Purchase or No?

coco_lola

Hey all,

Just looking for a bit of feedback here. First time buying a car by myself, I have a fair idea about cars but not sure if it's enough to get me by when buying! I went to view a 2003 Ford Fiesta 1.3 (it seems to be the general consensus that the 1.25 are better?) this evening. Was happy with how the car drove, very smooth, no issues with gears or brakes. Tyres all good and car runs quiet. There is a timing chain on it so this saves the issue of when the timing belt needs changing, but I'm not sure if the chain needs to be checked? It has 97,000 miles with a full service history, NCT 2-13.

Haggled down to 2,500 so far, said I'd think about it and get back to her. There are a few scratches on it, no dents, nothing out of the ordinary for a 9 year old car. Only thing is there is a tear/scratch about 1cm wide on the ledge of the boot, it seems to have been backed into something that scratched it. Everything else seems fine though, but I'm just wondering should I be concerned about this?

Otherwise, is there anything in particular I should know before making a purchase, or any feedback from the experienced boardies here?!

Henry Ford III

Get a 1.25 16v. It's massively better.

coco_lola

Henry Ford III wrote: »

Get a 1.25 16v. It's massively better.

Is there any reason why though? I just keep hearing they are better, but it only seems to be on fuel economy.

unkel

Depends what you use the car for. Most Fiestas are just glorified shopping trolleys / school run cars. No offense. Our one was like that.

The 1.25 is more powerful, more lively, more modern and uses less fuel. The 1.3 is ancient but very reliable and indeed, does not need any TB changes and is cheaper to buy in the first place

If I was a young fella / young wan interested in a bit of nippy driving with reasonable insurance, I'd buy the 1.25

For everybody else, the 1.3 can make a lot of sense...

coco_lola

unkel wrote: »

Depends what you use the car for. Most Fiestas are just glorified shopping trolleys / school run cars. No offense. Our one was like that.

The 1.25 is more powerful, more lively, more modern and uses less fuel. The 1.3 is ancient but very reliable and indeed, does not need any TB changes and is cheaper to buy in the first place

If I was a young fella / young wan interested in a bit of nippy driving with reasonable insurance, I'd buy the 1.25

For everybody else, the 1.3 can make a lot of sense...

Thanks for this. I use it mostly for driving to work (10-15 minute city drive) 5 days a week, the odd trip a bit further in the evenings or on weekends, and a once monthly 400km round trip, motorway driving. Main thing for me is reliability and fuel economy. I'm upgrading from a Yaris, which for a 1L was a nippy little thing! I'll look into the 1.25. Is 2,500 a bit much for a 1.3 2003 or is this normal?

unkel

coco_lola wrote: »

I'm upgrading from a Yaris, which for a 1L was a nippy little thing!

Yaris has similar performance to a 1.3 Fiesta. 1.25 is a lot quicker!

Tea 1000

coco_lola wrote: »

Thanks for this. I use it mostly for driving to work (10-15 minute city drive) 5 days a week, the odd trip a bit further in the evenings or on weekends, and a once monthly 400km round trip, motorway driving. Main thing for me is reliability and fuel economy. I'm upgrading from a Yaris, which for a 1L was a nippy little thing! I'll look into the 1.25. Is 2,500 a bit much for a 1.3 2003 or is this normal?

Keep the Yaris. The 1.3 Fiesta is very thirsty for it's size and paltry power output. You'd be better off finding a 1.6 Civic that'll have twice the power of the Fiesta and use less fuel if you want a change.