Hi, 

I'm looking to buy a 2009 59 FORD FIESTA 1.6 ZETEC TDCI and it seems to be all and well - Just had a few questions...

On its last MOT there was an advisory for a 

• exhaust rear silencer corroded

Is this a major hidden cost? from looking around it seems to be solvable for around £100ish - could this be linked to any other issue in the car?

At the moment it has the standard head unit - with a cd player and am/fm radio - i want to upgrade this to a bluetooth unit - again this is showing up on the ford website as £100 - is it worth doing this for that bluetooth connectivity?

Exhaust is an easy fix and something that goes with wear and tear. The head unit all depends on the person I'd say yes worth doing.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Its an 8 year old car. If that's all Mr MOT noted then that's not bad at all.

does the exhaust need doing?   the standards for advisories vary a lot and 'corroded' gives no idea if it is relatively minor or something worse.  you need to inspect it. if the outer surface of the silencer has surface rust on it I would leave it until a hole appears. Sometimes they look rusty for years before it goes right through.  But if there is serious rust where the in and out pipe joins the silencer then it might be worth doing sooner as the last thing you want is the pipe breaking off where it joins the silencer when you are 300 miles from home.

1 hour ago, isetta said:

does the exhaust need doing?   the standards for advisories vary a lot and 'corroded' gives no idea if it is relatively minor or something worse.  you need to inspect it. if the outer surface of the silencer has surface rust on it I would leave it until a hole appears. Sometimes they look rusty for years before it goes right through.  But if there is serious rust where the in and out pipe joins the silencer then it might be worth doing sooner as the last thing you want is the pipe breaking off where it joins the silencer when you are 300 miles from home.

This is exactly why I sprayed my Panda exhaust with black VHT lol.  If the silencer has gone its a pretty cheap fix in the grand scheme of things.  

3 hours ago, Jethro_Tull said:

Its an 8 year old car. If that's all Mr MOT noted then that's not bad at all.

Exactly this.

 

As for adding bluetooth, last I heard it cost a lot more than £100 and involved a new head unit.  But things may have changed.

Thanks for the replies guys. 

I went back for a test drive and it drove good - had a good look at the exhaust - there was rust but it seemed on the outside. even if it was more like you guys said its an 8 year old car. 

On 7/8/2017 at 10:03 PM, tarbyonline said:

As for adding bluetooth, last I heard it cost a lot more than £100 and involved a new head unit.  But things may have changed.

http://www.ford-accessories.co.uk/fiesta/2008/infotainment/audio?intcmp=other:acc:pdp:prod-list-view::select-product-group#

This is what i went off. 

Ok picked this up this morning and mixed things. 

Feeling a bit duped by the salesman. When I took it for a test drive it was a quick drive on some streets and then a short motorway run. On the drive back home its clear that the way he told me to go was smooth because there's some loud clanging sounds everytime the car goes over a speed bump or bumps on the road. 

Gonna take it to a local garage to see if it's a quick job or something more severe. See what else has happened to the car. Worst case scenario is that it is a accident repair and its been done on the cheap. 

30 minutes ago, imranalime said:

Ok picked this up this morning and mixed things. 

Feeling a bit duped by the salesman. When I took it for a test drive it was a quick drive on some streets and then a short motorway run. On the drive back home its clear that the way he told me to go was smooth because there's some loud clanging sounds everytime the car goes over a speed bump or bumps on the road. 

Gonna take it to a local garage to see if it's a quick job or something more severe. See what else has happened to the car. Worst case scenario is that it is a accident repair and its been done on the cheap. 

Fingers crossed it could just be loose exhaust heatshields, either way as you've just bought it from a garage it'll have some warranty so they'll have to fix it!)

19 hours ago, Russ said:

Fingers crossed it could just be loose exhaust heatshields, either way as you've just bought it from a garage it'll have some warranty so they'll have to fix it!)

Right. took it to the garage and he put it on the lift and lifted the car from underneath. there was a clang and he had a look at the springs and both front ones 

when i bought the car i talked him down a £150 discount on the basis i get the MOT done myself. that wasnt an issue. 

i've taken it to the garage this morning to find the source and it turns out both the front springs have cracked. fantastic. 

spoken to the dealer and he's trying to pull a fast one - he's saying that the £150 discount was to cover stuff like this that would've shown up during an MOT. so if i paid the £150 he would get these done for me. 

taken advice from online and i think i'm gonna go for a full refund and go buy something from a dealership or a more reputable dealer unless he repairs the springs to his cost. . i'm gutted cause it was a nice car. 

"taken advice from online and i think i'm gonna go for a full refund"  sometimes easier said than done, in spite of what consumer protection laws might say.

He's sold you an unroadworthy, potentially dangerous vehicle. If he won't pay for repairs or refund in full, then park it in the street outside his pitch with posters in the windows advising potential customers of the problems you've had, and urging them to take their business elsewhere. Phone the local paper to tell them about the car you've "spotted" parked outside the site, or get a them to toddle along with a camera and photograph it, and when Phil Mitchell comes out to ask what he's doing he can say he's from the local paper and ask for a quote  He'll soon get fed up and pay for the springs to be done.

Meanwhile, its a salutory lesson for buyers everywhere.  If you're not trade/ex trade yourself, and don't have access to a competent mate to check it over for you, then pay the AA or RAC for a professional inspection.  Its rarely wasted money in that they usually find faults that cost as least as much as the inspection did so pay for themselves.  If you're looking at a car at Bombsite Motors and they get sweaty and evasive when you mention having it inspected then just walk.  There will always be another one out there, unless your shopping for a Hispano Suiza or summat.

just to give you guys an update. 

the springs were done at his expense. 

i'd sent him a text afterwards saying i was unhappy with the offer that if i paid him the £150 he would sort out the car. i said if it wasnt fixed at his own cost i would be wanting a refund.  he replied that when i'd come in today he would sort it. 

so upon arrival he said that the car was booked in for 12 and they would sort it out.he mentioned how the text i'd sent him wasnt required and an over-reaction. he mentioned nothing about paying him money to get this sorted as he had done in the phone call. 

got it back now and there's not a peep coming out from the suspension.  :) result.

Let him have his little whinge about the text.  After all, its cost him a good few quid.

On 7/8/2017 at 4:55 PM, imranalime said:

On its last MOT there was an advisory for a 

• exhaust rear silencer corroded

An anecdote. Some years ago I bought a one year old Primera. It got its first exhaust corrosion advisory after year 5 or 6 and from then on had several more depending on the opinion of the tester. I sold the car at end of year 11 still silencing and catalysing properly without ever having touched it. Three more Mot records exist, the last at 137,433 miles, with no mention of the exhaust.