Buying a secondhand car what to look out for

Markb06

Looking to buy a Ford Fiesta Zetec s in 6 weeks or so. Its the mark model so looking at 9-12 years old. This model



I will have about £1500 to spend and seen a few on Auto trader for that price that look pretty good. Some are low mileage to (70k)

So any tips on what to look out for mechanically wise as the ad will not obviously show a problem.

Any advice leading up to me buying it will be great.

Thanks

s_b

mechanically they are quite good
watch for welded up cats
lots of these have had front end collision
most have been round the block with heroes driving them
they will all have corrosion by now specifically in sills rear arches A posts
rear bushes poor set up
wouldnt be my choice of sporting hatch i would rather have a punto

check road tax before commiting as it varies on year

Markb06

s_b wrote: »

mechanically they are quite good
watch for welded up cats
lots of these have had front end collision
most have been round the block with heroes driving them
they will all have corrosion by now specifically in sills rear arches A posts
rear bushes poor set up
wouldnt be my choice of sporting hatch i would rather have a punto

check road tax before commiting as it varies on year

Currently got a Mark 5 Ford Fiesta 1.3 endura-e and I love that model which I think has kind of made me go for the ZS. Just love the drive. And I am a massive fan of Fords

s_b

Markb06 wrote: »

Currently got a Mark 5 Ford Fiesta 1.3 endura-e and I love that model which I think has kind of made me go for the ZS. Just love the drive. And I am a massive fan of Fords

well i think the mk4 without power steering drove better than mk5 with power:)
its the most numb steering i can remember its neither light or gives feedback,shame as its hydraulic too
if you insist on buying the sporty one as i say check carefully,bumpers used to be £400 a piece for these too

red_eye

s_b wrote: »

mechanically they are quite good
watch for welded up cats
lots of these have had front end collision
most have been round the block with heroes driving them
they will all have corrosion by now specifically in sills rear arches A posts
rear bushes poor set up
wouldnt be my choice of sporting hatch i would rather have a punto

check road tax before commiting as it varies on year

not the puntos with the 8v F.I.R.E engines

red_eye

Markb06 wrote: »

Currently got a Mark 5 Ford Fiesta 1.3 endura-e and I love that model which I think has kind of made me go for the ZS. Just love the drive. And I am a massive fan of Fords

that's the engine where the spark plugs seize in the exhuaste manifold, the 1.25 ztec is a much better engine

Markb06

red_eye wrote: »

that's the engine where the spark plugs seize in the exhuaste manifold, the 1.25 ztec is a much better engine

I found that out last week and 2 sparks broke. Luckily I was able to get em out. Otherwise it was an expensive job

Markb06

So I have £1500 to spend. The Zetec-s offers me a good car but a sporty one to.

What would people suggest thats similar to the Zetec-s and has the same extras?
I need to factor in cost of tax so any car after 2001 and insurance. The Zetec-s is a group 8E so its quite cheap for what I get.

Its an extra £16 on what I pay now

red_eye

Markb06 wrote: »

I found that out last week and 2 sparks broke. Luckily I was able to get em out. Otherwise it was an expensive job

I found getting the engine up to temp and crossed fingers works.

Markb06

red_eye wrote: »

I found getting the engine up to temp and crossed fingers works.

I aint touching the sparks again while I have the car. I am sure I lost half my hair worrying