Suggestions

[Gotta-Qik-C7]

No manufacturer support? 

Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't the small block Chevy engine the most "supported" engine (by both the manufacturer and the aftermarket) the world has ever seen?  And isn't the current Chevy SS essentially an updated Pontiac G8 since both are based on the Holden Commodore?  Seems to me any GM dealer between here and Mars should be able to service a G8 GT for at least the next few decades.  Or am I missing something?   

Like I said before I've never had a problem with anything I needed for mine! Even when I needed a replacement rear spoiler.

[SVT666]

Like I said before I've never had a problem with anything I needed for mine! Even when I needed a replacement rear spoiler.

Okay.  It might be an unfounded concern, but it could become a very real concern in the next couple years.

[Madman]

Since when does "dealer support" mean the engine? There are many things on a car that might need fixing like bodywork, electronics, interior stuff, and any number of things that were unique to this car. It was only produced for North America for 18 months.  There are only 38,000 of them in North America and therefore will not have the manufacturer support that something like the Charger has. I have experience owning a low volume car in the SVT Focus.  For instance, if I ever needed a new engine I would have been SOL.  Ford didn't make anything for it anymore and the aftermarket was pretty small.

Interesting.

I'm surprised a domestic manufacturer like Ford and GM either can't or won't provide support for any of their cars, even a low-volume one.  It was my understanding a manufacturer is legally obligated to provide parts support for at least ten years after the end of production.  Has that recently changed?

I ran two Peugeots for several years after Peugeot bailed out of North America, so I know it can be frustrating to have to rely on specialist garages and having to occasionally wait for parts to be shipped in.  To Peugeot's credit, they did provide parts support and even issued recalls through their small parts and service network throughout the 1990s.  But, as the ten-year cutoff approached, the number of authorised Peugeot service points dwindled and, unless you happened to live near one of the few remaining specialists, parts could be difficult to obtain.

The difference is Peugeot was always a small niche brand in America whereas GM and Ford combined make up nearly half the market.  I find it difficult to believe a Chevy dealer can't get parts for a G8.  And although the ten year cutoff may be up for the Focus SVT (last sold in 2004), that car is hardly a unicorn.  After all, in this internet age, you can find just about ANYTHING!

[SVT666]

And although the ten year cutoff may be up for the Focus SVT (last sold in 2004), that car is hardly a unicorn. 

There were only 14,000 SVT Focuses built over 3 years.  Only 1400 in Canada.

[Soup DeVille]

Interesting.

I'm surprised a domestic manufacturer like Ford and GM either can't or won't provide support for any of their cars, even a low-volume one.  It was my understanding a manufacturer is legally obligated to provide parts support for at least ten years after the end of production.  Has that recently changed?

I ran two Peugeots for several years after Peugeot bailed out of North America, so I know it can be frustrating to have to rely on specialist garages and having to occasionally wait for parts to be shipped in.  To Peugeot's credit, they did provide parts support and even issued recalls through their small parts and service network throughout the 1990s.  But, as the ten-year cutoff approached, the number of authorised Peugeot service points dwindled and, unless you happened to live near one of the few remaining specialists, parts could be difficult to obtain.

The difference is Peugeot was always a small niche brand in America whereas GM and Ford combined make up nearly half the market.  I find it difficult to believe a Chevy dealer can't get parts for a G8.  And although the ten year cutoff may be up for the Focus SVT (last sold in 2004), that car is hardly a unicorn.  After all, in this internet age, you can find just about ANYTHING!

No, you're correct. But having parts on hand isn't required, sometimes it means you have to wait for parts to be made, or delivered. Of course nothing on a G8 would approach "hard to get" on the level of your French cars, or Rupert's old Porsche, or John's E-Type...

[Soup DeVille]

There were only 14,000 SVT Focuses built over 3 years.  Only 1400 in Canada.

Having recently helped finding parts for restoring a vehicle of which only 1400 were made fifty years ago, and none of them ever available to the civilian market, and most of them are probably sitting in a rice paddy somewhere in Vietnam even today, I have to say "hard to find" is a matter of perspective.

[MX793]

There were only 14,000 SVT Focuses built over 3 years.  Only 1400 in Canada.

Does that include European ST170s?

[Cookie Monster]

If the engine blows on an SVT Focus, the proper course of action is a V8 + RWD swap anyways, so not having replacement parts is a moot point.

[SVT666]

Having recently helped finding parts for restoring a vehicle of which only 1400 were made fifty years ago, and none of them ever available to the civilian market, and most of them are probably sitting in a rice paddy somewhere in Vietnam even today, I have to say "hard to find" is a matter of perspective.

I sold my SVT Focus 3 years ago and even then, you could not get a new engine for it from Ford.  You might not think this is a big deal, but it was an interference engine that was prone to breaking timing belts.  Everyone that owned one was so paranoid about it we would get new timing belts every 50,000 miles instead of the 100,000 Ford recommended.  When I was in a small wreck with it (3 months after I got it in 2008 (5 years after it was made), the body shop had to source the bumper from a wreck and the HID headlights from the aftermarket because Ford didn't make them anymore.  The SVT Focus is about the worst manufacturer supported car I have ever seen.

[SVT666]

If the engine blows on an SVT Focus, the proper course of action is a V8 + RWD swap anyways, so not having replacement parts is a moot point.

True enough.

[SVT666]

Does that include European ST170s?

No, I don't know how many ST170's were made.

[MexicoCityM3]

If the engine blows on an SVT Focus, the proper course of action is a V8 + RWD swap anyways, so not having replacement parts is a moot point. junkyard.

[MX793]

I sold my SVT Focus 3 years ago and even then, you could not get a new engine for it from Ford.  You might not think this is a big deal, but it was an interference engine that was prone to breaking timing belts.  Everyone that owned one was so paranoid about it we would get new timing belts every 50,000 miles instead of the 100,000 Ford recommended.  When I was in a small wreck with it (3 months after I got it in 2008 (5 years after it was made), the body shop had to source the bumper from a wreck and the HID headlights from the aftermarket because Ford didn't make them anymore.  The SVT Focus is about the worst manufacturer supported car I have ever seen.

I wonder if parts were more available in Europe.  Obviously not everything was the same, but I would think headlights and bumpers would be the same.

Also, if you lose a timing belt on an interference motor, you rarely need to replace the entire engine.  Valves, pistons, and maybe the head depending on how bad it looks.  Sometimes you can just refurbish the original head.

[Cookie Monster]

Dude those RWD V8 Foci are sweet. Nothing is cooler than seeing an FWD hatchback light up its rear tires with a V8. If you keep it pretty stock looking (even for an SVT) it's a fantastic sleeper.

[Madman]

I wonder if parts were more available in Europe.  Obviously not everything was the same, but I would think headlights and bumpers would be the same.

Nope.......

Euro Focus ST170.




North American Focus SVT.




The bumpers were very different.  And the Euro headlights had the front turn signals incorporated in the main headlight housing.  NA models had separate turn signals in the grille, similar to other NA Focus models.

These guys can probably get you the Euro bumpers, lights and other stuff you need to convert your SVT to look like a Euro ST170.

http://www.batinc.net/main.htm

[SVT666]

I wonder if parts were more available in Europe.  Obviously not everything was the same, but I would think headlights and bumpers would be the same.

Bumpers and headlights were different because of regulations.

[SVT666]

Ummmm, no.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6c02XQwk3c

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKhKZdE6bvo

The best video of all....(watch the Focus disappear)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yzpc_Km41PE

[Cookie Monster]

Ummmm, no.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6c02XQwk3c

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKhKZdE6bvo

The best video of all....(watch the Focus disappear)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yzpc_Km41PE

He just wants them to end up in junkyards so they don't come and rape his BMWs.

[Soup DeVille]

I sold my SVT Focus 3 years ago and even then, you could not get a new engine for it from Ford.  You might not think this is a big deal, but it was an interference engine that was prone to breaking timing belts.  Everyone that owned one was so paranoid about it we would get new timing belts every 50,000 miles instead of the 100,000 Ford recommended.  When I was in a small wreck with it (3 months after I got it in 2008 (5 years after it was made), the body shop had to source the bumper from a wreck and the HID headlights from the aftermarket because Ford didn't make them anymore.  The SVT Focus is about the worst manufacturer supported car I have ever seen.

Engine couldn't be rebuilt, or be done by someone other than Ford?

[280Z Turbo]

Ford doesn't make headlights. They have to buy them from a supplier. Maybe the volume wasn't high enough to justify running service parts.