I’ve spent 20 years in the auto industry—and still made this used-car mistake

I spent 20 years in the automotive industry, from training dealership personnel to representing global automakers on the auto show circuit. Since 2015, I have been writing about the latest brands, models and wonders as a journalist. I should be the last person to be trapped by a bad vehicle purchase, but I already made a rookie mistake that no factory warranty or superior service could fix.

I bought a used 2012 Ford Focus Titanium without doing an ounce of research. The car equipped with the now infamous dual-clutch automatic transmission.

It looked good on paper

I didn’t discover the problem until much later

When I bought this Focus used in 2017, everything looked good on paper, from the price to the low miles. At the time, my job in the car show circuit had me flying about 250 days a year. An affordable compact car like a Focus was perfect, because I just wasn’t home enough to justify driving anything fancy. In hindsight, I should have looked at the car data, not the odometer.

During the pandemic, when everything was closed, I was at home a lot more. After the pandemic, my career in the auto industry here in Detroit changed and I was flying less. I started driving my 2012 Focus a lot more, and that’s when I noticed many of the problems that have since been reported by other Focus owners, especially for this model year.

Tremor and shiver

The problem has worsened over time

Credit: Ford

When I took off from a stop, my entire Focus shook and shuddered, to the point where it felt like I was “jumping” through the intersection. The thrills increased over the months, to the point where accelerating on an exit ramp to join the M10 here in Detroit (from 35 to 55 mph for example) became unbearable.

When I visited my Ford dealership in metro Detroit (Bob Maxey on Jefferson) in 2021, my 2012 Focus was well beyond the factory warranty in terms of time, but not miles (I still had less than 60,000 miles).

It was at this local Detroit dealership that I learned that what I was experiencing with my Focus was not an isolated incident and that the transmission was under investigation by the Detroit Free Press. Despite working in the automotive industry at the time, I was unaware of these issues with the Ford Focus.

Although my Focus never outright refused to move in traffic, a number of owners reported that when they stepped on the accelerator, nothing happened. Many of these same owners expressed safety concerns about being stuck in traffic even if they stepped on the gas.

Lesson learned

Warranty work was only a temporary solution

Since this was a well-documented issue, my service advisor and the dealer service manager were able to (essentially) reactivate my powertrain warranty based on mileage, although repairs stopped short of a full transmission replacement. Some parts also went out of stock nationally, so I had a loaner vehicle for most of that November.

Ultimately, despite my service advisor’s efforts, the repairs failed to resolve the transmission issues, and I ultimately traded in my 2012 Focus. By the time I did, I had been to my Ford dealership four times. However, I still take this personal story as a lesson. If I had scanned a few Reddit threads or done a little more research, I probably would have avoided picking up this Focus in 2017.

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Beyond product brochures

Use these tips to your advantage

Credit: jm_video / Envato Elements

In addition to researching online, here are some other tips you can use when shopping for another vehicle:

• Call an independent store: This is not to say that a dealership would be dishonest about mechanical issues present on a certain make or model, but an independent shop is not trying to sell the car. Independent workshops work on all types of vehicles and may have experience with the next car you’re considering. They often see real failures that brochures and TV commercials don’t mention.

• Do a pre-purchase inspection: While you have an independent shop online, ask them if they can perform a multi-point inspection on the vehicle you are considering. It may cost a few hundred dollars, but it could save you from having to shell out thousands of dollars later. Knowing the true mechanical condition of the vehicle before signing the documents will give you peace of mind.

• Ask your friends or colleagues: If you know someone who owns the same vehicle you’re looking at, ask them how they like it and what they think about it.

My experience with my old Ford Focus is a powerful reminder that even low-mileage gems can hide deep mechanical flaws. If you’re considering a new vehicle, use my story as proof that doing research before making a purchase is the most important thing.

When you do research, if you start to think “this is a problem that might not even be fixed with warranty”, trust your instincts and start looking at a completely different vehicle.