Find or Sell Used Cars, Trucks, and SUVs in USA

2004 Ford Focus Se Wagon 4-door 2.0l on 2040-cars

Year:2004 Mileage:96500 Color: Green (OEM Light Tundra Metallic) /
 Beige
Location:

Athens, Georgia, United States

Athens, Georgia, United States
Transmission:Automatic
Body Type:Wagon
Vehicle Title:Clear
Engine:2.0L 1989CC 121Cu. In. l4 GAS DOHC Naturally Aspirated
Fuel Type:GAS
For Sale By:Private Seller
VIN: 1FAFP36364W165374 Year: 2004
Make: Ford
Model: Focus
Trim: SE Wagon 4-Door
Options: CD Player
Safety Features: Driver Airbag, Passenger Airbag
Drive Type: FWD
Power Options: Air Conditioning, Power Locks, Power Windows
Mileage: 96,500
Exterior Color: Green (OEM Light Tundra Metallic)
Interior Color: Beige
Number of Doors: 4
Number of Cylinders: 4
Condition: UsedA vehicle is considered used if it has been registered and issued a title. Used vehicles have had at least one previous owner. The condition of the exterior, interior and engine can vary depending on the vehicle's history. See the seller's listing for full details and description of any imperfections.Seller Notes:"Dents in both rear quarter panels. Paint chips in front bumper. Cut in rear bumper."

Offered for auction today is my 2004 Ford Focus SE wagon.  I bought this car on eBay on 9 July 2010 from a small dealer in Dover, NJ.  I am the second owner and have given the car a great deal of attention and TLC for the three years that I have owned it.  I have always been diligent with maintenance.  It has never been in an accident, which you will see on the AutoCheck report and Carfax, if you choose to buy a Carfax report.  When I bought the car it had just over 48,000 miles on it, so the first owner averaged about 8,000 miles a year.  It has just over 96,000 miles on it now, which comes to just over 10,000 miles a year since it's manufacture date, so this is a very low mileage car.


This first generation Focus is one of the most important cars in recent automotive history, which is why I bought it in the first place.  Compared to any other small, family car of the same age, this is the best driver's car.  Ford designed what they called a "control blade" rear suspension for this car, a multi-link, semi independent design.  The result was very crisp tracking through turns.  For the price point, this feature was a first.  Additionally, it has a quick steering ratio, at only two turns lock-to-lock.  Turn in is sharp and understeer is minimal.  The steering has a nice weight, but isn't overly sporty ("Hard to turn," as my wife would say about her sister's BMW).  These drivers' qualities left the rest of the market segment scrambling to catch up, including the big players from Europe.  The first generation Focus was the class of the market for years, and continues to define what is important in the segment 15 years after first being released.  The only other performance note is about the engine.  When the car was first released in 1998, the main complaint was that it was a bit anemic.  The first engines were SOHC, 8 valve 2.0L engines.  By 2004, the Focus had an available DOHC, 16 valve aluminum head, good for about 140 bhp - my car has the more powerful engine.  This major upgrade solved the power problem for the first generation car.

In terms of design, this Focus set in motion front end design cues that continue today with its steeply raked A pillar and windshield, and large headlights that wrap into the front quarter panels.  Additionally, the roofline is sloped slightly rearward and the car is generally high waisted in profile, lending a very sleek look to the wagon.  To me, the wagon was the best looking model of the family.  Add to the looks its much larger trunk capacity, and this is the model you want to have.

It has been nice talking about why you should buy a first generation Focus wagon.  Here's why you should buy MY first generation Focus wagon:
  • MILEAGE.  At just over 96k, my car has been driven on average only about 10k miles a year since manufacture.  The amount of wear and tear is minimal at this car's KBB value and condition
  • MAINTENANCE. I have been diligent in my care of this car.  At 60k miles, I did a full service that included tie-rod ends, automatic transmission filter kit, and valve cover gasket.  At 81k miles I put a new set of tires on the car and had the brakes inspected.  The braking system passed inspection and the shop cleaned the brake hardware.  I installed a new alternator and Bosch battery at 86k miles.  I have routinely performed oil changes at manufacturer recommended 5,000 mile intervals using only Ford Motorcraft 5-20 oil.  The first generation Focus had a thermostat housing that tended to fail.  Mine was no different and I had it replaced at about 70k miles.  I also replaced the tensioner pulley and serpentine belt at the same time.  I have also replaced the turn signal stalk with a new one - another Focus part that tended to fail.  YOU WILL SEE IN THE PHOTOS A HAZY HEADLIGHT LENS.  When I took these photos, I was in the middle of restoring the passenger side headlight lens with a 3M lens restoration kit.  The light was starting to fade so I had to go snap the photos before finishing the job.  I have since finished it and the lens is now crystal clear.
  • ENGINE.  My Focus wagon has the uprated engine option that I mentioned earlier.  The more powerful engine gives you everything you need when it is time to pass on the freeway or make a quick lane change.
  • ECONOMY.  I have been making a long commute to work in the last 6 months.  I have averaged almost 31 mpg on the highway.  That isn't Prius territory, but it's close.  And a Prius costs a lot more to both buy and maintain.
Like any used car, mine isn't without flaws.  There are dents on the rear quarter panels above the tires.  There are flaws in the paint on both front and rear bumpers.  There are small scratches on the car in the normal spots, but none that I have seen go through the clear coat.  There is a rust spot on the driver's side rear door sill.  I mentioned at the top of this write-up that the first owner lived in New Jersey.  As a result of winter conditions, some brackets have gotten rusted underneath the car but the undercarriage as a whole is in perfect condition - the rustproofing has held up very well over the last ten years.  Also, the factory exhaust system is showing its age, but it still works perfectly.  The next big maintenance job to be performed is changing the timing belt, but that is still over 20k miles down the road.  This car has the Blaupunkt stereo option.  The screen on the face of the radio is flawed (as you can see in the photos), but everything still works well, you just have to study the screen for a bit to read it.  When I bought the car, the driver's floormat was missing and I haven't replaced it.  Also, the lid to the center console has a broken latch.  I have bought two used center consoles on eBay to replace it, but both were broken in the same way that mine was broken.  It is a case of a part being over-engineered and under-built.  As far as I know, there isn't a cheap and easy fix, you just have to keep looking for used OEM parts for replacement.

INCLUDED IN THIS AUCTION are the servo motor, throttle cable, and steering wheel switches to install a factory cruise control system.  Since I bought the car, adding factory cruise control was a project that I wanted to do but never got around to finishing up.  The parts missing are a brake sensor shut-off switch and the harness that ties the servo into the main wiring loom.  I replaced the steering wheel with a factory one that is built to accept the cruise control button banks.  The original steering wheel had gotten a bit knackered over time, but the current one is ship shape, as you can see in the photos.

I believe I have mentioned everything I can about this car.  If there are any other questions, please ask, and I'll be happy to answer them.

I have this wonderful car for sale locally, so I reserve the right to end the auction at my discretion.  It is local pick-up only.  If you want to transport it, I will assist with that.  I just bought a car from a dealership that was 1,000 miles away, and I used Ameristar transport to get it here.  I found that company using uship.com.  Ameristar cost me about 20% less than their competitors quoted me.  If you are coming from out of town and fly in to drive it home, I would be willing to pick you up at either Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson or Greenville-Spartanburg airports.  If you flew into an airport that is closer to Athens, GA than that, I would pick you up there too.

Best of luck, and enjoy your new car!

Auto Services in Georgia

Zbest Cars Atlanta ★★★★★

New Car Dealers, Used Car Dealers, New Truck Dealers
Address: 3280 Commerce Ave, Roswell
Phone: (888) 862-8501

Your Personal Mechanic ★★★★★

Auto Repair & Service, Automobile Parts & Supplies, Automobile Air Conditioning Equipment
Address: 3150 Lenora Church Rd, Avondale-Est
Phone: (770) 982-5222

Wilson`s Body Shop ★★★★★

Auto Repair & Service, Automobile Body Repairing & Painting
Address: 1491 Klondike Rd SW, Orchard-Hill
Phone: (770) 483-9567

West Georgia Discount Tire ★★★★★

Auto Repair & Service, Tire Dealers, Brake Repair
Address: 6423 Fairburn Rd, Douglasville
Phone: (770) 949-7382

Vineville Tire Co. ★★★★★

Auto Repair & Service, Automobile Parts & Supplies, Tire Dealers
Address: 3257 Vineville Ave, Forsyth
Phone: (478) 474-1020

Trinity Tire & Auto ★★★★★

Auto Repair & Service, Tire Dealers, Brake Repair
Address: 1810 Washington St, Jefferson
Phone: (706) 367-1400

Auto blog

Ford overlooks the Big Apple in the 2015 Mustang Convertible [w/video]

Wed, 16 Apr 2014

Ford has done it again. Like in April of 1964, there is once again an all-new Mustang Convertible sitting on the observation deck of New York City's Empire State Building. This has been in the making for a little while, with the first report that Ford would recreate the sky-high publicity stunt coming out a few weeks back.
The process of getting the Mustang up there wasn't exactly easy. A Troy, MI-based company chopped up the new droptop, a necessary evil to get the Mustang on the Empire State Building's only freight elevator that runs to the 86th floor observation deck. But it was slightly more involved than just taking the car apart. The company, DST, built a mockup of the ESB's freight elevators, and then practiced its cuts on a second pre-production Mustang Convertible (measure twice, cut once).
The result of all this work are the images you see above. Yes, sitting in the crisp, morning air of midtown Manhattan, over 1,000 feet up, is this brilliant, Triple Yellow Mustang. Take a look up top for our gallery of images from today's event. You can also scroll down for videos and images of the process leading up to the ESB debut.

Feds open investigation into Chevy Express, Ford Freestar rust issues

Wed, 28 Dec 2011

'Tis the season... for road salt. And with that, comes rust. And what does rust bring? Well, for Ford and General Motors, a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration investigation. According to The Detroit News, NHTSA is looking into potential recalls issues with Chevrolet Express vans and Ford Freestar minivans.
The feds have received five complaints that rust has caused leaking fuel filler pipes on 2003 Express vans. Separately, seven complaints have been filed over excessive rust in the rear wheel wells of 2004 Ford Freestar and Mercury Monterey minivans. The Freestar and Monterey went out of production in 2007. Neither issue has resulted in any crashes or injuries, according to the report.

Thieves still love older Hondas and pickups most, says NICB [w/video]

Wed, 20 Aug 2014

No one wants to have their car stolen, but a new study by the National Insurance Crime Bureau has some bad news for older Honda owners and pickup drivers. Fortunately, it has better news for drivers overall. The group is reporting that according to preliminary data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, thefts were down 3.2 percent in 2013 (versus 2012) to fewer than 700,000 cars. That's the lowest figure since 1967. That's also less than half of the peak of over 1.66 million thefts in 1991. "The drop in thefts is good news for all of us," says NICB President and CEO Joe Wehrle. "But it still amounts to a vehicle being stolen every 45 seconds and losses of over $4 billion a year."
Honda drivers might not find it such good news with older Accord and Civic models topping this year's theft study. Toyota and Dodge can't really celebrate, either, with two models each on the list, as well. Overall, this year's list was split evenly between foreign and domestic models, which were mostly pickups.
The 10 most likely vehicles to be stolen in 2013 were: