2009 Ford Focus, Keep or Replace?

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farmrjohn

Pre-takeoff checklist
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farmrjohn
We have a 2009 Ford Focus approaching 175K miles, when it will need a major service and accompanying expense. So far the car has not had any significant issues but has developed assorted rattles and the fuel economy has declined. How many more miles can we expect from it before the reliability drops off? Would it be wise to replace now, assuming we can even find a new car?

Some limitations: The length of the garage is 190" from rear wall to roll up door. The Focus is 175" in length with allows relatively easy parking (no need to walk around either end of the car with the garage door closed). Compact sedans seem to run around 183" or so and would be a bit tighter for parking (not hitting the front wall or closing the door on the rear of the vehicle). Sub compact sedans and SUVs are in the 175" range. We would prefer something reliable, with low cost of operation. If we were to replace it, what would the collective suggest?
 
farmrjohn said:
Some limitations: The length of the garage is 190" from rear wall to roll up door. The Focus is 175" in length with allows relatively easy parking (no need to walk around either end of the car with the garage door closed). Compact sedans seem to run around 183" or so and would be a bit tighter for parking (not hitting the front wall or closing the door on the rear of the vehicle). Sub compact sedans and SUVs are in the 175" range. We would prefer something reliable, with low cost of operation. If we were to replace it, what would the collective suggest?
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If those are your only criteria, Mazda3 (if there's a Mazda dealer near you), Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla, Hyundai Elantra.
 
farmrjohn said:
We have a 2009 Ford Focus approaching 175K miles, when it will need a major service and accompanying expense.
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What major service is this? In all reality if it’s been maintained at least semi responsibly and driven with care, it’s probably got some more life left in it. That 2.0L Duratec is about as bulletproof as they come, I wouldn’t be shocked if you could manage 300,000+ miles out of it.
 
Personally, I'm not a Ford fan. That being said, I like the Ford Focus! Back in the day I had a Focus SE hatch, with the manual trans. I can't remember exactly, but when I bought it, it had well over 300k miles on it. That's 300,000+, when I got it! I drove the heck out of it for a while, then sold it. Like RyanB said, they can't be ULTRA reliable if you take care of it. I'm big on maintenance (grew up in Detroit, family worked for the big 3, lack of maintenance meant disownment), if you stay up on the services, it'll go into 300k easily.
 
With fuel prices spiked as high as they are, I’m happy I have my Tesla Model 3 and city owned utility charging just 6¢/kWH
 
A family member had a 2012 Focus. I like me Fords but that particular year was not a great choice. My older Ford Ranger with the 4 banger and standard trans has 210K miles and is percolating right along at 26 mpg with the air cold enough to make you get out of it. I'm considering buying another car but I don't want to let the Ranger go.

I agree with Roju ... do the maintenance and drive it like you have some sense and they will last a long time. I met a fella recently that has over 400K on his Ford Ranger. I'll drive mine till the wheels turn square and then put some round ones on it. :)
 
AggieMike88 said:
With fuel prices spiked as high as they are, I’m happy I have my Tesla Model 3 and city owned utility charging just 6¢/kWH[/QUOTE
How much did that Tesla cost you?
I can run my Mazda three for 300,000 miles at five dollars a gallon and still come out ahead.
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My daughter just let go of her ’05(?) Focus. Had well over 200k miles and had the ZTS engine. Eventually rust pretty much started causing structural integrity concerns. I really liked driving it, too.
 
farmrjohn said:
… How many more miles can we expect from it before the reliability drops off? Would it be wise to replace now, assuming we can even find a new car?
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Counterpoint: the service is not as expensive as replacing the car.

If you’re going to continue to drive it an average of 13k miles/year, you probably have two years or so of driving to get to 200k miles and maybe see better values in the car market. These days are the only days where it starts to make sense to buy new instead of slightly used.
 
AggieMike88 said:
With fuel prices spiked as high as they are, I’m happy I have my Tesla Model 3 and city owned utility charging just 6¢/kWH
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Yep. Loving $4 and $5 fill-ups on my Kia EV6. :D

TCABM said:
Counterpoint: the service is not as expensive as replacing the car.

If you’re going to continue to drive it an average of 13k miles/year, you probably have two years or so of driving to get to 200k miles and maybe see better values in the car market. These days are the only days where it starts to make sense to buy new instead of slightly used.
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Short of having to replace most of it, service is cheaper. The labor can be a lot, plus not having the car if it needs to be in for days or regularly going in for repairs.

The car market is nuts right now. Used cars are selling high, new cars are selling high and hard to find. I managed to find a new EV6 at MSRP, but I had to work at it, plus fly to VA and drive it home. It was that or pay a $6k - 10k "market adjustment" plus lots of junk fees. With high gas prices the econo cars are selling well, so finding another may not be easy. It worked ok for me as my prior car was only 6 years old, low mileage and in great shape, so I got almost what I paid for it 5 years ago (I bought it one year old). The new one wasn't cheap, even at MSRP.

You may want to consider keeping it a bit longer. With a 13 year old car with 175k miles it may not make much of a dent in the price of a new/newer car, especially right now. :oops:
 
TCABM said:
Counterpoint: the service is not as expensive as replacing the car.
Click to expand...

You are correct, but there is something to be said about reliability and dependability. Both my wife and I's vehicles were getting to be high mileage, and having the usual medley of issues. It was reaching a point where at least once a month one or the other vehicle was going in for some type of repair. That means making the trip to drop off and pick up the vehicle, as well as being down to one vehicle for at least a day or more routinely. We also got to the point of not trusting either vehicle enough to take them far from home.

That is why we made the decision to go ahead and replace one. Normally I wouldn't buy new, but I was able to find a much better deal on a new truck than used back in 2020 at the start of COVID, so we jumped on it. At least now we have one vehicle to depend on.
 
Daleandee said:
A family member had a 2012 Focus. I like me Fords but that particular year was not a great choice. My older Ford Ranger with the 4 banger and standard trans has 210K miles and is percolating right along at 26 mpg with the air cold enough to make you get out of it. I'm considering buying another car but I don't want to let the Ranger go.

I agree with Roju ... do the maintenance and drive it like you have some sense and they will last a long time. I met a fella recently that has over 400K on his Ford Ranger. I'll drive mine till the wheels turn square and then put some round ones on it. :)
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We bought my wife a new 2012 Focus when it came out. That dual clutch transmission was the worst. I'm a long time Ford guy, and that car nearly swore me off of Ford forever.

To the OP, if you have a nice 2009 that you've been maintaining well, I say keep maintaining it, and keep driving it.
 
a572mike said:
We bought my wife a new 2012 Focus when it came out. That dual clutch transmission was the worst. I'm a long time Ford guy, and that car nearly swore me off of Ford forever.
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That's exactly what out problem was. Ford did a couple of software upgrades and finally installed a new computer for the trans and it was "tolerable." Gave the car to one of the children and surprisingly it is working pretty good these days. Another annoyance was the electric motor for the power steering. Ford knows about the problem but didn't address it.

I'm with you as I almost quit with Ford ... but my Ranger has convinced me that sometimes they make a vehicle that will last a long time and be reliable too.
 
midwestpa24 said:
You are correct, but there is something to be said about reliability and dependability...
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I don’t disagree. Depending on the OPs life needs and circumstances, I think a question that should he considered is if their situation warrants buying high.

Maybe it does, I don’t know.
 
a572mike said:
We bought my wife a new 2012 Focus when it came out. That dual clutch transmission was the worst. I'm a long time Ford guy, and that car nearly swore me off of Ford forever.
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yup - the dual clutch I had on my 2014 Fiesta was ka-rap. I got used to it and learned how to avoid the stuttering, but wasn't going to get another car with that pos transmission (regardless of how inexpensive).
 
Bob Noel said:
yup - the dual clutch I had on my 2014 Fiesta was ka-rap. I got used to it and learned how to avoid the stuttering, but wasn't going to get another car with that pos transmission (regardless of how inexpensive).
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Yeah I’ve got one on my GTI, overall it’s alright, but probably not something I’d choose to have again.
 
I'm driving a 180K-mile cucaracha at the moment and I hate it. BUT I am continuing to maintain it because the car market out there makes no sense to me, and I'd be really sad to have to pay $55,000 for a $35,000 car with some unreliable 2011-model ipad integrated into the dash, waiting to fail and disappoint me.

There is a particular sadness, though, to paying $110 at the pump to fill a tired old subaru outback :D
 
a572mike said:
We bought my wife a new 2012 Focus when it came out. That dual clutch transmission was the worst. I'm a long time Ford guy, and that car nearly swore me off of Ford forever.
Click to expand...

That auto clutch system was terrible. We received a Focus for a rental car that had it. I didn't know anything about it, just assumed it was a typical auto transmission. I stopped at an intersection on a pretty decent incline. When I let off the brake to go, I expected the car to hold itself on the hill decently as most automatics do. Instead it immediately rolled backwards about 5 feet, nearly hitting the car behind me, before the clutch engaged and we took off chirping the tires. You would have thought I was driving a manual transmission, badly. I googled the car to discover the new type of transmission in it. Once I knew what I was dealing with, I was better prepared to drive it accordingly.

It also did not do well in parking garages. The low speeds and changing inclines caused it to bog down and hunt gears a lot.
 
Thanks for the replies. Maintenance history on the car is oil changed every 5K miles vs. 7.5K in the maintenance guide. All service done at the dealer, but unfortunately Ford dealers use their own service intervals instead of the one in the factory guide so the fluid changes etc. were at different mileages than the manufacture recommendations. The guide only goes to 150K miles, and doesn't mention timing belt/chain (I don't know what it has). We recently moved so have a different dealer without the cars history, and their computer records don't interact. The new local dealer recommends coolant fluid exchange, brake fluid exchange, new spark plugs, efi fuel system cleaning, alignment, transmission drain and fill, new engine air filter at the next service coming up at 175K.

The suggested cars are in the 184" length range allowing only 6" to work with for parking, how would the shorter Accent or Versa compare quality wise? Or, how would the sub-compact SUVs like CX30, Kona, Crosstrek etc. compare? We can rule out the Corolla because of the iPad like infotainment screen that looks like it's just stuck to the dash and don't care for the ones with Star Wars "stormtrooper" front grills.

It's tough balancing the concern about reliability with the Focus, which we really like, with the challenge of finding a new replacement in the current market.
 
I think in your case I'd just take care of the basic fluids (oil/tranny/coolant/brakes) and go on down the road. Spark plugs depending on when they were last done, but being a 4-banger it likely could be done in your driveway for $50 in parts and 30 minutes of your time. The used car (and new car) market is getting ready to cool off pretty quickly with rapid inflation, higher interest rates, and high fuel costs causing people to rethink buying large SUVs and trucks. If there are no major operational concerns with the Ford Focus at this time, I'd stretch it out another year or two when the price-to-value of vehicles has normalized a bit.
 
farmrjohn said:
We have a 2009 Ford Focus approaching 175K miles, when it will need a major service and accompanying expense. So far the car has not had any significant issues but has developed assorted rattles and the fuel economy has declined. How many more miles can we expect from it before the reliability drops off? Would it be wise to replace now, assuming we can even find a new car?

Some limitations: The length of the garage is 190" from rear wall to roll up door. The Focus is 175" in length with allows relatively easy parking (no need to walk around either end of the car with the garage door closed). Compact sedans seem to run around 183" or so and would be a bit tighter for parking (not hitting the front wall or closing the door on the rear of the vehicle). Sub compact sedans and SUVs are in the 175" range. We would prefer something reliable, with low cost of operation. If we were to replace it, what would the collective suggest?
Click to expand...

There aren't a lot of choices in the subcompact size group any more. One you might look at is the Corolla Hatchback, It's about 173 inches in length, and should be very good on gas. There are a few in stock here. with more expected in the next few weeks. Sedans and hatches are Nissan's Versa is 177 inches in length, and it appears there is inventory, at least in my arrea. Hyundai and KIa have some models in your size range, but there doesn't seem to be any inventory on these. You can go look at some of the subcompact SUVs, I've been up close and personal with a couple of them, and they don't have much space inside, too much is taken up by the larger wheels and tires. Some of the Mini models have a short overall length but their reputation is not very good, reliability wise.


midwestpa24 said:
You are correct, but there is something to be said about reliability and dependability. Both my wife and I's vehicles were getting to be high mileage, and having the usual medley of issues. It was reaching a point where at least once a month one or the other vehicle was going in for some type of repair. That means making the trip to drop off and pick up the vehicle, as well as being down to one vehicle for at least a day or more routinely. We also got to the point of not trusting either vehicle enough to take them far from home.

That is why we made the decision to go ahead and replace one. Normally I wouldn't buy new, but I was able to find a much better deal on a new truck than used back in 2020 at the start of COVID, so we jumped on it. At least now we have one vehicle to depend on.
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This. There comes a point in a vehicle's life where it pretty much stops depreciating, but needs more frequent repairs, and your're not saving very much money by driving the old car. I had a 2002 Focus, and I came to that point when it was 12 years old. It wasn't needing anything expensive, but I wasn't saving enough to justify the extra effort that it was taking. Maybe I could have saved a $500 a year or so over the next few years by hanging onto it, but that wasn't worth it to me.

schmookeeg said:
I'm driving a 180K-mile cucaracha at the moment and I hate it. BUT I am continuing to maintain it because the car market out there makes no sense to me, and I'd be really sad to have to pay $55,000 for a $35,000 car with some unreliable 2011-model ipad integrated into the dash, waiting to fail and disappoint me.

There is a particular sadness, though, to paying $110 at the pump to fill a tired old subaru outback :D
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Could be worse, you could be driving a diesel.:eek:
 
SoonerAviator said:
I think in your case I'd just take care of the basic fluids (oil/tranny/coolant/brakes) and go on down the road. Spark plugs depending on when they were last done, but being a 4-banger it likely could be done in your driveway for $50 in parts and 30 minutes of your time. The used car (and new car) market is getting ready to cool off pretty quickly with rapid inflation, higher interest rates, and high fuel costs causing people to rethink buying large SUVs and trucks. If there are no major operational concerns with the Ford Focus at this time, I'd stretch it out another year or two when the price-to-value of vehicles has normalized a bit.
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Agree, if it drives straight and wears the tires well, skip the alignment. Similarly, if it drives well skip the spark plugs and EFI clean.
 
FormerHangie said:
There aren't a lot of choices in the subcompact size group any more. One you might look at is the Corolla Hatchback, It's about 173 inches in length, and should be very good on gas. There are a few in stock here. with more expected in the next few weeks. Sedans and hatches are Nissan's Versa is 177 inches in length, and it appears there is inventory, at least in my arrea. Hyundai and KIa have some models in your size range, but there doesn't seem to be any inventory on these. You can go look at some of the subcompact SUVs, I've been up close and personal with a couple of them, and they don't have much space inside, too much is taken up by the larger wheels and tires. Some of the Mini models have a short overall length but their reputation is not very good, reliability wise.
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You can do a LOT of maintenance and repairs for most autos for the price of 3 months of car payments. Heck, you can usually replace an entire engine or transmission for less than the cost of 6 months of $500/mo car payments. Rarely do you actually sink enough money into a used vehicle than the new car payments, unless it's just a complete pile of junk or something rare (European sports cars with short-production run engines)

FormerHangie said:
Could be worse, you could be driving a diesel.:eek:
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I feel attacked.
 
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FormerHangie said:
Could be worse, you could be driving a diesel.:eek:
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I'd have a TD outback in a heartbeat If the feds would let me import one. 40mpg, 19 gallon tank, yes daddy! (even at $7/gal). My decrepit mom-wagon has no need for 250hp, she needs torque. The diesel outback we rented in iceland was such a harmonious powertrain fit for this car. I still scheme every so often to try to sneak one past the customs importation goalie, but the penalties are a bit steep.
 
I remember when 100,000 miles was a death knell for an automobile.

A good friend of mine in 1996 said: "Yeah, the Taurus has over 100,000 miles now, so we just use it around town. We won't take a trip with it."

Now I have no problem taking my 220,000+ Chevy Avalanche for a long trip, across the desert, but it's been maintained quite well.

I'm going to keep maintaining it, because it's easier to replace components as-needed, than buy a new equivalent vehicle (used) at today's prices.

To each their own. I won't have a car payment, but I will gladly pay maintenance.
 
farmrjohn said:
We recently moved so have a different dealer without the cars history, and their computer records don't interact. The new local dealer recommends coolant fluid exchange, brake fluid exchange, new spark plugs, efi fuel system cleaning, alignment, transmission drain and fill, new engine air filter at the next service coming up at 175K.
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Get a printout from the previous dealer.
 
farmrjohn said:
The new local dealer recommends coolant fluid exchange, brake fluid exchange, new spark plugs, efi fuel system cleaning, alignment, transmission drain and fill, new engine air filter at the next service coming up at 175K.
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I’d do it all except the alignment, depending on how it’s handling and how the tires are wearing, like Bill said. The suggested service is cheap compared to replacing the whole vehicle in this market.
 
farmrjohn said:
Thanks for the replies. Maintenance history on the car is oil changed every 5K miles vs. 7.5K in the maintenance guide. All service done at the dealer, but unfortunately Ford dealers use their own service intervals instead of the one in the factory guide so the fluid changes etc. were at different mileages than the manufacture recommendations. The guide only goes to 150K miles, and doesn't mention timing belt/chain (I don't know what it has). We recently moved so have a different dealer without the cars history, and their computer records don't interact. The new local dealer recommends coolant fluid exchange, brake fluid exchange, new spark plugs, efi fuel system cleaning, alignment, transmission drain and fill, new engine air filter at the next service coming up at 175K.

The suggested cars are in the 184" length range allowing only 6" to work with for parking, how would the shorter Accent or Versa compare quality wise? Or, how would the sub-compact SUVs like CX30, Kona, Crosstrek etc. compare? We can rule out the Corolla because of the iPad like infotainment screen that looks like it's just stuck to the dash and don't care for the ones with Star Wars "stormtrooper" front grills.

It's tough balancing the concern about reliability with the Focus, which we really like, with the challenge of finding a new replacement in the current market.
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What you've described is stuff that's commonly done in people's driveways, except for the alignment.

I thought you were talking something spendy, like a transmission.

You're still not giving us any budget information. Again, incomplete information, can't make a truly helpful suggestion.
 
farmrjohn said:
The new local dealer recommends coolant fluid exchange, brake fluid exchange, new spark plugs, efi fuel system cleaning, alignment, transmission drain and fill, new engine air filter at the next service coming up at 175K.
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Service writer hit you with the service cannon.

https://haynes.com/en-gb/tips-tutor...nce-guide-2005-2011-petrol-and-diesel-engines

Compare this guide with your past dealer's maintenance logs.

I would opt out of the coolant and brake fluid exchanges. Your previous mx probably had a trans flush done, if the fluid is still bright red no need to change, plugs - see when last done, and alignment IF your tires show odd wear patterns.

Or find a local tire and brake place with a good reputation and have service done there. An honest shop will guide you through what's necessary and prudent, not blast you with the service cannon to meet their monthly service $ goals.

When you get a good value you'll return for more work as necessary, not dread the price and wonder if you need to buy a new car to avoid mx spend.

Also, if you're a couple years out on selling, maintain it accordingly. Why put the 'lifetime' parts on a car you won't have in three years?
 
Rgbeard said:
Allow me to Google that for you:
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Ford doesn’t officially recommend a service interval for the timing chain…Mike Busch/Savvy mx theory there…why touch a chain if it ain’t broke since you’re likely to have to do a bunch of other stuff at the same time at 60-100K which also has some pretty hefty recommended service intervals.

They just engineered though; what would they onow about the need to replace something that may be a low MTBF item with tensioners to help maintain an acceptable operating range?
 
Rgbeard said:
I can’t believe your screenname is Farmer John and you’re having a dealership do your oil changes and supersimple PM.

what am I missing?
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Basically with all of the time required for the farming equipment maintenance and operations I didn't want to hassle with the wife's car. We sold the farm (sounds much better than bought the farm on a flying forum) and moved to the big city, hence the change in dealerships. Our new place doesn't provide the opportunity for diy auto work.

Thanks for the google search (my google-fu sucks but I did find information the Focus "should" be good for 200-250K or more if maintained properly).

Ideally the budget for a replacement vehicle would be less than $30K
 
Keep it another couple of years, and hopefully by then the car market is more normal. Then buy a Honda Civic.
 
Quit going to a dealership now with a higher mileage vehicle- Find a solid local mechanic. The rattles are probably front end stuff - to be expected. I’d say service her up and drive her drive her drive her! Cars are a funds sucker for the pauper and millionaire alike, their only value to me is the miles they move me. I drove my focus to 300k and sold it and seen it around town for a year or more.

I’ve never flushed fluids myself unless I must, and I’d be very cautious flushing a tranny… fluid change debatable but flushes are different and I’ve heard too many horror stories of issues after tranny flushes. change oil- sure, the rest-nope. But that’s just me.
 
Most don’t understand that the dealership service department is in a conflict of interest with the dealership itself.

after 3-5 years they are not incented to keep your car running affordably. So they shotgun you with super-expensive yet simple things. This makes the new car look more interesting.

Once you end up in this category, you’re well-advised to get away from the dealers and find an independent mechanic whose livelihood revolves around keeping your vehicle in proper sort, with no hidden agenda.
 
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