Offered for auction today is my 2004 Ford Focus SE wagon. I bought this car on eBay on 9 July 2010 from a small dealer in Dover, NJ. I am the second owner and have given the car a great deal of attention and TLC for the three years that I have owned it. I have always been diligent with maintenance. It has never been in an accident, which you will see on the AutoCheck report and Carfax, if you choose to buy a Carfax report. When I bought the car it had just over 48,000 miles on it, so the first owner averaged about 8,000 miles a year. It has just over 96,000 miles on it now, which comes to just over 10,000 miles a year since it's manufacture date, so this is a very low mileage car.

This first generation Focus is one of the most important cars in recent automotive history, which is why I bought it in the first place. Compared to any other small, family car of the same age, this is the best driver's car. Ford designed what they called a "control blade" rear suspension for this car, a multi-link, semi independent design. The result was very crisp tracking through turns. For the price point, this feature was a first. Additionally, it has a quick steering ratio, at only two turns lock-to-lock. Turn in is sharp and understeer is minimal. The steering has a nice weight, but isn't overly sporty ("Hard to turn," as my wife would say about her sister's BMW). These drivers' qualities left the rest of the market segment scrambling to catch up, including the big players from Europe. The first generation Focus was the class of the market for years, and continues to define what is important in the segment 15 years after first being released. The only other performance note is about the engine. When the car was first released in 1998, the main complaint was that it was a bit anemic. The first engines were SOHC, 8 valve 2.0L engines. By 2004, the Focus had an available DOHC, 16 valve aluminum head, good for about 140 bhp - my car has the more powerful engine. This major upgrade solved the power problem for the first generation car.

In terms of design, this Focus set in motion front end design cues that continue today with its steeply raked A pillar and windshield, and large headlights that wrap into the front quarter panels. Additionally, the roofline is sloped slightly rearward and the car is generally high waisted in profile, lending a very sleek look to the wagon. To me, the wagon was the best looking model of the family. Add to the looks its much larger trunk capacity, and this is the model you want to have.

It has been nice talking about why you should buy a first generation Focus wagon. Here's why you should buy MY first generation Focus wagon:

MILEAGE. At just over 96k, my car has been driven on average only about 10k miles a year since manufacture. The amount of wear and tear is minimal at this car's KBB value and condition
MAINTENANCE. I have been diligent in my care of this car. At 60k miles, I did a full service that included tie-rod ends, automatic transmission filter kit, and valve cover gasket. At 81k miles I put a new set of tires on the car and had the brakes inspected. The braking system passed inspection and the shop cleaned the brake hardware. I installed a new alternator and Bosch battery at 86k miles. I have routinely performed oil changes at manufacturer recommended 5,000 mile intervals using only Ford Motorcraft 5-20 oil. The first generation Focus had a thermostat housing that tended to fail. Mine was no different and I had it replaced at about 70k miles. I also replaced the tensioner pulley and serpentine belt at the same time. I have also replaced the turn signal stalk with a new one - another Focus part that tended to fail. YOU WILL SEE IN THE PHOTOS A HAZY HEADLIGHT LENS. When I took these photos, I was in the middle of restoring the passenger side headlight lens with a 3M lens restoration kit. The light was starting to fade so I had to go snap the photos before finishing the job. I have since finished it and the lens is now crystal clear.
ENGINE. My Focus wagon has the uprated engine option that I mentioned earlier. The more powerful engine gives you everything you need when it is time to pass on the freeway or make a quick lane change.
ECONOMY. I have been making a long commute to work in the last 6 months. I have averaged almost 31 mpg on the highway. That isn't Prius territory, but it's close. And a Prius costs a lot more to both buy and maintain.

Like any used car, mine isn't without flaws. There are dents on the rear quarter panels above the tires. There are flaws in the paint on both front and rear bumpers. There are small scratches on the car in the normal spots, but none that I have seen go through the clear coat. There is a rust spot on the driver's side rear door sill. I mentioned at the top of this write-up that the first owner lived in New Jersey. As a result of winter conditions, some brackets have gotten rusted underneath the car but the undercarriage as a whole is in perfect condition - the rustproofing has held up very well over the last ten years. Also, the factory exhaust system is showing its age, but it still works perfectly. The next big maintenance job to be performed is changing the timing belt, but that is still over 20k miles down the road. This car has the Blaupunkt stereo option. The screen on the face of the radio is flawed (as you can see in the photos), but everything still works well, you just have to study the screen for a bit to read it. When I bought the car, the driver's floormat was missing and I haven't replaced it. Also, the lid to the center console has a broken latch. I have bought two used center consoles on eBay to replace it, but both were broken in the same way that mine was broken. It is a case of a part being over-engineered and under-built. As far as I know, there isn't a cheap and easy fix, you just have to keep looking for used OEM parts for replacement.

INCLUDED IN THIS AUCTION are the servo motor, throttle cable, and steering wheel switches to install a factory cruise control system. Since I bought the car, adding factory cruise control was a project that I wanted to do but never got around to finishing up. The parts missing are a brake sensor shut-off switch and the harness that ties the servo into the main wiring loom. I replaced the steering wheel with a factory one that is built to accept the cruise control button banks. The original steering wheel had gotten a bit knackered over time, but the current one is ship shape, as you can see in the photos.

I believe I have mentioned everything I can about this car. If there are any other questions, please ask, and I'll be happy to answer them.

I have this wonderful car for sale locally, so I reserve the right to end the auction at my discretion. It is local pick-up only. If you want to transport it, I will assist with that. I just bought a car from a dealership that was 1,000 miles away, and I used Ameristar transport to get it here. I found that company using uship.com. Ameristar cost me about 20% less than their competitors quoted me. If you are coming from out of town and fly in to drive it home, I would be willing to pick you up at either Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson or Greenville-Spartanburg airports. If you flew into an airport that is closer to Athens, GA than that, I would pick you up there too.

Best of luck, and enjoy your new car!

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Ford Mustang pinball machine has supple wrist, plays by sense of smell [w/video]

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Autocar pits Formula Ford against Germany's finest

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That's stressed in this video from Autocar, with the mag going so far as to show the car's tax disc and license plates. Being a road-legal offering, it's tempting to see just how well an open-wheeler that delivers racecar-like performance while also netting over 100 miles per gallon (assume this is on the British cycle, for obvious reasons) stacks up against modern performance cars.
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2004 Ford Focus Se Wagon 4-door 2.0l on 2040-cars

Ford Focus for Sale