Can anyone tell me whether this car would be a reasonable buy for £1250? It has PAS, is silver and has only done 10,000 miles. I have heard low mileage is not a good thing but how much of a problem would it likely be in a car like this? It has been owned by the proverbial elderly lady driver since new and she is now unable to drive any more so is selling it. It has almost 1 year's MOT and several months tax and has been well looked after and serviced. Is this a reasonable buy for my hard up mature student son or should it be avoided?
Any advice would be welcome. Thanks
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I'd go for it - as you may have read I saw one of these with no oil in it that had managed 98,000 miles. They're pretty tough. Just give it a damn good service and check the tyres etc out.
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Get back to her before she sells it to anyone else.
Then get a good service done on it, unless you know it's been done recently.
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i was going to agree with man with heavily loaded Africa Twin but thinking about it this is a very low mileage for one of these engines on this age and to be honest i would proceed with extreme caution,give it a very good run before you buy it and make sure it neither smokes or "raps" when revved after the test drive
Lots of other problems may raise their head after initial purchase as well ranging from corroded exhausts through to dodgy tyres to brake problems,dont get me wrong i would buy it all day at a £1000 but would fully service it and want to move it on quickly before it bit me....................
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My brother bought a 5 year old Mondeo Mk 2 that had only done 12,000 miles.
No problems whatsoever with this car. He had to change the two front tyres, which it was quite obvious would shortly need changing at the time of purchase. He also had the cambelt changed in line with Fords own (time) recommendations.
No exhaust problems, no brake problems, in fact, apart from the above, no problems at all.
I don't think you will have any problems with the Fiesta, either.
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Thank you to everyone for your helpful replies. My husband and I went to see the car this morning and had a test drive. It looks in great condition, drove like a dream even on the motorway and has been looked after/ serviced etc all the time by the guy at the garage who is now selling it. With all the helpful comments received on this site as well, I am absolutely sure my son will go for the car!
Again thanks to all.
Lmb
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bit confused here Lmb? you said you were buying it of a little old woman with grey hair who had it well serviced and replies were based on this but then you say the man that serviced it is selling it
no conflict of interest then?
suggest if garage man selling this car then get him to warrent it for 3 months parts and labour and why is he selling it so cheap ?have you met the dear old lady?
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In explanation - just to say the car was indeed owned by an elderly lady and she had had it looked after, serviced etc by a local owner of a small garage during her ownership. When she became unable to drive any more she asked the garage owner to sell it for her to which he agreed. He is a good reliable guy who has a good reputation locally for being honest and trustworthy. There was therefore no conflict of interest - apologies if I didn't make the situation clear!
Lmb
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It sounds like you have, but if not, buy it.
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They're good little cars, Fiestas. There are a few important things to check though.
Drive over the roughest, crappiest road surface you can find and listen carefully for knocks and clonks from the front suspension. These cars eat wishbone bushes and anti-roll bar bushes. Not difficult or expensive to do, but a good haggling point.
Check the passenger footwell carpet carefully for signs of water leaks (bulkhead seals or pollen filter housing can leak)
Peel back the rubbers around the sills and B-pillars and check for rust (even on one this new)
Check carefully around the rear arches for rust, particularly the "crap trap" where the arch folds into the sill.
Make sure the rear washer, wiper and heated screen work (wiring problems common)
Make sure the heater temperature control works properly (a 10 sec delay from hot air to cold air is normal, but make sure it does change). Also whatever you do, PLEASE make sure you drive the car extensively with the heater temperature control on its coldest setting and keep an eye on the engine temperature. I didn't do this when I bought ours (in -2°C weather) and subsequently found it would boil over whenever the heater was turned off. Both this and the control issue are down to the heater control valve. Easy / cheap fix.
Since putting the overheating right, we've had 6,000 troublefree, economical miles out of our 97 1.4. It's reliable, economical, great to drive and the Zetec engine is an absolute peach.
Cheers
DP
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Years ago I bought a Talbot Solara off an old boy. 19k miles in 7 years. All the tyres were fine except for extensive wall cracking. I replaced them. In those days I used to decoke what was a leaded car. Inside it was pretty coked up. Once cleaned up it went for some years and was a fine cleap run about.
I would change the tyres, all oils and fluids, and get a few years cheap motoring out of it. I would change the cam belt as well.
For a student a good choice.
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No need for cambelt change until 100,000 miles or ten years.
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Cam belts really worry me - is that really right to wait until 100,000 miles? Is that what Ford recommends?
The car is currently about 7 years old -just
Lmb
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Had a long chat (on behalf of a relative who has a Puma) with a Ford Garage about this very point. They phoned Ford whilst I was there and the recommendation was 10 years 100,000 miles for the 1.7 (suzuki) engine. However parting shot from the Service Manager (who was very good) was if the customer wants it changed, we'll do it obviously. Do it.
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