Would you recommend for focus 2003-2006?

I'm looking for a car under 5k, I see many ford focus 2003-2006 under that price with a mileage range of 90-130k. Is the focus reliable? Many of this do come with carfax so I can check their history(Sold by owners, dealer prices range from 4-7k for the same models).

Consumer Reports gives it good marks.

But ANY car with 90-130k is a risk and its condition means everything.

Carfax is not worth paying for. Take LONG test drives and have a mechanic check any car before buying it.

So ford focus are generally good cars. But you could very easily buy a bad one if you don't be careful.

And avoid dealers for the best deal.

Carfax is OK but if you have to pay for the report it is not going to give you a complete report. Not every repair shop reports to Carfax every repair that is done to the vehicle. It is best to have a mechanic that you trust check it our for you. The smaller a vehicle is most likely it has been driven harder because they are trying to keep up with the bigger vehicles. When you are checking out and comparing vehicles many times it is better to go with the one that has the larger engine so it had not been strained so much.