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How I got my pre-owned 2014 Ford Figo in just 2 hours : Initial Review

4th November 2024, 13:45 by Kanad Kalasur

I have always been a fan of pre owned cars and perceive them as value for money purchases if you know how to take good care of them.

BHPian NavtejS recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

Hi everyone! This is my first long post on the forum. I got the membership of this esteemed forum last year but have been an avid reader since 2008.
This post is about my pre-owned Ford Figo 2014 and how I ended up buying one in a matter of 2 hours!

- First day of bringing her home.

BACKGROUND

I have always been a fan of pre owned cars and perceive them as value for money purchases if you know how to take good care of them. My first pre owned car was a Hyundai Santro Zing. Good car which was barebone but had the basics right. I bought a 2004 model in 2016 during my first job. I think it was at 45K km and sold it at 96K Km within 4 years. Learnt a lot about maintaining an old car with it. But it started falling apart and needed something more reliable. Also the 15 years NGT ban had started doing the rounds so decided to move to something with more features. Sold it in Oct 2019.
Cars24 came to my rescue and picked a 2012 Pre- worshipped Wagon R VXI for a decent price. The owner was a retired school teacher who had driven just 33K km in 7 years. It was really well maintained and feature loaded when compared to the Zing. I had a fuss free ownership and apart from regular maintenance, no parts were replaced. Still have it and it is doing the household duties.

THE DECISION

I had decided to pursue my MBA from SPJIMR, Mumbai in 2023 and thought having 2 cars didn’t make sense as most probably I would get placement in some tier 1 city. Both Alto K10 and wagon R were barely seeing any running so decided to get rid of Alto K10.
Fortunately, I got placed in Punjab which I had not anticipated and my work required extensive travelling. Even though I could avail the company provided cab, but carheads like us enjoy being in the front seat rather than in the back.
One week without a car and I realised it would be indispensable to have a personal vehicle if I want to survive here.

CAR SHOPPING

For any carhead, buying a new set of wheels is a very exciting journey. You get to test drive different models, see how salesmen try to fool you thinking you have limited knowledge of cars and finally decide which suits you the best.
I was adamant that I wont be going for a Maruti. Though it is reliable and has good resale value but life is too short to drive boring cars.
Test drove many vehicles in coming days –

Maruti Fronx
Tata Altroz
Tata Tiago
Tata Punch
Tata Nexon
Hyundai Grand i10 Nios

THE PREOWNED ROUTE

So back to where it started. I desperately needed a car and time was running out. Explored cars24 and spinny but seemed only dealers were utilizing the platform to sell their cars. Spinny seemed overpriced. Couldn’t find a genuine seller. All were dealers who had priced the vehicles exorbitantly.
Almost all were painted and seemed on the end of their lives. Those which were in decent condition were priced 60% of current new models even though being 10 years old. E.g. A swift petrol or i20 petrol were priced at 5 lacs for a 2014 model.
Finally found a reasonably priced Ford Figo, again at a dealer but still seemed decent. Found it on Olx. Left home at 10.30 am and returned back at 1p.m. with it !!
I take more time to buy clothes than this

THE CAR

It was definitely rough but inspected the exhaust gases and other parameters and found that the engine needed some work but was doable. AC is a chiller. The interiors are solid without any rattles or squeaks. Within my budget I was getting a honda brio 2012 or Fiat Punto 2011 or this. I chose this due to build quality and easy availability of spares. Also teambhp reviews helped me a lot. I wanted a fun to drive, robust and solid performing car for daily travel.

WORK DONE SO FAR

I have done quite a few jobs on this car from FNG. The following list would sum it up –
• New Battery
• Diesel Filter
• New timing belt
• New Fan belt
• New Brake pads
• EGR cleaning
• Headlight relays
• Injector cleaning
• One Injector replacement
• Right side shocker and tie ends
• New Horns
• New Dicky struts
• New washer Motor assembly
• Headlight stalk assembly
• New tyre
• Body rubbing and polishing
• Engine flush

This is apart from regular service . Also got third party insurance done. I think this is the most enjoyable part of ownership. Getting everything working as it was supposed to when it left the factory. The previous owner didn’t take good care and was evident.

AC Belt Breakdown on Jalandhar highway.

THEN vs. NOW

The car now feels more smooth and relaxed. It was giving a very low mileage of 12KMPL which was contradictory to the general claim everyone made that it gives 20+ easily.

After all these jobs it is giving 22 Kmpl using tankful to tankful method. Engine flush was really effective which enhanced its mileage. Have run the figo for around 12K Kms in last 4 months. Has been a breeze to drive. Never thought a well build and good handling car could make such a difference.
The engine is very tractable and gives linear power delivery. Alongwith this, ford’s handling makes it an unbeatable hatchback specially on the roads I need to travel.

Places it goes. Roads or no roads. Meanwhile a stranded BMW.

WAY FORWARD

I don’t see any worthy upgrade as of now. Having spent so many manhours getting it in shape, would definitely keep it for some time. Might go the pre owned route and get a honda city after that. But one thing is for sure, it has to be fun to drive and easy on pocket.
Hope you enjoyed reading my post
Ending this post with one last pic of my Figo.