Faults:

For the MOT, all that was required was a small amount of welding to one of the chassis rails.

Front end of exhaust broke at manifold joint.

Sills need welding for next MOT.

General Comments:

For the price I paid for my 1988 Fiesta Van, I didn't expect too much from it. However, when I bought it, I drove it 180 miles home with no problems whatsoever.

The MOT was about to expire though, hence the small amount of work required as mentioned above.

I use the van every day for my work, and it has never let me down.

It is very economical on petrol, easy and cheap to service, and extremely reliable. It is also very solid for a van of its age and although not immaculate, is it very reasonable cosmetically.

I have owned several Fiestas in the past, including the 1988 Fiesta 1.1L van reviewed previously on this site. (I would still have this van today had it not been stolen and classed as an insurance write off... it took me 18 months to find this latest van to replace it).

In my experience, Fiestas are excellent little cars (my wife also has one,and it too is a cracking little car) and are only a problem if neglected or abused. Find a (reasonably) good one to start with, service it properly, deal with any bodywork issues promptly, and it will serve you well.

Faults:

The car needed a new exhaust when I got it and some welding, since then just tires and window mechanism, that's all, apart from the few odd patches of surface rust (must less than my old fiesta which was a year newer)

General Comments:

The car was pretty quick for a 1.1 and it went round the corners even quicker.

I replaced the standard ford Carb with a weber Carb and K&N air filter which did improve the performance.

The interior was typical 80s ford and pretty cramped in the back, but seats were comfortable.

The standard steering wheel was horrible so I replaced mine with one from an xr2 which was much better.

Faults:

The alternator went.

It needed new bushes for its M.O.T.

The clutch is just starting to go.

General Comments:

This car might be a bit dated now, but it's still a 1.6 and it's great fun to drive.

My car was cheap to buy, reliable and has never broken down. It's a bargain!

The insurance was rather high, but I thought it was worth it.

Faults:

Very hard to start when I first bought the car.

Barely legal tires (although not the cars fault)

Leaking sunroof.

Rust around passenger side wheel arch.

Underneath of bonnet lip heavily rusted (the bit where the bonnet is held on to the body of the car)

General Comments:

When I first got the car, it hadn't been looked after particularly well. The problems with starting were quickly rectified with new plugs and leads, and I replaced the air filter soon after.

I fixed the sunroof with some silicone sealer (although this meant the sunroof couldn't be opened.

The rust on the car was in all the usual mk2 Fiesta areas.

The car was fairly nippy around town, with good acceleration at low speeds. However overtaking on a motorway was a nightmare - a case of waiting for a good downhill slope.

The inside of the car was basic (although it had the better dashboard than the sparse popular models) and was comfortable. I am 6"3 and didn't have problems with my height.

The handling was very responsive, and light, although there was a fair amount of body roll if cornered hard.

Economy was very good - £26 or so to fill the tank up, and I would be able to get a high amount of miles from it.

At high speed (80+) the car would rattle very loudly. I only pushed the car this fast a couple of times however.

When the car was first started cold, it would (most of the time) start first time - but if you tried to move it off, it would bunny hop and then stall. To prevent this, I would either have to wait for the car to warm up a bit, or rev it a bit to get it going.

In the cold, if the choke wasn't in a precise place, the car would start idling very erratically and then stall. Therefore (especially for driving in the cold) memorising the best spot for the choke was required (for my car, pulling it fully out for starting, then pushing it in a little bit for driving was the best place). After a little while it could be pushed fully in and would run OK.

My car was white, which had plastic side trims - the underneath of this was black. I removed the Ford badge from the front and put on clear indicators - this improved the look no end. For its age I loved the look of the car.

Good amount of space in the car, for its overall size. Bit cramped in the back, and claustrophobic due to lack of windows in the back.

Small, but functional boot.

I sold this car earlier in the year (2004) and now own a Vauxhall Astra 1.4. I miss my old Fiesta as it was my first car, and was great fun. As I do a lot of motorway driving, it wasn't really ideal. Parts are so cheap though, so any new driver looking for a good sized, nippy (around town) and different car (everyone now drives Corsa's and Saxo's. ugh.) then this car should be seriously considered.