I loved this car. Factory ordered in August of '11 and took possession in November '11. Since then it has been a mechanical disaster. Countless trip to the dealership, often multiple times for the same problem. Gearbox, diff, computer, oil solenoid, temp sensor, fuel pump, control modules, etc...

With about 17 months and 40K miles, I done with it. Picked up a Fucus ST today. Equally fun drive minus the all wheel drive. Much more powerful but a little less "cool factor". Interior is amazing and technology inside and out is great.

Wish all of you the best of luck. I know most of you won't have the depth of problems that I did. Thanks to all who answered questions and participate on this forum who help and assist others with difficult choices and educating thru experience.

 

Fair winds and following seas.

Enjoy the Ford Focus Message Board.

 

Good luck!

 

"Fucus ST"? Must have still been thinking about the problems you had with your CM? Fucus indeed. Anyway, good luck with the Focus. I hope it doesn't become a Fucus!

 

That's the cabernet talking, not the car.

 

Best of luck with the ST. I drove one and it was definitely fun!

 

Buh Bye.

 

definitely should have better luck with the Ford. Considering how much you drive, you should probably pick something that has more of a dealer network to fix. 17months and 40k miles? That's a lot.

Wonder if the new focus has as many electronics as my 12 explorer? Apparently that thing has well over 100 sensors. Got the extended maintnance and warranty package on it.

 

i think i can speak for everyone when i say that i'm wondering how the resale value of my countryman will hold up. so spill the beans.

how much did you pay? how much did you get?

thanks!

 

I wasn't to rough on the sales dept on my trade since I was getting a fantastic deal on the ford, so others could probably do better if they shopped more than 2 dealers.
There were two problems I saw happening. First I think they were suspicious of why someone would want to be rid of it in less than 2 years.
Second, They had no idea how to value it. Despite all the books you want to look at, there is very little actual sales data for them.
I took 21.5K for it. Again, I probably could have gotten a bit more if I wanted to fight for it. I did have a cracked windshield and tires were going to need to be replaced before summers end.
They did kind of hint that had I not been using the XPlan to buy the ST, they'd be more likely to give a little more on the trade (kind of irritated me and I called them on that shinanigans. I'd had it though and wanted to be done with it.
MSRP on the mini was 32.5K I think.

 

thanks traprock. that's very helpful. as time goes on we'll need more of this resale info...

 

The ST is ALL electronics. Electronic steering, electronic LSD, torque vectoring. I did get the extended 5yr/125K warranty.

 

I have heard this before too. Is there a what to haggle the trade-in first and agree upon that before getting the new car price "haggled" with an X or A plan? I know the plan prices are set but if you can score a better deal on the trade-in, that sure would be nice for future reference.

Did the X plan help much? Some models it can save a little and others, A LOT!

 

good luck with it. i almost picked one of these up before i got my clubbie, but i couldn't get a good deal on my trade in. i went to two different ford dealers and both tried to screw me, which i find really funny since i was trading in a ford. mini gave me a much better deal.

the focus is a fun car to drive, i just hear terrible things about the mysync........

 

The X-Plan helped a lot. I'm sure you can do better if you wanted to fight the good fight but I have no stomach for salesmen or dealerships. Whenever I'm in one, I feel the need for a shower. I'm happy with a fair deal and don't have it in me to waste hours negotiating and haggling with vermin for that last bit of cheese.
I think X gets you a bit under invoice and still allows you to then take whatever public incentives there are. In my case it was $500+$500.

 

We've had the whole computer replaced once but other than that the my sync has been fine. I know others hate it, but it's been getting better every update.

 

Just and update for any Countryman owners. The '12 All4 I traded in for my ST is still on the dealer lot reduced from 24K down to less than 21K. They're advertising it for less than the trade in I was given. Might not be good for Countryman resale projections or maybe just a fluke.

 

Wow. Mine was CPO'd and was on the lot for less than a week at asking price of 28k. They kept all my upgrades including the hella driving lights and even the VIP heat shield that the service dept had a fit about.

Hope the Focus ST is treating you better than the CM.

 

Agreed, it's a great car, a real blast to drive. I loved everything about it (except the touch screen.)

I don't blame you for bailing on the CM. Sounds like a nightmare. Best of luck!

 

Maybe nobody wants to buy a countryman with that many miles or the dealership just isn't advertising it right. They most likely don't even know anything about it. I love when I run into those dealers. It cracks me up.

 

I'm sure it would have sold faster at a mini dealer. It's at a huge and very well respected Ford dealer in New York. My only point was that while I was initially not thrilled with the trade-in I got, it is now for sale well below black book price and still not selling. Also, being a manual, maybe it is excluding a lot of buyers.