Just receive an Email from the dealership where I bought my car, they said my contract runs out in June, I already know that, they said I have 3 options. 1 return the car, 2 keep the car and pay £549, 3 upgrade to a new car.

I thought I was paying HP, sounds more like PCP which I didn't want, will check my paperwork when I get home.

If the keep the car option is only £549, then it is HP. It probably just includes the last 2 months payment and a purchase fee (admin cost to take the HP marker off the vehicle).

PCP would be more like £10k to pay if you wanted to keep it.

Probably an admin error and they've used the PCP template. Who would return the car when you own all (but £500) of the equity in it, lol.

2 hours ago, alexp999 said:

If the keep the car option is only £549, then it is HP. It probably just includes the last 2 months payment and a purchase fee (admin cost to take the HP marker off the vehicle).

PCP would be more like £10k to pay if you wanted to keep it.

Probably an admin error and they've used the PCP template. Who would return the car when you own all (but £500) of the equity in it, lol.

You are correct, I checked the paperwork it is for HP by Ford Credit and the amount above is the last 3 payments, I think that it was an over keen Car Sales Executive, trying to drum up some business, I want to keep my Focus for now.

She replied to me and said I can treat it like PCP, right return my car I paid for, or buy a new car with substantial offer for mine, I'll think that I will keep it thanks.

I've just had an email from my dealer advising "that you’re[sic] Ford Contract on your car is coming to an end on 15/12/2024.

Ford have asked me to confirm if you are paying off the balloon payment or if you would like to use your existing equity to look at a New Ford!

We are on hand to facilitate test drives or end of contract reviews to go through all the options with you.

If you are going to pay off the balloon payment or have any questions regarding this please let me know and I can assist.

If you would like to book in an end of contract review please reply with a date and time suitable so I can book it in."

That's December 2024 - 17 months away! Surely far too soon to come to a decision - or is it another poorly-worded email to drum up some business?

As it happens, I wouldn't mind ditching my Trend with its wet belt around then, but the only Ford I would consider would be an ordinary Fiesta - which has just been discontinued.

 

8 minutes ago, Marlburian said:

 or is it another poorly-worded email to drum up some business?

 

 

This

25 minutes ago, Marlburian said:

That's December 2024 - 17 months away! Surely far too soon to come to a decision - or is it another poorly-worded email to drum up some business?

Sounds like it. But if you fancy a change it could be worth having a chat and see what's on offer. You can get an early settlement figure online from Ford Credit without involving the dealer though, just to check your position.

There still seem to be a fair number of new Fiestas available at the moment, so you could still possibly find one to suit - unlikely to be the case next December, though.

PS - my deal is up April 2025 so if they remind you at 17 months I should be hearing from them by the end of this year!😀

The dealer said he could supply a new Trend (list price on the road:  £19,350), with monthly payments £10 lower than my current one!!!! I probed, and it turns out that these would be over 48 months, totalling almost £11,500. The final option payment would be £8500. So in time I would pay a few hundred over the list price. But what about the £11,500 or so he'd offered for my existing car? That brings the overall cost to £31,500 🤯  Surely some mistake?

The salesman got off to a shakey start when I asked if he could deliver the car to my house. Sure, he said, you live in Windsor, don't you? Actually not, I replied, I live [23 miles away] from  there. Oh, he said, "I've brought up the details for another [my first name]. I shall  have to  recalculate and get back to you."

And - according to the last price list, the Trend is/was only available with 75ps or 100ps engines (he seems to be quoting for the 75). As far as we know, they are still wet belt which you mentioned you want to get away from. 

To be sure of no wet belt you need to be looking at 125ps MHEV in Titanium and above.

Eric: thanks for that warning. I'd rather assumed that a bog-basic Trend would have had a chain.

I admit to being a little out of my depth at the best of times when it comes to car specs, but I have a couple of good reasons to be struggling more than usual at the moment. (Yesterday I was a passenger in a Kia driven by a  relative who turned out be a very tentative driver who didn't understand rights of way at mini-roundabouts ...)

The dealership's salesmen have form: when I first joined this Forum I ranted how I'd been given  "complimentary" bodywork protection that through a "misunderstanding" appeared as a priced item on the invoice.

At least I've had the nous to seek alternative quotes, one of which was from a dealer 50 miles away: £18,301 cash,£18,302 PCP finance, though it wasn't clear whether this was OTR.

1 hour ago, Marlburian said:

I'd rather assumed that a bog-basic Trend would have had a chain.

The situation seems to have been very confusing over recent years and things keep emerging. 

At least now we know that the last Fiesta has been built, you could physically check any intended purchase before finally deciding.

Another thought. If no wet belt is important, you could consider the 1.0 versions of the VW Polo, Skoda Fabia or SEAT Ibiza which have a similar 3 cylinder engine but with a conventional dry belt. 

The dealer who quoted £18,301/18,302 has assured me that "All the new Fiesta's have chain belts now, no wet belts any more".

I've also received quotes ranging between £17,921 and £20,270 from several dealers.

I am emailing the original dealer asking how closely he can match these - and seeking his confirmation about the belt. The PCP quote that he gave me came to £19,990.

As ever, there will be small print for me look at, including whether or not the quotes are OTR.

 

11 minutes ago, Marlburian said:

"All the new Fiesta's have chain belts now, no wet belts any more".

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

Does he do a turn on the stage, he'd be a great comedian.

20 minutes ago, Marlburian said:

"All the new Fiesta's have chain belts now, no wet belts any more".

We did in fact think that, after the revised engines started appearing in the Fiesta around 2020.

Since then however, there have been several members reporting wet belt still on lower powered versions, including @iantt who encountered them professionally.

Conversely, see this thread for a member who has a chain on the short lived 95ps version:

https://www.fordownersclub.com/forums/topic/147438-what-engine/#comment-1004753

What the dealer says could be true - I get the vibe from other forums that they have just chucked in anything available in the last months of production, but I'd be inclined to get it in writing with evidence from Ford, and reserve the right to reject the vehicle if, on delivery, that's not the case.

16 minutes ago, Eric Bloodaxe said:

What the dealer says could be true.

Law of averages would suggest that must happen occasionally! 😮

All the 100hp ones I've seen are wetbelt still, think the last one I saw was April production date. 

 

And still the non turbo fiestas wetbelt. 

Don't discount (no pun intended) a nearly new Fiesta. A friend of mine just bought one that had done 700 miles for £4-5k less than list price. The car was 8 months old but that's

 2 weeks' driving in my world.

Getting replies to my questions from the salesman is like pulling teeth. At my second asking, he replied "Just spoke with the mechanics they have said they are chain belt". (Literacy is obviously not his strong point.) I suppose that a statement like that in an email is good enough for me to reject the car should it be untrue.

Having found out a while ago how to differentiate between a chain and a wet belt on an Ecoboost, I now need to be advised how to do this on a basic model, please.

And, to show my ignorance even more, all the concern about wet-belt failures seems to focus on the Ecoboost.  Aren't  there any issues with the basic Fiesta with a wet belt?

 

 

 

When you say basic, I assume you mean 1.1 Ti-VCT?

The main difference is the cambelt cover.  It's black plastic on wetbelt models.  And silvery aluminum on cam-chain models.

The non turbocharged 3 cylinder first appeared in 1.0 form in the previous Mk 7.5 Fiesta, effectively replacing the old 1.25 4 cylinder though they were both on offer for a while. In the Mk 8 it became a 1.1.

Tbh, I've never seen one, or heard of anyone who bought one, and I suspect relative scarcity will be the reason for the absence of failure reports.

The basic architecture of the engine, afaik, is as per the ecoboost but without the turbo, so on a wet belt version the exhaust will still be at the front of the engine and induction at the rear. Chain cam engines have a reversed head, so the other way round.

Once again, @iantt may be able to confirm as I believe he has actually seen one!

 

I emailed the "salesman" last night to say I would like to proceed towards ordering and what was the next step, and have just had this reply: "As you can’t order fiestas anymore I will have to have a look at what’s in group."  This after he'd offered me one in my colour of choice and quoted for it. 😆

Not that I'm too bothered, as I had always intended to trade the car in once the PCP had ended.

As I was typing this, the salesman rang to offer me a car in black (not my colour), or in chrome blue at £500 extra. I said no.

16 hours ago, Eric Bloodaxe said:

Once again, @iantt may be able to confirm as I believe he has actually seen one!

Pics or it didn't happen!  

I've spent a good few minutes trying to find pictures of a chain driven 1.1 Ti-VCT.  I can't find any anywhere.  The only brand new unregistered 1.1 Trend on Autotrader with an engine bay picture is old style, wet-belt and exhaust at the front. 

There aren't any chain driven 1.1 used engines on eBay (although perhaps not surprising given how new and rare they must be).

There aren't any on Cazoo, although again, perhaps because of their age and production numbers.

From this, I would be very sceptical that a brand new 1.1 Ti-VCT would definitely have a 'chain-belt' as the salesman is suggesting... 🤔

 

 

Just for reference, the picture below is a chain driven 1.0 EcoBoost.  You can see the cambelt cover on the left, next to the yellow dipstick handle ring, is made of bright silvery aluminium.  Whereas it is black plastic on wetbelt models as shown in the picture above.  The exhaust isn't always visible on photos depending on how low an angle it has been taken, so I've been using that as a good indicator of cam-chain on EcoBoost's.  I am assuming it'll be the same for the 1.1 Ti-VCT, but cannot confirm that unless someone can provide a picture of one of those.

Looks as I may have had a narrow escape!

Yesterday my surgeon confirmed that my new heart valve was working very well. I've spent all this year having tests and diagnoses, and people close to me have congratulated me on the way I've remained cool and pragmatic. But over the last couple of days my stress levels have risen because of the faffing around with the salesman who, from the start, did not inspire confidence, and because of the uncertainty over the belt. So I'm relieved that I won't be buying a new Trend.

But I can and do express my thanks to knowledgeable members of this Forum who have patiently dealt with my queries.

32 minutes ago, TomsFocus said:

From this, I would be very sceptical that a brand new 1.1 Ti-VCT would definitely have a 'chain-belt' as the salesman is suggesting... 🤔

 

Well, should be able to identify one from the pics/info we have so far I guess, particularly a wet belt one which, as suspected, looks just like an ecoboost without a turbo.

Top marks for finding that pic, Tom! I've searched the web several times over the last couple of years using various search engines and never found one.

Edit PS in view of Terence 's last post it looks like we won't need to!