2000 Ford Focus SE review from North America

I bought the vehicle used from a typical used car lot, so it had a few problems I knew of. The tires needed to be replaced, along with the brakes and rotors. Tires cost me $375 with labor and tax, and rotors and brakes cost around $600-$700.

Otherwise, the rear driver-side power window does not work (can be controlled from driver's controls) and the driver-side mirror is loose (this seems to be a common problem for the Focus). I haven't done anything about these problems, though. They're not that big of a deal.

Other than that, the only thing I noticed was that it tends to idle roughly (high) when in park or drive. While driving from Newark, NJ to New Haven, CT last week, the engine coolant temperature began to rise, then fall, then rise again while idling in traffic in NYC. Once the traffic cleared up, though, the problem was gone and the coolant temp returned to normal. I'm a bit concerned about the idling, but overall, am relatively happy with the little car.

I bought my 2000 Focus SE because I needed something relatively cheap with good gas mileage. I had owned a 1994 Jeep Cherokee previously, and it was time for a change. The Focus seems to be a decent little car, and I am planning to have it checked to see if the recalls were taken care of by the original owner (s). Otherwise, it's been a terrific 2 weeks since I bought the car, and I've already put almost 1,000 miles on it. It's handled the mileage relatively well, and it seems like the car was a good investment. Of course, I've only had it for two weeks thus far; however, with the amount of mileage already on it at the time of purchase (73,700), and the amount of mileage I've already put on it (about 800), I have relatively few complaints. This seems to be a great commuter car, and I love its comfort and handling on those long highway drives.