Ford Fiestas

[shalmaneser 26]

I've got to buy my sister a car. I've got up to £2K.

 

Obvious choice is a Ford fiesta, 1.25 as I understand the 1.3 is a pushrod design which should have been left in the stone age. Thinking about something like this...

 

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Ford-Fiesta-Hatchbac...=item1e5b579993

 

Dull and slow but it'll hopefully never break down and it's got to be underpowered as it's her first car. Does anyone know anything about them? Anything to watch out for? Given they're a ford I guess they rust if they're anything like the Pumas I looked at before buying the 205, where's worst - rear wheel arches I guess.

 

Alternative suggestions gratefully received.

 

Oh yeah and I found this which looks a proper bargain, but I doubt she'll let me buy it!

 

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/2000-PEUGEOT-306-GTI...=item4aa0f8e4fe

 

61K Mmmmm.

[M_R_205 5 1 Cars]

My gf had a 1.3 fezza, it was a pushrod engine but no chance of a cam belt faliure....

 

was ok for a first car no real problems in 2 years and 37k miles in that time all we ( I ) replaced was front pads and disc`s, silencer and drop links, and of course oil, filters and plugs, and tyres.. so all in all it was not to bad

 

Paul.

[omega 82]

get her a ka she might be able to park it!!!

[djc 0]

Clio or Corsa? When we were looking for a similar car last year most had seen repairs from previous roadside battles - keep 'em peeled!

[Jemehan 3 1 Cars]

If your going to go fez, mk1 or 2, they rock! and easy to maintain...if you get a half decent one, with 2k you should get a minter!

[shalmaneser 26]

If your going to go fez, mk1 or 2, they rock! and easy to maintain...if you get a half decent one, with 2k you should get a minter!

 

any good looking examples around brighton?

 

Not XR2i's!

Edited May 8, 2010 by shalmaneser

[blue_haddock 2]

actually the little 1.25 engine is quite a revvy little engine - a massive improvement over the rattly 1300 pushrod lump

[BERTMAN 40 1 Cars]

the 1.25 zetec lump is definently the engine to get, revy, dosent sound like a diesel and has a good 15hp over the 1.3 (Ford Anglia!!) engine.

[johno_78 2]

What's the criteria you need for this car? You can get a lot of car for £2k. like this one!

[dumbiron 0]

My choice

[The Arch Bishop 0]

I got given a fiesta as a courtesy car many years ago. It was the most superbly chuckable thing and I was genuinely sad to give it back. Wouldn't wan't one now though due to the chronic rust that they suffer from.

[Alastairh 47]

Clio.

 

As it happens, im selling my Mrs Clio. 53 plate, 1.2 16v on low miles. Its a nice little girly car, a freind of mine rolled hers at 60 mph and it took the impact very well being a 5 star car. They are also in your price range. Were looking for £2500 for ours.

 

Al

[SorrentoED 0]

my choice haha, these are so good for there money but a bit heavy to insure as a first car

[muddatrucker 125]

I recently had a Ford Fiesta Style on an 09 plate as a courtesy car, it didn't even feel like it was being driven, no fun whatsoever.

 

It did have a decent amount of pull for an engine that was the size of a golfball though.

[Tom Fenton 1,541]

If your going to go fez, mk1 or 2, they rock! and easy to maintain...if you get a half decent one, with 2k you should get a minter!

 

As a suggestion for a first car for someones sister that is possibly the worst suggestion ever. Old. Rot for fun. Poor safety equipment, no airbags, no seatbelt tensioners. Poor brakes compared to modern cars. Tired old technology smoky engines. Will require major work every year to get through an MOT, that is if it lasts that long. The list goes on.

For the record my good mate has a Mk1 Fiesta with a tuned crossflow on twin 40's and I'm a fan. But not for a sisters first car.

 

For my sister I would be choosing the safest most modern car that was in the price range, so that it would protect her in the event of an accident, and be reliable to not strand her somewhere where she could potentially be vunerable. For £2k you'll get a decent VW Polo.

[Anthony 1,003]

I'm a big fan of that generation (and the pre-facelift version) Fiesta in 1.25 16v form - it's certainly not quick, but it is revvy and responsive, handles well, and parts are cheap as chips. The brakes are so-so (but plenty good enough for its intended use), some of the interior colour-combinations look cheap and unsightly, and equipment levels aren't brilliant on lower-spec models, but that's neither here nor there frankly. I'd definitely buy one over the usual French or Vauxhall fodder from that era, put it that way.

 

Indeed, my mother bought one about five years back on my recommendation, and she's had pretty much trouble-free motoring from it - sails through MOT's and the only thing that it has needed besides the usual servicing is a heater control valve replacing (which I did for her in about 15 minutes). No rust at all on hers, everything still works as it should, and still feels very well screwed together.

 

There are alot of neglected nails out there though (as with anything at that end of the market) so buy carefully.

[evskigti6 0]

it'd be a micra for me, not as prety as a fez or corsa granted but they are safer very nippy and reliable as hell, can look good in some colours and you'll prob get a 2003 car for the money you want to spend. also i dont know where people get this idea that all fiestas are rot boxes, i have been into fords since i was a kid and have owned lots of fiestas and post mk3s are not prone to rust at all. the olny common problem on them are bottom arm bushes fail often.

 

cheers

 

evski

[Anthony 1,003]

also i dont know where people get this idea that all fiestas are rot boxes, i have been into fords since i was a kid and have owned lots of fiestas and post mk3s are not prone to rust at all. the olny common problem on them are bottom arm bushes fail often.

I suspect that it's a combination of Ford's historically rusting, coupled with the 1980's level of rust that Ka's of the same era suffer.

[DaveW 6]

Fords do rust, my 2000 mondeo need small welding on the sills for its mot and the mondeo i had before needed welding......

[richsmells 2]

I gave my gf's KA it's bi-annual wash and polish yesterday. It's rusty as hell. I quite enjoy driving it though.

[shalmaneser 26]

I've certainly seen a lot of Fords of the 2000 era with rust on them - Ka's rust like hell, pumas definitely rust as do mondeos. But if the Fester is better that's good news!

 

Alastair - thanks for the offer but £2K really is the top of the budget and I'm sure you can get 2.5K for a decent clio so I won't insult you with an offer!

 

I had a micra but that failed its MOT on rust (bottom of B pillar sill, very common apparently) , and TBH I don't think I could really buy another one after being bored to tears by that POS. It was incredibly reliable though.

 

I've heard the 1.25 is a decent engine for the size and there's a good choice of cars at the price point; I was tempted to go for a 106 because it would be more familiar from a mechanical point of view (I guess it'll be me maintaining the damn thing!) but thought i'd have a look at fords and they seem good cars.

 

Anywho, it seems that there are no major issues I've been able to identify from forums/online, so I guess I'll just have to get my bargaining hat on!

[muddatrucker 125]

I second the VW Polo, German cars do seem to go forever, before I started having wet dreams about the 205, I swore I'd only ever buy a German car in the future.

[jeremy 70]

I would look very carefully at the bodywork for rust, and if all seems ok then it would be on my list., however I would check out insurance costs too as any savings made on a car could easily be wiped out by the insurance premiums over the year/s.

[davev 1]

on that shape fiesta ive only known one place to rust and its not to common. its in a bit of a wierd place and i can only guess its a water trap. but if you open the drivers door and follow the seal down the roof/a-post, right at the end you can get a nasty thick scab.

 

other than that they are a very nice car, and should suffice for a while yet.

[harley 0]

Surely you cant go wrong with a 1.1 106 for a girls first car?

 

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1998-Peugeot-106-XS-...=item35a9068d40

 

With this one there would be plenty of change for some spinners and a big sub too.