03 Svtf with only 26k miles on it!

[VEROZ]

Hello all, I need some wisdom from you guys. I am looking at an 03 svtf with only 26k miles on it! The dealership is asking 8400 on it, but they've had it at 10k, then 9k now where it's at. With winter coming I'm hoping to get it down to 7k where kbb says it should be from a dealer.

I've read about some common problems with the clutch and leaky steering and such, but I'm wondering what some special considerations would be when looking at a 10 year old car with this low miles? What part would degrade over time and not over miles? Better yet what kinds of things should I look for have been replaced by the dealer to get it into selling condition?

I'm not planning to buy a warranty as I'm not afraid to turn a wrench and the with the help of the forums and you guys I should t need to pay a shop for labor.

This is the listing about the svtf at the dealer website

Vehicle details - 2003 Ford Focus at Rochester Ford N Rochester - Rochester Ford

Thank you for any and all input!

 

[Steve@Tasca]

They're a little high but dealers always are.

Looks like the original owner was a woman (or a poorly named guy), I can't see any warranty history though so it's either too old to show up or it had no warranty repairs.

The seats have been recovered which is odd especially on a low mileage car, at that price I'd get them to install a new timing belt, tensioner and idler even with the low miles.

Timing belts age just sitting still so if you buy it without a new belt then plan on doing it immediately.

I'm also wondering why there's no engine bay pics.

-Steve

 

[VEROZ]

They're a little high but dealers always are.

Looks like the original owner was a woman (or a poorly named guy), I can't see any warranty history though so it's either too old to show up or it had no warranty repairs.

The seats have been recovered which is odd especially on a low mileage car, at that price I'd get them to install a new timing belt, tensioner and idler even with the low miles.

Timing belts age just sitting still so if you buy it without a new belt then plan on doing it immediately.

I'm also wondering why there's no engine bay pics.

-Steve

Hey thanks for the reply Steve! how'd you get the name of the previous owner?

Also what does recovered seats mean? They came out of another focus ? With this low miles I was expecting an all original immaculate interior...? Hmm.

I am going to be going to the dealership today and I will try to see if I can take some pics of the engine bay for us to look at, and I will also try to get a list of thing the dealer has done to recondition it and post it here.

So with the timing belt and such done would it be a good deal at this price? I'd like to haggle with them a bit since it's probably going to sit for the winter because no one really want to buy a fwd sports car that's going to under steer on the snow if you can get it out of the driveway, since it probably has summer tires on right now. But I don't want to piss them off too much, just enough lol. It's been sitting on their lot for maybe a month or two? I'm hoping they are desperate to get rid of it.

 

[VEROZ]

went to see the car today.

I went to see the car today and it looks great! It's almost too good to be true. I tried to get them to lower the price but they won't budge, they are a "best price first dealer" they don't negotiate on price.

Also I asked my sales guy and he said that he had no idea when the timing belt was done, but the previous owner had a lot of work done at this dealership, there were some service records they had and nothing suggested a timing belt. A battery was replaced, oil changed, fuel filter, ac or heater repair, coolant repair, tire and balancing. and such.

no mention of the timing belt, I asked the salesman and he had no idea? and said that it was probably fine. Not sure how I feel about that.

The previous owner was still driving it regularly from aug 2012 to jan 2013, and then no history, then the dealer got it, and the plates were made in oct 2013 and valid till 2014

I did get a look at the engine bay and it looked spotless, not a leak in sight and the serpentine belt looked new, and the tires are also brand new continental ones. some surface rust on the underbody but nothing at all to worry about.

I submitted some paperwork and will wait to hear from the bank tomorrow, hopefully its mine.

I am thinking of mentioning that I am paying above book for it and try to squeeze in a timing belt once they see that the loan is approved and they will be missing a sale if it doesn't get done. but other then that I think this is the one.

 

[Steve@Tasca]

When I run the VIN to check warranty status the original owners name is listed, I can't share that info though.

By recovered I mean the seat covers have been replaced with aftermarket covers.

The red on the seats should perfectly match the red fabric in the door inserts and the ones in that car do not, maybe they're slip covers, maybe they had custom covers made but the ones in the car do not belong there.

Other than getting them to replace the timing belt I wouldn't even talk to the salesperson about it, odds are he hasn't got a clue what that even is and you can be very sure he has no idea that the SVT has an interference engine so a component failure in the timing belt system will destroy the engine.

Worst case, if you really like the car then just buy it and do the belt on your own. It's about $140.00 in parts.

-Steve