All these comments are irrelevant IMO.. this question shouldnt be applied to cars like this.. Its a different way of thinking, and living...
I know a guy who's spent over 60k (over maany years of owning it, inc 3 crazy engines) on a 700bhp Escort cosworth.. the snobbish "audi" owners who are soo attached to their precious Audi brand will say "why spend that money on a ford"
If you dont have the modifying bug, you simply cant ask that question, because its beyond your understanding.
Anyone can go out and buy a car, how many of you asking these questions can actually say you've built your own car..
I respect Matt, Jim, Bill, JCB, Kev etc who have actually put the hours into changing they're internals, changing turbos etc. Hopefully i'll get round to it eventually.
Money comes and goes.. the enjoyment of rebuilding an engine, cleaning it all out, starting it up after long hours of labour.. cant put a price on it.
On a side note, if i had 12k to spend on a car, i certainly wouldnt buy a Gay M3 lol, more common than your average ford focus.
Shy