Mk7 Fiesta ST buying from a back street garage?

[Jamesemt]

Hi guys, sorry second post today.

I've convinced myself I should be looking at STs and not Ecoboosts. There seems to be quite a few around locally from backstreet garages. If I do my homework and pick one with a good service history is this a good idea or should I only be looking at one used from a main dealer?

I'm well aware there are a lot of thrashed/crashed/chavved examples kicking about and tbh buying a used car scares me as I've been fortunate enough to only have bought new cars for the last twenty years. Sadly I'm not in that position now so it has to be used.

Fwiw I'm looking at spending £10-£11k on a 2016 reg ST.

So any car is a risk, but is there anything else I can do apart from getting a history check, picking a 1 or 2 owner car and being careful with the service history? In this case would buying privately be better to get a feel for the owner? Maybe get an independent inspection for peace of mind?

Thanks.

[Muzzer79]

There's a difference between a 'backstreet garage', a good independent dealer and a main dealer.

'Backstreet garage' implies a ratty portakabin, bunting, an alsatian keeping guard and a salesman in a sheepskin coat. Avoid.

Choose a reputable independent dealer and the car will be more likely to be fine.

Other than that, just do the usual checks.

[Jamesemt]

Thanks. I suppose the problem is deciding who is reputable.

Reading around dealer reviews on the net and there are always people with bad experiences which has put me off a lot of dealers. I try telling myself that people don't tend to post positive reviews so it's a bit skewed.

[Nelka]

I bought mine privately from the first owner. I chose this method so I could assess him as much as the car. Lots of these are modded, thrashed & returned to standard hastily pre-sale.

They are pretty tough little things, if it’s been serviced regularly, has a new MOT & the owner checks out, there isn’t really much to worry about (IMO).

[Jamesemt]

Are you happy with yours?

[Nelka]

Jamesemt said:

Are you happy with yours?

Touch wood….

Had it almost a year, hasn’t missed a beat & just passed its MOT with no advisories. It’s my favourite car for years, and I’ve had a few - most far more valuable too.

2013, 65k miles.

There are a few in the Reader’s cars section if you fancy a bit of research.

[Terry Tibbs]

As said, they are tough little cars. Look for full service history, look at the mot history too.
Early ones (2013 and early 2014) had a recall done to sort a pipe from the expansion tank, look to see if this has been done if applicable.

Not a lot goes wrong with these, the motors are pretty strong although I’ve seen a few that have blown running lairy maps and big turbos. Think 300bhp +.

A stage 1 map by mountune/person/Collins etc is fine and gives a nice boost.

Rear calliper slider pins can seize, and rear spring isolators can need replacing but the these are easily sorted for very little effort and cash. Overall they are cracking cars, I’ve had mine a while now and i still get a massive buzz from driving it!

[Jamesemt]

Ok thanks guys

[ZX10R NIN]

Judge the car not the dealer I've known main dealers to have lemons, make sure everything works, you'll want to see receipts if it doesn't have them assume it hasn't been done get a Vcheck done, cross match the MOT History with the service history, make sure the car gets up to temp on the test drive & check the panel gaps.

This applies to all cars no matter who you're buying a car off, remember buy on condition & judge the car not who you're buying it from.