hi all i had a nice 1.4 tdci 58 reg fiesta which was zetec , it was written off ( not my fault ) and ive had a 58 basic corsa ever since.

the fiesta had:

heated screen

ok stereo; much better speakers than corsa life, but no dab

nice handling, steering and chassis felt much more modern than corsa d life 

everything worked, on the corsa d the fan is internittent and it feels cheaper

good mpg average low 50s but tractor like perfomance. corsa 1.2 petrol is quicker and does about 45 mpg.

id like to get another ford , either fiesta or focus and probably petrol this time. id like the spec i had before but ideally like a dab radio.

any thoughts on what to look for? my budget is around 3k give or take.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Check out Autotrader. There are over 700 Fiesta's for under £3000.

This is just an example of a good spec, for £2495

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202207147799754?onesearchad=New&onesearchad=Nearly New&onesearchad=Used&make=Ford&radius=1501&price-to=3000&model=Fiesta&year-to=2022&include-delivery-option=on&postcode=dh64hb&advertising-location=at_cars&sort=relevance&page=1&percentVehiclePriceDeposit=true

2 hours ago, Ben97397284 said:

id like to get another ford , either fiesta or focus and probably petrol this time. id like the spec i had before but ideally like a dab radio.

any thoughts on what to look for? my budget is around 3k give or take.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Although there may well be 700 Fiestas for sale for less than 3k, I'd look for one in decent condition rather than your ideal spec., as you might be waiting a few years.

I'd concentrate on your must-haves - for me it was a Zetec-S as the seats are soooo much better.  Get your list of must-haves and find those cars.

After that I'd weed out the dogs - you'd be surprised how few cars remain.

Weeding out? - always look at the MOT history of a car for sale as this will give you an idea of how it's been looked after, and always look at the panel-gaps in the photos before bothering to make a big trip.

That grey one is a case in point - I imagine it's had a frontal accident probably in 2020, but even before that it's had no end of problems.

Good luck!

Yes, some sound advice there so far. You can get the MOT history for free on: https://www.gov.uk/check-mot-history  and on an older car it will contain a lot of useful info. 

I know it's not the same, but remember that you can buy DAB receivers/adaptors to connect to your non-DAB stereo.

I would point out that most Cars with built in DAB only have original DAB support, they don't support DAB+. The BBC and Baur are still on DAB but Global are on DAB+. To check which stations you can see here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_radio_stations_in_the_United_Kingdom

 

So whatever car you buy, consider you may want to buy a new 3rd party DAB+ stereo anyway 🙂

 

ps I've got a titanium spec and it's really good so would recom

 

As we are having a full-on UK winter day, warm and raining, I thought I'd have a quick look for you.

I wouldn't buy from a trader - at this price point they'll wheedle out of any responsibility.  If you do, check they have a proper Company Registration, and not just 'trader' on Autotrader, as AT do NOT vet their 'traders'.  So I'd search private to begin with.

The other thing is - do you have any insurance restrictions? 

3 or 5 door?

I'm guessing a postcode for you as well.

 

As the 1.6 petrol in the mk7 is well developed, they tend to be reliable.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202211061432119?seller-type=private&price-to=3000&make=Ford&radius=1500&year-from=2008&include-delivery-option=on&fuel-type=Petrol&model=Fiesta&advertising-location=at_cars&exclude-writeoff-categories=on&transmission=Manual&postcode=rg317qn&onesearchad=New&onesearchad=Nearly New&onesearchad=Used&sort=distance&page=1

A good enough MOT history - problems being mostly tyres (which are a stupid size on the Zetec-S) which don't matter at all

I can't find anything else private that's close and worth looking at IMO.

 

Trade?

Here's one that looks good, but the MOT history screams NO NO NO

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202212152555840?seller-type=trade&price-to=3000&make=Ford&radius=1500&year-from=2008&include-delivery-option=on&fuel-type=Petrol&model=Fiesta&advertising-location=at_cars&exclude-writeoff-categories=on&transmission=Manual&postcode=rg317qn&onesearchad=New&onesearchad=Nearly New&onesearchad=Used&sort=distance&page=1&journey=PROMOTED_LISTING_JOURNEY

 

No other trader-cars are looking good enough to follow up IMO, but I'm bored looking at so many Trader-dogs 😄

prefer 5 door  also what are the autos like in fiestas and focuses of this age?

 

also dab is fine as most of the time.id have 6music from bbc 

Do you need an auto?  If not

a) they use more fuel

b) they sap more power

c) they will limit your resale audience

and on AT, of all of the 3k petrol/ULEZ Fiestas registered 2008 on, 5 door, there are 119 manual and 3 auto, so you'll have no chance of finding one with your ideal (or even close) spec.

Put in your must-haves and see what comes back.

 

If DAB is the most important thing to you in a car, then I can't really help you, as for me the most important thing in a car at this price-point is how often it's going to go wrong / how much it will cost me to run.

After that, it's 'how well does it go round corners'.  Not the radio.  That's behind 'last'.

Yes, autos were not really a "thing" with Fiestas back then and as far as I can remember were only found with the 1.4 petrol, like this:

https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-review/ford/fiesta/first-drives/ford-fiesta-1.4i-style -auto

thanks! i giess dab isnt essential as long as the speakers are good if i connect up a bluetooth adapter.

the speakers on the corsa life are terrible. it puts me off listening to music as they are so bad.

as a single person driving 95% on my own am i sensible sticking with fiesta size car? i also like the focus same age mk2/3 but the mk3 especially feels a big car.

the mk2 focus i drove felt more stable and stuck to the road, compared to the fiesta but i know the fiesta is still good, just cant be as good with less wheelbase and smaller wheels.

Hmmmm IMO you are mixing up several things - extra weight does not make a better handling car. It might feel 'stuck to the road' , but

So an extreme example - Caterham 7 with tiny wheels and no weight is probably the best 'handling' car ever.

Any old example of any car may feel good or terrible, depending on the *current* state of the suspension components, simple rubber bushing probably easiest to feel a difference.  

The mk7 Fiesta has a quite widespread reputation as being a driver's car, if in a decent state.  I chose one for my son because of this, balanced with cheap and reliable, etc etc whatever my 'must-haves' were don't matter to you 😄

16 hours ago, Ben97397284 said:

as a single person driving 95% on my own am i sensible sticking with fiesta size car? 

Definitely yes, imo.

Some years back we had a Mk 2 Focus and a Mk 7 Fiesta. I would always take the Fiesta if driving solo - it was just more fun to drive. The Focus was a more comfortable car for longer trips with a fuller load. Horses for courses, really.

thanks, i was just looking on autotrader and would like the piano black sony sound system.

i thought it was a titanium feature but i noticed only about half on there have that stereo.

so was it an optional extra? does it appear on any other trim levels?

the 57 plate focus mk2 ghia i has briefly had a nice sony system with wood effect. 

57 minutes ago, Ben97397284 said:

I thought it was a titanium feature but i noticed only about half on there have that stereo.

so was it an optional extra? does it appear on any other trim levels?

Yes, the Sony branded DAB was standard on Titanium, optional on Zetec and above. Bear in mind that any Mk 7 is at least 10 years old now and many will have been replaced with other units. (It wasn't that brilliant anyway iirc.)

Having just spent four times your budget and a month finding what was not my perfect Fiesta, I feel for you.

From the standpoint of an old git I would be looking for a car that was local enough to view within an hour, I would be more concerned with whether it was in good and reliable condition than having a great spec. Cars  can always be retrofitted. Buy the seller. Decent house, second car for mum to run the kids to school; service history ties up. Buy it. Old people who have had it for ten years in a dull colour - perfect! The car has always been back to the dealer for  servicing and it was driven gently and infrequently. It will last for years. Honest scratches and a couple of scrapes are worth more than new shiny paint but a garaged car well kept is worth looking out for. You will save the cost of a decent stereo in three months of not having to wedge out for repairs. Alloy wheels are not specification. They are costly to replace and suffer from corrosion, cracking and all sorts of problems. £3k buys an old car. Take your time and it can buy a good one as well with enough life in it to make it worth adding stuff to.

 

I bought my last BL Mini very much following the points made by @anon. Originally intended to be a second car, it became my only car when exceedingly skint following my divorce and I did many trouble free miles in it before my finances recovered and I was able to move on.

Have you had any luck finding a car?

Highly recommended the MK 7 Titanium Fiesta if you can find one in good condition with service history. Recently sold my 2011 1.6 for something newer and it was a great car with lots of good features. Only negative was the ride wasn't very forgiving over bumps etc. I kept mine for 5.5 years and was very reliable.