[suren]

Hello Sir

I have gone though your entire thread and thats a whole lot of information. Thanks and the log you have maintained about fuel fills was exceptional.

I m looking for second hand Ford fiesta 1.6 could you please tell me what all should i lookout for ?

I read about your electical issues, throttle body issues and some suspension issues of other members, Otherwise I have nt seen any major issues. What should i be careful about ? When is the clutch advised to be change ?

[vnabhi]

Originally Posted by suren

Hello Sir

I have gone though your entire thread and thats a whole lot of information. Thanks and the log you have maintained about fuel fills was exceptional.

I m looking for second hand Ford fiesta 1.6 could you please tell me what all should i lookout for ?

I read about your electical issues, throttle body issues and some suspension issues of other members, Otherwise I have nt seen any major issues. What should i be careful about ? When is the clutch advised to be change ?

Thanks for your compliments.

As far as a used Fiesta is concerned, I do not see any issues that you should specifically look for, other than those you'd need to look for in any used car, like tyres, suspension, interiors, upholstery, odo reading, rust, service history, etc.

Wish you good luck.

[madan80]

Originally Posted by suren

.. I m looking for second hand Ford fiesta 1.6 could you please tell me what all should i lookout for ? ...

Its a great car and I love mine a lot. Amazing on the Highway and in the city. If driven with a light foot its pretty frugal. But its just the opposite if driven with a heavy foot!

btw: I know someone selling a good 1.6. PM Me for details.

[Baiz72]

Hi folks. Need your opinion since you all love your Fiesta.

First things first. I am the second owner of a panther black beauty—Fiesta 1.6 SXI, clocked around 85000kms now. Bought it in 2010 and it was a well kept car which had around 44K in its Odo.

Initially I was thinking that I will not be using much and went for a petrol. May not true—I think it was more of an impulsive decision after driven this beauty—I just couldn’t resist it J But things changed and going by the matters of intellect and pure mathematics, I definitely should have gone for a diesel but most of us here follow our heart. After buying the car things changed drastically for me. It was a roller costar ride for me personally and the car was there with me all the time—as many as 10 visits from Bangalore to my hometown to Kerala (Chalakudy), Office, Hospitals and so on and never let me down. I have driven this beauty alone to Kerala many times, and once from Trivandrum to Bangalore.

Yes I have taken care her too – Changed to Michelin XM+1 and changed all 4 suspensions and Mobile 1 fully synthetic engine oil. Further timely services at Ford service station.

Eventually she started showing up her age. Bangalore traffic have inflicted minor scratches on my daily run to office and other weekend grind. Now I am in a dilemma whether to keep the car or not.

My Mind says:
1) The Front doors has developed some rust and its started showing outside. According to fords body work guys I have to change both the the doors and quoted around 30K.
2) I also feel that eventually I may have to change the clutch
3) Started having some rattles and squeaks and the regular wear and tear
4) It’s a petrol (around 800 kms a month) and the increasing petrol bills

My Heart says:
1) I really love the ford steering. Always brings a smile on my face whenever I am behind that wheel. Could’t find any other car to match that in the similar league (though haven’t driven too many cars beyond 10Lakhs mark)
2) Keep the car as I will not get anything when I sell it in the used car market.
3) Do change the doors, polish, and necessary service and keep her till Ecosport launch-the SUV bug is growing inside me and I anticipate many in the Indian horizon. Thanks to Team BHP for interesting updates!

Now the question is whether I should do the fixes in the car and keep her around 1Lakh mark and then go for another car? Or what would be other options available for me?

Couple of things came to my mind is going for a bike for daily ride to office to take care of the petrol bills?

Fellow BHPians please give me your valuable inputs!

[ghodlur]

Originally Posted by Baiz72

Hi folks. Need your opinion since you all love your Fiesta.
According to fords body work guys I have to change both the the doors and quoted around 30K.
Now the question is whether I should do the fixes in the car and keep her around 1Lakh mark and then go for another car?

IMHO you should keep the car till 1L kms as I am sure you are not facing any engine related issues. Since you are already sold out on the Fiesta's performance, you should listen to your heart.

Did you check with the local FNG regarding the door replacement, wouldnt a nice polish+paint job restore the doors. The Eco sport will still have the Ford genes and will be worth waiting, till that time Go Fida.

[vnabhi]

@Baiz72---I suggest you keep your car, and go for a diesel hatch or the Ecosport if you want to reduce your fuel bills. But I can assure you that no other car below 10 lacs will whet your appetite as this one.

As regards the doors, why not consult an FNG, as suggested by ghodlur? And if needed, why not change your doors, if warranted, though it might pinch your pocket initially?

I remember going for Waxoyl rust-proof coating for the doors that cost me around 3.5 K. I guess the prior owner of your car did not opt for this.

Wish you many more miles with your Fiesta.

[suren]

Originally Posted by vnabhi

Wish you good luck.

Thank you Sir, I m still looking for a good, well maintained one.

Originally Posted by madan80

btw: I know someone selling a good 1.6. PM Me for details.

Hello Madan , I m not able to send or reply to any private messages and that feature seems to be blocked for my account. I am able to read PMs otherwise. Could you please send me your email id via PM? And hopefully the car you are referring to is in Chennai.

[vnabhi]

I had the freakiest of accidents on Ganesh Puja day, when my car was in parked position. Actually, when I parked on Tuesday evening in my covered parking spot, I found a few drops of water trickling from the overhead pipe and falling on my car's roof. I ignored it as the drain pipe overhead does leave a bit of water now and then, when it rains, or when they water the plants above the parking level.

On Wednesday, I took my WagonR for a small outing and noticed more water around the Fiesta from a distance. I thought that the cleaner had used lot of water to clean the wheels and car. But when I returned in the night and took a peep, I found that the trickle had turned into a small downpour, mostly on the rear glass and roof. In order to protect the car, I moved it to an empty parking nearby.

But when I wanted to reverse, I found 70% of the rear screen was opaque, as if covered with a light film of ice. I put the defogger on for a few minutes, but only one side got cleared partially. The spot where the water had directly trickled onto the screen was still opaque. I parked the car with some difficulty, and took a cloth to clean the glass.

To my utter shock and dismay, I found that even after wiping it, the grime was not getting cleaned. To make matters worse, even the rear boot lid was almost covered with whitish grime, that was stubbornly clinging on. Some of it was also on the left quarter panel till the fuel filler cap. Some trickle marks on the area near the number plate too. But poor illumination prevented further scrutiny.

With a petrified mind, I sought advice from a few friends. Some suggested using white vinegar diluted with water to clean the glass. But in any case, I had to wait till morning for a better picture.

After a disturbed sleep thinking how much $$$ it would set me back by, and wondering who to blame, I tried the vinegar solution in the morning, but the glass area got cleaned only by 10%, and the stubborn grime was just not going away. I was wondering if I'd need to change the rear screen with defogger, as well as paint the boot and quarter panel, all of which would cost me lots of money.

As I'd got some small denting and painting done earlier by an FNG nearby, I called him . He said not to worry and to take the car at 11 am. He also said it could be acidic water mixed with lime as it was from a drain pipe. He also advised not to delay, else the grime would stick more, forcing a paint option.

I took it there are 11 am, and it took them 3 long hours to set it right. Here is what they did:-

1. Used some kind of squarish paper to wipe the metal and glass by dipping it often in water . The paper was plain to touch, not sandpaper type. This process took an hour. As a result, the hard stains on the metal of the boot and spoiler, and part of the left quarter panel almost vanished. But there were still stubborn stains on the rear windscreen where the drip directly fell on----this was around 20 % of the glass area.
2. Used a buffing machine and and rubbing compound and twirled it on the boot. After around 10 minutes, the boot was shining to glory.
3. Applied method 2 all over the car---especially on the roof where some water dripped onto, and then on the front bonnet and all sides of the car. This took around half hour. Only major item pending was the rear glass.(I told them to do the buffing job on the entire car, so that it would shine uniformly)
4. After coming to know that the defogger lines were inside the glass (I thought they were outside), the guy tried with some thinner on a small area. It just dried up and did not do any good. Tried again with petrol and with the same disappointing result. Then another guy stepped in and said he'd done a similar job to another car a few weeks ago. He brought a squarish paper with a sharp edge that is used for luppum job on the wall, and with that he started scraping the stains, taking care not to scratch the glass. This took him nearly 30 minutes and lo behold, the stains were gone!
5. I told them to check stains with the boot opened so that they could clean whatever drip marks were there, and also to remove drip marks here and there (incl the team-bhp sticker).

I got the car back spick and span, and better than before, as it shines all around now.

Lesson learnt:

1. Never trust any darn car park, however secure it might appear to be. There are unique ways of getting screwed up. And if you ever suffer such an ordeal, take the car to an FNG asap. I should have taken it on the first night itself, in which case the effort would have been less.
2. In the first place, I ought not to have parked my car there when the dripping had started, and I lost another chance of removing the car when I went for an outing on the Waggie.

And if you are curious to know how the pipe leaked, it was due to some nitwit in the 1st floor who'd left his pipes on and gone out of station for two days. The drainage pipe could not stand the pressure and started leaking at places. My car was the biggest victim.


Here are a few pics of how bad the car was, and some of the car getting buffed:-

First glimpses of the damage early morning:


In brighter light:



Buffing in process:


See the contrast between the boot and the quarter panel after buffing:

[John Jacob13128]

Vnabhi, very unfortunate turn of events! Goes to show one can’t be careful enough. Though at least you’re lucky that no permanent damage was done
But you missed out in mentioning how much you had to shell out?

[vnabhi]

Originally Posted by John Jacob13128

Vnabhi, very unfortunate turn of events! Goes to show one can’t be careful enough. Though at least you’re lucky that no permanent damage was done
But you missed out in mentioning how much you had to shell out?

As I have a friendly relationship with that FNG (I got some denting and painting done by him earlier, and he regards me as a neighbour), he said he was charging me only for the material cost, which was Rs 600. I tipped the 2 guys who laboriously cleaned the mess another 100 each.

I believe he charges around 1500 for such laborious tasks in normal cases, but I am not sure if he said that to make me feel good.

[ghodlur]

Venu Sir,

Sad to know about the incident? Did you find out what the stubborn grime was since you said there was awater leakage from the overhead pipe? Maybe it wasnt the water that trickled down but some kind of a solution. Did you take the owner to task for the incident?

You were lucky to have got over it for a measly amount.

[vnabhi]

Originally Posted by ghodlur

Venu Sir,

Sad to know about the incident? Did you find out what the stubborn grime was since you said there was awater leakage from the overhead pipe? Maybe it wasnt the water that trickled down but some kind of a solution. Did you take the owner to task for the incident?

You were lucky to have got over it for a measly amount.

Thanks for your concern. I did follow up with what caused the leakage from the overhead drainage pipe.

What had happened was different from what I was initially told. It was not the flat that was earlier blamed, but the one beside it. It is owned by someone who occasionally stays in it. He is a fights director in Telugu movies, and stays only for a few days every month.

I believe the storm water drainage pipe had burst open in his kitchen balcony, causing the incident. This had happened earlier too at the same spot, and his absence from the flat has caused the issue to get magnified. I am told his entire kitchen's woodwork has got damaged.

I shall wait for his next visit and take it up strongly with him. In fact, the last time I'd seen that guy was around 5 years ago. That speaks of how rarely he is seen in the building.

As regards the content of the water, I think it is acidic and mixed with lime from the newly painted walls and pipes. I see some damage to my finger nails for the past 2 days, as I'd used them to scratch the glass to see if it clears it from the grime.

[Rastapopoulos]

Even After the crazy incident, you are still going FIDA and thats what it is all about
Glad to know your car back to its glory!

[Drift King]

Dear Vnabhi,

I am unable to find a thread for the Ford Fiesta Classic (now Ford Classic) Duratec LXi and assuming its almost the same car as the 1.6S, will really appreciate your views.

I wish to purchase a new Ford Classic Duratec LXi (Base version). The dealer a quoting an OTR price of ~6 Lacs. Request any owners of a Ford Fiesta Duratec to advise on performance/specs/mileage/maintenance etc. Any info will be really helpful.

I wish to buy the base version and outfit the car myself. Have some questions regarding the same -

1. Alloy wheels - Can 15'' alloy wheels with low profile tyres be fitted to the car, considering the deep wheel wells and arches? Any suggestions about alloys/tyres will be really helpful.

2. Air Filter/CAI - Any suggestions on make/model of Air Filters?

3. Is it advisable to get the security system as an additional from the Dealer itself? or will after-market models be better?

4. Any advice/suggestions on a decent-performance ICE will be highly appreciated. I need a good HU, 4/6 speakers, mid-range Amp, 1 Sub-woofer.

5. The base version does not come with a leather-wrapped steering wheel. Is it possible to get one as an additional factory-fitted part? The Dealer is offering one as an accessory and claiming it to be a genuine Ford part.

The car will be purchased and used in Delhi NCR. The Dealer is also offering a 25K corporate discount but can be negotiated for more looking at the festive season coming up (and also the declining car sales, especialy petrol versions)

Looking forward to your advice/suggestions.

Thanks.

[vnabhi]

@Drift King---Mine is an sxi, so I cannot answer many of your questions on what is a good ICE or the leather steering, etc.

The S model does come with 15" alloys, so your dealer is the best person to ask whether the suspension can take it, and whether warranty will be void.

Also note that cutting of wires during electrical installations might void warranty.

You can get FE and performance figures by reading this thread in more detail.

Good luck.