Here's some info for you - I bought a 2000 Ford Focus a few years back (upgraded to a 2002 Taurus 8 months ago). The one I bought was the 2000 Ford Focus SE Sony Xplod Limited Edition - as you can easily guess, it came with a rather nice sound system.
The car had every option minus the sunroof and the foglamps, and the dealer had tinted the windows. Sticker price was $17,700, invoice price was $16,700, I got it for $16,500.
My buying experience at the time was no muss, no fuss. I didn't even have to haggle. They came to the table with the invoice book and $16,500 written on a sheet of paper. I signed the paper work and was out of the door only a few minutes later.
My only complaints with the Focus were the seats and the brakes. If you are a tall person, the interior of the Focus is very accomodating - even has more headroom than a Taurus (narrower hip room and shorter leg room, of course). But if you weigh upwards of 250lbs (like me - I'm 6'6", 250lbs), the seats can be uncomfortable for extended travel.
My front brakes gave me the most trouble with the car. Around 15,000 miles, they began squeaking pretty bad. Front pads were shot, and one rotor was warped. At 17,000 miles, it started to happen again. I took it back to the shop for that, as well as some of the recall work, and a 2002 Taurus caught my eye, so I'm not sure what the fix for the brakes was the second time. I'm pretty sure they just turned the rotors.
All in all, it was a fun car to drive; the ZETEC engine was very peppy for a four beater, and the ride was nice - sporty and stiff.
Hope that any bit of this information helps.
the_reject