Fiesta Mk6 ST150 - what to look out for

Fiesta Mk6 ST150 - what to look out for

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Discussion

mneame

Original Poster:

1,484 posts

218 months

Thursday 20th April 2017
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Hi,

Thinking of buying an ST150 for a cheap hot hatch. Other the usual to look out for when buying a cheap second hand car, is there anything specific with these to look out for?

Tia,
Matt.

LuS1fer

41,715 posts

252 months

Thursday 20th April 2017
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I had one for a few years.
The only issues I had were
(i) a broken front spring which rotated and shaved the tread off the tyre. Could have been nasty.
(ii) the cheap plastic rear seat release catches inevitably break and can be tricky b*stards to remove and replace but they are cheap enough off ebay and YouTube is very helpful.
(iii) an engine warning light that came on infrequently and the code suggested a throttle issue. This can either be the pedal (it's a fly by wire throttle) or the throttle body.
I suspect it was the throttle body which are about £400 new (eek!) although you can get them on ebay or aftermarket between £185 and £250. I never replaced mine as if you turned it off and on again, it went away for a while plus I backed the car into a wall and traded it in on a 2013 ST.

One general issue is that, while young lads tend to like and actually look after these cars (usually far better nick than lesser models), they all fit sh*t tyres so factor in better tyres - I put mine on Uniroyal Rainsports which are about £80-ish.

That reminds me of another general issue - corrosion round the wheel rim can cause air to leak and the tyres deflate - a good fitter will sand the inner rim to get a good seal but mine didn't and it cost me a tyre which went right down and shredded its innards. The other "wheel issue" is the centre plates which corrode under the lacquer or just fall off and they are about £100 a set.

Overall, I would recommend these cars - good steering, good gearshift, great looks, especially in blue, I actually bonded with mine far more than my 13 ST which has worse steering. Not that fast even against a TDI but fast enough and if you go through moneysupermarket website, cheap to insure (mine was under £200).
Perhaps the worst thing about the ST150 is they are not particularly quiet on the motorway as the 5 speed box is low-geared - it really needed a 6th gear or higher ratios but it's certainly not a deal breaker.
I used to get an indicated 37mpg on average (dash readout).

blade7

11,311 posts

223 months

Saturday 22nd April 2017
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I bought my Mrs one for a runaround a few years ago, it was ideal for that and she really liked it. They are quite thirsty for the performance and the gearbox can give trouble. I think 180 bhp is achievable with cams and an exhaust too. Not sure what they sell for now but a good one for under £3k would be a great buy.

mneame

Original Poster:

1,484 posts

218 months

Monday 24th April 2017
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Cheers for the feedback.

Thinking of one for a bit of a general mildy warm hatch / the odd track day. Currently have a 7 seater (overkill for what I need, but extra space is handy) for family duties and getting bored.

Have a budget of £2.5k and there seems to be a mixed bag out there. Some terrible ones that have been "boy'd up" and some fairly tidy looked after examples.

danxr3i

30 posts

122 months

Monday 21st August 2017
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I've owned my st150 for about 6yrs and it's a lovely car to own. Not exactly slow but not a tarmac terror. They handle great and sound lovely. Rear arches do go eventually. But looked after are not really an issue. My big ends went at 87k which sounded terrible and was quoted at £2500+ to fix. I though sod that and bought myself a bearing set and some bedding in oil. It cost me £97 and roughly 3hrs to fix. It's now done over 1500 miles in silence.
I've had a front spring. Snap which killed the Tyre and the seat catch go. All easy fixes if you're handy with the spanners.
All in it's a great car to have if well maintained.
Only downsides are short gearing and terrible brakes I put mondeo caliper with st170 300mm discs. They're great now.
Like most Ford's if you like to tinker you're well in. If you don't. Expect bills

AMST09

570 posts

187 months

Friday 25th August 2017
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Tend to boil steering fluid will be black once boiled

Shore

412 posts

95 months

Saturday 26th August 2017
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The turning circle is absolutely shocking on them. It's because it's such a big engine crammed into a small space. I looked into buying another one but couldn't find a decent one. When I sold my one 3 years it was turning into a money pit. I still follow the car online and the boy that bought it has spent thousands on it. Glad I shifted it when I did lol.