1996 Ford Fiesta Encore 1.3

Summary:

Good work horse..

Faults:

The bonnet catch broke and the bonnet flew up as I was driving along the A38 at 70 miles an hour!!

4 new tyres, new spark plugs and leads.

New brake pads and pipes.

Has a stalling problem at the moment cannot figure out why.

Very seriously rusted underneath, heard that is a problem on fiestas.

Scratches and dents in places all there when car bought.

Nothing really major, I guess...

General Comments:

My car has no power steering and drives like a tank.

The boot is too small, not much room for a buggy and shopping.

She is seriously rusty and I have been told she will not pass another MOT, due to the amount of welding she will need.

She does 0-60 in about an hour :o)

Other than that, I love my little car, she is a comfortable ride and I have had a lot of mileage out of her.

And to be fair, she is a good work horse and has done well these last couple of years that I have had her.

I will miss her when she has to go to the Ford heaven in the sky...

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 28th December, 2008

6th Jun 2023, 15:33

That bonnet catch failure must have been common, my friends had this happen to him too on his 96 Fiesta, bloody dangerous! Ended up having the bonnet held down by ties/hooks down at the front near the headlights like a race car, which the 1.3 Encore model most certainly was not! Apart from that, it was a reliable and economical little car for its time.

1996 Ford Fiesta Classic Auzora 1.1

Summary:

My fantastic first car that has never let me down!

Faults:

Most things that have gone wrong with this car are simply down to age and use.

Needed new exhaust.

Needed new spark plugs at 76000.

Wishbone replaced at 76000.

Whole break system replaced at 76000.

Slight oil leak since 78000 but nothing major.

Only other thing was that the spring in the airbag had to be replaced due to a fault at 66000.

General Comments:

This is my first car and I have had it three and a half years now. I am now selling it as I have been offered a newer car. I will be sorry to see my trusty fiesta go. It has never failed to start, even in the coldest, deepest mid-winter mornings. The car has slight rust around the sills but what car that age doesn't? The inside of the car is like new and it is much more comfortable than the car I have just bought. If there was anyway I could keep both cars I would simply because I love my fiesta!

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 1st September, 2008

1996 Ford Fiesta Si 1.25 Si

Summary:

The Fiesta is an excellent little car which is good with fuel and cheap to insure

Faults:

I have had no trouble with the Fiesta since I bought it.

General Comments:

The car is very quick and as smooth as anything.

The seats are really comfortable and I can drive for hours without feeling uncomfortable or strained.

The boot is incredibly roomy. I've managed to fit four suit cases and three sports bags in.

The layout of the controls is very user friendly and easy to use when driving e.g. heater control.

The car is cheap to insure as Ford parts are very easy to get hold of.

The car doesn't do too bad with fuel consumption and costs' me about £27 to fill up which usually lasts about ten days.

It is a well built little car but it still has a sporty quality to it.

The Fiesta is a very good car for younger drivers who have recently passed their test.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 17th April, 2007

1996 Ford Fiesta Encore 1.3

Summary:

A nasty piece of tin, but hard to kill

Faults:

The engine lost power at 60,000 miles, The cam shaft had to be repaired. Cost: 750 pounds.

Scary rust-away on back wheel arch, which is supposed to be a common problem with older fords. Cost: 400 pounds

Never ending loss of oil, probably being burned (no leaks). I had to buy around ten gallons a year.

Suspension pads wear out quickly and need to be replaced every 2 years. Same about break tablets and disks. (I don't tend to drive cross-country, but still they wear out fast). Cost: around 200 a year.

One cylinder started to give problems, so the engine sounded as if going only on three. Estimated cost: 250 pounds for repair

Problems with the seals, which produced coolant and oil burning.

Electrics giving problems everywhere.

And last, emissions beyond road legal, so I had to SORNed it.

General Comments:

Overall, I had so many problems with the car, that it had become a non stop headache. This means it has been a BAD car.

Being a second hand car, and being bought in fairly good conditions, it turned to be too expensive to maintain, almost doubling the cost of it.

Nevertheless, it is sturdy and refuses to die. Like weed, it keeps going and going, even when you had said the day before: "that's that then, it's gone for good".

So, it has demonstrated to be an old bag of problems, but it's a die-hard.

The silly thing still goes, but only off road, as it is not legal anymore.

A good car? NO, not at all, but interesting indeed.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 20th December, 2006

22nd Dec 2006, 03:06

Did you actually pay all that for repairs (£750 for cam, etc???), especially on an old Ford? I don't like Fords, I'll only buy Japanese cars, who needs the headache?

16th Nov 2007, 14:51

I have had the same car for about a year, I needed a car asap so wasn't even looking for anything special. The little fiesta has been a god send. I have had no problems at all, not even a squeaky break, and considering I bought the car at 86000miles for £700, it's a right little bargain. And to top it all off, I drove from Telford to Norwich and back (about 10Hr round trip) on less than 1 tank of fuel. Its always started first time even after been left for two weeks outside in the freezing weather. Plus as a little bonus, the handbook says it will do 98mph, I have got it to 106 with more to give. so if anyone is after a small economical car with a little bit of go, I can't fault the fiesta.