FocusCanada Forums

So as my lease (haha, yes, lease) comes to a close, I've started receiving fevered calls from the dealership to go in and explore my options. I even warned them of the mods to the car, but they seem pretty intent on me coming in anyways....

So what do I do if they give me my fanciest of whimsical wishes and grant me a Mustang GT convertible) for less than what I'm currently paying on the car? Do I go for the fun-in-the-sun, but not quite as sexy convertible, go full hog on the regular GT, or keep the focus.

That's the gist of the questions, tho I'm sure you folks are wondering how I'm going to work this out.

the game plan:
The focus' buy-out is $10,000.. it's trade-in value etc
I have almost that entire amount saved -- should have come May
Put the 10G's down on the stang and whittle down their asking price to a payment lower than the $560/mo I pay now.
There is no other ford car I want to own, and if they say focus, I say, no thanks, I have one already.
Also, if they can't find a price that works, this will be the last ford I buy for a long, long, long time. Sure, the stang is nice, but get my ass in gear, I could have a new 350Z or G35 in a year's time.

Only reason I'm considering the stang is that I really like the new ones.. I really do... and I think that with dark grey metallic, black stripes, matching wheels, and a supercharger, I would have a pretty pimp car, with the only complaint being is that it sounds like an american v8.

Of course, while I'm considering getting the impractical, just fun to drive around in car, a part of me also wonders how good a handler the car truly is. With practice, suspension, and some R-compounds, would p-51 still embarrass me on track?

discuss!

darkpuppet,Nov 14 2005, 12:47 PM Wrote:With practice, suspension, and some R-compounds, would p-51 still embarrass me on track?

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Yes. :lol:

I just paid off my car. Feels good, they also tried to get me into something else. No way, no way in hell. haha.

Youve got a great start with the focus, and you can easily dump a smart 3-4K in parts in it and have a serious performer. I want a new car also (that Sky is looking so damn good), but I'm also sick of renting a house. I'm being dumb with my money and buying another car, getting myself back in that year to year trap would be retarded.

Buy a house, and have a focus that will eat the g35. It can be your little snug secret watching your neighboor leave with his g35 coupe every morning.

"heheheheh, I'm still faaaaassster :P "

:lol:

Euro Ford Fan,Nov 14 2005, 02:05 PM Wrote:Yes.  :lol:
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touché! :ph34r:

Owning a house is awesome... I'd say if the Focus really isn't giving you grief, and given how neat and unique it is... buy it out, keep it, and buy the house instead.

Your retirement and overall financial health wil both thank you.

I haven't had a chance to see it in person Steve, but from what I know of it... I'd keep it, too.

NOS2Go4Me,Nov 14 2005, 02:13 PM Wrote:Owning a house is awesome...

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it's the moving out to the suburbs to live out my life in seclusion I'm not particularily looking forward to.

that and having a house to clean...

I say keep the focus...save the money for a house. That will increase in value unlike a ford vehicle that will be worth less than 1/2 what you paid the moment you leave the lot.

If you have to choose from a GT or a GT convertable... get the hard top.

Much nicer than any car...... And probably the smartest move I ever made.

Keep the Focus and buy something that will build you equity.

As much as I love the Gt vert. Buy a house.

darkpuppet,Nov 14 2005, 02:15 PM Wrote:that and having a house to clean...
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Leave that job to the Woman, if you ever find one...

I bought my house when I owned a piece of shat dodge. Then I saved some cash and purchased a year old 02 Mustang. My home has doubled in value in the 10 years I have owned it, and I pulled some equity out of it and bought my 03 Focus. The bank has allowed me to accelerate my payments which will allow me to pay it all off in 7 years.

The value in owning a home is that it gives you more security and fianancial leverage.

true dat.

I should probably just cancel the appointment. I don't need the temptation.

I am weak

As much as I love the new stangs, buy the house, you can always get the stang down the road (the prices will only go down on a 2005), start investing in something that will actually increase in value like a house. (why don't I ever take my own advice?)

Flofocus,Nov 14 2005, 02:05 PM Wrote:Buy a house, and have a focus that will eat the g35.  It can be your little snug secret watching your neighboor leave with his g35 coupe every morning.

"heheheheh, I'm still faaaaassster  :P "
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Personally I'd prefer a G35 for everyday driving over a Focus...even if the Focus has FI and is faster. Call me crazy, but for everyday driving luxury and quality with 298hp seems more appealing.

FI'd focus, or FI'd g35... which would be faster really?

I honestly don't know if I'd be happy owning a car in the future that I knew was only as fast as every other of it's kind out there....

It's all a matter of how important unique and faster are to you.

Are you happy being faster, unique, or both?

I'll settle for the Focus, no matter the tune/flavour. The extra cash is nice to do what I want, when I want.

Yeah I got the same thing when my lease ended on my old focus, and I can tell you buying it out or getting another used focus you can say you own is a good thing, besides One thing for sure any used mustang after a year drops like $12,000 - $15,000 in price with what ever milage they have on them.

clip from a write up about a SC'd G35 in the Peg...

Quote:

THEY say that the quality of one's home rests solely on the strength of the foundation. The same can be said of one's vehicle. Just because you can put 500 horsepower into a Civic doesn't necessarily make it a good idea for the rest of the components it affects.
And while the younger set may still enjoy a car that shakes as much as a Friday night club dance floor, there are seasoned street veterans, such as Brent Mills, who have learned that 500-plus horsepower can still mean streetability. His 2003 Infiniti G35 is a most worthy example of that philosophy.

At first, Mill's G35 purchase would have seemed to be the atypical move by most 40-somethings seeking a performance bang for their buck. Originally intended as a daily driver for his wife Rhonda, the transformation began with a wheel good idea. "She decided it had to have 20 inch rims," said Mills. From there, the project snowballed into lowered suspension, larger brakes, and, well, you get the idea.

The G's stock 3.5 litre V6 has received a considerable output upgrade, thanks to a Vortech supercharger. It's a popular set-up for the six but Mills didn't stop there. The Vortech unit has seen a boost upgrade to 12 PSI from the original 9. The stock ECU has been re-programmed to raise the RPM limit to 7200, as well as the removal of the factory speed limiter. The Spearco intercooler delivers a frigid cold air charge, courtesy of a Nitrous Express CO2 sprayer. Two trunk-mounted bottles feed the system, which also has side blow-off valves to intimidate inferior machinery. Stock exhaust manifolds feed a Stillen cat-back exhaust. It's no wonder that the 3.5 litre keeps winning all those engine awards year after year. Mills G set-up is good for about 500 ponies at the flywheel, and it does it all with stock internals. The same is true of the transmission and rear differential. "It hasn't had one warranty issue," said Mills. Even with all the obvious warranty-voiding going on, Mills has found the service and parts staff at Birchwood Infiniti Nissan to be most helpful with his performance questions. With the exception of brake upgrades and dyno testing by Motion Performance, Mills has done all of the mods himself, along with help from his son Tyson

I know what you mean about being like every other car out there, but you can slowly change that.

House. House. House.

I think about it and owning a car is the worst thing ever. Everyone knows it.

Steve why dont you buy a small condo downtown if you want to stay in the city? Keep that for a while, and then sell it once you get enough return, and THEN go outside the city.

Think about it. How much more different would your life be, which would be smarter, and which would probly make you ahppier. Drving a new stang, or having your own pad.

You can keep modifying, but now its house mods...like hot-tubs, decks, moster BBQ's...

Im only saying this becuase its what i should have done, and regret it.

Yeah, buy the house dude... You can mod the house like the others said...have a fully tooled garage with compressed air, bar fridge in the garage, bar fridge in the house, Gucci Home Theatre system, nice flooring, doors and windows, etc etc.

If you had to choose between the G35 and the Stang...I'd go Stang. To me, as nice as the G35 may be, I think it's still a rich man's luxo-diaper wiper "playing" muscle car. It's not my bag. Personally, I would rather have 2 Focus'...The ZX5 as your toy, and a ZTW with minor mods as the daily driver. Or, you could do the opposite... ZX5 as DD, Wagon as a sleeper toy....hehehe...

But I've gotten off topic again...my bad...

Buy the house!!!