800 to have it installed. I have no idea what installing a transmission entails but that was the lowest I was quoted. I really didn't want to go the used transmission out of a wreck MINI and would have preferred a new one, but that was almost $10,000.

Wheel bearing was $500, struts were $1,000 and I never had the CV joints quotes although I'm guessing it was expensive since you have to replace the entire axle and those run like $400 each, plus installation.

I'll probably never own another BMW product again, the cost to maintain them is astronomical. I'm sure if I knew more about working on cars it would be a bit easier and a bit cheaper, but I don't and have no desire too. A couple things here and there are good with me but things like swapping a trans holds no interest to me.

SVX · May 15, 2011

What was actually wrong with the tranny? Was it starting to fail (like not selecting the right gear)?

Joey D · May 15, 2011

It had a loud whirring/grinding noise which was caused from bearings failing, there was also metal shavings in the trans fluid along with hard shifting into 2nd and 4th gear and slipping while driving forward. They couldn't tell me exactly what was wrong with the car because the dealer wanted to charge me some astronomical price for diagnosis, like $700 or something. To even listen to it they wanted $200, which I refused to pay since I had just paid a couple hundred in service expenses a couple weeks back and they should have caught the problem since it was making the same noise when I brought the car in.

JJ72 · May 15, 2011

so it was a manual and it still broke?

sad to hear that, I thought those are pretty robust, kind of concerns me too since I have a manual S currently.

Eric. · May 15, 2011

Joey's was an auto.

Keef · May 15, 2011

Joey D
72,000 and some change. Quite a few miles for only three and a half years of driving. I fully plan on reaching the same with the Focus too, although with my job situation right now I might not put on as many as I used too. Although two or three road trips are already being planned for the summer!

Yeah, that's a lot of miles but it's not enough for a decent car to require that much maintenance. Maybe the roads quality up there really did contribute that much. My old Si didn't need wheel bearings and struts until about 130,000, my del Sol never even got to that point at 130k, and this here RX7 is due for wheel bearings currently, at 108k. A friend's Mazda 3 is at 130k, but has needed a new engine mount (!) and struts since 110. Based on the way he drives his car, I'd say Mazda 3s are troopers.

It's up in the air. Either Detroit's roads really are undrivable, or Mini's wear items just don't have the longevity of many other cars.

Wheel bearing was $500, struts were $1,000 and I never had the CV joints quotes although I'm guessing it was expensive since you have to replace the entire axle and those run like $400 each, plus installation.

A new front Honda bearing on my Si cost $40 and took me 4 hours to finish. Five-hundred is gouging on parts and labor costs, holy crap.

I'll probably never own another BMW product again, the cost to maintain them is astronomical. I'm sure if I knew more about working on cars it would be a bit easier and a bit cheaper, but I don't and have no desire too. A couple things here and there are good with me but things like swapping a trans holds no interest to me.

I feel you bruther. European cars in general are retarded. Japanese and Korean cars can be decent, but then the standards of service are still pretty high. I can't speak for Ford, but GM's service standard for the cheaper brands is, frankly, pathetic. When Donovan, the Mazda 3 owner, got hired as the lead tech at a converted Saturn dealership, he was astonished at the methods the GM guys used. Teaching all those idiots the rules Mazda lays out has been a process.

Anyway, I expect this Focus to serve you better than the Mini did, and have cheaper running costs also.

Slick Rick · May 15, 2011

Shame about the Mini, I loved that car...

Anyway the Focus looks pretty smart, congrats on the purchase :cheers:

look forward to seeing some more pix

SVX · May 16, 2011

115,000km?! Wow, that's a lot.

Joey D · May 16, 2011

Keef
It's up in the air. Either Detroit's roads really are undrivable, or Mini's wear items just don't have the longevity of many other cars.

Per the MINI forums I was on they are prone to premature wear compared with many other small cars. They aren't really built to be long haul commuters like I was using it for.

Keef
A new front Honda bearing on my Si cost $40 and took me 4 hours to finish. Five-hundred is gouging on parts and labor costs, holy crap.

The wheel bearing on the MINI was like $350 alone, even looking around online the cheapest I could find it was $275 or something. Plus I have no idea how to remove the hub of the car or reconnect the sensors back up to make sure they work.

====

First Photos

So it's been raining all weekend so I haven't had a chance to snap any pictures until today. The car is pretty dirty but I'm not going to wash it yet since it's 45 out and I don't feel like freezing, plus it's supposed to rain the rest of the week.

Some interior shots from when I picked it up, 5 whole miles! I kinda wish it only had 4 miles to match the MINI when I picked it up :lol:

.

And the exterior shots:

And some more interior shots, excuse the Red Bull can and be very jealous that Men in Black by Will Smith is playing on Sirius!

And proof of ownership as required by GTP:

Keef · May 16, 2011

Car looks great! And it actually looks more comfortable than the weird Mini interior, eh?

Joey D
The wheel bearing on the MINI was like $350 alone, even looking around online the cheapest I could find it was $275 or something. Plus I have no idea how to remove the hub of the car or reconnect the sensors back up to make sure they work.

It's not a job anybody wants to do. It requires using a heavy press to push the old one out and the new one in. Complete disassembly of the hub, including that giant 32mm axle nut on Hondas...ugh. I mean, who the hell has a 32mm socket in their collection?

Tornado · May 16, 2011

Still, for them to take it for 10 grand shows you just how much they were trying to gouge him on labor.

eSZee · May 16, 2011

Keef
I mean, who the hell has a 32mm socket in their collection?

I do, and a 36 for the nissans and a 31 for the subarus.

Car is looking good Joey, though the top of the dash looks to be the same material as the 2011 Focus, pattern/texture at least.
Also the $350, are you sure it wasn't for parts and labor? If anything, it also sounds like it was a price for the whole hub which by the looks of it is much easier to remove.
I understand your situation though and would've likely done the same thing.

Joey's Focus Thread: Dragon Slayer

&#12304;&#12463;&#12473;&#12467;DUNLOP&#12473;&#12

Not Even A Real Mod

King of Rockay

The White Comet

Literary Member

The Big Blue Ford.

The White Comet

The White Comet

Similar threads

【クスコDUNLOPス&#12