Pre-owned Ford Fiesta SXi TDCi (2008) Ownership Review

[yuvm800]

I was one of those people who don’t like to drive cars and prefer motorcycles. Things changed when I got my car driving license in 2005 (Thanks to my friend for urging me to do so). I got a shift in attitude towards cars. My initial days were filled up with

1. Taking car rentals (Octavia and Fiesta from Hertz) and driving friend’s cars
2. Browsing the websites of all cars in India, US and UK
3. Trying to understand the functioning of all car parts with my basic understanding of Science
4. Dreaming about cars and my virtual drives
5. Cursing myself for being incapable of buying a car
6. Pushing my father to give acceptance for car ownership – being the first in our generation to think about owning a four wheeler

The day came in Oct 2008 when I bought my (our) first car – Maruti 800 UNIQ. We know this is not the car to be described in this thread. But will take up my story from here.
Somehow, the first year was very good with my 800 until I felt bored. 800 did have a lot of positives but it is always the negatives that came to my pessimistic brain. When I drive other cars, always felt this vehicle is inferior. So, started collating the reasons for a car change for 5 years and this gave way to a pre-owned Ford Fiesta Sxi.
My expectations on the next vehicle were

1. Better braking – 800 had manual brakes (hard to press) and poor braking distance. I have got into bad instances (though no one was hurt and nothing was damaged) because of this. Never had the confidence to brake and stopped accelerating the vehicle. Wanted a better braking even in panic situations. This derived => ABS is must
2. Strong car – 800 was very flimsy (not even plastic door pads). It is easily prone to dings even with a slightest hit. Know for sure that the occupants will not survive if the car takes a hit at highway speeds. Rattling is another problem which can appear from anywhere and needs to be fixed every 6 months at the A.S.S. This derived=> Heavy metal gauge and good build quality
3. Power steering – Though this is a common feature in all cars now, 800 did not have it. This gave me trouble when parking in tight spaces – especially in my house where the parking lot can accommodate a 3 series (also we have a garden) but the road is narrow.
4. Diesel – This was one of the tough decisions to take. Prepared all excel sheets, read all review and comparisons. This was a last minute choice. Till my actual search process, it was Honda City ZX which then evaded due to lack of ABS (have to convince myself a lot). This derived => Efficient Diesel Engine
5. Pre-owned car – Didn’t want to spend a lot of money as I have a lot of commitments now. So stopped my search to a pre-owned car instead of taking a new car on loan.
6. Less driven vehicle – Wanted a vehicle which is driven around 30K-40K km. As diesel was new to me, didn’t want to buy a heavily used vehicle.

With all these options, searched for the following cars

1. Ford Fiesta with ABS
2. Fiat Punto Emotion Pack / 90hp

I did meet quite a good number of options with lots of classifieds website. Suddenly, saw my Fiesta on a fine Saturday morning and felt this would be my option. Fixed up the deal for Rs.4.25L and got all papers signed on the same day.
Good things in the vehicle

1. Matched all my expectations – Diesel car with ABS, run for approx. 35K km
2. Leather seats and top of the line variant in Fiesta (though no alloys)
3. Engine was good to drive – no turbo lag and was in good shape
4. New battery and all electricals were intact

Things not good in the vehicle when I fixed up the deal

1. Front tires were completely gone
2. Car did not have insurance – urged the owner to provide this and got it
3. Engine noise – later found this culprit to be the one from timing belt and idler
4. Co-driver door handle was hard
5. Steering was hard – found the oil to be leaking
6. Belt was showing signs of wear – replaced immediately
7. Sun visor were not intact

Changed the front tires at a nearby tire shop to Apollo Acelere (stock size) and took to the service station. The car was given an oil service changing the wipers, filters and transmission belt.
Total cost = Rs.8,000 (for a pair of tires) and Rs.11,000 (for the service)

Thanks for reading through my buying process. Now treat for the eyes - pics to follow.

 

[venkythaniks]

Re: PreOwned 2008 Fiesta TDCi Sxi Ownership

Congrats on your fiesta..wish you many more happy miles..

Taking car rentals (Octavia and Fiesta from Hertz) and driving friend’s cars

Which place in chennai you were taking the car rentals?

 

[tai_newbie]

Re: PreOwned 2008 Fiesta TDCi Sxi Ownership

congrats on your new ride.

 

[hari.d]

Re: PreOwned 2008 Fiesta TDCi Sxi Ownership

Welcome to tai.i have owned a fiesta tdci till this year january.bought @ 80000kms and sold @106000 kms.

One of the best car for driving in that segment.any help needed ready to provide.

 

[yuvm800]

Thanks for all your wishes!
Like all Chennai residents, took the car for a spin on ECR and found the car to be more capable. I wanted to know the limitations of the car and any existent problems in the vehicle. The car responded beautifully and drove till Mahabs, finished breakfast and returned back.
Back home,

1. Cleaned the interior with Meguiars products
2. Tightened the spare wheel and jack which was creating noise when moving over bumps
3. Added my external Bluetooth connector

Forgot to say - the color is Morello!
Now, time for snaps!

 

[yuvm800]

Serviced the car @ Chennai Ford, Ambattur

Odometer reading; 35,643 km.

The problems in the car were evaluated properly and notified to me. The work carried out was also satisfactory (I don’t know what is the best in Ford as I was a Maruti customer). Interior cleaning could have been better.

Major parts replaced
V-belt – Rs.1,318.16
Steering fluid reservoir cap - Rs.778.68
Gear shifter cable bush – Rs.418.03
Wipers (2) – Rs.685.44
Headlight bulb – Rs.355.27


Engine oil (4l) – Rs.1,145.84
Oil filter – Rs.327.60
Air filter – Rs.272.42
Front brake pads - Rs.1,537.85

For full vehicle inspection, charge was Rs.1,150.00. As part of vehicle inspection, they removed and did inspect the timing belt and wheel bearings.
There was a engine room waxing done for Rs.400. It was not as good as the one 3M does. I should be careful with Ford service center on charges like these in future.
Total bill is for an amount of Rs.10,952.

The gear shifter bush needed replacement as there was some washer like arrangement done by previous owner. After changing to bush, there was considerable difference in the gear shift quality and now it is near new car smoothness.

The previous owner lost the steering fluid reservoir cap and has fixed some plastic cap. This caused the oil to leak and the steering was hard when bought. After changing the cap and refilling PS fluid, the steering is super smooth (not like EPS) and the PS fluid leak is arrested. Felt Ford ownership on seeing the cost of a plastic cap.

Had to replace the V-belt as it developed some minor cracks and dont want to get stranded on the road with a cut belt - preventive maintenance.

 

[venkythaniks]

Added my external Bluetooth connector

What is this external Bluetooth connector? how you purchase and add it to your car?
Can you show me more pics of this component?

 

[bhvm]

very honest and neat review. nice car. have you planned any mods like audio or headlight upgrade?

 

[vijay]

Congratulations on your fiesta, looks neat and maintained.
Can share some interiors images, do so.
Wish you many happy miles with your SXi.

 

[lxtreme]

Congrats on your Ford Fiesta. It looks well maintained.

Do post some more pics.

Wish you many years of happy motoring.


Regards
Lxtreme

 

[Ambylovers]

Hi,
Wished to clock more miles with out any Issues. Exterior of the car looks very neat.
How about the interiors snaps.
But how come the previous have not even checked the neccessary things like Timing belt,Oil leakage..

 

[yuvm800]

But how come the previous have not even checked the neccessary things like Timing belt,Oil leakage..

The previous owner has many cars and is very less knowledgeable about caring (may be lack of time). Timing belt and idler pulley has just started to give noise. Either we go preventive maintenance and replace now or can use it for another 10K km and replace it. The choice is mine. Totally, it is estimated to a cost of Rs.11K.

Another thing to note, not all owners are car enthusiasts to keep their buddies in pristine condition. A pre-owned car is expected to have these anomalies.

 

[yuvm800]

Banged

My friend banged FIDA on a neighbor's gate and got a dent on bonnet and broken chips on bumper. Luckily none got hurt. He said that his slipper stuck on the accelarator. Tinkering done. Waiting fingers crossed for painting.

Did not want to alter the company paint and wanted to go with stickers. But the repaired area is larger. Had no other option than to go with paint.

 

[yuvm800]

Bonnet and Bumper repainted

Painting job done. Details of it

1. Awesome workmanship. Gave it to a local workshop, referred by a fried and the work quality is amazing
2. Bumper painting shows a little of orange peel effect - my eyes are so sharp - but not visible even when you stand close.
3. Excellent paint matching with the fender and no visible difference, except the clear coat appears shiny.
4. Morello color is really good. There is lot of oxidation on other body panels. Need to do detailing on the car.
5. Bought spray paint from internet to fix small scratches so detailing appears perfect. Planning to clear coat the entire car again as it adds a lot of gloss and better than waxing

Total damage = Rs. 7,500 - 6K for painting and 1.5K for fixing the dent.
Svc center quoted 15K for just painting alone.

 

[codename47]

Congrats on your car and definitely looks neat

I wanted to gift my Dad a fiesta in diesel but later found he liked the Indigo so gifted him that instead on his birthday :) . Thanks to Appu for helping me out with the Indigo information as I haven't been to Indian in 6 years.

Do these modern engines have Timing belt ?
I thought most of the cars have Timing chain these days.

Its good that you figured out the timing belt change, sooner the better. Timing belt issues can cause the engine to cease

Please post some photos of the interior