c1998 fiesta for cheap runabout advice

[Timja]

Hi,

I'm thinking about buying a fiesta of about 1998 as there seem to be loads under £1000, to use as a daily runabout.

After something cheap, reliable and cheap to run/good on petrol etc.

Is there anything I need to look out for when buying? What sort of mileages are they good for? Any particular engine best? Were there any specs that are must haves?

Seen ones like the 1.3 finesse s reg 70k for about £600 which sounds ok.

Any advice gratefully received.

Cheers,

Tim.

[ChristianZS]

Timja said:

Hi,

I'm thinking about buying a fiesta of about 1998 as there seem to be loads under £1000, to use as a daily runabout.

After something cheap, reliable and cheap to run/good on petrol etc.

Is there anything I need to look out for when buying? What sort of mileages are they good for? Any particular engine best? Were there any specs that are must haves?

Seen ones like the 1.3 finesse s reg 70k for about £600 which sounds ok.

Any advice gratefully received.

Cheers,

Tim.

Personally I would try get a 1.25 Zetec. The engines seem a little more refined than those Endura units.

[BlackMagic *tree]

You definitely want the Yamaha built 1.25 engine rather than the Endura/Kent/HCS OHV one.
You need to look for rust as these Fiestas were known for it around the arches, front fllor pans, fuel filler cap area and boot floor.
Check the numbers in the floor match haven't been tampered with and match the documents, etc.

A nice one to go for would be the Si model.

[trickywoo]

Rear bushes on the front suspension wishbones seem to fail every five minutes. Can get expensive if you need the tracking sorted as well.

The brakes are st but cheap and easy to replace.

The heater control often fails (easy diy fix and £50 ish for the part).

Not many garages bother changing the fuel filter when they should. Its position just ahead of the rear wheel along the sill means it rusts a treat.

Brake pipes corrode pretty quick.

The synchro on 2nd can be a weak spot on 1.6's. Often knackerd the low side of 60k.

I find the seats way too hard and badly shaped / postiioned.

There is a rubber gromit on the horizontial, located engine side of the firewall that likes to leak water into the passenger footwell (and over the ecu if you are unlucky). Difficult to fix properly.

[Timja]

Thanks for the advice - I shall continue having a look about. Once i spoke to the owner of that particular one i was a bit worried when she told me it was last serviced over 18 months ago and had a few dents etc...

Any idea what sort of mpg i can expect from a 1.25?

I know it's not going to be the most exciting or fast drive, but i think it's one of the nicer looking cars around for under £1k and i want a daily runabout to balance out the 17mpg of my current car!