Has the bottom fallen out of the MK3 Focus RS?

[Gordon_Roslin]

Hello everyone.

I am in the market for a MK3 Focus RS but was just wondering if there's anything else in the circa £25k bracket that I should be considering at the moment? It was always my dream to own a Focus RS and I can do without the hassle of mechanical complications so that rules out the lairy MK1 and MK2, however the MK3 seems to have had some problems of its own, in fact that seems a bit of an understatement!!

Firstly there's this thing with the engines, which I thought had been resolved. But now I see that two of the four 'RS Horsemen of Youtube', if you will, gentlemen who I followed closely on Youtube while I've been thinking about this, have now either flogged their RS or are thinking about doing so. Firstly MarkCup flogged his, just a few days after putting a video up claiming that the 15 trips to the dealership that he's done didn't wind him up and he wasn't bothered by problems with the car. That was a huge alarm bell as he was living the life I wanted to live and it turned out to be an illusion manufactured by Ford's marketing department. Now I see that CarFocused is talking about possibly flogging his to get an M2 because WBAC are offering him £25,000 for it,so clearly the ownership experience isn't what it was cracked up to be so what's the point.

So anyway for £25k which is my max budget, I can't get an M2 or an RS3 or any of that stuff so what do you think I should go for -

MK3 RS still
Used Type R
Used M240i
Megane RS
Or I always half thought about a Honda S2000?

I'm not bothered about 4WD

[Terzo123]

For 25k, as an alternative you could go down the sport saloon route.

C63 AMG
E92 M3
Lexus LSF
etc

Or the super saloon route

M5
XFR
E63

25k opens up alot of choices.

[Johnnytheboy]

Gordon_Roslin said:

It was always my dream to own a Focus RS and I can do without the hassle of mechanical complications so that rules out the lairy MK1 and MK2...

What mechanical complications?

Other than consumables in nine years my mk2 has needed a MAP sensor and two batteries.

[JS2808]

Mechanical complications...
You'd be more likely to have mechanical complications with an MK3 RS than an MK2 RS in my opinion, well big ones anyway!

Mk2 engine is bullet proof, mk3 engine is... Let's not get into all that again haha

[Mr Tidy]

If the Focus RS has potential engine issues I think I'd go for a 240i - or as a leftfield choice, BMW Z4M Coupe.

[TwinExit]

To OP,

So all the research you did on the Focus RS was on youtube? A place where people earn revenue by publishing fake news and click bait...

Try the Focus RS owners's club, you'll find real information and ownership experience there.

[Ash170990]

Im in the process of selling my mk3, i havnt had a single problem with it, its just had the recall work done which i think puts alot of people off.

They are a very capable car, and for the money there wasnt really anything else that i felt had the same "character". i felt it could do wiht a bit more power as standard, but i prefer the old school boost where its nothing then kicks you in the back, where as the mk3 is a very smooth power curve, but i think thats the case with anything modern.

As for markcup, i think he always liked the m140, and was worried his 2nd engine might have been failing, but im not sure if he actually got round to it being looked at so may have been nothing, and im sure car focused said at the end of his last video its not going anywhere?

I think one running around 400bhp would be a very good car, but i never got round to that.

[James P]

Terzo123 said:

For 25k, as an alternative you could go down the sport saloon route.

C63 AMG
E92 M3
Lexus LSF
etc

Or the super saloon route

M5
XFR
E63

25k opens up alot of choices.

Not sure what they go for now but I miss my VXR8, might be an option if mileage is going to be low to middling.