Fiesta first car questions

dbmzk1

dbmzk1

dbmzk1

Soldato
Joined
28 Oct 2002
Posts
9,227
Location
Stockport / Manchester
I'm going to look at a 2002 Fiesta 1.25 this weekend with 80k on the clock and a 12 month MOT. It would be my first car, so I'm a little nervous as I don't want to buy a lemon. Aside from the obvious, what should I be looking for in this particular model?

Cheers.
 
will you be able to get day insurance to give it a test drive?

Ideally it would be best for at least someone you trust to come along
 
Yes, I will be taking with me someone who knows a fair bit about cars. However I'd still like to know things we should be looking for with this specific car.

It's a dealer and their insurance will cover me (I've checked). I'm going to avoid private sellers as I'm nervous enough already!

It's a Mk5 facelift model.
 
Cambelt is 100k or 10 years. But it can be a bugger to replace it, I gave up on one trying to undo the crank pulley which is held on by torque only - tried everything!
 
if its got a sunroof make sure it dont leak. i would make sure if its had a canbelt change, try and get money knocked of if it hasnt, should be about due one. and as GT3 says, they are bad for the rust.

I had a diesel one not so long ago, so not sure if you would get some of the problems as mine, plus mine was 5 years older.
 
Can't give you much specific advice about Fiesta's, I was supposed to buy one as my first car but bought a Mercedes instead.

Check underneath, see what the overall condition is like - whether its rotten to bits or not, front suspension arms etc.

Check tyres for badly uneven wear patterns, could indicate something more than just tracking being out.

If you can drive it, drive it in circles at slow speeds on full lock - listen for knocking noises, indicates worn/damaged steering joints.

Listen to the engine starting up from cold - if its warm when you arrive, ask yourself why? I had a quick test drive of a 1.25 Fiesta, and although the car was in lovely shape the engine was rattly as a bag of spanners, even when heated up!
Walked away from that one!
 
There's actually a couple I'm thinking of looking at now actually, they range from £900 to £1,400. Seems to be about the norm round here at the moment.

How much does it roughly cost to change the cambelt inc parts and labour?
 
So If the cam has not been changed on a car like this would you suggest it be done urgently? Guess I'd have to haggle a bit!
 
So basically on any car this age if it's not been done then it needs doing asap and it will cost £150-£250 ish... hmm!
 
If you give me the reg i can check when the belt is due, also if its had any work done under warranty from Ford.
 
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