New Car Fever

[kresh_8]

It's time; I need a new car. I've had an 04 focus see for 10 years. It's my first car. She was reliable and cheap. And now she has 170k miles and is falling apart. I have a new baby, a wife, and a boring non-reliable car. I have 20k to spend. I want to spend around 15. A dealer has a 2010 sho. However, my mechanic (spent 10 years with the guy, him and my father showed me everything) tells me to avoid the 2010 unless I can always get a lift to myself. I found a 2010 sho at 64k miles, going for 16g. It ran very well. No alignment issues, from what I could tell letting go of the wheel, everything was good from a quick view. Only issue was a small amount of misalignment on the driver side door. However, it had a recall for that door and it was fixed at a dealership. I love the car, but I'm worried about reliability and why someone would ever sell this car. What should I look for with my mechanic? We have 2 hours scheduled to look at it this week. I want to get to business and find the major red flags. So far were doing the regular. We'll be lifting it to check out the turbos and look for oil. I'll be driving it for an hour to get there, if there is one it will show up. All vins match, no recorded history on the vehicle, checked every accessory for problems as well, no trans slips, no clunks (haven't checked oil yet), no misalignment in the dash, no custom parts, few scratches on the rims, 2 chips in the windshield, front has some high speed chips from rocks.


I'm always open for other suggestions. I want a fun, reliable car, I can fix most issues for a great price, and it needs to be family friendly. I'm a picky bitch with a need, please, give me your opinion.


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[kresh_8]

List of cars I've looked at:
04 to 08 forester xt
Fiesta st
Fusions (with a turbo)
Mazda speeds
Accords (don't bust my balls)
Legacy gt
Impreza (boring)


I want to upgrade slightly; nothing fancy. Just cosmetics, maybe 5000 in performance. A sho is my desire so far. All those cheap upgrades for so much gain are a massive bonus.


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[glockcoma]

Check for oil in the CAC, fluid levels in the PTU and RDU.
Check all turbo piping and associated clamps, rubber connectors for cracks and tears.
Check for tsb's that have been completed. Your mechanic might have access to this info.
The recall that was performed was probably for the interior door latch mechanism (I had all 4 replaced on my 2010) not for replacement of the door or hinges, so I would question why the alignment would be off.


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[kresh_8]

Me too. It was just the plastic trim
on the bottom of the driver side. It was only 4cm off. Is that a decent price for the mileage?


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[glockcoma]

Hard to say about price, it all depends. How long has it been on their lot?
What kind of dealer is it?

 

[C2_SHO]

I bought a 2010 non PP SHO with 86k miles on it and before purchasing I did a lot of research here in the forums to see what are the main issues these cars see. I was really nervous with the miles but found that there are quite a few out there that are running fine as long as you do your preventative maintenance. The items that glockcoma mentioned are the main things. I also changed out the oil as soon as I got it, even though the dealership said they did it, as I feel better that it was done right. I am glad they are giving you lift time as inspection of the hoses for cracks, oil spray, etc. will give you some indication of what you may be looking at replacing. I have heard of others getting an additional warranty mainly for piece of mind so that may be an option to you. Biggest things are get a Carfax report and don't rush into anything especially if it is a too good to be true deal. Good luck car hunting and if you have any questions the members of this forum are far and away the best there is in helping out.

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[sperold]

What extended warranties are included in the price.
Any fixes will be expensive if you are on your own.
The big things to note are the turbos, any driveline vibrations, and any transmission shutters. All of these are big dollar issues, as there is no avoiding the dealership and their hourly rates.
Take your time and go back over this forum and get to know the issues that have surfaced over the years, and each grouping of cars have different issues. I think the early models had knock sensor problems due to wire chaffing, but was relatively easy to fix.
Good luck.

Many people have reported good discounts off the new sticker price using bare knuckle negotiations at the end of the month and with no trade-in.
A new SHO priced in the 40s is more attractive than a used one in the 20s (which is where you will be soon enough with this one).

 

[SilverSH0]

What extended warranties are included in the price.
Any fixes will be expensive if you are on your own.
The big things to note are the turbos, any driveline vibrations, and any transmission shutters. All of these are big dollar issues, as there is no avoiding the dealership and their hourly rates.
Take your time and go back over this forum and get to know the issues that have surfaced over the years, and each grouping of cars have different issues. I think the early models had knock sensor problems due to wire chaffing, but was relatively easy to fix.
Good luck.

Many people have reported good discounts off the new sticker price using bare knuckle negotiations at the end of the month and with no trade-in.
A new SHO priced in the 40s is more attractive than a used one in the 20s (which is where you will be soon enough with this one).

If one really wants to they can change their turbos by themselves. The rear one is fairly involved and takes a lot of time but you don't need to go to the dealer for them. But overall, I agree those are the big things I would check.

 

[markathome]

Glocoma is spot on.
My 2010 has been fine.
There are some real annoyances in those TSB's, and if they aren't done, you might not be happy.
Also of note, my driver's door is slightly misaligned at the fender, came from factory like that.

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[kresh_8]

I've been researching on forums for 2 days. Turbos, pt fluid, oil, trans, all the usual were looking at tomorrow.

The dealership is a smaller one. They specialize in classic sports cars. I was told it was traded in for a raptor. Wheels are at 80%, they're continentals. No warranties sadly. Which is why I'm asking for suggestions.

There weren't any shudders or slips. The engine didn't overheat on a 30 min drive. Brakes were responsive, though I'll be upgrading them when they go out since the car is so heavy. The idle fan noise was a bit loud. Nothing extreme just noticeable.



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[SHOdded]

Did you have A/C or MAX A/C on when you noticed the fan noise?

 

[yo tony]

I have 83k on mine with quite a few modifications and 50ish passes at the track on it. No problems

 

[sperold]

If you can contact the original owner, it will go a long way to relieve any apprehension. It should be possible to find him. The Raptor story would be a good start. The problem with that story is - it suggests that the original owner was not a retired gentleman only interested in cruising.
You may buy it and have absolutely no issues and never need a visit to the dealership.
Or it could go sour and you encounter a number of issues, either electrical, electronic or mechanical.

I would proceed if you can get a read on the original owner.

 

[ridered74]

What part of the country are you in? I bought my 11 a little over a year and a half ago. It had a lot more miles on it than 95% of the cars that I was looking at, but it also came with a price tag close to 5 grand cheaper than everything else. I figured that 5 grand would go towards the first major repair and 35,000 miles later I'm still waiting for it to happen and haven't been paying interest on that extra 5 grand that I didn't have to finance. I turned 136,000 miles today on it, still drives like a fairly new car.

I know of a high mileage 2010 in northern ohio that is listed at under 10K at a dealer. Most people are afraid of a high mileage car, but I've had extremely good luck in my lifetime buying nothing but that. I'd rather have a car that has been driven and maintained properly than a car that sits around more than it's driven, or only driven on short drives.

 

[SilverSH0]

Instead of worrying about the previous owner and how they drove the car I find the easiest way to judge a car is by it's condition. Obviously depending on the dealer this can be difficult if they have done a full detail. But look around at the car for things that cannot be detailed out. Look under the hood to see its condition. Look at the underbody of the car to see what it looks like. Look inside to see if there are scratches to panels, seats, etc. I personally believe that if you find a vehicle that is clean inside and out and has no scratches that indicates it was well taken care of by the previous owner. I believe that even a well driven car that's taken care of is better than a babied car that's not taken care of.

I bought my 2010 SHO with 68k miles on it. The thing was clean inside and out. No rust on the underside (car from Cleveland indicated it wasn't driven in the winter), no curb rash on the tires, not a scratch on the dash, seats, or outside. The car looked immaculate inside and out. Knock on wood, I've had great luck with the car so far and it's been great.

 

[2012korn]

64k for a 2010 is quite low miles actually. I bought my '12 with the same mileage and while I was aware of the potential issues that might be there. I figured it was nothing a nice long test drive wouldn't reveal. And since it was cpo I also figured ford wasn't going to warranty a car they felt would cost them money right away.
And since I do all my own work anyway, at 64k and then proper preventative maintenance after I bought it, will result in a car that I have no doubt will be reliable for at least another 100 to 150k.

 

[rubydist]

it is against federal regulations for the dealer to provide you with the prior owner's information including name due to federal privacy rules. there is a hefty fine for violations so the dealer is unlikely to give you any of that.