Should I really be considering a Fiesta?

dadofsam · 13 Sep 2009 at 15:23

Hi all,

A semi spec me thread really, have come into some money, around £7k, and feel it's time to replace my very trusty reliable VW Vento with something a bit smaller, smarter and faster, and I have found myself liking the Fiesta Zetec S, (02 - 08), although the,and I realise it's a different car, Leon and Golf (GT TDIs) have both appealed, so basically,

I have a budget of £7k-ish, and fancy a 3 door, nice driving, 'nippy', reliable car, does this exist for the budget?

Many thanks

paradigm · 13 Sep 2009 at 15:31

Well for starters if you fancy a 3-door, the Leon is out, as its 5-door only.

Spuderoony · 13 Sep 2009 at 15:32

How many miles do you do a year? How many doors do you want?

If you buy an 04/05 Zetec S with about 50k miles on it you could have it paid for, insured & sorted with a couple of grand to spare, easily. Do you need to spend it all? My brother's done 20,000 miles in his 04 Zetec S in just over a year and it's not missed a beat, despite driving it fairly enthusiastically.

melchy · 13 Sep 2009 at 15:33

Why a Zetec S and not an ST ?

Disco Boy · 13 Sep 2009 at 15:35

If you want nippy don't buy a golf, they weigh the earth.
The fiesta zetec s, and polo gti are worth considering if you want a nippy hatch. As well as the cliosport and fiesta ST if you want something fast as opposed to nippy.

Spuderoony · 13 Sep 2009 at 15:38

Insurance, I assume, seeing as he's 20. It'll be £1,500+ a year on the ST (give or take for individual circumstances). It's a fair bit lower for the Zetec S.

dadofsam · 13 Sep 2009 at 15:53

Insurance is the main thing holding me back form the ST unfortunately, I have a 50 mile round commute daily, although hopefully this will be decreasing soon, hence why I was considering spending the majority of the money on a low mileage example to hopefully retain some value when / if I eventually come to sell it.
The Golf and Leon were more a passing thought, and were left by the wayside due to the points you all have mentioned,
Is there anything I should be looking out for on used examples, or even other options, I'll look at the polo GTI now,
Thanks

miniyazz · 13 Sep 2009 at 16:29

A high-mileage example will depreciate less by putting lots of miles on it than a low-mileage one; it may of course need a bit more money putting into it though. But I wouldn't use high-mileage use as a reason for getting a low-mileage car.
Watch out for rust, on the fiestas especially

Tute · 13 Sep 2009 at 17:16

How about a nice Mk.II Focus? Can get a good Titanium 2.0 example for that kinda money, with change to spare.

If you like your revs then there's the Focus Mk.I ST170 - a bit heavier on insurance but you'd probably have half your budget left over to afford it. There's also the Civic Type-S or Type-R? R will probably be too much on insurance but S won't be as it's less powerful than the Focus.

Beyond that there's the usual really - Golf, Leon, A3, etc.

How about a Leon FR? I found them to be quite reasonable for insurance, or if it's too much you could always have a look for a 2.0TFSI model, 40bhp down on the FR but much lower grouping.

[Edit] Actually the Leon might be a bit too expensive, having had a look around. I've found them for high 8K's at dealer so assumed they were closer to 7K private, doesn't seem to be the case though.

chippy08 · 13 Sep 2009 at 19:25

The only trouble with fords is there rust buckets but very good engines.

Biohazard · 13 Sep 2009 at 19:29

R.O.S.S.I · 13 Sep 2009 at 19:39

I bought a 2006 Zetec-S, cracking car, really do enjoy driving it. It has nice half leather seats, air con etc, and I really like the exterior styling of them.

I too was deciding whether or not to go for the ST, but I thought I'd go the sensible route as I didn't want to overshoot it going from a 1.2 punto to a 2.0 fiesta lol.

I only paid I think £5400 for mine, which was a 06 reg red mk6 (facelift) with 26k miles on the clock, immaculate body work and 6 months tax to boot.

Insurance was only £650 for the year (2 yrs NCD, 22 yrs old) which I think is pretty reasonable seen as though its a 1.6 petrol and is fairly nippy. Only thing which is a downer is that its slightly higher tax than normal, but to be honest its only tax and its only something I pay for once a year so it doesnt really bother me.

Wouldn't mind having the diesel TDCi version atm with petrol prices as they are as i'd get an extra 100 miles or so out of the tank, but its no biggy as its only uised to get me to and from work which isn't too far really, and general town driving.

In my opinion definately a nice car to have and drive, but I've nothing really to compare it to other than my old S reg 1.2 Punto S Team!! Ha Ha!

Defcon5 · 13 Sep 2009 at 19:45

Disco Boy said:
If you want nippy don't buy a golf, they weigh the earth.
The fiesta zetec s, and polo gti are worth considering if you want a nippy hatch. As well as the cliosport and fiesta ST if you want something fast as opposed to nippy.

RS clios are in a different league to the ST. ST is same leagie as Polo GTI et al