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Old 30th August 2010, 13:03   #1
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Used Ford Fiesta 1.6 100BHP 12 Unforgettable Lessons in 12 Months !!

This is My first full length article, kindly feel free to correct me,

I was happy with my Honda Shine till Last Year August, when My Parents visited me at Hyderabad. The Easy cabs (Rented) Logan though served their purpose well; but they successfully implanted an Idea of buying a car for my personal use.

With a savings of around 3 lakhs I was in search of premium hatch in August 2009, from Wagon R, Swift, i20 & i10 I was confused with Choices. As I was in the phase of forced bachelorship (wife was pursuing her final yr. Post graduation in Karnataka) I was in the utter confusion as to which one to go for. Took test drives but wasn’t convinced.

My Senior at Hospital offered his Ford Fiesta 1.6 ZXi (Sept 2006) with Roughly 50k on the odometer for disposal. I knew the car from the day it was bought, clean history, very well maintained, only 2 scratches all over. I took a TD with my friend on Sunday morning (I can still remember every detail) with 100horses under the hood I was simply bowled over. The power, the Handling, road grip simply no match for any of the cars I had considered before. I started searching Team BHP with Ownership reviews Ford fiesta(just to justify my decision) , GTOs two articles one on Lateral upgrading and another on keeping your five year old car and my decision was very clear.
With Little negotiation for around 2.95lakhs I bought the beauty home. The car had everything I wanted; style, space, handling, power everything. Surely it was a steal at that price !

Then started my long journeys with Fiesta, in and around Hyderabad drove around 12000kms in 4 months!! Mostly used to be a fight among friends and cousins on who is going to drive. I had to sit and just SMS so that everybody gets equal chances of driving! The car was unquestionably the best Drivers Car in India.

Then Started a Painful experience with FORD Service

Initial Service and Change of brake pads + Interior cleaning Rs 6200/- (LESSON 1: Ford Service and parts are costly)

Changed the OEM to basic Pioneer ICE Rs 9600/-
Car Insurance Rs 12200/- Reliance General

Sister and adhoc Driver accidently Filled the tank with Diesel!! Towing the car to service station plus Service charges Rs 2900 (LESSON 2: Always put Fuel type marker on Fuel Tank!)

Needed to Replace Spark Plugs Rs 1950/- Revision of Lesson #1
Accidently broke the rear Tail Light Cost Rs 3400 !! Revision of Lesson #1

Tyres had many Punctures Needed a replacement: 4 Tyres Rs 14000 Yokohama A drive 185/65R14 (LESSON 3: Always include cost of New tyres while bargaining for used car)

There was a significant drop in Fuel efficiency, Steering wheel had become Heavy, though road grip improved a bit, but handling was cumbersome & the Tyres produced lot of Noise on Highways, (LESSON4: NEVER Upsize the tyres, Don’t buy Yokohama A drives). Tried many tips on the forum but no use, problems continued:

Three days of changing (Upsizing) the Tyres Clutch Disc Failed !! Rs 11000/- (Revision of Lesson #1

Some water and mist started accumulating in Front Headlight, Ford Service Engineers advised to change the wiper fluid container and Headlight!! Total Cost Rs 6650/- I had become a bit clever by this time; went to a road side mechanic who corrected it with Feviqwik ! Charged 50bucks only!! (LESSON 5: Ford doesn’t have any Service engineers in India; only replacement engineers! they know only how to replace! Don’t know how to Repair anything!)

City bus in front braked accidently & had bonnet damage: cost 13000/- 70%paid by insurance, I was charged Rs 3272. Insurance cheque came 2 months later after lot of negotiations!! (LESSON 6: Buy the insurance which gives cashless transaction at your service centre, and NEVER drive without insurance!)

Had a major accident as my cousin took a small nap during night driving. Car stood on side after sliding. Luckily none was hurt. Mostly under body damage to the car, neither car outside nor the travellers had even a small scratch. Truck drivers were very helpful, some 10 of them came instantly & got us out of the car & changed the stepney. I still remember their faces when they refused to take the money I offered. How much we used to curse them on highways…

Ford Service Charged Rs 85000/- !!!Changed almost everything in the car, radiator, gear cover etc.. I had to pay Rs 45000/- Rest paid by Insurance guys (LESSON 7: Don’t drive when u are sleepy, Ford Cars are Safe, Truck drivers are GOOD PEOPLE)

Four days Later Clutch Failed Again! At Karnataka border, There was no Service centre In Raichur. Every mechanic comes inspects and goes. Ford quoted a huge sum for towing the vehicle. Finally Vehicle had to be towed 250kms to Hyderabad Service centre by a local Tata Sumo! In Just 3 months of clutch replacement clutch has failed! Some multicar workshop fellow came for help asked me 6k for replacement of clutch. I thought Ford should be fixing it as it was less than 3 months, asked Ford service engineers: No Warranty on accessories & Spare parts; though their ad said otherwise; (LESSON 8 & 9: no need to Buy Expensive Genuine Ford Accessories & spare parts as they don’t carry any warranty, BUY a car which has GOOD SERVICE CENTRE REACH; You don’t know when you will need them)

Ford Charged Rs 11000 for clutch disc replacement (I did not go to the local workshop as it needed the gearbox to be opened)
Ford people gave Lame excuses stating that it could be due to faulty driving, upsized tyres etc. Honestly we have been driving more than 40k kilometres, no issues so far & why now?:
Got frustrated from frequent car repairs, Parents clearly indicated to change the car immediately and buy some other car which can be repaired anywhere.
Started visiting used car dealers at Hyderabad for selling my car with roughly 70k kilometres on the odometer(I had driven 20k in 11 months). I got only one answer, there are no takers for ford petrol 1.6, we will call u when we get an interested buyer. Two three buyers with mechanics came and evaluated for Rs 1.9lakhs to 2.1lakhs! a depreciation of 80000 straight away? Mahindra First choice offered highest at Rs 2.3lakhs. The Carwale website evaluated it at 2.95 lakhs to 3.2lakhs !! One more week passed without much help. (LESSON 10: Ford petrols have very few takers, and very poor resale value)

Finally advertised in local English newspaper, Four genuine buyers came, inspected the car were willing to give Rs 2.5lakhs straightaway, one of them came with cash in hand !! I stuck to 2.75lakhs and nothing below it; else I will keep the car with myself! Finally the buyer with cash in hand agreed after lot of negotiations for 2.70lakhs (I can keep the ICE with myself) (LESSON 11: Do not talk to brokers, talk to direct buyers)

Asked him to come tomorrow and take the car, changed the ICE to OEM and gave away the car. It was sold in a day, I could not believe myself. Drove her for the last time, around tank bund & with a heavy heart kissed her a goodbye. I knew how much I loved driving her. I promised to myself , will buy the brand new Fiesta 1.6 once I become a self-employed professional, Ford, definitely is not an affordable car for Salaried class(LESSON 12) !!
I enquired whether the prospective owner will take good care of her: Sharp came the reply.. He already has two ford fiestas 1.6 in his Garage; He once again wants the same Car for his younger brother!! He told me that he does not feel like driving any other car, other than Fiesta1.6! Happily handed over the key, filled the forms as per the brilliant article by GTO sir on checklist before selling your car, retained the duplicate key to be handed over once he furnishes the copy of changed registration

Last Picture is car being driven out of my Gate by new owner

Coming up: How did I end up Buying Ritz VDi & initial ownership review (from Fiesta 100 BHP to Ritz VDi: addictive euphoria to peace of Mind)

Note from Mod - please note smileys are restrcited to 2 per post. Please read the posting rules
Attached Thumbnails
Used Ford Fiesta 1.6 100BHP 12 Unforgettable Lessons in 12 Months !!-dscn2994.jpg  

Used Ford Fiesta 1.6 100BHP 12 Unforgettable Lessons in 12 Months !!-dscn2995.jpg  

Used Ford Fiesta 1.6 100BHP 12 Unforgettable Lessons in 12 Months !!-dscn2998.jpg  

Used Ford Fiesta 1.6 100BHP 12 Unforgettable Lessons in 12 Months !!-dscn3004.jpg  


Last edited by ajmat : 30th August 2010 at 15:26.
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Old 30th August 2010, 14:01   #2
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Wow, some story, that! Your story corroborates very well with what I've heard from other Ford owners in Hyderabad, and this is one of the reasons why I didn't even visit the showroom although the Fiesta 1.6 petrol was on the of the cars in my consideration set as I set about the process of buying a new car a few months back.

Considering that the previous owner of the car (your senior) didn't seem to have any issues, I'm wondering why you faced so many problems. 50k kms is not too high a mileage to suddenly start developing all kinds of issues (other than tyres of course).

Very well put lessons, and it's disgusting to see service centers not heeding the words of the salespersons and whatever is quoted in the advertisements. It just stresses the importance of reading the fine print always.

Just curious, do you generally not have a problem with multiple people (even family members) driving your car?

I limit my car's exposure to other drivers unless it's an emergency. I only allow wife and father to drive the car on a regular basis. I can't enforce this 100% of the time, but I think this is key to having a good overall long-term experience. Not everyone is really able to handle such powerful cars on our roads, after being used to driving Marutis and other demure hatches for most of their lives.

Regards,
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Old 30th August 2010, 14:11   #3
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My condolences..
Thankfully my 1 yr old Fiesta TDCi came with extended warranty till Oct 2012.

In addition I am the only one driving it, my dad rarely drives it, the driver almost never.

When you have a scenario with multiple drivers, a Maruti really is the best choice
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Old 30th August 2010, 14:13   #4
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Well said dude..
Ford spares ARE damn expenxive and they believe in replace dont repair.
Your allowing multiple drivers to drive your vehicle can also be blamed for frequent issues.
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Old 30th August 2010, 14:36   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by shantyrocks View Post
Well said dude..
Ford spares ARE damn expenxive and they believe in replace dont repair.
OT; but can you please enlighten which ford you drive / or have owned and yes i agree with your post on allowing multiple drivers to drive to be blamed for frequent issues

Last edited by pankaj_sachdeva : 30th August 2010 at 14:37.
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Old 30th August 2010, 14:54   #6
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Quote:
Accidently broke the rear Tail Light Cost Rs 3400 !! Revision of Lesson #1
Hi drkritik,

Are you sure the tail lights assembly costs Rs.3400? Because, as i checked 6 months back it costs Rs.1500 in the *** and Rs.1000 in aftermarket. I definitly agree with the Ford engineers does only replacement instead of repair. Also, it looks like your car has been driven by different sort of drivers, that also may caused your clutch gone sooner. However, congrats for the New Car. You will definitely get peace of mind.
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Old 30th August 2010, 15:05   #7
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Spadix just pointed out what I was about to ask you. About you not having problems with others driving your car.

I personally feel that others will not be able to handle the car the same way as we do. At the end of the day we own it and know how better it handles at different situations.

However your ownership experience has raised seriously eyebrows. The only lesson I heard from Fiesta owners are the costly spare parts. The others are seriously points to be considered before owning one.
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Old 30th August 2010, 15:09   #8
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Drkartik,

One thing which you should have done was to get the car evalauated at Ford authorized dealer before finalizing the deal. This way you could know before hand the amount of work which needed to be done on the car.

Also the tyres were bound to be changed since the odo already read 50K kms and as your post read it had many punctures. The first thing after delivery you should replaced the tyres without initially upsizing it. Maybe run it for say 20K kms and then upsize it.

Lessons no 2 was purely human mistake. You were driving withiout insurance. Hadn't you renewed the Insurance or was it valid when you brought the Fiesta.

Frankly speaking because of callous attitude you overlooked many things and now you have posted the costs of spares saying Ford is costly. I feel this post is going to generate a lot of negative feeling about the Fiesta and in general Ford. There have been many shining examples of Ford Fiesta owners maintaining their car and incurring the least expenses.
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Old 30th August 2010, 15:15   #9
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Too many people driving a car (any car, not just fiesta) definitely change the car's performance as each one will have a different style of handling and driving the car.!!
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Old 30th August 2010, 15:15   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by drkritik View Post
Last Picture is car being driven out of my Gate by new owner
That was an touching image..you should have become a film director not a doctor

__________________________________________________ _____

I read carefully all the repair costs you have paid.
Majority of them(around 90%) of the costs you have incured are because of some mistake done by the driver like, banging into a bus, filling diesel or turning the car sideways
And that brake pad change is normal for a car that has done 50k.
and the clutch issue could be because of multiple drivers and some of them may have been 'newbies' who probably would have 'riden the clutch'.
Even if a maruti had turned upside down, the costs would have been around 1L.

IMO you shouldn't have sold the car. And, if possible please change that unhappy icon from the thread title..it's misleading.

Last edited by Daewood : 30th August 2010 at 15:23.
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Old 30th August 2010, 15:18   #11
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What an ownership experience!

Finally with a depreciation amount of 25K, not a bad resale for a car with already 2 owners.

By the way what was the reason for so many issues with the Clutch? And yes, Ford parts are pretty costly and burn a hole in the pocket.
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Old 30th August 2010, 15:20   #12
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Man, I felt sad seeing that last pic. Even my Fiesta will probably look like that when she leaves. No, on second thoughts, I think I'll keep her forever.

So looks like you had a good time and abused the car a lot. Only a tough car could have taken all the abuse and still kept running. Replace instead of repair is the mantra at all service stations and not only Ford's. Ford's spares are definitely on the higher side, but they also last a long time. They are still cheaper than City's I guess, but City spares also last a long time.

Have fun with the Ritz.

Last edited by Gilead : 30th August 2010 at 15:22.
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Old 30th August 2010, 15:20   #13
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That is some experience you have had! But look at the bright side, you got 2.7L in return for 2.95L that you spent on the car.

Now regarding the expenses you had to put up with, here is how I would look at it, the expenses on account of the accidents are nothing you
can do about- you were just unlucky, forget it and move on.

Regarding the expenses on account of the problems you faced with the car, in my view, when one buys a second car one should always keep aside some money from his/her budget towards initial repairs.This is because however good a car may be maintained, there is every chance that the previous owner would not have done some repairs in the months prior to the sale. He would be having the sale in mind and would be looking to limit the money he spends on his soon-to-be-sold-off car.

I have always felt that whenever one graduates from a bike to first time car user, one should go for a used car, if one can get hold of a good one from reliable sources. Not only would you have saved money but a few years driving such a used car would give you a lot of learnings and experience that would be useful when it comes to buying/upgrading to the next car - one that you will keep for a long time.
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Old 30th August 2010, 15:34   #14
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drkritik, most of your lessons learned could be summarized into one- "Look before you leap". .

Btw, nicely written. Waiting for the next part
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Old 30th August 2010, 16:10   #15
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I think many of the expenses were self-induced. It's correct that Ford spares are expensive. I did not go back to Ford after my last experience with them, since I found their prices also quite high, and I was becoming practically a lodger in their garage, as every three months or so I had to take the car for some problem.
As far as service v/s replacement, I'm afraid every modern company garage is the same. As I posted elsewhere, I almost spent around 10,000/- for the Baleno power window master switch which the MASS had wanted to replace. My neighbourhood auto electrician fixed it with a squirt of WD-40. Cost Rs 20/-
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