Hassle free grille replacement

Luke_Bowman · 3 Jun 2014 at 18:46

Bought a fiesta recently and it came with the bog standard, cheap, Aston Martin rip-off grille when I had specified that I wanted the honeycomb from the model above.

About a week ago I rang up and complained about it and the woman who sold me the car was very polite and understanding and told me she'll order the parts in.

Roll up to the garage today and after a 30-40 minute wait the new grille is fitted free of charge

and I am very happy with the result.

Just thought I'd share as I think it makes the car look miles better

Before:

After:

ShivP · 3 Jun 2014 at 19:34

Looks quite good actually - good choice!

acemastr · 3 Jun 2014 at 19:55

I'd have plastidipped the 'Aston Martin-esque' grill black personally

abbotsmike · 3 Jun 2014 at 20:04

acemastr said:
I'd have plastidipped the 'Aston Martin-esque' grill black personally

I'd have bought the ST, clearly the best way to get the honeycomb grill!

Luke_Bowman · 3 Jun 2014 at 21:15

ST was far too much for my insurance so I'm hoping that after I rack up NCB I can squeeze some power out of this magical 1.0 Ecoboost engine

abbotsmike · 3 Jun 2014 at 21:22

Luke_Bowman said:
ST was far too much for my insurance so I'm hoping that after I rack up NCB I can squeeze some power out of this magical 1.0 Ecoboost engine

I know the feeling. Just bear in mind it's very rarely financially sensible to tune a lower power car, just replace it with a faster one!

Luke_Bowman · 3 Jun 2014 at 21:24

abbotsmike said:
I know the feeling. Just bear in mind it's very rarely financially sensible to tune a lower power car, just replace it with a faster one!

Heard a lot of good things about the engine though. It's a 1L turbo petrol which is limited by the ECU to 100bhp on my model but folk over at Pumaspeed have got it all the way to 167bhp and Mountune offer a 135bhp kit which is quite cheap for the gain

abbotsmike · 3 Jun 2014 at 21:26

Yeah it is meant to respond pretty well to a remap, as long as clutch/gearbox can take it. Tuning any car is just a case of finding the next weak link in the chain.

A basic remap can take my Ibiza past what the clutch can handle for example.

shauncr91 · 3 Jun 2014 at 21:26

Surprised they threw in the splitter blade too, or did you spec this to be done as well? Fairly certain it isn't part of the standard ZS package.

Luke_Bowman · 3 Jun 2014 at 21:29

shauncr91 said:
Surprised they threw in the splitter blade too, or did you spec this to be done as well? Fairly certain it isn't part of the standard ZS package.

I was pleasantly surprised too, but I obviously didn't say anything at the garage...

abbotsmike said:
Yeah it is meant to respond pretty well to a remap, as long as clutch/gearbox can take it. Tuning any car is just a case of finding the next weak link in the chain.

A basic remap can take my Ibiza past what the clutch can handle for example.

I don't intend to go crazy with this car as it's not worth replacing so many parts for a few extra bhp but I feel the 130-145 region is safe for the car and I intend to take it to experts for a more valid opinion

shauncr91 · 3 Jun 2014 at 21:31

Luke_Bowman said:
I was pleasantly surprised too, but I obviously didn't say anything at the garage...

Definitely a nice surprise, been thinking of one for our mk7 for a while. The grilles look great btw

Luke_Bowman · 3 Jun 2014 at 21:32

shauncr91 said:
Definitely a nice surprise, been thinking of one for our mk7 for a while. The grilles look great btw

Really was pleased as it looked odd with the full 'dress-up' kit and not the proper grille. Garage was a pleasure to deal with too

tl45 · 3 Jun 2014 at 21:50

See a lot of Fiesta ST's in the car park at work but the ones which have those honeycomb grilles seem to look a lot better imho.

Good choice

Always bugged me when Ford did the grilles in first gen Focus ST's in grey plastic rather than black - they look lot better in black like the latest models get.

Skeeter · 4 Jun 2014 at 08:12

At the rate the Mk7 STs or ST styled cars are selling, the second hand market is going to be a buyers paradise in a couple of years!

rossk26 · 4 Jun 2014 at 09:03

Skeeter said:
At the rate the Mk7 STs or ST styled cars are selling, the second hand market is going to be a buyers paradise in a couple of years!

Happy days! The new Fez ST is one of a few new cars I'd like to own in a few years.

I really rate the 1l ecoboost engine too, maybe the missus could have that one!

Finglonga · 4 Jun 2014 at 09:26

There is a new ST somewhere for sale with the wrong grills, fog light trims an no splitter.

Mr. Peri Peri · 4 Jun 2014 at 12:10

Did changing the grill affect your insurance premium much?

ci_newman · 4 Jun 2014 at 13:02

Mr. Peri Peri said:
Did changing the grill affect your insurance premium much?

You probably know the answer to that already

Luke_Bowman · 4 Jun 2014 at 15:52

Mr. Peri Peri said:
Did changing the grill affect your insurance premium much?

Quite odd situation as I haven't declared it on my insurance...

The woman at the garage told me I wouldn't need to declare it as it's an OEM part and was professionally fitted. I actually went to another Ford garage close by and checked this with them and they agreed.

Any opinions??

Adam · 4 Jun 2014 at 15:58

Don't bother, why would you? Even if you did tell them they wouldn't replace it in the event of the car being written off.

Hassle free grille replacement

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