Used Ford Fiesta buying advice

matt33

Hi, I've been researching the pros and cons of buying a used VW Polo vs a Ford Fiesta. I've found both on boards and on whatcar? that the general consensus seems to be that a used Ford Fiesta (MK6 / 6th generation) is a safe bet in terms of reliability and driving experience.

So, with that in mind, I've been trying to figure out what the sweet spot is regarding age, engine size, trim (Studio / Style / Titanium etc...) and mileage for the Fiesta.

I know little about cars but in terms of 1.2 vs 1.4 and Zetec I'm struggling to pinpoint what constitutes value. Is there one engine edition that is notably stand out? One engine that is best value?

Trying to stay sub €5k if I can. I've found a few on DoneDeal and Adverts in the €4K range but it would be great to get a more experienced opinion to gauge the market. (I can't post links because I'm new unfortunately)

In terms of use it will be mostly city with occasional cross country motorway trips likely adding up to less than 8,000km per year. Any MK6 Fiesta owners that can offer an opinion on their experience would be much appreciated too.

bazz26

The 1.4 litre engine wasn't great performance wise for the capacity it was and most 6th gen Fiestas with this engine were fitted with the terrible automatic gearbox until the 1.0 litre came along later on so imo I'd wouldn't bother with the 1.4 litre. The 1.25 litre engine is a much better engine, it's a nice free reving engine and pretty reliable. My sister has a 5th gen Fiesta with that engine for 10 years and it has been very reliable. The 1.25 litre started out as 75bhp but they changed them to two version - 60bhp and 82bhp, later on. Try and avoid the 60bhp version as it's just devoid of any life.

So to summarize, go for the 1.25 litre in either 75bhp or 82bhp manual.

matt33

Cheers Bazz, appreciate the info. So when I'm looking at listings, that's any listed as 1.2L or is there a specific age range that the better engine was produced? Not all listings on DoneDeal seem to mention the bhp so I'm wondering how you know if it's the right version or is a phone call usually required for those details?

bazz26

The 1.25 litre engine can sometimes be listed as either 1.2 or 1.3 depending on which site it's on or who entered the advert. Stick the car's reg into the free check on the likes of motorcheck.ie and it should tell you the bhp/PS in the description of the car.

matt33

Thank you, that's really helpful!

FrankC21

Ford fiesta all the way, I have 2008 Ford Fiesta 1.25 261,000 km at this moment doing 3,700km mileage per month and does 130km/h on the M1 motorway. Pretty easy to maintain DIY head light bulbs, spark plugs and air filters.

Make sure you get the zetec model with sporty looks, Fog lights and sun roof.

did not stall ever since I took position of the car,

Cons does burn oil as it age watch out for that. Make sure you get the oil and air filter change regularly for better MPG. The fan can fail my one does only works at max settings.

Car99

FrankC21 wrote: »

Ford fiesta all the way, I have 2008 Ford Fiesta 1.25 261,000 km at this moment doing 3,700km mileage per week

Wow that's alot of Km's per week in any car .

colm_mcm

Car99 wrote: »

Wow that's alot of Km's per week in any car .

Especially when he’s only going from Louth to Dublin

FrankC21

Sorry it's a typo meant to say per month

FionnK86

Friend wants me to go look at this for her, anything to look out for lads - I've read thread.

https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/ford-fiesta-titanium-2014/25233053

FrankC21

Is that the ecoboost engine? For me That's too much money to spend for a fiesta.

colm_mcm

FionnK86 wrote: »

Friend wants me to go look at this for her, anything to look out for lads - I've read thread.

https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/ford-fiesta-titanium-2014/25233053

Nothing much goes wrong on them. That’s a good spec too. Look for evidence of accident repair, do a history check and make sure it has service history.

A new one is €18-20k so I don’t agree with the previous comment that €8000 is too much to spend on a Fiesta

Arthur Daley

6500/7,000 would be closer to the mark for the year and private sale, but if the low mileage checks out it could be worth stretching to 7.5 towards 8.

colm_mcm

Arthur Daley wrote: »

6500/7,000 would be closer to the mark for the year and private sale, but if the low mileage checks out it could be worth stretching to 7.5 towards 8.

Relative to others on sale it’s good value IMO.


https://www.donedeal.ie/cars/Ford/Fiesta/2015?sort=price%20asc

FionnK86

Hi lads, yes low mileage checks out. He's a deacon/accountant, drives a Merc & bought the fiesta for the missus but I can she she hardly ever drives it. He's holding it for us as she wants to get insurance and we got it for 8 rather than 8250 though probably could've got it for less but have a feelings he's not really in a hurry to sell.

We looked at 1 a year older in Charlton on Saturday but it had bits missing (bonnet catch plastic part) , cheap chinese ****e tyres on back (one with chip out of it) and tailight with small bit of red tape so we were going in yesterday with that example as a reference.

Going to insurance today so she can see if the cover on here cert which shows she can drive other cars, really means she can test drive. Let you know if she goes ahead with it.

colm_mcm

This is another example of when buying privately tells you way more about the car than a salesman can make up.