Ok, so in an effort to keep the Mustang for nice days and a weekend car, I have decided to take out a loan and buy a small, 4cyl car that will get me to work and back, and to beat on.

So, I went to the same guy who I bought my 2000 Dodge Neon from before, the summer before I bought my Mustang and I was checking his inventory. He has several Jetta's and Volvo's all priced around $6000 price range, but I have narrowed my selection down to 2 cars.

He has a 2004 Ford Focus with 40,000 miles on it. It's the base sedan, because it's manual windows/locks. It's got the 2.0L, 4cyl. He is asking $4,500.

The other car is a 2002 Dodge Intrepid with 39,000 miles on it. It's the ES with the 2.7L, 6cyl. He's asking $4400 for that one, but he offered to take it down to $3,900.

I am looking for something with good gas mileage and a small tank, and from reading on Edmunds, it looks like the Focus, is the way to go. Maybe I can talk him to $4k and he's got himself a deal.

What do you guys think? Am I making the right choice?

 

Focus has a LOT of Mod opportunites

Plus, if he'll move that much on the Intrepid, he'll move on the Focus too. His only goal is too get them showing their tail lights out the drivway!

 

I would prefer the Intrepid, but I really want a 4cyl, it's also got a 17 gallon compared to the Focus' 13 gallon. Also, the Focus was manual (less stuff to go bad) rather than the Intrepid which was auto all the way around, but it already seemed that the motor was gonna die on the passenger side window.

I think I'm going to flow with the Focus. Has anyone here ever driven a Focus or have anything they can say about them? I don't think I am going to mod the Focus. I'm going to save up and put that all in my pony ;-)

 

Stay away from Dodge Intrepid.

For one, 2.7L is extremely unreliable engine. And you're lucky if transmission lasts you more than 100,000 miles.

I had 1997 Intrepid 3.5L until recently and I never got more than 15 mpg city.

 

to continue along that line. My son has the Focus 2.0 you talk of. Has gone over the 100k mark. He takes care of it, it takes care of him. Plus he added Euro Beam Headlights, a wing, and a Mach stereo sytem. His in Grey, Standard. He loves the little sucker. Plenty of storage also, which I was surprised at, and actual room for passengers too.

 

Sweet. I think my mind has been made then. I'm just going to test drive it in a day or two and i'm going to bring my dad along just to have a second opinion.

 

yep I would go with the focus also. I had a 01 with no problems.

 

I'd go with the focus as well. Had two family members with intrepids both were piles of dung. If you have the mustang you have no need for an intrepid get the focus.

 

Love my 07 focus 2.0 base car.... the focus will be more reliable and get better gas milegae then the intrepid.

 

The very idea of having a nice car but only driving it once in a while would bother me. Can't imagine driving a POS on a daily basis. My daily commute is much more enjoyable because I'm driving something nice.

 

So . . . are you refering to the original posters choices of cars as POS or making a general blanket statement?

 

I agree! That's why my Mustang is a daily driver. I think it's worth it to get less MPG for a lot more fun.

Would anyone watch a 12" black and white TV every day and only use the 40" high def flat screen TV on the weekends because it uses more electricity?

But back on topic, I'd choose the Focus instead of the Intrepid.

 

Get a Suzuki Burgman 400 scooter, quicker then most cars, 67 MPG, 110mph top speed, plenty of storage and a lot more fun then a compact car... Easy to ride and I've seen a few people ride em away from 50mph dear strikes.... Just make sure to get an 07 or newer. Enough storage for two helmets, light groceries, laptop case, etc.

 

so, i pulled the trigger and i bought the focus. couldn't have been happier. it's nice only spending $40 bucks to fill up the tank of a car HAHAHA

 

I feel ya there. I drove a true POS tercel and got tired of it quick especially when the Camaro went down. The Tercel got traded in for the GTO ASAP.