Ford Fiesta 98....quick thoughts?

jayjay2010

Hey,

My friend is buying a little ford fiesta 1998 private sale tomorrow.

Just wondering is there anything I should look out for? Like common problems or whatever...

He is getting a cheap car as he needs to drive from dublin to leitrim once a week.

It's only costing him around €500 so he's not too worried but it would be nice to know anything at all.

Cheers!

If it's the 1.3 a check that the spark plugs aren't stuck in the head is well worth doing. Check coolant is clear and not rusty coloured. Have a look at the sills and jacking points for rust. Make sure the fan kicks in and also that the heater inside blows both hot and cold. Can't help aside from that, they're not my thing

David09

Had lots of them before and never had plugs stuck in the head, despite hearing this from lots of different sources.

They are a good little car with no end to cheap second hand parts and in my opinion are one of the cheapest cars you could possibly run. Despite being cheap, they can be quite nice to drive too.

Check for worn suspension bushes and anti roll bar links. Heater fan resistors can go along with hot/cold valves.
New parts are ridiculously low priced, even from main dealers so if there small things wrong it there's not much to worry about.

The biggest thing which could put one of these off the road is rust. As mentioned, check the sills but also up around the rear undercarriage including box-sections.

Good luck with the purchase.

David09

David09 wrote: »

Had lots of them before and never had plugs stuck in the head, despite hearing this from lots of different sources.

If they are changed regularly there won't be an issue

jayjay2010

Thanks for all your fast replies!

Ill make up a do-check list for the morning!

Cheers!

zilog_jones

I just got rid of one of these a few weeks ago (upgraded to a bigger car ). For that kind of regular long distance driving I would not recommend it - not sure if they're all like this but on mine (also a '98) the driver's seat had worn badly so lower back support was terrible. There's nowhere comfortable to rest your left foot in RHD versions (German designers, eh? :rolleyes:), also no adjustable steering wheel or seat height on lower trim levels (mine was an LX and didn't, maybe Ghia does). 1.3 engine is too noisy at motorway speeds, definitely go for the 1.25 Zetec-SE engine if he is going to go for a Fiesta.

As others said, watch out for rust (rear wheel arches, sills, rear brake lines), heater control valve (stuck on cold/hot), suspension bushings (any knocking, squeaking, or soft bouncy ride means work probably needed), fan resistor pack (started smoking in mine!).

Max Power1

Rust is a killer in these cars.

Check wheel arches, the boot floor, sills, door panel (esp corners)

The 1.3 engine is primitive and sounds like a tractor but is reliable.

zilog_jones

Mine was reliable, but didn't run very well - low compression in one cylinder, misfiring, etc. That's the other reason I got rid of it If it's rough when idling, walk away...

conical

http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/carbycar/ford/fiesta-1995/?section=bad

Solnskaya

worthy,.... but dull.

colm_mcm

Oh Christ, what do you want for 500 quid?
The fiesta handles quite well and is reliable transport once its not a rust bucket.

What exciting car would you go for if you were in the same situation?

David09

zilog_jones wrote: »

I just got rid of one of these a few weeks ago (upgraded to a bigger car ). For that kind of regular long distance driving I would not recommend it - not sure if they're all like this but on mine (also a '98) the driver's seat had worn badly so lower back support was terrible. There's nowhere comfortable to rest your left foot in RHD versions (German designers, eh? :rolleyes:), also no adjustable steering wheel or seat height on lower trim levels (mine was an LX and didn't, maybe Ghia does). 1.3 engine is too noisy at motorway speeds, definitely go for the 1.25 Zetec-SE engine if he is going to go for a Fiesta.

As others said, watch out for rust (rear wheel arches, sills, rear brake lines), heater control valve (stuck on cold/hot), suspension bushings (any knocking, squeaking, or soft bouncy ride means work probably needed), fan resistor pack (started smoking in mine!).

I agree but only to a point. There are far worse cars out there and for small money the fiesta really scores. I wouldn't care less about the non-adjustable steering wheel and the pedals seem to be placed spot on. Try a saxo or 106 and you'll understand about uncomfortable pedal location and strange offset driving position..
Quite strangely, the base models seem more comfortable than higher spec models. I noticed that with height-adjustable seats in these, the height-adjusting mechanism takes up about an extra inch under the seat base. So what you get is a seat that's rather high at the lowest setting and head rubbing roof at max. (I'm 6"3!!)
As for the 1300cc ohv engine, they are extremely reliable and don't use timing belts or have any complicated parts.
A full service including valve clearance adjustment can usually restore a noisy one to full health.
On the motorway, they aren't too bad for what they are. There are far worse cars for small money which would be really unsuited to motorway driving, such as 1.0 micras.

TestTransmission

conical wrote: »

http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/carbycar/ford/fiesta-1995/?section=bad

Thanks for the informative post :cool:

mcwhirter

Good heater

zilog_jones

David09 wrote: »

I agree but only to a point. There are far worse cars out there and for small money the fiesta really scores. I wouldn't care less about the non-adjustable steering wheel and the pedals seem to be placed spot on. Try a saxo or 106 and you'll understand about uncomfortable pedal location and strange offset driving position..

Yeah the pedals themselves were grand, it's just there was no place you rest your left foot properly next to the clutch which I found very annoying on long journeys. If the competition is worse, I couldn't really recommend anything that small for that amount of driving...

kildarelad

First thing that went through my mind when i saw this was rust !!
Seriously though their prone to rust on the sill pockets an arches and are an extremely hard car to sell on as nobody wants them

DrivingsCool

Max Power1 wrote: »

Rust is a killer in these cars.

Check wheel arches, the boot floor, sills, door panel (esp corners)

The 1.3 engine is primitive and sounds like a tractor but is reliable.

I actually had one that was 1998, years ago, and it was a decent car. It was economical for 1.3 but a 1.o micra will leave you behind, its very slow!!

The car was always serviced by ashley ford, and after a service the engine was quite like a brand new car, but the guy said something about the reason being noisey is to do the tappets loosening and it actually did sound liek a tractor. One petrol attendant started putting diesel in it one time, it was so loud he mistook it!!

the passenger side sill did rust though and needed a weld for nct but not a days problem.. Good little car but cost wise Id get a micra as tax is only 172 euro as apposed to 333euro on fiesta 1.3.

DrivingsCool

DrivingsCool wrote: »

tax is only 172 euro as apposed to 333euro on fiesta 1.3.

Makes the grand to tax the ZT a tad easier to stomach when my sister pays a third of that for a Ka

DrivingsCool

RoverJames wrote: »

Makes the grand to tax the ZT a tad easier to stomach when my sister pays a third of that for a Ka

Rover should really reimburse you that grand, road tax money, as you should be paid to drive that!! .

You should get a car worthy of a grand road tax.

(Hold on, I cant talk, I drive a Micra lol ;P An automatic Micra!!)

(Hold part 2: Rover cant reimburse you of course as they went bust, maybe you could put a claim into Nama for bad debts!!)

DrivingsCool

DrivingsCool wrote: »

Rover should really reimburse you that grand, road tax money, as you should be paid to drive that!! .

You should get a car worthy of a grand road tax.

(Hold on, I cant talk, I drive a Micra lol ;P An automatic Micra!!)

(Hold part 2: Rover cant reimburse you of course as they went bust, maybe you could put a claim into Nama for bad debts!!)

That's a retarded post on so many levels, if I recall correctly you are the chap who can't get his micra started and can't fathom how to either. I have no bother paying the grand to tax my very nice ZT BTW is that you in the driving is cool DVD in your signature?

jayjay2010

Thanks for all your kind replies.

Went ahead with the sale, 450€ is very little to pay for any car anyway.

So far its going grand, have it about 1 week. Travelled from cork to dub and dub to leitrim already and so far so good....

cheers! :cool: