To offer the other side of the Ford picture - growing up, we always had Fords and I never recall having transmission probs. In my own adulthood, I’ve had: '89 Aerostar, '93 Escort, '97 Aerostar. Both Aerostars towed a 3000# sailboat, and the escort dragged around a large PWC. The two older vehicles went over 100K and the current Aerostar is about to turn over 90K - never a transmission prob with any of them. FWIW…
Frog, good point I overlooked. These were all automatics, we’ll take that as a good omen.
And you are right about the price, it seems like a lot of car for under 15 G’s. Good luck, lets hope its a pussy magnet.
Somehow I doubt that. Have you seen a Focus? It’s not exactly the most masculine looking car. Add me behind the wherl and it becomes more of a pussy repellent, I think.
FCM… Ford has had a number of problems with automatic transmissions (as did Chrysler). Our 88 Aerostar has had it’s tranny replaced as did our 91 Spirit. Our mechanic tells me that this is a common failure with certain models and this is something I checked before I bought the van.
Here’s a tip… If you by an early 80’s Ford or Chrysler with an automatic tranny you can almost guarantee that the factory torque converter will go by 100,000 km. Once repaired they are okay.
If your van has hit the 90,000 km mark you might be looking at having some transmission problems down the road especially since you use it for towing. I have heard that transmission failure is one of the biggest complaints with Aerostars. That and leaking power steering pumps…
ROFL!!! Thanks for that laugh Crunch. Almost busted a gut.
I’m a bit of a car enthusiasts and though I didn’t catch this thread soon enough to share my opinion I have to say that you picked one of the best automotive values on the road today.
I might also have recommended the Alero. Yes, GM is fairly uninspired these days but the Alero and the Intrigue are somewhat under rated in my opinion. I think they are well balanced cars.
Hyunday would have been another good choice. Good cars with the best warranty in the business. Not exciting but very well equiped for the price.
My personal preference would have been a VW Jetta but the Ford Focus is almost as good in many areas. It has an interesting look once you are used to it too. I don’t think you need to worry about any major maintenance issues with this car for many years to come.
The best advice I can give you is to change the oil and filter at 3000 mile intervals - never mind if the manual says every 5000. You can’t hurt it my changing more often and it goes a long way towards long term engine reliability.
Flush and replace engine coolant and break break fluid every two years. Ask your dealer how often he recommends the changing of transmission fluid and then do it twice as often, more if you actually tow things.
Enjoy it and drive safely.
Thanks QuickSilver
I’m already mentally making the plans on how well I’ll take care of the car. It’s my first brand new car and I don’t plan on treating it the way I did the used cars I owned in the past. I already told my GF that there will be no smoking in the car, no eating in the car. Drinks will be ok though.
She’s teasing me now about being obsessed with the car. Tonight, when I go to see her (she hasn’t seen the new car yet) I’m gonna bring a pair of slippers and make her take off her shoes and wear the slippers if she wants to ride in the car. I’m getting a lint brush and tell her to use it on herself before getting into the car. I’m also gonna get a Dustbuster and clean the seat again after she gets out. I’m trying to think of some other rules for the car, the more outrageously obsessive sounding the better. I just want to see how far I can push this before she tells me that’s enough.
Actually, she’ll probably put an end to it as soon as she sees the slippers.
Now this I would pay cash money to see!
Crunchy - get some hand sanitizer and make her use it before she touches anything as those girl germs are hard on the finish.
After she touches anything make sure you have some Armour All to wipe things down with too. You can’t have any fingerprints left after taking your gal out.
Since you already have a gal the car will keep you from attracting any unwanted female attention. [sub] is there such a thing?[/sub]
My ex hated the fact that I drove a Camaro as she thought it would attract hot young babes. I was actually more of a chick magnet when I drove my Beetle, that might have had something to do with age. I am sure the women find me irresistable when they see me driving the van with the dual baby seats.
That goes without saying.
As long as you limit “drinks” to bottled water.
Wimmins! They’ll never understand. But they like a sparkly new car, don’t they? How the hell do you think we keep 'em that way, huh ladies?!
Slippers, vacuum and the lint brush are a great touch. If you really want to make her crazy, make her wear white gloves whenever she’s inside the car too. Also place a towel on her seat before she sits down. Refer to the car as she and give it a girl’s name. Finally, no matter how gently she shuts that door, announce loudly, “Quit slamming those doors! It’s not a barn you know!!!”
I won’t say that I’m anal about my cars. I’ll quote my 4 year old daughter instead. It was my turn to playi chauffeur to her and two of her school friends during a school field trip. The kids all got a treat from the firefighters on their way out of the firestation. Before the other two kids got a chace to unwrap their suckers my daughter proudly announced to them “Don’t open your candy until you get to school. No one is allowd to eat in our cars!”
I’m so proud of my little baby girl! <sniff> Words like that just warm the heart, don’t they. <sniff, sob> 
The Focus is a nice car, good choice. It’s a big improvement from the old Escort (I know, damning with faint praise) taking a lot of the good stuff from the Mondeo/Contour. I particularly like the wagon and may consider it for my next car.
Saturn doesn’t haggle on price, although that may change some if the market dictates it. Still, don’t worry about MSRP, worry about how much you pay for what you get. Even with bargining (and I’m pretty good at it) the car was competitively priced (ie, lower) compared to the competition. And the dealer treated me very well in addition.
Actually, I’d change the oil at the first 1000 miles. It’s overkill these days, but I got in the habit with other cars and will probably continue it.
Telemark - I didn’t have to haggle with the price much at all. They’re trying to get the 2000’s off the lot so I got it for $1 over invoice.
Should I start a new thread for things to drive my GF crazy about the car?
I think I will, I’ll be back with a link shortly.
That was true for older cars but not so much these days. Tollerances are much closer on today’s engines and less junk seems to be left behind in the manufacture process. Another thing to consider (and you have to check with the manufacturer for the given model because it varies) is that the first batch of oil that is in brand new cars contains additives which aid in the break-in of the engine. Replacing that oil too soon can prolong proper break-in period. Again, I can’t be sure this is the case for Ford but it is often the case for many imported cars. At least that’s the information I collected from some car enthusiast boards I’m on.
Ok, please put any ideas for bugging my GF here:
http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=46997
thanks.
BTW - I the OP, it’s not the Neon I won. That’s a typo. It should be the Neon I own.
QS, I know. In fact I made that argument on this board somewhere at one point. But it’s hard for me to get out of the habit.
I LOVE MY SATURN! Granted, I’ve only had it about a month. But it’s my first car, and the experience was great. I got it used from a Saturn dealership, and spent a lot of time finding The One for me – I went to 3 dealers in the area. They were all great, and none high-pressure. It’s a great little car, and they last – the Saturn people have had to start giving out “200,000 miles and still going strong!” awards, instead of just 100,000 miles.
They’re also one of the least-stolen cars in the country, even though the S-series is only a step down from the Honda Civic and the Toyota Camry (which are the most-stolen cars in the country).
I highly recommend you at least look into getting a Saturn. My incredibly hard-to-win-over future-father-in-law, a die-hard Honda and Toyota fan, was won over by the Saturns. If you knew him, that would be enough to convince you!
I’d be more than willing to give you more info if you’re interested, but I got most of my info from the Saturn website.