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
Location:

Athens, Georgia, United States

Athens, Georgia, United States

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

Wright`s Professional Window ★★★★★

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Vick`s Auto ★★★★★

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Ringbrothers shows off Coyote-powered 1968 Mercury Cougar

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We'll openly admit that not every SEMA build is our cup of tea. But this? A tastefully resto-modded 1968 Mercury Cougar with a 460-horsepower Ford Mustang V8? Yeah, this is right in our wheelhouse. Sadly, there was no in-pwerson SEMA show in 2020, so we missed out on gems like this one. SEMA or no SEMA, the aftermarket carries on, and co-owners Jim and Mike Ring of Ringbrothers (get it?) saw no reason to let their time and effort go to waste.  When they're not building wild customs (see: 1,100-horsepower 1972 AMC Javelin AMX) or more subtle showcases (such as this Cougar or their 1971 K5 Chevy Blazer build from 2018), the folks at Ringbrothers crank out factory reproduction parts, whether for old-fashioned restoration or modification purposes. While '60s muscle cars are recurring build subjects for the two, the Cougar was the first of its kind they tackled.  Keeping it in the family, Ringbrothers sourced a Ford 5.0-liter "Coyote" V8 and a 10-Speed Automatic (lifted from an F-150 Raptor, incidentally) for the build. They didn't stop with the driveline, of course. The suspension was overhauled with a little help from DSE and a set of HRE Series C1 C103 Forged 3-Piece wheels were thrown over upgraded brakes.  "We put our heart into each car we build, and this Cougar is no exception," Jim said. "The finished product is mild and classy, yet any enthusiast instantly knows it's not stock. I imagine this is what Mercury designers would have come up with if they were building the Cougar today." "While we couldn't bring the car to the SEMA Show, we hope it can be shown to the public soon," Mike said. "We had never done a Cougar before, so this was a fun build. I love working with new shapes and coming up with new ideas." There's plenty to appreciate about this Cougar apart from the mechanicals, too. The finish is Augusta Green Metallic (courtesy of BASF), which was a factory color in 1968. You may know it by another name: Highland Green. There are a few custom exterior touches, but they're quite subtle and styled to be period-correct. The interior was also restored and updated, and it's where you'll find the only thing we're not fond of: that big, fat truck shifter. Gearbox choices notwithstanding, it's a bit of an eyesore. But considering how gorgeous the rest is, we'll give it a pass.  Related Video:

2015 Shelby GT bows in Scottsdale with 627 supercharged ponies

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Between the base V6, the EcoBoost turbo four, the eight-cylinder GT, the monstrous GT350 and the new GT350R (to say nothing of transmission and convertible options), muscle-car enthusiasts have a staggering array of Mustangs to choose from. And now there's one more as Shelby American has introduced the new 2015 Shelby GT. Building off the success of the 2007 Shelby GT and the 2013 follow-up, the new 2015 model was just introduced at the Ford booth at Barrett-Jackson in Scottsdale, AZ. It's based on the latest Mustang GT (whether factory fresh or commissioned from an owner's existing pony car) but upgrades with an enviable list of enhancements from Ford Racing Performance Parts, Shelby's own upgrades and top-shelf third-party components. For starters, the engine is supercharged up to 627 horsepower (with over 700 available through further upgrades). It's got 3.73 gears, a Borla exhaust, WELD Racing wheels, Michelin tires and Wilwood six-piston front brakes. Visual enhancements include a carbon-fiber body-kit (including a two-piece rear diffuser) and billet aluminum front grilles. Designed from the get-go to be sold around the world, the 2015 Shelby GT is certified for use in all 50 states and comes with a Shelby American CSM number registered in the company's registry, but all those enhancements don't come cheap: Shelby's charging $39,995 for the new GT, and that's just for the modifications. Add that to the $32k sticker on a Mustang GT donor and you're looking at over $70k – which is not only more than Ford itself is expected to charge for its own GT350, but more than Dodge gets for a Challenger Hellcat. Related Video: SHELBY AMERICAN LAUNCHES 2015 SHELBY GT MUSCLE CAR FOR ENTHUSIASTS WORLDWIDE LAS VEGAS – Jan. 16, 2015 – Shelby American, a wholly owned subsidiary of Carroll Shelby International Inc. (CSBI:PK), launched the first global Shelby GT muscle car, which is based on the all-new 2015 Ford Mustang GT. One of the most popular cars in Shelby history the 627 HP 2015 Shelby GT was unveiled today at the Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale Auction in Ford Motor Company's booth. Shelby is now taking orders with delivery of cars planned for the beginning of the second quarter of 2015.

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Continued high demand for the Ford F-150, along with the addition of the all-new Transit series of commercial vehicles, has led Ford to announce that it will add over 2,000 jobs at its Kansas City Assembly Plant. At the time of the announcement, the plant boasts 2,450 hourly employees working on two shifts. All told, Ford will invest $1.1 billion in the Kansas City plant to expand truck production and begin producing the Transit series.
According to the automaker, fullsize truck sales are up 19 percent through April of 2013, leading to an additional 900 workers and a third shift of production for the F-150. Production of the Transit series will begin in the fourth quarter of this year, requiring an additional 1,100 workers. In addition, Ford estimates that a total of 18,000 jobs will be created by suppliers to its Kansas City plant to support the additional vehicle production.
Want to know more? Scroll down for the complete press release.