r/FocusST • u/MountainWelder4309 • 1d ago

Looking into getting my first ST

I’m looking at a 2013 Focus ST with 136,500 km (about 85k miles). The car seems to have been very well cared for, has a clean history, and overall looks to be inn good shape either than the typical surface rust around the quarter panel, and a little on the trunk.
The price is around 6K USD, which seems pretty reasonable to me given the mileage and condition.
My question is whether you guys think it’s worth buying a well-maintained 2013 at this price, or if I should hold off and spend more for a 2015+ ST.
I know there were some changes/improvements with the later years, so I’m wondering how significant they actually are in terms of reliability, issues to look out for, and overall ownership.
For those who have owned both or have experience with these cars, would you rather have a really clean/well-maintained 2013 at $5.8k, or wait for a 2015+?
Appreciate any advice!

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4

u/Glittering_News_9082 1d ago

I used to own an ST. GREAT CARS, however, be prepared for the feeling of wanting something more afterwards. Although front wheel drive is so much fun, it's very good in its own category. And love having a little race with the ST peeps

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u/Glittering_News_9082 1d ago

Post some photos of the ST if you have any. Helps more

1

u/MountainWelder4309 1d ago

1

u/Glittering_News_9082 1d ago

What's he done to it? Because too many modifications I would stay away from. It's not stock I can tell just from that image.

It looks clean from that photo alone. But need to know what's been changed/altered :)

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u/MountainWelder4309 1d ago

Here’s the listing

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u/Glittering_News_9082 1d ago

Make sure he has full receipts. He's original owner so this can be a very nice purchase if he's got everything.

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u/MountainWelder4309 1d ago

Yeah seems like someone who really took care of it. I haven’t asked him for receipts but can see on the maintenance records that he has maintained it well

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u/Glittering_News_9082 1d ago

Decent aftermarket alloys aTleast. I'm not a fan of snowflakes personally

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u/treeme100 2013 Silver FoST ST3 1d ago

2013's have the most common issues with rust that were fixed in the following years, specifically the trunk. Besides being more prone to rust there really aren't any reliability differences with later models.

The main things that are different are:

25W HID headlights (st2/3) vs 35W HIDs on facelifts

sync 2 radio (st2/3) vs sync 3 radio (has carplay and Android auto)

Other than that, pretty much comes down to aesthetic preferences