Ford Fiesta £7K budget

Ford Fiesta £7K budget

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Discussion

Drive Blind

Original Poster:

5,312 posts

189 months

Yesterday (17:59)
quotequote all
Hello,

younger member of the family looking for a new car.
Her first car was a Fiesta which she loved so the new car will be another Fiesta.

My advice was to say away from the 1l ecoboost and get the 1.25l engine. A few searches have thrown up the 1.1 3cylinder NA engine version. A quick google shows this is also a wet belt, so potentially could suffer the same issues as the 1l ecoboost?

Is chosing the 1.25 the best option or am i being overly paranoid?

Car needs to last 3-4 years whilst she's a student. So cheap insurance and running costs.

Gas1883

917 posts

60 months

Yesterday (18:02)
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My daughter has had her 1.0 fiesta vignale for 5 years , other than brittle window switches ( now solved ) , had no issues whatsoever.

Ry.Clarke

18 posts

38 months

Yesterday (18:04)
quotequote all
Ecoboost is fine, budget £700-£800 for a new belt into your purchase and change the oil every year. There are some bargains around at the moment if you change the belt.

Gas1883

917 posts

60 months

Yesterday (18:32)
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Actually I forgot , don’t get one with the polished / chrome looking wheels ( they might be a vignale option only ) , they look lovely when new but 5 years on the back ones look more Matt grey than chrome / polished , no damage to them , the finish has just gone on them .
Ford not intrested.

alfabeat

1,260 posts

124 months

Yesterday (21:09)
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I love the 1.25 engine. Ours is on 185,000 miles now. Great little reliable lump!

cliffords

2,219 posts

35 months

Yesterday (21:12)
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If you search spares and repairs vehicles on e ebay there are heaps of failed wet belt engined cars, many of them Ford's. Often as low as 65k miles.

Simon_GH

629 posts

92 months

Yesterday (21:41)
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Ry.Clarke said:
Ecoboost is fine, budget £700-£800 for a new belt into your purchase and change the oil every year. There are some bargains around at the moment if you change the belt.
This is the advice from someone in the know but there is a fair drama about the 1.0 ecoboost. We had a secondhand one for 9 years and it was a little better. Reluctantly traded in for an EV to help an arduous commute,

There are a few 1.0 ecoboost engined cars amongst our friends and family and no one I know has had any trouble.

It’s sensible to follow the service schedule with the correct grade oil but any independent can service one.

ChrisH72

2,474 posts

64 months

Yesterday (21:53)
quotequote all
I'm amazed to see that £7k really only gets you into a mk7 Fiesta and not a mk8.

The 1.25 is quite sweet to drive and should be reliable and cheap to run. It's not as quick or as flexible as an ecoboost but I think it's the one I'd buy.

I had an ST3 which was excellent but insurance is quite expensive even for an old git like me.

soad

33,703 posts

188 months

alfabeat said:
I love the 1.25 engine. Ours is on 185,000 miles now. Great little reliable lump!
Is it the same engine as two decades ago? Learned to drive in 2000/2001 models iirc (instructor upgraded cars).

Simon_GH

629 posts

92 months

I think the 1.25 is a Yamaha unit.

alfabeat

1,260 posts

124 months

soad said:
Is it the same engine as two decades ago? Learned to drive in 2000/2001 models iirc (instructor upgraded cars).
Not sure. Ours is from 2007. I picked it up with 150k on the clock, no history, hardly any oil in it. But it still soldiers on without any drama and I can confidently say that prior to my ownership it wasn't well looked after.

Simon_GH

629 posts

92 months

soad said:
alfabeat said:
I love the 1.25 engine. Ours is on 185,000 miles now. Great little reliable lump!
Is it the same engine as two decades ago? Learned to drive in 2000/2001 models iirc (instructor upgraded cars).
I would imagine it is two decades old but I’m sure injectors, mapping etc has been optimised over time. It was always a reliable lump and many manufacturers steered towards turbocharging for their new petrol engines.

The Gauge

4,198 posts

25 months

My 18yr old son has just had his grandmas 2013 1.0L Ecoboom Fiesta with just 20k miles handed down to him as a gift, it’s his first car. It’s a great car with some real poke.

Seeing as it was free I’m getting the wet belt changed for him, costing £950 including oil sump clean, and all the parts replaced that need doing whilst the engine is out.

Edited by The Gauge on Thursday 3rd April 16:09

twokcc

914 posts

189 months

Frind has a 1.25 vetec. Taken it from 10k -114k miles in 9 years. very monor faults- dodgy door lock on purchase 1 tps and couple track rod ends. had belt changed once - dont have to worry about it . Comfy ride and very reliable engine just get one thats got decent service history - doesn't have to be Ford, any garage can do it.
Only thing can see stopping it is tin worm -no signs at moment be interested in any comments on MK7 rust resistance.

Ry.Clarke

18 posts

38 months

The Gauge said:
My 18yr old son has just had his grandmas 2013 1.0L Ecoboom Fiesta with just 20k miles handed down to him as a gift, it’s his first car. It’s a great car with some real poke.

Seeing as it was free I’m getting the wet belt changed for him, costing £950 including oil sump clean, and all the parts replaced that need doing whilst the engine is out.

Edited by The Gauge on Thursday 3rd April 16:09
As a heads up, the engine doesn’t need to come out; unless they’ve specified they want to take it out to make it easier I wouldn’t go in expecting that to have been done.

When mine was done I had a video walkthrough of all the new parts fitted to the car; the condition of the sump and he cleared both ends of the strainer “live”; engine was still in.


Edited by Ry.Clarke on Thursday 3rd April 18:06