Horrible Fiesta Zetec for sale.

[Cavcraft]

1996 Fister* 1.25 Si Zetec, facelfit model. Five door with power steering. Test end of July 2010, taxed end of July 2010.

 

Good tyres, seems to run ok and it's very clean. Looks pretty reasonable but trust me it's not.

 

In fact it's bloody horrible and the list of known faults are as follows:

 

Rear bush things knackered, rear wheel bearings u/s, brakes poor, handbrake virtually non-existant, needs some welding (sills and floor I think), passenger door mirror glass has jumped ship, driver's door won't open from outside and the lock doesn't work (though can be locked from the inside), driver's seat torn, some scratches etc as you'd expect. Does seem a little hesitant at time when cold but does pull well.

 

This car looks pretty fair but don't be fooled by appearances, as above it's horrible.

 

I won't let it be driven away due to brakes, wheel bearings, bushes etc, so it's a trailer or recovery truck job I believe. Maybe an A-frame is possible but you've got the bearings/bushes to consider.

 

Maybe of some value for the engine or as a cheap do-er-up-er for someone but I cannot stress enough it's a horrible car. Oh well, the cat is still on it, and the car is complete, so might break/weigh in well if you can be bothered.

I'm not going all 'buy it or I'll weigh it in' on you because it's not exactly rare, desirable or good, so although the weighbridge beckons maybe someone can make use of it?

 

Offers circa £175? Trust me if it was twenty quid you'd feel ripped off, it really is horrible.

 

Having said that in the extremely unlikely event someone wants this to do up I honestly don't care if you fix it up and make a nice profit on it.

 

One (only?) plus point it's a sort of strange/vile/AutoShite special metallic orangey colour.

 

It's in Chester, Cheshire near the motorway network. Collection only (remember I won't let you drive it away) and I'd like to see the back of it sooner rather than later.

Txt tlkrs please insert a frosted mop up your Bourneville Boulevard as I ain't interested in trying to decipher the chod that you type. Not that that's I'm likely to find any 'txt ppl' on here to be fair.

 

You want pictures I'll post some but it will like a fit bird who fancies herself it will look good and deceive you.

 

*Because it needs fisting. Ideally with a Hiab.

[Tayne]

.

[Station]

Is it the mk3 or mk4, I can't picture it, especially the colour!

[wuvvum]

Is it this colour?

 

[Cavcraft]

DING! And the boy wins a cigar!

 

Guessing it's a Mk4 or something like that?

 

It does have a file full of history for it by the way, not read any of it yet but I expect there isn't a single receipt for rust proofing or build quality.

 

If it helps any (unlikely) sale it also has a wheeltrim missing.

[Station]

That's not a lot of work for a couple of month's runaround. It looks better that I'd expected.

[Cavcraft]

Don't let it fool you me old teapot. Did I mention that it's horrible?

[Richard]

The 1.25 Zetec is supposed to be a cracking engine, which almost certainly means it isn't. 100% of the 1.25 Zetecs I've known (one) have run like a bag of shite.

[Minimad5]

100% of the 1.25 Zetecs I've known (one) have run like a bag of shite.

These little engine are not that bad, they seem to pull quite well and are frugal with the juice.

They are also easy to work on (well the Headgasket i did was a piece of piss)

 

That will not help the sale i know as you have described it as "horrible"

 

But good luck with the sale Billy.

[Cavcraft]

No, it's fine. I don't want to say or hear anything nice about this heap of shit in case someone believes it might actually be o.k.

[warren t claim]

Will it start and drive slowly and quietly in first gear for 10 mins? Maybe past a podium or rostrum?

[MK5 Escort]

Is there a problem with the driver's door handle? It looks as though it remains sticking up in all the shots of it!

 

My brother ran an 'S' plate Fiesta Zetec 1.25 for a couple of years. Yes, the build quality was suspect in several departments. For instance, the car was little more than a year old and the dashboard starting buzzing and creaking like mad. The seats were very easy to stain and unless you slammed the doors, it took about three attempts to get most of them to shut properly. Considering it was a mid-spec model, we were surprised to find it didn't even have front electric windows, yet it had sporty white dials, four spoke alloys and front fog lights... A very odd model those earlier Zetecs were (that replaced the Si).

 

However, to it's credit I thought it was a cracking little car to drive and handled very well indeed. Actually, it's probably still one of the finest handling 'modern' superminis I've driven to date with reasonably well weighted PAS. The engine wasn't the strongest in terms of power but it was very smooth, even at speed. Surprisingly for it's size, it seemed to cope okay at typical outside-lane motorway speeds too. I know he owned the car for a good couple of years (one of the longest times he's owned a car) and I don't recall him telling me of any problems. With my brother not being the most mechanically sympathetic of people, I'm surprised it lasted him until he replaced it at his own will, in his own time. Usually, something major goes wrong under the bonnet within six months of him buying any car...

 

I must state this is the only experience I've had of the mk4 Fiesta and I don’t think it had covered much more than 35k (still a baby...) by the time he sold it. For all I know they may run like an absolute pile of crap and creak/buzz even more when they’re coming up for going around the clock... I've seen plenty of examples showing signs of rusty arches, bubbling door bottoms and boot lids - even the later revised 2000-2002 models. Rust proofing on these seem equally as poor as the mk3.

[Station]

I've found that problem on lower/mid range Fords. Everyone I've had has had terrible build quality. Wind blowing in through the gaps in the doors. How other brands get digs about build quality, when this passes as the norm. Switching to Vauxhall was like going from a shopping trolley being pushed by Steven Hawking up a cobbled hill to, er, Steven Hawking's wheelchair!

TLDR: Fords are deceptively shit, yet get heaps of praise from silly motoring journo's.

[Cavcraft]

Yeah, door handle knackered. Quick removal of trim (not properly of course as the window winder got in the way and we cba removing the stupid clip thing) reveals the wire type thing had snapped.

 

Car auctions a real possibilty because to look at it's not that bad and people probably wouldn't realise just how wank the bearings/bushes are. Only trouble is by the time I pay the fees I'll probably get less than scrap for it, also I don't fancy being dry bummed by Pingu and his chums at the nearest auction.

SRSLY tempted to spray 'Cock Piss Cavette' down the side and then maybe add 'twat' before scrapping it. But we shall see.

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

It looks like it has a lot of potential, someone willing to put in some DIY effort could have themselves a sorted little motor there. However, I hate dicking about inside doors trying to make handles work, so for that reason I'm out.

-----------------------y

[trigger]

My mum had a N plate 1.25 LX years ago, It went like shit of a shovel, Really rapid, But it would piss in water, Ended up having the dash removed as it turned out to be leaking from where the blukhead joins the inner wings, A common leaking point for them the garage said.

 

There's a Orange Fiesta Si, the twin of the one your selling across the road from me in fact.

[Angrydicky]

Our's is the top of the range Ghia X model with every option avaliable including full leather kit etc. This is the only picture I have of it, it's not very interesting:

 

 

Problems:

 

Rust (sills and arches)

 

Sunroof leaks.

 

Heater only works on full (some kind of valve has been changed on it at least twice before)

 

Randomly cuts out at junctions sometimes.

 

And there is an ominous leak from the power steering pump.

 

This car has only covered about 60,000 miles. Bought new by my grandad in 1996 who worked for Ford and used his employee discount to get it. As soon as he bought it it had to go back to the factory to have the suspension checked on the jig as the tracking was out and it took them ages to fix it.

 

Overall it has been pretty reliable, but certainly harder to work on than the MK3! Not that bad a car, but it does have some issues.

[RichL]

Hmm. Know a bit about these. I ran an '01Y plate Zetec S 1.6 (facelift model) for 3 years. It was an incredibly rapid thing and was the best handling car I have ever owned. Loved it. Got rid due to rotting arches and sills and the f***ing heater control valve, which either made me overheat or the engine. My Folks bought a 1.25 Zetec brand new in 2000, and got rid last year due to rot. Shame as it had only done about 45K...

[pogweasel]

My mate has had one of these (1.25 Ghia) from new, it's never really given him any grief, but it's looking well scabby now.

[Cavcraft]

Elsewhere by pm:

 

'Will it drive back to London mate, when was cam belt done, please send me complete run down of service history, can I mend the wheelbearings outside your house, yadda, yadda yadda?'

 

Reply: What do you fucking think?

 

 

No more response from mong, job done.

[CortinaDave]

I like these, had one for a bit, and apart from the roast you alive heater control issues which was a bit of a bastard, it was a really good car.

[Lord Sterling]

Our's is the top of the range Ghia X model with every option avaliable including full leather kit etc. This is the only picture I have of it, it's not very interesting:

 

 

Problems:

 

Rust (sills and arches)

 

Sunroof leaks.

 

Heater only works on full (some kind of valve has been changed on it at least twice before)

 

Randomly cuts out at junctions sometimes.

 

And there is an ominous leak from the power steering pump.

 

This car has only covered about 60,000 miles. Bought new by my grandad in 1996 who worked for Ford and used his employee discount to get it. As soon as he bought it it had to go back to the factory to have the suspension checked on the jig as the tracking was out and it took them ages to fix it.

 

Overall it has been pretty reliable, but certainly harder to work on than the MK3! Not that bad a car, but it does have some issues.

A mate of mine had one a similar one to yours, just without the leather, it was a 'Ghia' model. I drove it mostly (He didn’t have a licence, I was teaching him to drive) body-wise it was shit, though running wise it was a great little car, fun to drive, held the road pretty well, driven other lower model Fiestas and they were pretty poor.

[Cavcraft]

Had a few Mk3 Fiestas and I actually like the mingebag models with poor trim levels and wheezy engines, because they had a sort of basic cruddy charm about them.

This one however seems to have no redeeming features that make me want to like it, though it does pull well I suppose.

[Station]

Hmm. Know a bit about these. I ran an '01Y plate Zetec S 1.6 (facelift model) for 3 years. It was an incredibly rapid thing and was the best handling car I have ever owned

I'll vouch for the handling on these Fiestas, I seem to remember feeling very confident throwing my mk3 1.1 Popular around.

[Guest]

Hmm. Know a bit about these. I ran an '01Y plate Zetec S 1.6 (facelift model) for 3 years. It was an incredibly rapid thing and was the best handling car I have ever owned

I'll vouch for the handling on these Fiestas, I seem to remember feeling very confident throwing my mk3 1.1 Popular around.

Are you on crack? The Mk3s were the worst handling pieces of shit going! The Mk4s were rather different.

[Mr Lobster]

The only great recollection I have of these is being done for speeding in an S reg 1.25 Zetec (M60, 5am, 88mph). Don't recall them as being too bad but not a car I could really get any enthusiasm for.

[Angrydicky]

I quite fancy an early MK3 1.1 Popular Plus or something like that. My mate had a really shitey J reg one (4 speed!) a couple of years ago, it was pretty scruffy when he got it. I remember him driving around flat out everywhere in it, and boasting that it did 88mph flat out...

 

It also had very very worn engine mountings, which meant when he changed gear the whole car shook violently and the dashboard seemed to jump! One day we were cruising along in it, when I smelt antifreeze and saw steam pouring from under the bonnet (the temperature gauge didn't work). The worn engine mountings had allowed the alternator pulley to steadily cut into the top hose with predictable results. Well he dumped it in the road outside his house and bought a Corsa. About three months later he decided to sell it so changed the engine mounts and top hose, then a week later it was nicked by joyriders who bent the door back to get in and dumped in it a ditch about five miles away. My mate had to pay £200 to get it back from the police compound. After that he flogged it off cheap to someone and incredibly, a check with the DVLA shows it is still on the road two years later (J245 JFT)

 

I told him he should have kept in instead of the Corsa, which to be fair has been complete shit.

[Lord Sterling]

My old mum had a mk3 1990 G-reg Fiesta 1.0 Popular Plus in Red from new (Dads mk2 Cavalier chopped in for it) It also had a manual choke, something you dont see in new cars these days. In the 7 years we had it from new, it had been crashed twice and nicked and crashed twice, the second time it got nicked had really written it off. I never actually saw the damage (At School) but the insurance money was paid to my mum who went and bought a nice mk1 Rover 820i fastback. (Which I also liked, but is most likely dead now)

 

Did a check in the old Fiesta and had lived on until 2003, so someone must have repaired it and ran for another 6 years. I'd love to find that car sitting in someones garden and buy it back. But I reckon its long dead now.

 

I seem to remember when my mums car went into the garage, we were given a similar Fiesta in Blue, the plate was G868KAW. Checked it recent whereabouts, 868 was last taxed in 2000.

 

G886KAW Ford Fiesta 1.0 Popular Plus - RIP

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

I quite fancy an early MK3 1.1 Popular Plus or something like that. My mate had a really shitey J reg one (4 speed!) a couple of years ago, it was pretty scruffy when he got it. I remember him driving around flat out everywhere in it, and boasting that it did 88mph flat out...

I remember boasting about having my 1.1 MK3 achieve an indicated 90mph, which was of note as the actual top speed was something like 84.

[MK5 Escort]

Popular Plus - that's luxury! My granddad, after selling his Vauxhall Firenza back to the dealers he collected it from new, bought himself a used but spotlessly clean 'H' reg Fiesta 1.0 Popular, in Galaxy Blue. The most basic model of the range. Indeed, four speed gearbox, manual choke (surely must be one of the very last production cars produced with one?), no rear wiper and no glovebox lid. It also had those cream wheeltrims which filled almost the entire steel wheel with no gaps. It was about five years old at the time and had only done something like 24,000 miles. He had it for about 12/14 months before going back to Vauxhall and buying a 'J' reg Nova 1.2 Luxe Plus, which he still had to this day. I quite liked the Fiesta actually, having quite a fetish of Fords from this era... It ended up having a new bootlid, and rear bumper at Howard Basford's during it's time with him. Someone went into the back of him (on a mobile phone...) at low speed in a 4x4 whilst sitting at a red light on the A41 at Great Sutton.

 

Surprisingly, I did see it again across in Liverpool about four years ago close to the Queensway Tunnel entrance. It still had those cream wheeltrims and still looked very smart indeed from what I saw of it. No obvious signs of rust.

 

H848 YMA - Been dead for just over three years now, according to the DVLA. Surprised it died not that long after I spotted it then, unless the engine became terminally ill or was crashed.

 

I still have the original rear dealer numberplate for it somewhere in the back of my shed - he gave it to me following the bump of which it was replaced for no apparent reason! He didn't notice it had been replaced until the next time he opened the boot and it was just lying in there.