Hello everyone

I am based in South Africa and I am looking to buy a used car that will hopefully last me at least another 4 years/40 000 miles without giving me much hassle.

Currently I'm stuck between a Mark 2 Honda Jazz and Mark 7 Fiesta. I much prefer the driving experience of the Fiesta and its refinement on the motorway. However, unlike the Jazz, Fiestas don't have a great reputation for reliability here (not sure how much is down to the fact that ours are Thai assembled), which is the main thing putting me off.

Does anyone have experience of higher mileage naturally aspirated petrol Fiestas from that generation, particularly the 1.6, so I can get an idea of how worried I should be? I think the 1.6 petrol had been phased out on UK models by 2014, but it was still being sold here in South Africa. The car I'm looking at does come with a full service history.

Thanks for any advice.

On 2/19/2022 at 3:33 PM, lukezw said:

Hello everyone

I am based in South Africa and I am looking to buy a used car that will hopefully last me at least another 4 years/40 000 miles without giving me much hassle.

Currently I'm stuck between a Mark 2 Honda Jazz and Mark 7 Fiesta. I much prefer the driving experience of the Fiesta and its refinement on the motorway. However, unlike the Jazz, Fiestas don't have a great reputation for reliability here (not sure how much is down to the fact that ours are Thai assembled), which is the main thing putting me off.

Does anyone have experience of higher mileage naturally aspirated petrol Fiestas from that generation, particularly the 1.6, so I can get an idea of how worried I should be? I think the 1.6 petrol had been phased out on UK models by 2014, but it was still being sold here in South Africa. The car I'm looking at does come with a full service history.

Thanks for any advice.

Hi I sold my 2015 fiesta 7.5 last year with 67,000miles on it. Mine was a 1.0 turbo but it was still going strong. All of say is make sure the gearbox isn’t making any weird sounds and is going into gear easily as the 5 speeds are literally made out of tracing paper. With the 1.6 not having the same amount of torque as the 1.0 might have the gearbox tbh. As for the 1.6 I can’t really say anything about but I think it’s pretty much the same engine that was used in the fiesta mk6 and focus mk2 so it’s a pretty durable engine (don’t quote me on that) but yeah in the U.K. a mk7.5 with the 1.6 is a rare find. They’re good cars but as you said havnt got the reliability of the Japanese cars (but imo are far more enjoyable to own) Hope this somewhat helps 

Hi Luke, I think it will be difficult for those of us in the UK to offer meaning full advice. We don't get the same engines and the cars are built in Europe.

Yes, it's difficult to comment as most of us don't know the build quality of the Fiestas built in Thailand though there was at least one member on here ( @ThaiFiesta ) who might be able to help?

Assuming the 1.6 is similar to that sold in Europe and is paired with the 5 speed IB 5 gearbox, then at least that box is designed for a n/a engine and should be less troublesome with the 1.6 than it has proved with the Ecoboost, as Ben mentions above.

There's a large element of luck with cars. My good experiences with my Honda motorbikes influenced my decision to buy a new Civic some years ago. The clutch failed after 6 weeks and I had several other niggling issues which led to me selling it after less than 2 years.

 

 

Hi,i have the 1.6 (if it's the same engine where you are) it's the titanium 1.6 on a 2011 reg,i can  honestly say i have had the car 7 years and never let me down.

It's only done 33k and the engine is A1,its the good old 4 cylinders with no turbo to worry about and do around 32 mpg local driving which i do,i wont to hold onto it as long as i can as it doesn't owe me anything.

Thanks all for the useful feedback. I will bear it all in mind as I try reach a decision. It more or less confirms what I felt, and the Fiesta certainly remains tempting due to the driving experience and refinement when cruising. A slight reservation is that it sounds like the 1.6 might be a little thirsty seeing as it's an old design, but I'd still probably take it for the simplicity and durability on a higher mileage car.

I don't think I will end up going for the car I had in mind when I made this post though as it has some rather strange sun damage on the passenger side of the dash (probably much more of an issue in the South African sun than in the UK). I have attached a picture of it, not sure if anyone here has encountered this on a Fiesta before? You can there is a rather ugly lump, but below that there is also a rectangular bulge which looks it could be the airbag!? It already doesn't look great but I worry it could get worse to the point where the dash starts cracking and even airbag deployment could get affected? I fear I'd eventually have to replace the whole dash which is not something I plan on doing. Not sure if anyone has any experience of this and if you agree that I should probably walk away from this particular car, despite the decent price?

1 hour ago, lukezw said:

sun damage

Not a problem in the UK !!!

Leaks, wet carpets, frozen door seals, rust  are just a few of the normal UK problems 👍

I have had a 1.6 naturally aspirated 2010 fiesta for the past 4years, and it has never let me down, it’s done about 90,000 miles and the engine seems to be bullet proof….. it is very nippy will do 0-60 in 10seconds and has a top speed of 120mp. On local journeys I average around 35mpg and on long motorway journeys it returns me around 45mpg. All I have had to replace are front coil springs, brake discs and pads, tyres and exhaust, all very common wear and tear items. 

Get a Toyota👍