Hi everyone. I have owned a Ford Fiesta 1.25L Petrol Style since summer 2018. It came with just 39K miles on the clock. Since then, I have added another 100K to it - so its reading 139,460 Miles now. 

In January of this year,  a full service service+MOT bill came up to a hefty £1100. The service included one replacement engine mount bracket, one new nearside suspension coil and a new starter motor. Hence the cost. I asked friends/colleagues whether it was wise to have spent all that money on an old weather beaten car with high miles on the clock. The general advice from them was that I should have thought about that BEFORE I sent it in for a service+MOT. But now that I'd spent all that money, the best thing to do was to keep the car and use it for another year. Which is exactly what I did!

But in January 2026, the Fiesta is due its annual service+MOT again. SO...with a couple of months still to go - what do I do? Hope that this time the bill won't be so high - and keep it going for yet another year?  The only niggles at the moment are that the rear view mirror flip thing doesn't work anymore, only the passenger side windscreen de-mister works, and the air con is out of gas. The bodywork is what you would expect for a 19 year old car - worn, but still in place. The engine itself still runs fine. Cosmetics aside, it could potentially go for another year. Or shall I cut my losses now - and buy a similar used car for whatever my budget of £6K will get me?

Any advice welcome. I use the car for daily commute to work (mainly motorway).

Could it be worth getting the MOT done a month early, and if it passes, get it serviced and keep it, or if the MOT shows a chunk of change needs spending on it, get rid?

£6k doesn't get you much nowadays.  

Probably better off doing the bare minimum to keep this on the road.

Might also be worth finding a cheaper garage as an engine mount & spring don't cost much new.  Starter motor could have been bought used for under £50.

Yes, Chris's advice is perfect!

And Tom's about sourcing used/cheaper parts AND, more importantly a cheaper garage.

If you look after the body, there's no reason why you couldn't get another 10 years out of it.

They're a great little car

6k really won't get you much and keep away from 1.0 Ecobooms!

 

The 1.25 litre petrol is one of the most solid and reliable engines ford ever made. All your repairs will be age related segregation, but once they are done it'll be fine for another 10+ Years as long as the body is solid. Those engines are know to keep going 300k miles + as long as they oil is changed at or near intervals.

Thank you to all those who have taken the time to chime in - much appreciated. My Fiesta has been a loyal servant for the 7.5 years I have owned it. The electric windows, the electric side mirrors all still work exactly as they should, the exhaust is still the same, and there's never been any issues with the engine at all. The only periodic replacements have been those drop links, the odd wheel bearing, tyres obviously, and a pair of those hydraulic arms that lift the back lid up. None were particularly expensive fixes - other than January of this year when all those big repairs came in. That's why I was thinking ahead. I'd rather not spend the £6K budget I have - given the current economic climate! So I think what I'll do is in December take the car to my trusted mechanic - who is happy to chat - and get a pre-MOT check on it. Then I'll see what the bill might come to. Anything under £400/450 I'll happily cough up and keep the car. Will update at some point either way. Thanks again for your inputs!

7 hours ago, DaveT70 said:

keep away from 1.0 Ecobooms!

 

The Ecoboost isn't inherently a bad engine. My Ecoboost has been a fantastic engine, much more powerful with lower fuel consumption. If the service schedule is followed, the engine is reliable. Mine has gone in today for the cambelt replacement after 10 years of dependable performance, no reason why it won't last another 10 years. The main issue with the 1.0 Ecoboost is that some of the owners believe timely servicing is optional.  

16 hours ago, cjay1 said:

The main issue with the 1.0 Ecoboost is that some of the owners believe timely servicing is optional.  

Yes, that's why, with a £6k budget, Keep away!

20 hours ago, cjay1 said:

The Ecoboost isn't inherently a bad engine. My Ecoboost has been a fantastic engine, much more powerful with lower fuel consumption. If the service schedule is followed, the engine is reliable. Mine has gone in today for the cambelt replacement after 10 years of dependable performance, no reason why it won't last another 10 years. The main issue with the 1.0 Ecoboost is that some of the owners believe timely servicing is optional.  

Not true I have seen several in focuses both 100 and 125 variants lose compression in one cylinder after 150k miles in the 125, and 210k miles in the 100. The fiestas last a bit longer than that but eventually fail in the same way. Sadly they are just completely the wrong design of engine for longevity but completely the correct design for bean counters at ford.

Also for the op budget, 6k these days will get you a very heavily beaten up car 8k is kind of the starting point where the cars are less likely to be battered and beaten up.

Cars are only designed to last 10 years or 100k.  Anything you get beyond that is a bonus really.  

Owning a car from new for 10 years is a completely different game to buying a used car at 10 years old.

 

I remember going to a Ford dealer with a £6k budget for a Focus back in 2018.  Barely anything I could afford there even then.  Tried to flog me a Zetec in place of my Titanium with X pack!  

On 11/6/2025 at 8:01 AM, DaveT70 said:

Yes, that's why, with a £6k budget, Keep away!

My car is in the sub-6k value range. It's been serviced on time every time with a full service history it has only covered 38k, and is in very good condition. Wetbelts were replaced yesterday with no sign of wetbelt degradation. There are good cars for sale at he sub 6k price point, just check the car's history before parting with your money  

1 hour ago, cjay1 said:

My car is in the sub-6k value range. It's been serviced on time every time with a full service history it has only covered 38k, and is in very good condition. Wetbelts were replaced yesterday with no sign of wetbelt degradation. There are good cars for sale at he sub 6k price point, just check the car's history before parting with your money  

Your car isn't for sale is it?

No-one would have the belts done on a 10 year old car just before selling it.  So cars for sale in this bracket won't have had the belts done.

We've also seen plenty of fake service history on these now.  And even a few fake belt change receipts.  Checking service history would not give me enough peace of mind to trust one of these engines I'm afraid.

2 minutes ago, TomsFocus said:

Checking service history would not give me enough peace of mind to trust one of these engines I'm afraid.

Me neither !! 🤔