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Don't Buy A Fiesta!


moon_monkie
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Umm shared by all?...who is this all?...theirs more poeple here talking about how they havnt had any problems....you want problems by an Alfa, or Vauxhall.....then youll know about problems.

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I was planning to buy one this year but going by the experiences shared by all I have changed my mind. Thanks for sharing your views.

:lol:

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First one was buckled on the outside, second one only discovered at the first service (no knowledge of hitting any potholes) and third one the tyre deflated the wheel failed so badly.

So driving around with them buckled wasn't an option in our case, I know plenty of people are...

I think Keith has missed the point here, no one expects to be able to drive around and miss every single pothole in the roads these days and no of course in an ideal world no-one would ever drive through one but surely the manufacturer has a duty to provide wheels that are fit for purpose. i.e. able to cope with the roads in the market they are selling the vehicles in?

I'm not suggesting everyone here has had problems with their wheels but reading through the forums it seems that a good percentage are, so maybe if you are one of the lucky ones you should count your blessings and not accuse people who have had the problems of being negligent in some way just because their experience and view doesn't match your own.

We will not be buying another Ford after this and yes you could argue that it's sour grapes because we feel let down but I'm sure you would feel the same given the same circumstances, there are only so many times you can accept the bad luck you must have hit a pothole line before giving up and thinking you'd be better spending your money elsewhere. I wonder if you also blame all the people who had problems with BMW wheels and all the people who've suffered all the safety problems with Toyotas recently?

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I dont think ford have a duty to provide wheels that will handle any road you might be driving on. Lots of people have had problems with buckled wheels lately not just people who drive ford.

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For what it's worth:

I too have the 7-spoke alloys on my year-old titanium. I remember hitting a deep pothole back in snowy December & the front nearside taking a hefty whack!

During its 1st service this week, I was told both front wheels are everso "slightly buckled". I haven't noticed any difference whatsoever in the feel/handling due to the "buckles" being so miniscule.

Was advised to change them (£322 for a pair) - but I'm not bothering as - like the Ford servicing dept told me - "it's barely worth doing so, the buckles are so small". That will do me!

But . . .

I have owned many cars in all my years of driving - many (if not most) with alloy wheels - especially the past 15-years or so when most manufacturers added them as standard. In that time - I have driven into a good number of potholes, hit large rocks/stones, the odd kerb, debris on the motorway, you name it! Yet this is the very first time ever that I have had a buckle of any sort - ever. I never had any problems with damaged alloys until now. I conclude therefore that - despite the fact I love my Fiesta titanium like I do - Ford's alloys do seem to be "weaker" than any i've come across in previous makes of vehicle! Maybe it's all part of the "making the new Fiesta lighter" in weight than previous models? Ask the good handful of people on here with the 17" alloys that have had problems if they agree?!?!

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There clearly is an unusually high number of mk.7 owners with buckled alloys. Whether that's because of an increased number of bad potholes on the roads or whether the alloys are poor quality remains to be seen I suppose.

Someone should do some stress testing on a couple of different alloys to find out. Any takers?

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I would say its a problem with an unusally large number of potholes on the road. I'm on more than just one car forum and have seen complaints from all of them regarding buckled wheels. People think it will be easier to get money from ford by complaining than getting money from their local council. If i worked for ford i would tell people to be more careful and if they cant miss every pothole then call the council, ford isn't responsible for crap roads.

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I agree with Nightowl.

Modern cars are prob more prone to buckled wheels;

the cars weigh twice as much as 20/30 years ago,

ride on stoopid 45 section tyres instead of 80 or 70 or even 60 section

tyres are extra load spec so any knocks are not absorbed by the tyre

modern cars can acclerate and travel faster than 20/30 year ago

computer aided designs mean that the absolute minimum spec is designed in rather the oldsckool 'build it like the Forth rail bridge'

And there are prob more potholes than anytime in the last 30 years since the last spate of bitterly cold winters in the early 80s.

However the sheer number of people have bent wheels and having problems multiple times means I think there is a problem with Fester alloys. I bet any new alloys from Ford are designed to be stronger....

And all these people that can see potholes in the wet and dark on a strange road doing 50+mph. You are just talking BS.

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And all these people that can see potholes in the wet and dark on a strange road doing 50+mph. You are just talking BS.

Most people wouldnt drive 50+ in the wet and dark on a road they didnt know.

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Just searched on the UK regional section of a BMW site I use alot and wow.........they think BMW must have made bad wheels or used shody material or had a bad batch because they also feel like they have an "unusual" amount of buckled wheels. There is even a 17 page thread trying to sue BMW to replace "bad" wheels.

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Just searched on the UK regional section of a BMW site I use alot and wow.........they think BMW must have made bad wheels or used shody material or had a bad batch because they also feel like they have an "unusual" amount of buckled wheels. There is even a 17 page thread trying to sue BMW to replace "bad" wheels.

There was a feature a few months ago (over here in the UK) on the BBC1 Watchdog programme about many disgruntled BMW owners with buckled wheels. Some had even cracked where the spoke meets the actual rim & not just through running over potholes either. They had just cracked - due to poor manufacturing techniques or weak alloy metals . I can't remember BMW's response, but I seem to recall they would replace buckled/cracked wheels if you kicked up enough fuss.

I feel there is definitely something in this. I also think the design of certain alloys (whilst looking good - eye-catching even) don't give enough "support" to the weight of the car, etc. All the early cars I owned with chunky(ish) alloy designs never had this problem. I guess the newer, more delicate designs of ultra modern alloy wheels aren't as robust as some car manufacturers would like to think! (the current Mk7 17" Fiesta alloys being a prime example!).

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It appears everyone is having problems since getting a new fiesta, and not before, but did we get winters this bad before 2009? thus creating more potholes than is usual!

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Iv had a number of problems vibrations on pedals loss of power when somtimes turning and found millions of lil stones dents at the back of the car seems like its made of tin how it dents so easy

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I think an increase in buckled wheels is to be expected with the bad winters we have been having! Also the majority of problems seem to be with the 17" streetpack alloys.... :/

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I did one of my titanium 16" with in a month in December 2008!

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  • 1 month later...

I don't think Ford should even offer 16" or 17" as an option considering the state of our roads, we'd be better of in a third world country. I traded the 16" on the Titanium I ordered for the 15" from a Zetec simply because of the condition of the roads, I know for a fact they would be damaged in no time.

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I don't think Ford should even offer 16" or 17" as an option considering the state of our roads, we'd be better of in a third world country. I traded the 16" on the Titanium I ordered for the 15" from a Zetec simply because of the condition of the roads, I know for a fact they would be damaged in no time.

I drive around on 19" wheels with very low profile tyres every day, I don't have a problem.

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I drive around on 19" wheels with very low profile tyres every day, I don't have a problem.

Must just be the roads around here then!

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I have just had to replace another front wheel after hitting a pothole, third one in the 2 years i've owned the car. Getting expensive now.

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You can claim for the cost of damage caused by pot holes from your local council. The council is responsible for the maintenance of the roads and should pay. Indeed they have been paying out quite a bit recently.

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20,000 miles 16 months of ownership, hit a few potholes still running the original wheels with no damage. :rolleyes:

Although after stone damage I have had 1 new screen and already have 2 stone chips 1 which I’ve had autoglass out to seal. :huh:

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You can claim for the cost of damage caused by pot holes from your local council. The council is responsible for the maintenance of the roads and should pay. Indeed they have been paying out quite a bit recently.

I remember a news article about this a while ago. They make it as hard as possible for the victim. I think you have to prove you had no way of avoiding the pothole, as well as have at least one outside witness. I'm not sure if all councils are like that, but it's enough to make people think it's not even worth the effort.

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I have a very small chip on my windscreen due a pothole!

On my way to work, there is a left handed bend, I like to call the top gear follow through, so far I got it at 75! but on that side there is a pothole they repeatedly fill in, which is towards the white line side, and you can still get past it easily.

Anyway, going the other way is a different matter, 40 at most, and last thursday said pothole was out again, and on the wrong side, the Micra infront of me, chipped a piece up, it bounced and I collected it!!!

My main problem, seems to be the lack of a spare wheel, as I had a Ka, and 2 fiestas, never used the spare, and as soon as I didn't have one? one month, pothole, bent wheel! Now I have full 17" alloy in the boot, this car has faired better than previous 13 reg!

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is this thread still going?!

if ever there were a thread worthy of deletion this surely would be it.

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