Need Help and advice buying my first car Ford Fiesta 1.0 Ecoboost Zetec S Black Edition

[TimST2]

ECOBEAST? Really?

Looks like the previous owner wished he had an RS 🙄

To echo what's already been said, why not get something like a Fiesta Zetec as your first car and put all the money you save on insurance while you build up NCB towards buying a model that's actually more sporty (and not an insurance write-off) later?

[Nick Y]

I agree with Tim here and several others. Having a sporty car as your first car when you are young and have just passed your test is not a good idea. It will kill you on insurance. 
Buying Cat N or S vehicles is risky, especially as you can't necessarily tell what structural damage caused the insurance assessors to write it off or how well it has been repaired (could have been done in some dodgy garage and have a dodgy MOT to make it look legit). 

Also, that Focus, I wouldn't touch it with a barge pole. Firstly, those decals are not standard issue so that counts as a modification (which may push up any insurance premiums). Secondly, it has probably been ragged about and raced around so there'll be a lot of wear and tear on the engine and components. You also don't know if any mods have been added to the engine (subtle ones such as a remap) which will once again push premiums up and could possibly invalidate any insurance due to non-declaration. 

Personally I would go for an older model with lower power as a new and inexperienced driver. This will reduce costs and give you time to gain experience on the road (you only really learn to drive when you start driving alone). 

[Dyilbar]

Ok, guys, thanks for the advice I have been looking at some fiesta eco boosts I have been looking at ones that haven't been modified what do you guys think about these are they too expensive, any suggestions, much appreciated. 

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201811082255790?advertising-location=at_cars&make=FORD&model=FIESTA&seller-type=trade&onesearchad=Used&onesearchad=Nearly New&onesearchad=New&price-to=6000&maximum-badge-engine-size=1.0&postcode=ws107tf&sort=price-asc&radius=35&maximum-mileage=80000&exclude-writeoff-categories=on&quantity-of-doors=5&page=1 

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201712132020756?maximum-mileage=80000&advertising-location=at_cars&make=FORD&radius=35&model=FIESTA&seller-type=trade&price-to=6000&year-to=2013&sort=price-asc&maximum-badge-engine-size=1.0&postcode=ws107tf&onesearchad=Used&onesearchad=Nearly New&onesearchad=New&exclude-writeoff-categories=on&page=1 

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201812012918942?maximum-mileage=80000&advertising-location=at_cars&make=FORD&radius=35&model=FIESTA&seller-type=trade&price-to=6000&sort=price-asc&maximum-badge-engine-size=1.0&postcode=ws107tf&onesearchad=Used&onesearchad=Nearly New&onesearchad=New&exclude-writeoff-categories=on&page=1 

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201712132020756?maximum-mileage=80000&advertising-location=at_cars&make=FORD&radius=35&model=FIESTA&seller-type=trade&price-to=6000&sort=price-asc&maximum-badge-engine-size=1.0&postcode=ws107tf&onesearchad=Used&onesearchad=Nearly New&onesearchad=New&exclude-writeoff-categories=on&page=1 

[iantt]

Bear in mind your now looking at lower bhp fiestas . The zetec s and black edition is 138hp. The first one of your list is 100hp, and other three are not ecoboosts, fox non turbo 79hp. Just making you aware . 

[Dyilbar]

1 hour ago, iantt said:

fox non turbo 79hp. Just making you aware . 

What do you mean by this bro 

[Dyilbar]

I will be keeping the car for around 3-4 years doing 10k miles per year as a first year driver I have seen the standard zetecs to be around £1800-2200 on insurance and the cars were varying between the 3.5k - 6k mark is it worth getting a zetec s for around 6.5 k and having the insurance to be around 1.4k, as they are better on fuel as its an EcoBoost and they are much newer in age or should I just pay around 3.5 k for a stock fiesta zetec and pay the 2k on insurance and keep it for 4 years any thoughts or recommendations on any car that's decent on fuel for a first driver. 

[TimST2]

All Fiestas will be good fuel economy. I had an 82 bhp 1.25 Zetec and was getting 43 mpg commuting. I've now got a 180 bhp 1.6 turbo ST and get about 40mpg.

If I were you I'd go for a pre-facelift Mk7 Zetec. None of them are Ecoboosts, but that will give you a huge choice in your price range and you'll still get nice alloys etc. but without unnecessarily increasing the insurance premium.

Pre-facelift petrol Zetecs range from 78 bhp to 103 bhp and insurance group 6 to insurance group 12. Road tax ranges from £0 to £195. They all look the same so if you choose the right engine you could save a lot.

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[TomsFocus]

I'm surprised you guys are getting more expensive insurance quotes for cat N cars...mine was no different...   

I also disagree with the people saying buy a boring car for the first few years...  I did this and hated it.  Never crashed it or even bumped it.  Completely wasted the first year of driving when I could've bought something nicer to start with, lost quite a bit of money too as base cars don't hold any value.

It'll work out cheaper to buy a car you like and keep it, than buy a dull one you don't like and end up changing it soon after.

9 hours ago, Dyilbar said:

What do you mean by this bro 

Not all the 1.0 engines are EcoBoosts.  You have to check the power level, the EcoBoosts are either 99ps, 125ps or 140ps.  The 79ps engine is a non-turbo 1.0 petrol.  Cheap to run and reliable...but with the risk of being rear ended on every slip road...  

[TimST2]

I guess it depends how much money you have. Personally I couldn't have afforded the nice cars I have now if I'd blown all my money on buying and insuring a sporty car as soon as I'd passed my test. And it's not like a CAT N 1.0l Zetec S is going to be a particularly good investment (or even that sporty).

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[TomsFocus]

8 minutes ago, TimST2 said:

I guess it depends how much money you have. Personally I couldn't have afforded the nice cars I have now if I'd blown all my money on buying and insuring a sporty car as soon as I'd passed my test. And it's not like a CAT N 1.0l Zetec S is going to be a particularly good investment (or even that sporty).

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True, it does depend exactly how much of a price difference there is in terms of purchase, fuel, tax, insurance etc as I said earlier on in the thread, it also depends what you're after as well.  For it was more spec than sport, the second car I bought was actually the same engine as the first, but a facelift model with loads more spec and in a better colour too, then I added a few sporty styling touches as well.  I couldn't have afforded the GTi6 BUT had a car that was good looking, nice to drive and a bit to different to the rest of them, and it was a 5dr where the GTis were all 3, I've never liked 3dr cars lol.  Without that car I would never have found the forums and car meets and some of the long term 'car fwends' I still message occasionally now.  The main reason I lost touch with a lot is that I now drive boring cars again purely for the running costs lol.  What annoyed me was that I hadn't bought that car or similar one a year sooner...I'd even looked at one at the time, cost about £250 more so I went for the crap one to save just £250!!  Obviously cars cost more now, so there will be bigger price differences, but I believe the basic idea is still the same.

[TimST2]

Without that car I would never have found the forums and car meets

...

Obviously cars cost more now, so there will be bigger price differences, but I believe the basic idea is still the same.

I agree completely. I never joined a car forum until I bought my Lotus, and I didn't join FOC until I bought my ST (my 3rd Ford).

The idea of buying a £6k first car is a long way from where I started, even with inflation taken into account!

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[Luke4efc]

Don't know about you lot but I can trust a dealer who puts a plate over the number plate. It makes it harder to carry out checks etc. Just makes you think if they're hiding the reg, what else are they hiding.

[TimST2]

That's totally standard. Ford Dealers do it too (although they also publish the reg in the advert).

But yes, I expect to be able to do my own checks before viewing so if they don't publish it I'd probably just look at others.

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[Dyilbar]

Thanks for all the advice guys do I have been looking around at this one has caught my eye, https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201811082255790?advertising-location=at_cars&make=FORD&model=FIESTA&seller-type=trade&onesearchad=Used&onesearchad=Nearly New&onesearchad=New&price-to=6000&maximum-badge-engine-size=1.0&postcode=ws107tf&sort=price-asc&radius=35&maximum-mileage=80000&exclude-writeoff-categories=on&quantity-of-doors=5&page=1 , do you guys think its too expensive, the insurance is around 1.9k and it has fords full service history with high spec, what do you guys think. 

[TimST2]

N K Motors looks like it's a Kia main dealer, so that car will likely have been part-exchanged against a new Kia.

http://dealers.kia.co.uk/nkderby/

You'll need the reg if you want to do a valuation. Confused.com offer a free HPI valuation which is quite good:

https://www.confused.com/car-valuation

Of course you will have to inspect the car to determine the condition.

I can't help with the insurance quote.

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[DAN@ADRIAN FLUX]

Hi.

If you need any help with insurance at all then please feel free to drop me a line. We should have no issues insuring a previously written off vehicle either.

Regards,

Dan.

[TimST2]

It would be worth asking Dan what discount you'd get by joining FOC as a Premium Member too as it's only £16/year.

[DAN@ADRIAN FLUX]

On ‎12‎/‎24‎/‎2018 at 11:01 AM, TimST2 said:

It would be worth asking Dan what discount you'd get by joining FOC as a Premium Member too as it's only £16/year.

Hi there,

Our insurers will provide a discount of up to 15% off premiums for being a FOC member.  It does differ from insurer-to-insurer and 15% is the largest discount they will provide. 

Rest assured we would always look to find you the most competitive premium from our panel of insurers with a policy tailored to your needs.

I hope we can be of assistance when it comes to insuring the purchase.

Many thanks.

Dan