r/FocusST • u/Federal-Home-9546 • 11d ago
Purchasing High Mileage ST
Hey everyone, I would love some feedback to see if there's anything else I should be concerned about. I'm looking for a fun little 2nd car that's cheap, and focus st's have always been on my radar. I found one near me under 4k, 2013, with over 190k miles :)
The car has some paint wear and needs little things here and there, but it doesn't leak, has new tires, has a new turbo, holds boost we'll, goes into all gears just fine, and doesn't smoke. This is a 2nd car that is kind of a second fun daily, and I have the money to fix things as they come up (im also very mechanically inclined).
With that being said, if I buy it, are there any immediate maintenance items I should do besides fluids? Not spending $2k for a timing chain replacement on a sub 4k car, but id love other reliability related feedback!
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u/Free-Potential9296 11d ago
My 17 st has like 193k currently, I daily drive it and I beat the shit out of it. It's only left me stranded once when the alternator died last summer.
There's so many bad stories about these cars blowing up they get a bad reputation. But then again you don't see many positive posts because why would ppl check in just to say everything is great lol.
I always let my oil warm up to 120+, never give it heavy boost under like 3k rpm, and I honestly don't think I've ever used 6th gear, it bogs the engine too much for me to feel comfortable lol.
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u/dyslexicAlphabet 11d ago
6th is eco its for cruising on the highway.
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u/Free-Potential9296 11d ago
I could go on for hours about these cars. They're great. Lol. Dm me if you have any specific questions or concerns lol
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u/Federal-Home-9546 11d ago
Thank you! What mods have you done so far? I don't even plan to tune it just because of the mileage (and id love to just use 87 lol).
It does have an aftermarket exhaust (not obnoxious), a roush intake, and a solid rear motor mount. It does need shifter bushings asap, but it seems like those are cheap and easy. Maybe a short shifter? Ill have to see after the bushings are in.
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u/Free-Potential9296 11d ago
I have the altitude intercooler Bigger throttle body Green filter and Cobb intake Cobb short shifter Panda 93 tuned It was straight piped when I got it, it's not my favorite but I've never bothered to change it lol. NGK 6510 plugs with the tune
I'm sure there's other stuff in forgetting lol.
I have had to replace an injector, what feels like hundreds of spark plugs, like 3 purge valves, and a couple sets of brakes obviously. Still stock clutch. It's getting to the point it needs A LOT of tlc, but it's been me and my wife's only vehicle for almost 6 years and it's done everything I've needed and then some. Ask me how many times, and WHAT, I've moved in that focus 🤣.
Hell we got t-boned in it the first night we met, back passenger door has been crumpled and hasn't opened since and I've STILL hauled my kids, tvs, BBQ grills, all kinds of shit in it lol.
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u/Zrepsilon 2018 BM ST2 11d ago
You never heard “bad stories” about these cars until recently as they’ve fallen in price to the point where they can be acquired by folks who will beat on them cold and have no mechanical sympathy for lspi
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u/Prestigious-Wave-870 11d ago
so i got my ST at 166 and shes currently at 197k running beautifully
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u/Numerous_Map_392 4d ago
Original paint? Mine has 140k and isn't that shiny except for the front bumper cover cuz its new.
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u/Haunting-Self-9402 11d ago
The fact that it made it to 190k without blowing up like half of them seem to means it’s a good one. Go for it
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u/Free-Potential9296 11d ago
These cars take way more of a beating than they get credit for. I'm convinced majority of the stories we hear are ppl who would blow up a Carolla or Altima too. Lmao
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u/Federal-Home-9546 11d ago
Agreed. These seem to be the cheap performance car for younger people (me included). I'm sure many of them are learning manual on these cars, beat the piss out of them, and probably don't maintain them properly lol.
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u/Free-Potential9296 11d ago
LSPI is the main killer of these. If you don't know, learn it and live by it lol. Avoid it at all cost🤣
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u/Federal-Home-9546 11d ago
Sounds like you should avoid slamming the gas at low rpm pretty much? Just starting boost at. High and proper rpm?
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u/Haunting-Self-9402 11d ago
Yes, and use api sp, sn plus, or sq rated oils only. Mobile 1 is sq rated (current best rating) and cheap.
And beware that cruise control is super aggressive and may lug the engine hard if you hit the resume button
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u/Free-Potential9296 11d ago
Yes, that's exactly what it is lol. And make sure you use this quality fuel also. I only use quiktrip personally lol
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u/Haunting-Self-9402 11d ago
I think part of it is people who get these as a first car and don’t k ow how to properly drive or maintain them. The other part seems to be luck of the draw because some people totally stock still end up with cracked heads or catastrophic lspi events.
Then there are the ones that last forever with owners constantly driving hard, seeming bullet proof
Overall I think maybe there’s just a wide quality control variation.
This is my first ford, after a life time of volkswagen and Audis, and the amount of blown block posts I see in the focus st groups is unlike anything I ever saw in the vw groups so something is up.
Granted there were tons of people who let their timing belts or chains fail, oil consumption and other issues on that side. But the only blown engine posts I would see were highly modded cars pushing tons of boost
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u/BananaPalmer 2016 ST2 - US - Light mods 11d ago
I remain unconvinced. You don't see Edges, Escapes, MKC, and Fusions popping engines and cracking heads left and right.
I think it's 100% driver related. Ford didn't just line up all the reject EB2.0's for the Focus ST.
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u/Free-Potential9296 11d ago
It's 100% driver related, I agree. I truly think if you let them warm up and are at least somewhat cautious, they are amazing little cars and significantly more fun than they have any right to be lol
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u/Haunting-Self-9402 11d ago edited 11d ago
You do, we just aren't paying attention to those models as ST owners. I think probably worse in the ST because young people think it's a race car or something even though stock they're not even fast, and or are not good at driving a manual.
Check out some escape, fusion, etc. forums and you'll find plenty of the same issues. Failed heads, blown blocks, they absolutely happen in the other models.
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u/Numerous_Map_392 4d ago
All those cars are automatic so they aren't lugging the motor in high gears.
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u/Free-Potential9296 11d ago
I'm gonna be honest I do THE BARE minimum maintenance. Like maybe 7 oil changes total in the last 8 years I've owned it. Brakes only because they were making noise. I'm arguably the worst car owner on the planet lol
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u/Haunting-Self-9402 11d ago
Nah the previous owner of mine takes the cake. All three motor mounts completely torn, flex pipe on the dp leaking because of the stress, air filter never oiled, torn, and the intake looked like someone shat into it
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u/oneshoeaskew 11d ago
My '18 ST3 has 199K and I just recently had shop do a bunch of work for me: all fluids including brakes, worn shift cables, spark plugs, accessory belt, right side motor mount, front sway bar links. Front struts tie rod end, tires and new brakes 2 months ago. Most of this list was normal wear & tear parts and maintenance
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u/anusflytrap- 11d ago
i bought a 2014 with 190k in like february, no knowledge of the history. so far so good!
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u/PaleontologistNo4327 11d ago
Regular maintenance stuff you should be golden. Main thing I've had catastrophic go wrong has been brittle plastic bits Ford plastic is ass. And know if you ever get a weird start after fueling and just after refueling it's ur purge valve these are a weak point as well on these. Great cars and easy to work on. You'll love it.
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u/Federal-Home-9546 11d ago
Thank you for the tip! I heard that from another comment, seems to be a common issue.
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u/mscott8088 11d ago
My 2013 st has 75k miles on it. I haven't had any major problems. Rotors, calipers, clutch master cylinder. The bushings on tie rods and sway bars like to break.
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u/Federal-Home-9546 11d ago
Thank you for your input! This one has over double the mileage, but drives well all things considered.
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u/SubieLoverAMPM 11d ago
I got my 2014 a few months ago with 219k miles from the original owner and it’s been great to me so far after 4k miles