The 604 is the 4 speed electronic overdrive trans. it was the one with problems. The 3 speed wasn't electronic and was pretty trouble free. The newer verson of the 604 were better though.


The older focus is what i really have experience with, and seriously have a dislike for them. Not too many of my customers have a focus, so I wont gripe about the new ones. I do have quite a few customers with neons with well over 100K hard miles on them, and while they aren't in the greatest shape, they keep on chugging along.

 

Its more than just the trannies on mopar mini vans..............Every time you get behind a older mopar mini at a stop light, you usually get choked out by the cloud of blue smoke as soon as they step on the gas. A neighbor had a 96 Caravan w/3.3 L v6.........He said it used a qt. of oil every tank of gas.......about 300 miles.

 

I suffer from CRS
Thanks for clarifying that.


You sure it was the 3.3 ? The Mitsubishi 3.0 is notorious for that because of the valve seals, the Mopar 3.3 has a pretty good rep and is a pretty long lived engine.

 

I'll chime in on the Focus. I've driven several, older and new. I actually like the older ones better. They ride better and seem more solid for a little car. They seem like they habe been rebadged Mazdas for a while. I recently drove a 2002 and a 2010 and liked the 2002 better. The 2010 felt cheap.

 

i think after they changed the body style they started to feel more cheap. the 2005-2007's were the best so far. they had the more reliable engines. and the hatches were better than the sedans styling wise IMO

 

Speaking of cheap, they aren't. I checked out a 2010 to use as a daily driver since I put on a boatload of miles each week. To get a decent one, the MSRP was over $17k. What? None of the small econo cars are worth that in my opinion. I'm driving a new Corolla as a rental and there is no way I would pay close to what they cost for one!

 

get a hyundai *vommit* for like $9k.

 

for $17k you can get a full sized car with a V8 engine like a crown vic or a grand marquis, drive it intelligently and get 26-30 mpg.

 

Truth............Kinda blows the whole toyota camry crowd outta the water.

 

but they will never admit that, because a crown vic is a "big american gas guzzler"

 

My gas guzzler is my reason to make more money! well...that and my wife....