I'd say yeah, they have a few minor quirks as they get up in mileage but overall they are pretty reliable cars, and extremely fun to drive.
I've owned quite a few focus's, and currently own a 2003 zx5 for my daily, here's a faily local SVT for sale on a focus forum i am part of. Not sure if you can see them without being a member though...
2002 Black SVT ZX3 - 40k miles, in Akron...$4500obo..Clean title.
http://forums.focaljet.com/vehicles-sale/626600-sale-02-black-svt.html
Over the winter there were a handful in that price range or lower, with 60-100k miles, but they all went fast.
Keep your eyes peeled, check Autotrader as well, I almost went to Harrisburg, PA last fall before buying my current focus for a SVT that was $6000 and had 71k miles on it.