Faults:

Long list:

- The engine stopped working in the winter a few times when changing gears, like I was some novice driver that changes at low rpm.

- The engine heats up very hard with e10, and in cold weather increases the consumption very much.

- The steering makes strange noises at high speeds.

- The clutch is making funny noises from time to time.

- It's losing oil.

- Every time I drive in the rain, the belt slips.

- Jumps off the trajectory if the asphalt is not smooth in curves.

All the problems above were not present when I bought the car, and there are a lot of other faults I would never have expected from a Ford.

General Comments:

I only bought this car as a winter, car and got stuck with it ever since.

I have driven small engined cars all my life, but never had a car with carburetor before. I did not expect a Ford from 1995 to have a carburetor; it was a surprise for me to discover this 2 months after buying it.

Despite a few mechanical problems, I did not invest any money in the car other than benzine and oil, and because I bought it for 450 euros, I intend to drive it until the TUV expires in a few months.

On the plus side, I used it to carry all of my furniture when moving, I use it to commute to work, and on a few longer runs (500km) with no problems. It's great on snow.

I do agree that it is quite an old car, but I am extremely disappointed with it.

All my old cars were better: Daewoo Matiz 0.8, Twingo 1.2, Daihatsu Cuore, and all were bought for under 800 euros.

Faults:

I had to replace the brake lines, and the tie rod ends when I first bought it. Since then the only problem has been a broken passenger side door handle, thanks to a drunken gorilla of a passenger one night.

General Comments:

First, I bought this car from a scrap yard. I looked it over and found the two faults listed above, and bought it for $300. That's right at 165 pounds for those in the UK. It is light blue, and has some rust on both sides of the inside walls of the hood (bonnet). I fixed these with a single can of Bondo. After grabbing some break lines from another junked Fiesta, and paying the $18 (9.86 pounds) for the new tie rod ends, the car was ready to roll.

I drive it everywhere, from France to Czech, from the Alps to the North Sea, and I've never needed roadside assistance. I average right around 165 kilometers on the Autobahns. Still no problem. It does take a bit of trying to get up to speed, but once she's in fifth gear, it a smooth ride.

I recommend late model Fiesta to anyone looking for a budget car, but be sure to look at what you're buying. I've seen a bunch of them in scrap yards, and have seen that time (or previous owners) is not as kind to some of the others.

Now a few of the quirks...

It will start on cold mornings, as long it I pull the manual choke all the way out. It will try it's hardest to roll when cold, but it requires some coaxing with the gas. As soon as I'm off, I have to push the choke back in a hair to keep it from stalling. But it gets be from home to work, even at 5 AM in the dead of winter.

It gets great gas mileage. It costs me around $13 (7.12) to fill up, and assuming I'm not flying down the Autobahn, I can make it for 2 1/2 weeks on a tank.

The oil filter on this thing irritates me. When you open the hood, there's about a third empty space, and Ford decided to put the oil filter right above the muffler, meaning if you let oil slip, the car smokes for a while.

It has little power going up hill, I know it's a 1.1 liter engine, but this is pathetic, I can drop from 130 kph to 80 on a pretty mild upgrade. I have to get to a lower gear and give her some gas sometimes just to keep up with traffic.

Overall, as long as you pay attention to what you're buying, this can be a great, fun little car to own. The parts are cheap, and maintenence is very easy. if you don't pay attention to the car you're buying.. just as in any model, the scrap yaed will beckon...