This 2016 Ford Focus RS Can Be Your Dream Hot Hatch – If You Ignore the Rebuilt Title

A nice copy will usually set you back in the region of $30,000, though for a barely-driven example that's been properly taken care of, you should expect to pay in the region of $50,000. Thus, whenever one pops up on the used car market for under $30k, it usually changes hands within a few hours/days.

But that's not the case here, as the pictured 2016 Ford Focus RS comes with a rebuilt title. This means that it was so badly damaged at one point that it was deemed a total loss, yet someone decided to breathe new life into it. And while it may not bear any visible battle scars, it does not have the appeal of a pristine copy, preferably an unmodified one, because it also sports a few aftermarket touches.

According to the vendor, it has a new intercooler, an aftermarket exhaust system, different coilovers on all four corners, a rear sway bar, and a few other things noted in the ad that we will get to in a few moments. The odometer reads almost 34,000 miles (~54,700 km), and you're looking at an all-black copy with a matching interior and a few light blue accents like the brake calipers and RS logos.

When it came out, the Mk3 Focus RS had 350 horsepower produced by its 2.3-liter EcoBoost four-pot and 350 lb-ft (475 Nm) of torque. That made it some 10% punchier than the era's Mustang EcoBoost. The manual all-wheel drive hot hatch needed 4.7 seconds to sprint to sixty-two mph (100 kph), and its top speed was rated at 165 mph (266 kph). Given the mods, this one is likely a bit quicker.

Now, about the ad that we promised we’ll get back to, you can find it here on Garage Kept Motors. Spruced up with multiple images, the listing reveals a buy-it-now price of $29,500. And if it wasn’t for the rebuilt title, we would've deemed it a great purchase. However, we'd recommend searching the web a bit more and finding a different copy that wasn't involved in any serious accidents, even if it has more miles under its belt.

Don't forget that the 2.3L EcoBoost engine is not particularly known for its reliability, so you may want to inspect any Ford Focus RS Mk3 you plan on buying in the presence of a trusty mechanic who knows their way around these power units. On second thought, a brand-new Ford Mustang packing the four-banger doesn't sound bad at all, especially since you can land one from $30,920, excluding the destination charge.