Ford Focus ZX3 vs VW Golf/Gti

[TheGeak]

I've narrowed my new car search down to those 2 vehicled (possibly a Mazda Protege 5 if i can find a 5spd used for a decent price) I heard that Pre-2001 Focus's had major electrical problems....but the general conclusion has been that VW has gone to hell lately. However VW just introduced its 'whatever it takes' plan (supposedly the head tech has the power to do whatever you want to make you happy...again supposedly) Focus would be about 3-5k cheaper, but i'm wondering how well it'll hold up. Any ideas guys...thanks!

Jason

P.S. I'm about to put my old VW out to pasture, so its really crunch time to find a new car...

[Jon K]

Hey jason,

what year is the vw youre ditching? reason i ask is my friend PT and I are gathering parts cars and such for a car we just built should anything need replacing. We have a 1991 GTI w/ a VR6 swap.

As for your next car. I would go the VW route. The focus (ask me, i've driven one for two weeks when my car was being repaired) is a really, really lousy handling car. The steering is numb, the suspension is harsh but not sporty. The motor makes all kinds of noise but doesn't actually go anywhere haha. Oh well, I would try for a GTI 1.8T if you could. Very smooth motor.

[rickm]

A client's new VW bug had the door panel fall off 3 weeks after delivery. Not sure Yugos did that. :P

[DaCan23]

Your talkin about the highest recalled model line ever (Ford Focus) vs the car company which is at the bottom of the quality ratings every year (VW).... just get a used E36....

[Hector]

My GF has a Passat turbo whom she got for a good price, low interest rate, therefore low mo payments and warranty from a dealer. Although the sales reps were really nice and painted a rosey picture about their track record on selling used certified cars with no customer complaints, and how good their service department is, I have been really dissappointed with those idiots with their poor service management. The bottom line, it's really hard to schedule the car for service because it seems like they run a backlog (maybe because of their incompentency) of cars that need repair so it takes for ever to get the car in for service... and if you want them to just troubleshoot it, dude forgot it... you'd die of old age. Not saying this is universal...

As for the car, although it handles great and has a good engine, it has been in for its fair amount of repair.

[George Mann]

am surprised their quality has taken such a dive lately. Speaking of pocket rockets or high rev tuners...a car that has caught my eye lately is the new Scion coupe. Hard to fault Toyota these days. Anybody taken a good look at that car....lightweight, well built, nicely styled, and strong motor at a fair price. If I wasn't stuck in Detroit working in the auto industry, that car would be on top of my short list.
George

[DaCan23]

Scion TC looks like a decent little coupe... not bad for about $16k... recommended it to someone that was in the market for a small good quality car... comes out late June / early July

[TheGeak]

Jon: its an '89 VW Golf...

E36 is out of the question. I looked around, and it'd come with next to no warranty and would hurt my insurance pretty badly. The whole reason behind the new car is a warranty so i don't need to fix **** that goes wrong.

I drove 2 Focus's today, a ZX3 and a ZX4 as well as a ZTS yesterday...i thought the handling was pretty sharp. It wasn't like, Mini sharp, but it was responsive and firm. What year were you driving man, these were 2 04's and an 05.

I'm going to go check out the Golf now, there is a GTi in the area that they're asking $14,9 for (too high i think) There is also a Golf that i'm not sure what they're asking or what it comes with warranty wise.

Right now the Focus is a head above the rest...warranty, price, reliability (if you look into the recalls they were almost all '01 and '02 models...quality has gone up dramatically lately)....we'll see, the shop is on now!

Jason

[Martin in Bellevue]

A single professional guy with no kids in that town should drive a GTO, iff you don't swing for a ctsV. I spent about 18 hours on airplanes this past weekend, and about 4 different bland car mags report 29 mpg for the gto on the highway.

If you need a 4 cylinder, get an Elise, or an s2000.

Helping to spend friends' money for more than 30 years,
Martinator

[TimGinCentralNJ]

...who've had awful experiences with their cars. Fit 'n finish issues galore, and all with electrical problems. 1 was a leased Passat well within mileage/warrantee period with what behaved like bad fuel guage sending unit. VW wouldn't service it because they stated "it wasn't covered". Not sure if they were taking advantage simply b/c she was a woman, but between that and the rotten time I had with an '89 GTi-16v many moons ago, I've sworn off VWs.

Sure they look cool and are quite peppy, but who needs this kind of crap.

Just my $.02 YMMV.

Tim G.

My GF has a Passat turbo whom she got for a good price, low interest rate, therefore low mo payments and warranty from a dealer. Although the sales reps were really nice and painted a rosey picture about their track record on selling used certified cars with no customer complaints, and how good their service department is, I have been really dissappointed with those idiots with their poor service management. The bottom line, it's really hard to schedule the car for service because it seems like they run a backlog (maybe because of their incompentency) of cars that need repair so it takes for ever to get the car in for service... and if you want them to just troubleshoot it, dude forgot it... you'd die of old age. Not saying this is universal...

As for the car, although it handles great and has a good engine, it has been in for its fair amount of repair.