So, my car is driving me batty. I have a 2006 Ford Focus sedan, bought new. It’s got under 35,000 miles on it, and that includes moving OH-AZ and AZ-GA. Since I got to Georgia in 2010, it’s been regular trouble, particularly electrical trouble.
Fall 2010: New battery & alternator
Late fall 2010/winter 2011: Another new alternator (warranty replacement of the first replacement)
summer 2011: Battery & alternator replaced (I was in New Orleans and needed to get home.
Summer 2011 - Ford dealership supposedly finds nothing wrong.
*18 lovely months of mostly trouble free driving *
January 2013: New battery
April 8 2013, I wake up to a dead battery. My mechanic (new after the 2011 issues) is all of 1 block away, and since today was a vacation day, that’s where my car is (not that it’s what I planned to do today, but it’s what I’m doing).
All of this is leading to: it’s time to look for another car. It’s not going to happen immediately, but I’m going to start watching and deciding what kinds I’m interested in. Things that are important to me:
Small - hatchback, preferably. Maybe Honda Fit size?
Likely to find it as a manual transmission - I got talked out of it with the focus and I miss it.
Not a Ford. I will never buy another one again.
Other than that, I’m flexible - it doesn’t have to be new, but I do want reliable. Tell me about your small car.
I adore my Honda Fit. It has a ton more room than you think when you look at it. It’s got the most room in its class. It’s got huuuuuuuuuge windows. It’s really high, high enough that my 6 foot boyfriend no longer brushes his head on the ceiling. The back seats lay completely flat, giving lots of room. The hatchback is soooooooo convenient for loading things in. It has an adorable beep. It has a lovely chime when you take the seatbelt off or when you pull out with the parking brake on. And it has ten, TEN cup holders.
I got a Mazda2 last year, and I adore it. Mine’s red too.
It’s a 5 speed manual, and if I behave myself I can get 40 mpg. My only minor beef is that the fast speed on the windshield wipers isn’t all that different from the regular speed, and that the tires are apparently a unique size, so currently there’s a limited choice out there. That is supposed to change shortly… I hope.
I’ve got 30+k on it already and it’s not had a problem at all. I got a helluva deal on it because it’s a manual, and they don’t sell well around here. I also got it w/ 0% financing, which is why I went with brandy new.
Love my little car!
(FWIW, I had an old Focus hatch that I adored too, drove that into the ground)
When my commute increased from 7 to 25 miles one way a couple of years ago, I bought a Hyundai Elantra for the mileage efficiency. It has been a very sound automobile for its first 26,000 miles, even surprising me with its ability to handle the (eastern) mountain interstates.
Oh, and I bought my Fit for just under 17000 - after taxes, DMV fees, and everything else. I got a really good deal. I traded in my old car and that cut the price down even more, but that is a pretty cheap car.
Mazdaspeed3, same basic car as a Mazda 3 with some extra goodies. I like the 4-door hatchback format, it has a good amount of room for passengers and I can fold down the back seats and carry 2 bikes or furniture. It is easy to drive and park, and handles very well. Only downsize of the speed version is the turbocharged engine is thirsty and I only get 27MPG highway. But the regular Mazda3 gets much better mileage, especially with the new Skyactiv engine, up to 40MPG highway.
As far as your Focus, it does seem like you’re having more battery issues than normal, although many people do only get 2 years out of a battery. Are you replacing the batteries and alternators with Motorcraft (Ford) parts? On my Ford Contour I got 6 years out of a Motorcraft battery. I’m not saying Motorcraft batteries are the only good ones but as compared to, for example, Advance Auto batteries they seem to be much better.
That is a pretty good deal. I could’ve gotten mine for that, but I went a little crazy on options. My advice:
The stock Fit is a great car. It has great headroom and with the back seats down can carry a ton of stuff. I got the sports package which I kind of regret because the upgraded rims are some weird size nobody carries and cost a fortune for replacement tires. For the same price I could’ve gotten bluetooth/navi (my wife got it on her civic) which is far more useful.
The sports Fit pissed me off. “Sports” my ass. It didn’t have a better engine or anything more sporty on it at all. It just had a spoiler and better rims and some other crap. The only reason I wanted it was the color I really wanted (that coppery color) was only available in it, but don’t sell me a sports car that has NOTHING sporty in it but aesthetics! So I went with blue raspberry.
I do love my small car (Saturn SL1) but they don’t make them anymore. I bought it in 1997.
Also, it had the same alternator problem your Ford had for the first five or six years I owned it; it needed a new alternator maybe four times, one of which was when we were out of town, like your New Orleans experience. I was complaining to my son’s friend’s dad in 2003 about it, and he said he had a motorcycle building friend who did custom alternators that fixed this problem. I called the guy, got the custom alternator (only about 50% more than the previous alternator replacements) and that alternator has lasted a decade.
So something to consider if you can’t find a new car you want.
I love, love, love my Honda Fit 2009 Sport Nav. I don’t give a crap about the “sport” part of it, I never try to drive it that way. But I love the navigation, I love the zippy engine, and the storage is phenomenal. I can store more in that thing that my husband can in his Lexus SUV.
I have a Mini Cooper Clubman S. It’s smaller than all the cars listed here, but I love it. It has 4 seats plus storage in the back, we’ve taken it on road trips, camping, etc. It is surprisingly roomy and a blast to drive. I love it.
Our Honda Fit is the 2009 model, we’ve had it since new. It’s been very reliable - the only problem not caused by an accident was the fuel door latch, which became difficult to open and was replaced under warranty. The onboard computer claims it’s been averaging 43 mpg, though I think it reads a bit high (the few times I actually measured it, it was somewhere around 38 mpg).
We haven’t really pushed its storage capacity since we also have a pickup truck, but I know it’s big enough for taking 3 guests to the airport (i.e. driver + 3 passengers + 3 roll-aboard suitcases). It also has a lot of headroom - something I didn’t appreciate until I rented a Ford Focus hatchback on a recent business trip and was surprised at how cramped it felt.
Thanks for the suggestions so far - I hadn’t even thought of Mazda as an option. Since my car’s not dead, I’m going to be taking my time on this - setting aside a decent down payment and getting myself back on the budget I need to be on if I’m going to have a car payment again. But I am going to start test driving, and probably have a conversation with my credit union.
I appreciate all the suggestions - and will absolutely welcome others as well.
Last time I shopped for a car, I learned that the “sport” model is generally the one configured for a “sporty” handling. Which usually means thin tires on larger rims, and possibly stiffer suspension. Almost always it means a harsh ride. The Fit is no exception - the standard model has 15-inch rims, the Sport has 16-inch rims.
I’ve got a 2006 Scion xA and it has been, by far, my most favoritest car evar!!! Sadly, they no longer make the xA and I don’t know anything about the xD, which sorta looks like it.
Like the Fit, my Scion hauls a lot of stuff - I love that the back seat goes down flat. I love that I sit high in it - I hate little cars where your ass is almost on the floor. I love the instrument cluster in the middle of the dashboard. I’ve got over 100K miles on it. When I was commuting every day, I got close to 40MPG. Even tho we no longer need as many vehicles as we have, I’m keeping my Scion till it dies.
The first two were at a local to me Firestone. The third was at a NOLA one (I moved cross country in June 2010, and I had an existing credit account with them and not any extra cash. After NOLA I found my current mechanic).
You shouldn’t be having all these problems with a 2006 Focus with that low of mileage on it. Change mechanics. Something doesn’t add up. The person upthread that mentioned knowing people that needed to change batteries every two years is wrong in the sense that there’s a root cause there that isn’t the battery. Nobody should have to change their battery that often except maybe under some kind of extreme conditions. There’s certainly something going on with the Focus’ charging system that clearly isn’t the fault of the alternator or battery, if everything you claim is true.
