Hi,

Still looking for a first car for my daughter.  Looking for some advice in terms of 1.25 Fiestas and what the going rate is for something with between 60k/70k miles?  

Viewed a couple around the £3.5k mark but haven't been the daughters colour preference 🙃 (apart form one that had a potential head gasket issue)....but also seeing others with similar mileage priced £4.5k+ ......other than the latter sometimes having service history not much difference on paper that i can see, any other reasons for the difference in price or just seller mark up?

Any advice on going rate for a 1.25 fiestas with 60k/70k mileage?  Other than Autotrader any other trusted sites?

Appreciate any advice.

Prices are still high from the pandemic years unfortunately.  There's no way we'd have paid that much for them pre-pandemic.

Mileage doesn't have much relevance on an older car imo.  Are they maybe different years and marks?  Mk6.5/Mk7/Mk7.5 will all have different levels of desirability.  They're also presumably different trim levels.  Zetec is midrange and gets things like heated windscreen and air conditioning.  Basic trims like Style & Edge may not have those (although they were available as optional extras).  Road tax is also different, around 2012 models it dropped from £150 a year down to £35 a year.

Cambelt on 1.25 is recommended every 8 years or 100k miles.  So if there's no history of that, factor it into any purchase price.

These engines are pretty reliable so I wouldn't be too concerned about service history.

It would help to be a bit more specific as to what sort of age car you're looking at. The 1.25 is a very long running engine used in several generations of Fiesta from the mid-90s up to the Mk 7.5.

3 minutes ago, Eric Bloodaxe said:

It would help to be a bit more specific as to what sort of age car you're looking at. The 1.25 is a very long running engine used in several generations of Fiesta from the mid-90s up to the Mk 7.5.

Hi, thanks for your reply.  Looking at 2009 onwards not sure what Mk that is to be honest (i think MK 7 onwards), and not too bothered on spec with it being a first car more about getting something reliable that is within budget of around £3.5k.

20 minutes ago, TomsFocus said:

Prices are still high from the pandemic years unfortunately.  There's no way we'd have paid that much for them pre-pandemic.

Mileage doesn't have much relevance on an older car imo.  Are they maybe different years and marks?  Mk6.5/Mk7/Mk7.5 will all have different levels of desirability.  They're also presumably different trim levels.  Zetec is midrange and gets things like heated windscreen and air conditioning.  Basic trims like Style & Edge may not have those (although they were available as optional extras).  Road tax is also different, around 2012 models it dropped from £150 a year down to £35 a year.

Cambelt on 1.25 is recommended every 8 years or 100k miles.  So if there's no history of that, factor it into any purchase price.

These engines are pretty reliable so I wouldn't be too concerned about service history.

Thanks for your reply.  What is the average cost of a cambelt change?

In your opinion am I likely to get something reliable for around the £3.5k mark (not to fussed on exact spec as its a first car) or do I need to be looking at stretching the budget a bit more?

Thanks again.

10 minutes ago, Newbie2411 said:

Thanks for your reply.  What is the average cost of a cambelt change?

In your opinion am I likely to get something reliable for around the £3.5k mark (not to fussed on exact spec as its a first car) or do I need to be looking at stretching the budget a bit more?

Thanks again.

Cambelt change on a 1.25 is likely to be around £300-£400 now.

The 1.25s are generally reliable, so I don't see why you couldn't get a decent one for £3.5k.  Though as they're getting on a bit now, you may be dealing with rust and water leaks rather than engine faults.

Spec may be more important than you think.  I made the mistake of buying a very basic car as my first and always regretted it.  Only kept it for about 9 months before upgrading to something with ABS and air conditioning.

Might also be worth checking whether Bluetooth is fitted as that's something that most people require nowadays and don't realise that it wasn't standard on all cars 10-15 years ago.

Looks like there is a very good selection on AutoTrader provided your willing to travel a few miles.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202310102862210

Ford Fiesta 1.25 ZETEC 3d 81 BHP LOW MILEAGE*12 MONTHS MOT*HISTORY*

2009 (59 reg) £3,450

1 hour ago, Newbie2411 said:

Looking at 2009 onwards not sure what Mk that is to be honest (i think MK 7 onwards), and not too bothered on spec

Yes, Mk 7. I agree with Tom not to go too basic as people seem to expect Bluetooth in particular these days, though iirc that was only standard on a Titanium and optional with ICE upgrades elsewhere in the range.

Zetec trim is probably a good choice, though specs did get upgraded towards the end of the run - we had a 2012 Edge which was perfectly adequate including aircon (but not Bluetooth).

It's a good first car imo, the engine does need revs to make reasonable progress, so lots of gearchanging practice!

Things to look out for are pretty general to Fiestas of that age - rust particularly sills/rear wheelarches, worn suspension bushes, etc. I'd look for a nice "unmolested" example - these tend to be popular with boy racers.

My son (age 30),bought his 1st car recently and it's an '08 1.4 Fiesta Ghia,  (mk6) and it's surprisingly thirsty around town, tax £240 ish, and insurance £800+ .  So not sure which way you want to tackle selecting your daughter's 1st car....do you see what insurance and tax will cost you so at least you carry on choosing with your eyes wide open.

 

8 hours ago, unofix said:

Looks like there is a very good selection on AutoTrader provided your willing to travel a few miles.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202310102862210

Ford Fiesta 1.25 ZETEC 3d 81 BHP LOW MILEAGE*12 MONTHS MOT*HISTORY*

2009 (59 reg) £3,450

* ONLY HAD ONE LADY OWNER FROM NEW* 

That screams avoid like the plague to me.  Apologies to any lady folk, they're not all bad drivers... 

4 minutes ago, mickywrx said:

That screams avoid like the plague to me.  Apologies to any lady folk, they're not all bad drivers...

that's very unfair, it was the vicars wife 🤣

Just now, unofix said:

that's very unfair, it was the vicars wife 🤣

Yeah, and her only passenger was her guide dog! 😁

13 hours ago, nicam49 said:

My son (age 30),bought his 1st car recently and it's an '08 1.4 Fiesta Ghia,  (mk6) and it's surprisingly thirsty around town, tax £240 ish, and insurance £800+ .  So not sure which way you want to tackle selecting your daughter's 1st car....do you see what insurance and tax will cost you so at least you carry on choosing with your eyes wide open.

 

Thanks for the reply......yes insurance is a nightmare.....getting quotes of £1700+ even as a named driver....but speaking to friends this seems to be the going rate for all similar first cars for 17 year old's these days 😰!!

On 11/28/2023 at 9:07 AM, Newbie2411 said:

Thanks for the reply......yes insurance is a nightmare.....getting quotes of £1700+ even as a named driver....but speaking to friends this seems to be the going rate for all similar first cars for 17 year old's these days 😰!!

Hi.

If you need any help with insurance for whatever vehicle she is looking at then please feel free to drop me a line.

Regards,

Dan.