| I'm writing this article today to tell you | | | | few weeks of doing some research I figured |
| about one of my life lessons. Back in about | | | | out the problem was due to a faulty DPFE |
| mid 2004 I was out with my father shopping | | | | sensor. So I replaced the sensor and my car |
| for car, I was going to be starting school | | | | ran normal again. Then about two weeks later |
| soon so I needed a car that was reliable and | | | | at 2:00 AM parked in front of the gas pumps |
| got good gas mileage. I didn't really have my | | | | my ignition switch locked up. So I went in |
| heart set on any particular car I just had a | | | | and told the cashier about the problem she |
| few specifics. | | | | said the car would be fine there until I can |
| | | | get the dealership to come and pick it up |
| After several hours of searching car | | | | when they open. |
| dealerships I saw a lot of good cars but had | | | | |
| passed them up. I was determined to find a | | | | I walked home which was about three miles |
| car. We checked every dealership in two | | | | away. At about 7:00 AM I called the Ford |
| different cities. Finally while talking to a | | | | dealership and they said they would send a |
| salesman at one of the dealerships about what | | | | tow truck to pick it up. A little later they |
| I was looking for he said "Let me call one of | | | | called me back and said the manager of the |
| my friends at another dealership." He came | | | | store had it towed and I would have to deal |
| back and told us his friend had just what we | | | | with the towing company before they can pick |
| were looking for. So it went to the other | | | | it up. By the time I had my car back in |
| dealership and met up with his friend, he | | | | working order it cost me $550.00, $150.00 for |
| showed me what he had it was a 2001 Ford | | | | the towing company another $400.00 to fix my |
| focus ZX3 with about 50,000 miles on it. It | | | | ignition switch. |
| was a fresh trade in and not even on the lot | | | | |
| yet. | | | | Now four years later I'm still stuck with the |
| | | | same car. It has had almost every common |
| I was pretty anxious by this point, so we | | | | problem you will hear about on a Ford focus. |
| took the car out and test drove it, | | | | In the last four years I've spent close to |
| everything seemed to work great. So I bought | | | | $3,500.00 in repairs not including normal |
| it. About three months went by and the car | | | | maintenance costs. |
| seemed to work perfectly. Then one day out of | | | | |
| the blue it started to spit and sputter, it | | | | Needless to say I know that I made a mistake |
| was bad it sounded like an old VW Beetle so I | | | | by buying that car. The main thing I learned |
| killed the engine. When I restarted the car | | | | from all this is, don't make decisions out of |
| it seemed to run fine. | | | | haste, do your research so you know which are |
| | | | getting into. Otherwise you may find yourself |
| About two weeks later I started school, 700 | | | | the same situation. Do yourself a favor buy a |
| miles away from home and the problem came | | | | Carfax report. |
| back but this time it didn't go away. After a | | | | |