Second hand buying tips?

harrywright88

Hi,
About to purchase a second hand fiesta 1.25 ghia 2000(W reg). Checked everything and it seems OK, only problem is theres a small bit of surface rust by the bottom corner of the passenger door (just couple of inches) and some on a sill just beneath the car on the passengers sides. I'm not sure if this is normal for a car of this age and if it'd be an issue? could anyone shed some light on this for me?
Cheers
Harry

harveybobbles

Fords did suffer problems with the bottom of most pannels and still do as they don't bother to shultz them!

harrywright88

oh right, its on the piece of metal underneath the door, you have to get down on your hands and knees to see it. should i buy it do you think?

Inactive

harrywright88 wrote: »

oh right, its on the piece of metal underneath the door, you have to get down on your hands and knees to see it. should i buy it do you think?

It could possibly eventually result in an MOT fail, it depends how bad it is.

Why buy a car with rust, there are plenty in that age range without rust.

DKLS

No shortage of fiestas out there, keep looking until you find a good one.

hartcjhart

forget the fiesta it could take forever to find one of that age without rust:rotfl:

go for a peugeot 106,similar size and very rarely rusty

EdGasket

peugeot (puke) - sorry need to wash my mouth out. A Peugeot was the worst car I ever owned. Best to avoid all french cars in my opinion; loads of trouble. You can't even change the battery on a Peug without having to get the car towed to the dealer for a computer reset !
Stick to a Fiesta, Corsa or if you want something good value and reliable, Hyundai Getz.

hartcjhart

EdGasket wrote: »

peugeot (puke) - sorry need to wash my mouth out. A Peugeot was the worst car I ever owned. Best to avoid all french cars in my opinion; loads of trouble. You can't even change the battery on a Peug without having to get the car towed to the dealer for a computer reset !
Stick to a Fiesta, Corsa or if you want something good value and reliable, Hyundai Getz.

slightly unfair that,
the older pugs were very reliable
and that is what the op is looking at (older car)
the newer computer controlled one's I agree are a different story

cyclonebri1

I agree with the major sentiment here, ie, if you wait a little longer you should be able to find a car of that age with NO rust issues. Forget brand, too emotive.

But rust is rot, it means the car is oxidising and will soon recycle itself. For every rust area you see, there are probably 3x more you can't

rev_henry

I'd agree to avoid French cars, and add Italians (i.e. fiats) to that list as well. Corsas, fiestas, micras are good. Shame about the rust because the 1.25 ghia is the one to have. Ghia is top of the range, and the 1.25 is the best engine. Avoid the old pushrod 1.3 if you can.