Good evening, my first post....

my son is looking at buying an '02 Fiesta 1.4 tdci, from research over the last couple of days these seem to be pretty well thought of with no one issue causing concerns of comments...

my question is, have we missed anything?

does it have a dual mass flywheel? for example....

any comments on this particular model (good or bad) would be most welcome...

Thnak you

Martin

Good evening, my first post....

my son is looking at buying an '02 Fiesta 1.4 tdci, from research over the last couple of days these seem to be pretty well thought of with no one issue causing concerns of comments...

my question is, have we missed anything?

does it have a dual mass flywheel? for example....

any comments on this particular model (good or bad) would be most welcome...

Thnak you

Martin

Hi Martin,

They are very good cars, the best in their class however as with every manufacturer they do sometimes have problems. Coilpacks are known to fail, ensure the heated rear screen is working (pain in the !Removed! if its not), ifs its a 3 door model he is purchasing beware that if the seats dont go forward to let rear passengers in then you are talking £40 to replace this. You will need new cables obviously and a new handle, i have not found a way to remove it without ripping it apart. With it being a diesel check for excess exhaust smoke, this could be signs of a injector on its way out.

Apart from these minor issues they are excellent cars and iirc are only £35 per annum to tax.

What spec is it you are looking to buy ???

Hi Martin,

They are very good cars, the best in their class however as with every manufacturer they do sometimes have problems. Coilpacks are known to fail, ensure the heated rear screen is working (pain in the !Removed! if its not), ifs its a 3 door model he is purchasing beware that if the seats dont go forward to let rear passengers in then you are talking £40 to replace this. You will need new cables obviously and a new handle, i have not found a way to remove it without ripping it apart. With it being a diesel check for excess exhaust smoke, this could be signs of a injector on its way out.

Apart from these minor issues they are excellent cars and iirc are only £35 per annum to tax.

What spec is it you are looking to buy ???

From what I remember from seeing it yesterday evening, its a 5door, base model (ie no aircon, manual windows, steel wheels... but we would see this as an advantage)everything worked & it drove nicely. The only downside that I can see is the mileage which is high at 130k (we are waiting to see the service history to check what its had done & when the cam belt was last changed)

One significant attraction is £30pa tax!

All the reviews I've read have good things to say then I got to thinking about the ford DMF issue which I'd read about previously with referance to other Ford diesels... as far as I can tell this does have one, but nothing I've read suggests this is a problem?

I do notice, however that solid f/wheel kits are available as an upgrade/improvement should the worst happen?

thanks for your reply

Martin

That is nothing for a TDCI, they are excellent powerplants pull well aswell. Ahh the Finesse model, if its reasonably priced then id go for it but if not hold out until another one comes along.

This might help you gather the cars MOT history, what you do is enter the test certificate number and it brings up the results of all the MOT's the car has had. Its a useful tool to find out what it has previously failed on. The website is:

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring/OwningAVehicle/Mot/DG_10020539

Does the car have service history ??

That is nothing for a TDCI, they are excellent powerplants pull well aswell. Ahh the Finesse model, if its reasonably priced then id go for it but if not hold out until another one comes along.

This might help you gather the cars MOT history, what you do is enter the test certificate number and it brings up the results of all the MOT's the car has had. Its a useful tool to find out what it has previously failed on. The website is:

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring/OwningAVehicle/Mot/DG_10020539

Does the car have service history ??

I'm going to see what service history it has tomorrow, hopefully... We'll be able to make a decision/offer then!

It certainly looked well cared for

Thanks for the heads up on the mot check...

martin

I'm going to see what service history it has tomorrow, hopefully... We'll be able to make a decision/offer then!

It certainly looked well cared for

Thanks for the heads up on the mot check...

martin

Yeah no problem. Oh viewing it in this terrible weather, is it a private sale or dealer and is there a warranty of any sort implied ??. Another thing ive just thought of although very minor, when i look at Fiestas in the auction, i often notice that the bottoms of the front wings (were you would put a mudflap) paint seems to peel from there. Although very minor, worth checking and using it as a haggling tool.

Your son needs to ask himself if he would be happy with a car that is low spec. The last thing you want to do is buy the car then spend more money on fitting electric windows etc. What colour is it ??

i agree with the comments on here , plus the cheap tax is a real bonus , i think it might be cheaper than £35 looking on the tax website?