CarBuzz Reader's Focus ST Crashes Twice And Declared A Lemon

CarBuzz reader Erik Huley, like so many of you, has been a gearhead most of his life. The 27-year-old luxury and exotic car salesman from Beverly Hills, California, has had the privilege of driving automotive gems like the Jaguar F-Type V8 convertible, Porsche 911 Turbo Cabrio, and the Mercedes-Benz S65 AMG. But his chosen daily driver is a Tangerine Scream Pearl Tri-Coat 2014 Ford Focus ST. Well, it was. Here's the lowdown: After his Scion TC was totaled by an idiot drunk driver in late 2013, Erik went out in search of his next ride.

He narrowed his choices to either the ST or a Nissan 370Z Nismo, opting for the former because it cost $20k less. But after only seven days of ownership, a woman ran a red light and crashed into him. The ST spent months in the body shop as the tri-coat paint proved hard to match. Once returned, Erik did some upgrades, such as an Alpine amplifier and carbon fiber Polk-Momo component speakers, which got him a ticket from a bike cop for loud music. Under the hood he also added a cold air intake. Erik then enrolled in the Ford ST Octane Academy, a driving school free of charge courtesy of Ford. After a couple days of hooning Fiesta and Focus STs, he returned home to a bit of a problem.

His car began to shutter violently when the A/C was on and continued to get worse. Ford spent two months trying to figure out the problem only to declare it a lemon. They agreed to replace it outright, but Erik will end up with a 2015 model due to supply issues. It should arrive by March. So Erik continued to drive the '14 ST. That is until the day after Christmas when a city bus and an Infiniti crashed into him, resulting in nearly $10k worth of damage. Insurance will fully cover the ST's repairs, despite its lemon status. So Erik, now driving a rental Hyundai, has gotten seriously lucky. One Focus ST is being repaired, though its engine is messed up, while a brand new, facelifted '15 model is on the way. It's great when things in life work out this well.