Buying a used car

BuyingACar

It's a Fiesta.

andygb

BuyingACar wrote: »

I've googled the weaknesses of the car - it doesn't really seem to have any!

Every car ever made has weaknesses, for example, Aston Martin Vanquish used to have gearbox problems, BMW 5 series (great cars) Nikasil coated bores which caused piston damage.
If you want advice, then listen to the advice given, because a lot of it on here makes sense, and is provided by people who have had a lot of experience (not all good) around cars.
I would say this. Never buy a car which has just been washed or think of buying one when it is raining, because water covers up paint defects and poor repairs.
On a 2.5 year old car with 20K miles, you should be looking at a virtual showroom condition vehicle with an immaculate interior, no bodywork/paint defects, clean engine bay (all fluid levels correct and clean), 4 matching reputable tyres with plenty of tread (and a spare in excellent condition). Every single gadget on the car should work, and if it doesn't then walk away and be suspicious of the salesman who promises to have it fixed. The car should drive perfectly with no noises, the brakes should be smooth and powerful with no juddering or pulsing of the pedal (unless of course you brake like Lewis Hamilton on the test drive and activate the ABS:D). The clutch should have plenty of life left in it and should be light and smooth. The gearbox should work perfectly.
Good luck;)

albionrovers

By the way - in the event of a problem, don't ever expect so see your salesman again - he'll be 'on a day off' (hiding in a back room) if you ask for him - and so on - and so on - they grind you down in the hope that you'll eventually disappear.
I always buy private. If things go awry then there's only me to blame. Good luck, enjoy your car.

BuyingACar

Thank you - I've followed the advice and researched the weaknesses. All I can find is that the headroom in the rear is a bit lacking and there is no spare wheel as standard (but you can buy one for £30). I can't find anything worse than that! Perhaps because it's a relatively new model the patterns of long term maintenance weaknesses haven't been identified yet.

andygb

albionrovers wrote: »

By the way - in the event of a problem, don't ever expect so see your salesman again - he'll be 'on a day off' (hiding in a back room) if you ask for him - and so on - and so on - they grind you down in the hope that you'll eventually disappear.
I always buy private. If things go awry then there's only me to blame. Good luck, enjoy your car.

We have only bought one car from a dealer/showroom (much against my better judgement but the OH was in love with the car), and it will be my last time. It was from a Mazda main dealer, and it was the worst car we have ever had, and the worst after sales service I have ever experienced.

andygb

BuyingACar wrote: »

Thank you - I've followed the advice and researched the weaknesses. All I can find is that the headroom in the rear is a bit lacking and there is no spare wheel as standard (but you can buy one for £30). I can't find anything worse than that! Perhaps because it's a relatively new model the patterns of long term maintenance weaknesses haven't been identified yet.

Possible problems with an exhaust blanking plug which fails, leaving a hole which can let fumes enter the interior, and also the heat can melt the plastic undertray and cause engine/cabin fires. Then you have various problems with the auto gearboxes, the diesel injectors/turbos, and the petrol cars very often fall way short of the fuel consumption figures, struggling to achieve 35MPG.

BuyingACar

Also, to part exchange or not? They've offered me £1000 for my car. There are similar cars on auto trader for £1700. I don't really have the time to faff around selling it though...

BuyingACar

Andygb - it's a 1.4 petrol with a manual gearbox. Interesting points.

BuyingACar

I would not be impressed with 35mpg! The 50mpg quoted is already a bit of a concern for me.

gilbert_and_sullivan

http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/realmpg/ford/fiesta-2008

Don't get too tied up with fuel consumption, in practice the Diesel might give 10mpg more, but one minor problem will wipe out any fuel savings you have made.

My own opinion, you could do far worse than buy a reasonable 1.4 petrol Fiesta, should give many years trouble free.

Just be ready to do battle with the sales shark, that low price is to encourage you into the lair whence you will be urged strongly to top up his/her back pocket.