Used Fiesta ST 1.6 Ecoboost a good buy?
Used Fiesta ST 1.6 Ecoboost a good buy?
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Discussion

MY95

Original Poster:

12 posts

121 months

Sunday 10th September 2017
quotequote all
Hi guys,

Looking to buy a Fiesta ST (14 plate with 20k miles) as they can be had for £10k now. What are everyones opinions? Use the car for work a few times a week but mainly just for a fun fast reliable toy on weekends/one or two track days a year.

For those who own one of a similar age or more miles is there ay issues to watch out for? Frst time I will have paid more than £1000 for a car so a big move for me financially.

Thank you,
Matthew.

Birdster

2,539 posts

161 months

Sunday 10th September 2017
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Had one for two years and 16K miles, ST-3 in spirit blue.

ST-3 is worth it if only a few £'s more but not worth any massive premiums over an ST-2 in my opinion, buy the best car for your budget, unless you really want the sat nav, keyless etc.

Handles well and has the right amount of power that you can exploit on a daily basis straight out of the box. I think they're a great looking car and will pick one up again in a few years when they hit the bottom of their depreciation curve.

OBD thefts were/are an issue so I had a disklok on mine and relocated the obd port up behind the dash. Always over 30mpg no matter how I drove it, only issue might be the recaro seats if you're 15stone and over, suspension can be a bit firm but didn't overly bother me, just it was noticed at times.

MY95

Original Poster:

12 posts

121 months

Sunday 10th September 2017
quotequote all
Cheers Birdster! The mpg to fun ratio is very high. Had two test drives on mjxed roads yesterday and both averaged 38mpg (and the limiter was hit in 2nd a few times). Quite amazing how baggy one of the two felt though with just 40k miles on.

Any other opinions?

justanother5tar

1,314 posts

143 months

Sunday 10th September 2017
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I had one for a year/12k miles.

When I bought ST-2 was the best balance of value and spec. Not so much now, I'd get a ST-3 if I bought another now (which I'm seriously considering as they are great cars). At the very least get one with C/C.

Had MP215 on mine which turned it into what it should have always been from the factory IMO.

The Recaros in them are very narrow. I'm 12 1/2 stone and I was slightly tight in them. Had a Corsa VXR after the ST and the Sportster CS that are fitted to everything are much better TBH.

I bought mine as a toy too (have a work van and the mrs family hack), so my mpg was terrible compared what it would be as a daily/family/commuter car as well as a fun one. I was around 22mpg average.

Edited by justanother5tar on Sunday 10th September 13:50

LuS1fer

42,774 posts

263 months

Sunday 10th September 2017
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Had my black ST2 since December 2015 when it had 12k on it and it now has 26k on it. I tried the 1.0 Zetec S but the gearbox on that is nothing like as firm and when I drove the ST, it was a no-brainer, for me.

Initially, I had horrendous wheel wobble, which resulted in the Ford dealer replacing the discs and pads and a front wheel and three alignments.
It still juddered and wobbled and almost drove me insane that they didn't seem able to fix it. I tried to px it twice!
However, Ford looked at it yet again and said the replacement Ford discs were defective - who knows the truth of what they were telling me but that cured it.

Since that time, the only issue I had was when the handbrake suddenly went slack and I looked at that myself and found the handbrake activating lever/spindle on the offside rear caliper had stuck and cooked the pads on one side. I sprayed penetrating oil past the seal to get the lever moving smoothly again and replaced the rear pads with Green Stuff pads. So far, so good.

Haven't really got a bad word to say about it now, it's swift, the gearbox is good, it handles very well and it's currently showing 37.8mpg average. This may be a good guide to past us,e as I don't think you can reset it (at least I can't find it if you can).

The standard Bridgestone Potenza tyres are pretty poor and I replaced mine with Uniroyal Rain Sport 3s which improved the steering which, being electric, is not as good my previous ST150.

Wheels are very easy to kerb and the tailpipe trim can get rusty.

Annoyingly, no spare - they come with foam and compressor so you have to buy a full-size wheel if you want a proper spare.

ST2 is keyless but not auto-unlock like the ST3 and the leather/cloth Recaro seats are comfortable for me (narrow as noted so not for fatties) and heated full or intermittent. I'd avoid the ST1.

I also had to uprate the dipped beam bulbs to Phillips as they were a bit weak.

Overall, highly recommended. Reasonable to insure too (just renewed through Aviva as everyone else seemed on the increase)

HumanDoing

540 posts

144 months

Sunday 10th September 2017
quotequote all
MY95 said:
Hi guys,

Looking to buy a Fiesta ST (14 plate with 20k miles) as they can be had for £10k now. What are everyones opinions? Use the car for work a few times a week but mainly just for a fun fast reliable toy on weekends/one or two track days a year.

For those who own one of a similar age or more miles is there ay issues to watch out for? Frst time I will have paid more than £1000 for a car so a big move for me financially.

Thank you,
Matthew.
Mine just flew through its first MOT at 3 years (obviously) and 22,000 miles. Needed new brake pads, that's it. I think it's an amazing car, not least as ultimately it is 'just a Fiesta' so should also be pretty reliable and continue to be cheap to run, I'm not seeing any major issues being reported from other owners? I genuinely can't think of better for £10k - I am biased though smile

J4CKO

44,893 posts

218 months

Sunday 10th September 2017
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My eldest son has one and is loving it, only driven it once myself but it felt like great fun, going to nick the keys a bit more often !




willmagrath

1,309 posts

164 months

Sunday 10th September 2017
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I've had mine for 15 months and have done 23,000 miles. It's been great, hilarious fun and can be very economical.

As an example, a cruise to north york moors, 2 days of joining and the trip back saw 38mpg. Amazing for the performance.

I bought it when I was doing 100 miles a day and it wasn't best on the motorways! Very jiggly. The occasional road trip is fine.


Nickbrapp

5,277 posts

148 months

Sunday 10th September 2017
quotequote all
J4CKO said:
My eldest son has one and is loving it, only driven it once myself but it felt like great fun, going to nick the keys a bit more often !
Shouldn't need the keys the rate they are being stolen with OBD over rides

Cneci

79 posts

129 months

Sunday 10th September 2017
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Purchased an 2014 ST-2 last year with 25k miles on the clock.

I have put 11k mileage on the car with nothing major to report.

Coolant pipe had a small split, and the leds went on the sill lights, all replaced under warranty.

It does still drink some coolant however, I top it up every 2 months or so.

Some rattles over poor road surfaces, and the ride is fidgety at ~30mph. At NSL and above it tends to settle.

Great handling characteristics, however I echo previous comments about the electric steering vis a vis "feel."

The car goads you to push it though, however it still returns fairly good mpg, can see 45+ on a motorway run.

One thing I would warn against is the paint. Spirit blue I find very difficult to take care of, given the chance again I would try and source a white version.

Seats are fantastic for me (5"9, 13st), and the infotainment etc is good.


Northernchimp

1,282 posts

150 months

Sunday 10th September 2017
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Had one for a year, did 20k in it. Being 6ft 3 and 17 stone I didn't get on with the seats, I found the ride painful too. Paint was made out of cheese and chipped very easily and the leather quality is poor and was already wearing on the bolsters. Mine also had a problem with the brakes and would warp pads after 4-5k miles. Had a job on starting it a few times too.

Good fun to drive but I found the whole experience frustrating.

Shore

412 posts

106 months

Sunday 10th September 2017
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I might buy one next but i currently have a 2010 fiesta ZEtec S which I bought in July. It has the 1.6 120bhp engine and I'm impressed. It's such a fun car to drive and looks the part too. Mine has every optional extra on it too including the super rare heated leather seats. Quite a punchy and revvy engine.

A couple of things to keep an eye on
- alloy wheels are easily kerbed. Apparently ford never actually realised the paint code for the grey alloys. Also make sure they have no buckles or cracks.
-Stone chippage, Ford used really soft paint on these so they are prone to chipping easily.

They do look super appealing but if I were you I'd look at a couple and then buy the one in the best nick,

bagusbagus

472 posts

106 months

Sunday 10th September 2017
quotequote all
lol at the people here saying they have drove a brand new car to 20k miles and nothing much has gone wrong... WTF? what did you expect that should be just normal, infact till 100k there should be NOTHING wrong with the car except the regular consumables.
Than again we are talking about fords here...

HannsG

3,135 posts

152 months

Monday 11th September 2017
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Is it possible or eek out 45mpg?

lee_erm

1,091 posts

211 months

Monday 11th September 2017
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bagusbagus said:
Than again we are talking about fords here...
The 7th most reliable car manufacturer apparently. The conversation would be different if we were talking about Audi or Mercedes smile

http://www.reliabilityindex.com/manufacturer

J4CKO

44,893 posts

218 months

Monday 11th September 2017
quotequote all
Nickbrapp said:
J4CKO said:
My eldest son has one and is loving it, only driven it once myself but it felt like great fun, going to nick the keys a bit more often !
Shouldn't need the keys the rate they are being stolen with OBD over rides
That has been dealt with.

MY95

Original Poster:

12 posts

121 months

Monday 11th September 2017
quotequote all
Exactly the replies ive been looking for guys, so thank you.

lewishollings

199 posts

104 months

Monday 11th September 2017
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lee_erm said:
bagusbagus said:
Than again we are talking about fords here...
The 7th most reliable car manufacturer apparently. The conversation would be different if we were talking about Audi or Mercedes smile

http://www.reliabilityindex.com/manufacturer
This... cars are not what they once were and people still holds Fords reputation against them from years ago.

I've personally never had a problem with them, then again I'm not 50 years old or a badge we.

HJMS123

988 posts

151 months

Monday 11th September 2017
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I had an ST3 on lease for 2 years.

They really are so much fun!! Great handling, power you can exploit on a daily basis and all the toys you'd need for a daily.

The alloys seem to be made of chocolate and show 'kerb' marks when you haven't acfually touched a kerb and the ride is very firm.

Shore

412 posts

106 months

Monday 11th September 2017
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Most of them have rado grey alloy wheels but they are also available in silver which rare. Oh another thing they don't come with a spare wheel however you could salvage one down at your local breakers or online. A problem which affected the previous ST was body kits getting stolen. I do t know if this is still the case for the cars your interested in.