My Fiancee bought a new car...I hate it! Advice Needed!

[E-Sabbath]

Ah, is the same chassis plan as the Mazda 323. They’re not quite identical, but they’re close. Here’s a cite. The next Focus that comes out will be identical again, but I don’t think they’re changing over in 2005, either, annoyingly. I think the Focus has the new engine in it, though, which explains the death of the SVT, it would have been the only Ford to use that engine left. I’m not pleased by the, is it ST? that replaced the SVT, though. For one thing, coupe, not hatch. I like hatches.

[The_Unkempt_One]

@Medea's Child

So, how’d the discussion go?

Well, we are keeping the focus. She is going to drive around all of her oozing, homeless clients in it, and I will continue to drive the Buick.

We had a rather long discussion about consulting each other before finalizing big decisions like this, and we both agree that things should have been handled a bit differently this time.

At least we now have a workable solution which will allow her to get to and from work with a reasonable degree of reliability. She is happy with the car, and I can certainly live with driving around the Buick for a while longer. It has treated me well…and it is so comfortable, much like driving around a nice sofa.

However, when it comes time to purchase our next car, chances are that I will have much more sway when it comes to picking it out. I am thinking a van might be nice…something with leather captain’s seats, running lights, and perhaps a little fridge and microwave in the back. And a luggage rack…a BIG luggage rack.

[chaparralv8]

@Stranger On A Train

:choke:

YMMV, but this is entirely contrary to my experience. I’ve driven an '02 330xi, and the couple of afformentioned Foci, and there is just no comparison whatsoever. The Ford is like every other mini-econo with crappy stock tires and a rather sloppy, dead feeling in cornering. OTOH, one of the local performance driving schools in this area uses the Focus because it’s cheap and, in their opinion, the best handling of its class. Maybe so, but I’ll take a BMW 3 Series, Audi A4, or Subaru Impreza/Legacy over it any day for handling.

I have to agree, though, that Honda has really dead-sticked the Civic into its current design path. It used to be a really great handling rollerskate that could be improved even more by some aftermarket performance parts. Now that all the riceboys are putting buzzbomb mufflers and dropped anti-performance suspension kits on them, I guess they figured they don’t need to make a good handling car anymore. Too bad; the old Civics with the front wishbones were wonderful. The new strut suspension? As bad as anything out there.

I’d still take the Honda over the Ford for reliability, though, unless evidence shows otherwise.

Stranger

Was the Focus you tried the ST/SVT version? I’m assuming that’s what they got, and I drove the 325xi and Focus ST pretty much back-to-back.

I’m in the process of trying to find a nice, rust-free, older Honda cheap. I had a CRX that was great until it disintegrated; I’m looking for another.

[vetbridge]

@The Unkempt One

Right now my main concern is trying to figure out what we can do to get rid of this car. I hate this Focus so much that I would not mind losing a little money on the deal if it meant we could be rid of it.

It would probably be easier to get rid of the fiancee. Just an observation.

[MaryEFoo]

This long article about how selling cars is done (in Kansas…at one high-pressure and one low-pressure lot) might be of interest, maybe for both the OP and the OP’s fiancee.

The education available from this incident might be worth a good part of the $13,000. If you can’t do anything else about an incident, you can figure out how to see it coming and not repeat it.
And as a postscript, there are a lot of slams in this thread about someone who no one here knows anything about.