Running Rough

[Mbrooks420]

OP stated "buy here pay here" in the first post. The dealer IS the bank...

They are also hoping to resell it after repoing it. It wouldn’t surprise me if this truck was repo’d before. Buy here, pay here’s often sell the same car many times.

 

[94Eddie]

I don't know if they still are or not but used older Toyota Prius's were quite affordable a couple years ago.



Sounds like he's hoping it catches fire driving it with it missing like that making the CAT's glow red hot.

They are a good deal if the hybrid battery is dead. At least this is a the way it is in the Mid-Atlantic area. They will run with a dead hybrid battery but won't pass an emission test if this is required in the jurisdiction in which it resides. The cost of replacing the battery pack isn't cheap. Even with a refurbished one will cost $3k-$4k to have a shop replace it. I have seen a few YouTube videos regarding the replacement procedure. It doesn't look all that hard to me. I think a refurbished hybrid battery sells for $1k-$1.5. New ones are stupid expensive. The only way it makes financial sense to buy an older Prius with a dead hybrid battery is to know you won't have to deal with emission testing and can drive it as is.

 

[possjustin0]

If you can’t afford repairs I would not suggest buying another SUV of any brand. If you’re only making minimum wage I’d seriously seek out new work. Fast food here is paying 15+ and they’ll give you 80 hours a week.

Before turning it in I’d unfortunately fall asleep at the wheel and total the poor truck. Much better off to start with a down payment, more efficient vehicle, and a hit on your insurance rates.

80 hours a week?? how much coke are you on to work that many hours?? I'd like to actually have 'some' time to be able to live my life too. Guess that won't ever happen until I leave the US, then I can actually get a job that pays a livable wage, access to healthcare without going into debt and be able to afford to live my life without working until I drop dead.

 

[94Eddie]

80 hours a week?? how much coke are you on to work that many hours?? I'd like to actually have 'some' time to be able to live my life too. Guess that won't ever happen until I leave the US, then I can actually get a job that pays a livable wage, access to healthcare without going into debt and be able to afford to live my life without working until I drop dead.

There are plenty of jobs that pay very good money here in the USA. You just have to be willing to put in the time and effort to gain some skills. Auto repair, welding, electrical work, plumbing, HVAC, truck driver etc. Many of these jobs will pay you to be trained and most of these trades pay into the six figures within 10-20 years or even sooner. You might think the grass is greener in another country but in reality it is not. Take healthcare, in most of the countries with "free" healthcare it is rationed and it takes months and months to even be seen by a doctor. If you have cancer you might just be screwed from lack of timely medical care. My advice is to take care of yourself by being in a line of work that is in demand and will always be in demand. The BS about having to have a college education is just that, BS. My nephew is working as an apprentice at an electrical company. He is two years into a four year program. He is being paid to get an education and can move toward being a licensed electrician in just a few years. The pay will be very good and it will only grow as he gets more experience. There are a lot of opportunities to have a very good paying job but you just might have to sweat a little, get your hands dirty and need a shower at the end of putting in a hard day's work.

 

[possjustin0]

Well, I took it back to the dealer and they replaced 2 bad wheel bearings and checked out the engine. They said it was misfiring on 6 due to the spark plug not being tightened down properly. Drove it back home and can still hear it burning up fuel in the muffler. To top that off it was fish tailing the whole way and I didn't want to take it up to even 20 mph. Get home and look over the wheels, they have the driver rear wheel WAY off of alignment. It can easily be seen by eye, toed out considerably and slightly positive cambered.
So it will go back to them for good and they can either put me in another vehicle or my money back.

 

[mountaineer2004]

So it will go back to them for good and they can either put me in another vehicle or my money back.

Definitely do this. Get a smaller, more fuel efficient car. Your money will go longer with a car like that. Good luck.

 

[LMHmedchem]

I sort of doubt that miss-fires were being caused by the spark plugs needing to be a quarter turn tighter. I would think that the plugs would have to by very loose indeed for that to cause an issue. Such an issue would not likely be intermittent either.

All that said, I think it is a very good idea that you are returning the truck for something else. As has been said, these trucks at this age require ongoing maintenance which more or less necessitates space and tools, as well as time and some budget.

I would look for an older Honda Accord, Geo Prizm, Toyota Corolla or Camry, or Subaru Impreza or Outback.

With any brand and model of car, there can be years and models to avoid. You may not have much selection but it always helps to do some research on the possibilities that you are considering.

This is a nice article if you have a few minutes to check it out,

9 Secrets To Finding A Cheap Reliable Used Car | Well Rigged

Who says beggars can't be choosers? Sure we can! I'll prove it to you. You may not have a ton of money to drop on…

www.wellrigged.com

LMHmedchem

 

[possjustin0]

Either way I'm screwed... They won't exchange it for anything else and they are expecting me to pay for any repairs. They already changed the wheel bearings and decided (without informing me) to also replace driver side rear tow link. They said it was all good, but the driver rear wheel is quite toed out so the vehicle fish tails all over the place and I'm not comfortable driving it any faster than 20 mph top. They said I'll have to get it to another shop for an alignment (they aren't equipped to do so), and I'll have to pay for that too (even though they screwed it up and no mention to me about it). I'm already at least $2,500 into this thing and have no idea how long I'll be stuck without a vehicle now until I can get something else.

As well, I can still hear it backfiring in the muffler too. So it may be running, but seems to still be dumping fuel into the exhaust.

 

[TechGuru]

#1 Install the correct Motorcraft SP500 spark plugs.
#2 Get a alignment done at a Ford QuickLane (https://www.quicklane.com). I got mine done there for about $60 4 years ago.

An alignment is a small price to pay compared to the cost of replacing your tires (about $500 on these vehicles for the cheapest china tires) and with a very poor alignment you will eat up the tires quickly.

 

[joney]

Well, I took it back to the dealer and they replaced 2 bad wheel bearings and checked out the engine. They said it was misfiring on 6 due to the spark plug not being tightened down properly. Drove it back home and can still hear it burning up fuel in the muffler. To top that off it was fish tailing the whole way and I didn't want to take it up to even 20 mph. Get home and look over the wheels, they have the driver rear wheel WAY off of alignment. It can easily be seen by eye, toed out considerably and slightly positive cambered.
So it will go back to them for good and they can either put me in another vehicle or my money back.

Can you find a decent independent mechanic as the dealer doesn't seem to have done right by you- fix and gather evidence that dealer screwed up the job, may get $ back from dealer on bad repairs?

 

[possjustin0]

They refuse to exchange it for another vehicle. It's going to another shop Monday morning for an alignment and engine diagnosis. If the repair costs are $2,000 or more I'm walking away from it and don't care what negative effect it leaves me with (i.e. repo). The whole deal seems to be just a huge scam to extort money out of me and it will just be cheaper to buy another car from anywhere else once I get my taxes back.

 

[94Eddie]

They refuse to exchange it for another vehicle. It's going to another shop Monday morning for an alignment and engine diagnosis. If the repair costs are $2,000 or more I'm walking away from it and don't care what negative effect it leaves me with (i.e. repo). The whole deal seems to be just a huge scam to extort money out of me and it will just be cheaper to buy another car from anywhere else once I get my taxes back.

Hopefully you have learned from this experience to not "...buy another car from anywhere else I can get it..." This attitude is what got you into the situation you are in right now. Stay away from self financing used car dealers and research the heck out of any car you might buy. Just spending an evening researching a make and model will tell you a lot about whether it is a good car to own. Watch some YouTube videos that detail how to inspect a used car and follow their advice. Lastly, buy what meets your needs for now which is a small, four cylinder, manual transmission, Japanese economy CAR. Then use this vehicle to improve your situation to be able to afford a better one in the future.

 

[possjustin0]

So after 2 weeks of it being in a proper shop to fix all that they idiot did to it at the buy here, pay here place... he replaced 2 bad wheel bearings, driver side rear tow link and never did an alignment afterwards (no clue why he did anything with said link, it's not required to touch that for a bearing replace). The other shop ended up doing an alignment and checking the engine, to which they found the spark plug in 6 was cracked. That would be from the idiot at buy here, pay here place who claimed it was "loose" and that he just "snugged it up". More like over torqued it!

Well either way, made very little difference. It's still burning fuel in the exhaust and now the trans seems to be slipping and hard shifting. No one yet has been willing to do a compression test on all 6 cylinders and actually give the psi readout of each. I have a compression tester, but not going to waste my time. Got a deal setup on a 2014 Focus hatchback that will actually be cheaper price than the Exploder was. My monthly payments will be less, insurance cost will be less and it will be much more fuel efficient. So said Exploder will go back to where it came from and they can deal with it. They hold the title, it's THEIR pile of crap... not mine!

 

[94Eddie]

You should read this and check into the transmission issues for the 2012-2016 Focus'. You might be jumping from the frying pan and into the fire. The transmissions in the 2012-2016 Focus and 2011-2016 Fiesta models have been fraught with problems. So much so that there is ongoing class action lawsuits regarding bad transmissions in the non-hybrid versions. Here is a link to a Google search on the subject.

 

[TechGuru]

You should read this and check into the transmission issues for the 2012-2016 Focus'. You might be jumping from the frying pan and into the fire. The transmissions in the 2012-2016 Focus and 2011-2016 Fiesta models have been fraught with problems. So much so that there is ongoing class action lawsuits regarding bad transmissions in the non-hybrid versions. Here is a link to a Google search on the subject.

A manual transmission Focus would last forever.

 

[94Eddie]

Manual transmissions in about any vehicle will last forever and need little to no maintenance if the driver knows how to properly work a clutch. I recommended to the OP to buy a small car with a manual transmission in an earlier post. Preferably a Toyota or Honda.

 

[Fix4Dirt]

Manual transmissions in about any vehicle will last forever and need little to no maintenance if the driver knows how to properly work a clutch. I recommended to the OP to buy a small car with a manual transmission in an earlier post. Preferably a Toyota or Honda.

hows finding parts for focus? i know ford has to keep em for 10 years, but i feel like its going to be hard down the line, i say get soemthng still in production, but jmo, for each their own!

 

[94Eddie]

hows finding parts for focus? i know ford has to keep em for 10 years, but i feel like its going to be hard down the line, i say get soemthng still in production, but jmo, for each their own!

Ford has sold a lot of Focus vehicles so salvage yards might be an option. The greater the sales numbers of a model promotes more incentive for parts makers to cater to them. Overall, I think getting parts, in general, is going to get more difficult as time passes.

 

[possjustin0]

So an actual, reputable dealer in town had a Nissan Murano for me... but they wanted a full inspection before making a sale. The inspection failed due to it had a cracked frame. That's when they mentioned the Focus, but that sale fell through (someone else got it). I ended up with an 09 Fusion SE with V6. When the timing is right I can even take it back to trade for something nicer (build some better credit first). So I'm working my butt off to make it all happen and work my way up.

 

[Fix4Dirt]

So an actual, reputable dealer in town had a Nissan Murano for me... but they wanted a full inspection before making a sale. The inspection failed due to it had a cracked frame. That's when they mentioned the Focus, but that sale fell through (someone else got it). I ended up with an 09 Fusion SE with V6. When the timing is right I can even take it back to trade for something nicer (build some better credit first). So I'm working my butt off to make it all happen and work my way up.

the fusions are nice keep making responsible choices, and some day you will make your way up... wishing you the best of luck in your aspirations, and we hope to see you around on EF still!