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First Car - Ford Fiesta 1.0 Ecoboost vs 1.25 - Both similar price, year and mileage - City Driver but read that Ecoboost 1.0 Rust issue?


hamish_barb
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Hi all

Interested in getting a Ford Fiesta for my first car. Now I'm in my mid-20s and have left my driving till late, but this also means I doubt I'll drive it like a teenager, as I've got bills to pay and mouths to feed. FYI, I plan to keep this car for at least 2 years, before I get a better car that is bigger.

I've basically found two Fiestas:

  • 2015 Ecoboost 1.0 Zetec 100hp, 40K miles, full MOT and service history
  • 2014 1.25 Zetec, 40K miles, full MOT and service history

Both are around the £4500 mark and I'm happy with that price, however I've read that the 1.25 is slower, and feels sluggish compared to the 1.0 ecoboost? I won't be driving on motorways much, as I'm in London, it'll mainly be city driving with the odd dual-carriageway every now and then, but motorways will be rare, perhaps a couple times a year for road trips etc.

That being said, I've also read that the 1.0 Ecoboost has some sort of rust issue on the turbo (link below) and has had other recalls?

Therefore, which should I be going for, with the fact that I'm mainly a city-driver, and more worried about maintenance costs down the road (especially this rust issue?)

Thank you!

 

 

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Ecoboost for me for town driving. Good performance and acceleration pulling into traffic or gaps in roundabouts etc etc. Nippy when they need to be, especially the 140bhp model and can handle motorway journeys without issue.

Rust and other problems needs to be checked for before buying. Make sure you research the issues brought up on this site and you won't go wrong. If buying from a dealer, you can always get them to address the rust and other issues if you find any or look for a pristine model as there will be many around.

No matter what car you buy you will have maintenance costs as it gets on in life, these I cannot comment on.

Good luck and I hope you find a nice suitable car. 👍

 

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Knowing what I know about the Ecoboost (I've owned three) in your shoes that's the one I'd go for every time.

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Having driven both ecoboost every time with better MPG (If driven off boost most of the time) and free road tax. Better performance when you need it and Lower running costs when you don't win win

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Which power EcoBoost is it?  The 1.0 comes in either 99bhp or 125bhp in Zetec trim.

Tbh, as much as I dislike the archaic 1.25 engine, if you're only driving in London and not interested in power or fun, there's much less to go wrong with them than the EcoBoosts.  It should be cheaper to buy though...I'm struggling to work out how an older 1.25 could be the same price as a later EcoBoost. 

 

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34 minutes ago, Mavroz said:

Ecoboost for me for town driving. Good performance and acceleration pulling into traffic or gaps in roundabouts etc etc. Nippy when they need to be, especially the 140bhp model and can handle motorway journeys without issue.

Rust and other problems needs to be checked for before buying. Make sure you research the issues brought up on this site and you won't go wrong. If buying from a dealer, you can always get them to address the rust and other issues if you find any or look for a pristine model as there will be many around.

No matter what car you buy you will have maintenance costs as it gets on in life, these I cannot comment on.

Good luck and I hope you find a nice suitable car. 👍

 

 

17 minutes ago, Bobr said:

Knowing what I know about the Ecoboost (I've owned three) in your shoes that's the one I'd go for every time.

 

7 minutes ago, cjay1 said:

Having driven both ecoboost every time with better MPG (If driven off boost most of the time) and free road tax. Better performance when you need it and Lower running costs when you don't win win

Thanks all. From what I can see, the ecoboost seems more fun to drive in the city and feels nippier than the 1.25, however I’m worried about the rust issue. 

From the thread posted above, it seems like does aren’t taking the blame for any of it. Is the rust issue quite widespread?

In regards to the cost, sorry you’re right, the ecoboost is around £250 more, which I don’t mind paying 

Its also the 100hp version of the 1.0 ecoboost. 

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I would defo go for the 100HP 1.0 Ecoboost, highly recommended.

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Just check the pipes going to the turbo.   Light rust doesn't post a problem; just rub it down and paint it.   Serious pitted rust and I'd look for another car.

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Thanks all. I think the FB group along with the thread have scared me. I'm going to stick with the 1.25 as less headache/potential stress. This is my first car, so I'm pretty sure the Fiesta 1.25 is going to feel amazing. My plan is to keep this for around 2 or so years and upgrade to something beefier from VW/BMW when insurance is cheaper, so I've got to think of potential resale value too.

Thanks all for the replies, as an inner-city driver most of the time, I think the 1.25 should be fine!

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7 hours ago, hamish_barb said:

 I think the 1.25 should be fine!

As Bob says above, if you check the pipes on a potential ecoboost purchase and find them ok, you should be fine.

I'm sure you'll find a 1.25 perfectly ok for the use you describe though - my Mrs had one for 3 years and it was a great little car round town, less good on the open road, though.

PS if you look through the various owners forums, you'll find that VW and BMW are not without their problems either!

 

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17 minutes ago, Eric Bloodaxe said:

PS if you look through the various owners forums, you'll find that VW and BMW are not without their problems either!

Even with all the tech we have now, the tightest of manufacturing tolerances, the most robust materials, the most effective oils and coatings, no car is without problems.  I would suggest a pushbike but even then you've got the risk of snapped chains! :laugh:  (So may as well have bought a BMW... :whistling: ) 

This is an interesting thread now he's mentioned resale though...  Because in 2 years time, the 1.25 will be worth less and difficult to sell as it'll be due a cambelt change.  The EcoBoost will still have 3 years before being due and I think we can probably all agree that the EcoBoost is the more desirable engine anyway, and still will be then.  Only being an extra £250 for the EcoBoost also makes that more appealing.

If it's always been a London car, I'd also be surprised if the turbo pipes are severely rusty, it's unlikely to have seen harsh winters and lots of road salt which I'm fairly sure it's a strong contributing factor.

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48 minutes ago, TomsFocus said:

I would suggest a pushbike but even then you've got the risk of snapped chains!

Lol that's never happened to me - always had loads of punctures though until I discovered self-sealing inner tubes!😀

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I’ve got a picture of the rust from the seller. Please let me know what you all think

looks a fair but rusty where the pipe enters the turbo?

 

 

53C039FC-8850-4CA5-97DD-8166DEB5BF3B.jpeg

9044A16B-FFED-4A6B-80EB-10DAB07B75AF.jpeg

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That's not where the problems arise.   Those pipes look pretty good to me.

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turbo pipes rust issue is not common on all ecoboosts, newer versions should have no problems, Ecoboost if serviced well and with the right oil it will make a great deal of mileage, I would go for ecoboost any time, this is the most technologically advanced engine in its class, and its a win win as @cjay1 said, you can have eco or boost any time, but you can't have both at the same time, its like having two engines , a fuel saver one and a high performance one, you can use any of these engines any time but you can't use both of them at the same time 😄, I own the 100ps version, its a very torquey engine, would be ideal in town where you need the low end torque the most. I would choose ecoboost. good luck 🙂 

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There looks to be a tiny bit of rust on the bottom pipe next to the rubber hose and on the top pipe where it meets the turbo. but the rest of the pipe looks good. Could be a haggling point as preventative maintenance may be necessary to prevent it getting any worse

 

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Hi I had a 2015 Fiesta 1.0 ecoboost 100 zetec as my first car and it’s been absolutely brilliant great in the town and can somehow hold its own on the motorway (I have a 65mile mainly motorway commute). I think you’ll find fuel economy in the ecoboost a bit better than the old 1.25 and if you enjoy driving you will enjoy the bit of extra speed 

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Thanks all. I went with the 1.25 in the end as it was a good deal and didn't want to have to stress about a the potential rust/turbo failure.

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Not getting the Ecoboost, you have missed out on a much better car/model in several ways, only in my opinion. 👍

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On 8/29/2020 at 1:41 AM, hamish_barb said:

Thanks all. I think the FB group along with the thread have scared me. I'm going to stick with the 1.25 as less headache/potential stress. This is my first car, so I'm pretty sure the Fiesta 1.25 is going to feel amazing. My plan is to keep this for around 2 or so years and upgrade to something beefier from VW/BMW when insurance is cheaper, so I've got to think of potential resale value too.

Thanks all for the replies, as an inner-city driver most of the time, I think the 1.25 should be fine!

As mentioned, if you're going for the 1.25 you should be paying a lot less that an Ecoboost as they're less desirable, bear that in mind when you come to re-sell.

For your first car just go with whichever is cheaper to insure 

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On 9/3/2020 at 4:52 AM, Mavroz said:

Not getting the Ecoboost, you have missed out on a much better car/model in several ways, only in my opinion. 👍

 

On 9/3/2020 at 12:08 PM, DaveT70 said:

As mentioned, if you're going for the 1.25 you should be paying a lot less that an Ecoboost as they're less desirable, bear that in mind when you come to re-sell.

For your first car just go with whichever is cheaper to insure 

 

Thank you both. I've had the 1.25 for a few weeks now and it's amazing. For a first car it's very nippy and a joy to drive. Very easy to find the biting point too.

Whilst I agree the 1.0 probably is faster/nippier, the aforementioned thread (rust issue), along with the FB group that I've joined (which fair enough, only depicts the bad side to the Turbo model, but there is A LOT of disgruntled users with the Turbo) and lastly, the stress/pain of potentially dealing with a known issue down the line, drove me away from getting the 1.0. Furthermore, reading the threads online, the petrol savings on the 1.0 compared to the 1.25 don't seem to be that big, so other than the extra power, I don't think I'd be saving a lot in the long run, and any cost savings may be negated by a potential turbo/engine failure down the line.

This is my first car, and I'll hopefully be upgrading to a BMW/VW (budget depending) in the coming 2 to 3 years, so should do me well till then. For other first time buyers, I honestly would take the 1.25, as they are cheaper than the eco boost models, and don't have as many (potential) issues, however that's just my 2 pence.

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On 9/10/2020 at 12:47 AM, hamish_barb said:

Whilst I agree the 1.0 probably is faster/nippier, the aforementioned thread (rust issue), along with the FB group that I've joined

This is my first car, and I'll hopefully be upgrading to a BMW/VW (budget depending)

I mean literally everyone here said that the rust issue on the turbo pipes is a non-issue if you catch it early enough (a quick rub and coat of high temp paint would've sorted it permanently). It was a 30 second look under the bonnet to determine the condition and the ones you seen were perfectly treatable.

Look long and hard enough for any make/model and you'll find horror stories about them on the Internet...

It seems like reliability is of the upmost importance to you, and It makes kind of makes me laugh how you think a BMW/VAG car is more reliable than a Fiesta 😂😂. German cars in general have become some of the most unreliable and expensive to repair because of how complicated they have become. One of the leading causes for BMW engine failure is the timing chain snapping early. Some of these have happened as low as 30k miles! I'm not even going to go into the proprietary electrics which cost literally 10x more than you think they should to get replaced.

But hey ho, each to their own...

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Having had a fiesta Mk6 (Latam-Edition) 1.6 Zetec Rocam N/A engine before moving to Spain I've got some experience with "reliable engines".

That thing was built like a tank, timing chain, etc. Still, once i got my first ecoboost here (Mk7.5 100hp STL) made me NEVER look back into low capacity N/A engines.

The fact that these 1.0s are so powerful down in the range and are so happy to boost your way up to speed made me love the car so much. I even remapped the car and the gains were HUGE (148hp dyno),

I switched to a new Mk8 125 STL and, again, I would never ever bother to pick up the N/A version of the Fiesta. I mean, it would literally feel so slow compared to the ecoboost.

As others said, forums are not a good place to look for reliability reports since most users come asking for "HELP PLSS" 99% of the times and the other 1% just lurks around to find cool things and mods.

Anyways, enjoy your new car! Any new car > public transportation haha.

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On 9/10/2020 at 12:47 AM, hamish_barb said:

 

 

Thank you both. I've had the 1.25 for a few weeks now and it's amazing. For a first car it's very nippy and a joy to drive. Very easy to find the biting point too.

Whilst I agree the 1.0 probably is faster/nippier, the aforementioned thread (rust issue), along with the FB group that I've joined (which fair enough, only depicts the bad side to the Turbo model, but there is A LOT of disgruntled users with the Turbo) and lastly, the stress/pain of potentially dealing with a known issue down the line, drove me away from getting the 1.0. Furthermore, reading the threads online, the petrol savings on the 1.0 compared to the 1.25 don't seem to be that big, so other than the extra power, I don't think I'd be saving a lot in the long run, and any cost savings may be negated by a potential turbo/engine failure down the line.

This is my first car, and I'll hopefully be upgrading to a BMW/VW (budget depending) in the coming 2 to 3 years, so should do me well till then. For other first time buyers, I honestly would take the 1.25, as they are cheaper than the eco boost models, and don't have as many (potential) issues, however that's just my 2 pence.

Ok.

Still a big mistake worrying about rusty pipes which are a non starter when you know about the potential problem and second mistake would be thinking BMW/Vw cars are more reliable and an upgrade to Ford.....

Enjoy anyway, good luck.

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