matts1

The misses wants a new car, i have just given her Fiesta 1.25 Si to her mum and she wants a nippy small car.

She has around £2500 to spend.

Pug 106 Quicksilver is to expensive to buy in a nice straight condition.

Pug 106 Gti is to dear to insure

Fez 1.6 zetec S is obtainable, but would mean a phase 1 and we aren't as keen on them (dash colour, engine reliability).

Clio,s don't really have the looks

So she has decided on a phase 2 Saxo VTR in black on a 99 - 2000 plate with around 60K on the clock. Few about in our price bracket.

Anyone have any tips on problems they suffer with, things to look out for??

Cheers

Matt

rapidcossie

great wee cars..

not sure of what probs to look for tho

matts1

cheers rapidcossie.

I have seen one for sale, Y plater but itwas parked hard up against a wall, and yep, that side has been repaired, badly

So obviuosly not so keen, afterall if they have cheaped out on the repair, have they cheaped out on servicing it.

It also had 6x9 cut into the parcel shelf so chances are it's a bad boys thrapped motor

Think it had an oil leak aswell and not to sure ifthese engines suffer from leaks etc.

Used to zetec lumps that don't seem to leak where as my old cvh lumps didn't look right without some oil dripping out of them.

XRT_si

iTrader: (2)

Great cars imo. Ive owned a couple, seem very reliable, good handling, generally nice to drive.
Good economy and performance.
Only thing would be build quailty obviously aint too amazing being french, so expect a fair few creaks and rattles etc... It gets worse with mileage so get a low mileage as possible.

rapidcossie

get a one lady owner car mate that wont have been thrashed...

there are tons about so be picky..

my GF just sold her 55k y plate one..didnt give her any hassle apart from the exhaust..

my bro has a 100k vts and even that has been ok..

wheel bearing and power steering pump is all the troubles he has had...

the back axles go but not til up nearer the 100k i dont think

PT

thing is if ita a lady owner watch it isnt under her name and her 18 year old son has had it as first car and been thrashing the shit out of it

Rs Baz

dont bother there shit

no im not taking the piss mate there is 2 outside my house
in the car park both owners said thay have had nothing but
trouble with them.

the girl that owns the one has spent £1200 in 7 months on
having diffrent things put right, like wheel,bearings, rear axle,
full exhaust system and many more items,

o.k alot is wear and tear but at 52,000 mile

the rear axle go on them aswell rear bearings in side the axle
go my mate is still looking for one for his x reg saxo vtr he's
having a hell of a job to get one and the one's he does find are
£150 secondhand but just to far away for him to get them.

its only done 65,000 mile

have you ever seen one after an accident a peaple were killed
in one last year after the driver lost contral on a bend at 65 mph
the fooking car split in half and killed all 4

there a bloody death trap the lot need crushing.

matts1

Rs Baz "dont bother there shit"

I was waiting for that

Looks like this rear axel thing may be something to keep in mind.

PT, yes, i have been and seen a few cars that say lady owner, but are clearly younger peoples cars.

Any signs to look out for with the rear axel???

Thanks

Matt

Paddy

We've bought and sold bloody loads of them and [touch wood] the common problems have mostly been down to pretty poor build quality with bits of trim falling off Also watch for leaking sunroof and wear in the suspension.

The engines are probably the best bit of them and as long as they've been looked after should be ok, Wrong off here bought one when it was a year old and sold it to another friend of ours at 110k. When it changed hands was when the problems started because it had been driven Granny style for most of it's life.

Personally. I think their shelf life is up to 60k though before it's time to start fixing things. I don't see that as being different from many other French cars and Seats though, they seem to be fine until they've done a few miles then slowly [sometimes quickly] start to deteriorate.

Check the power steering on the later models BUT before dishing out on expensive pumps, there's a relay that malfunctions and doesn't show up on the Citroen fault finding machine....

matts1

Cheers paddy, fingers crossed i can pick one up that has been owned by someone who has driven it like a normal car, and not a boy racer.

Many have been lowered etc so avoiding anything like that.

The misses does very few miles a year and is a steady as you go driver so hopefully she can run it for a year or two without any major problems. I also have a top mechanic so if something does go belly up i wont get stung on repair bills other than parts

A few in the trader that look nice, but are a bit of a way and being mega busy at work means i can't spend the time travelling, especially as you never know what you will be going to see (the MINT car, till you get there to see a bag O shit)

carlo

iTrader: (4)

I think they are great cars IMHO i had one for 3 years as a every day car while my saph & now evo was tucked away in the garage.i sold the saxo for a bmw compact & im seriously thinking of selling the compact for another saxo vtr.For every day use they are so cheap to run for £30 of fuel you get well over 300 miles.While in the evo for £30 you get near 120 miles & the compact for £30 you get about 220 miles which is crap,The back axle bushes go & there is a fault in the wiring under the steering colum & the power steering can dissaper as it is electric but you just bridge the wiring & its all good...

Terry Tibbs

Absolute shit imo, more basic than a mk1 poverty model fiesta, engine taps like its going out of fashion, prone to head-gasket failure and look shit. done.

Paddy

I don't remember the lowest model mk1's with power steering, electric windows and alloys.

In fact, I don't remember them having glove boxes or headrests

The 1.4 peugeot/renault/citroen engine is prone to head gasket problems, the 1.6 is much stronger.

BlueSmoke

Cool little cars. Pedals take some getting used to though as they seem to have been designed for the feet of 13 year old joyriders

matts1

Samll pedals wont be a problem, the misses has small feet, help her get closer to the kitchen sink

Terry Tibbs

In todays world we should atleast have 3D doorcards Mates headgasket went as soon as he bought it. Just an awful, small, poorly built, plastic shit box.

carlo

iTrader: (4)

Total bollocks...

My sister had a j reg xr21 & the saxo had the same spec as it so i dont know where you got the poverty festa thing from..

CraigJ

as a run around there fine ive had 2 off em but dont expect to live if its crashed at a high speed i hit a car at less that 30 in 1 and it was a right mess, couldnt even drive it away. very very poor build and not very safe imo. never had a problem with anthing breaking though.

It's Czech Mate

VTR is not a patch on a zetec-s fiesta as a total package

Fiddy

a few mates have vtr's over the years, and i think there good little cars, cheap and quiet nippy, personally id go for a vts, but there a good few groups higher than the vtr for insurance.

gurnE

Get a VTS. Much better.

Otherwise great little cars

NEIL A

iTrader: (6)

Ive had a few of these and got one as a runaround just now and cant fault them. One of the main things to look out for is leaking sunroof's as the water leaks in soaks the floor and fries the remote central locking sensor which is 100+ to replace.Also check under the boot carpet for damp and rust as the back light seals sometimes leak.

andre_k

iTrader: (2)

my mate has been through 2 gearboxes in a year, and theyre slowwwwwww


get her a zetec s id say

Oranoco

Reasonably nippy fun little cars but like andre k I'd opt for the Zetec S Fiesta.

Deedum

Nephews got a 1lt Saxo, and its so fast

Oranoco

Must have the Lexus lights then as they add 50bhp at least.

RWD_cossie_wil

iTrader: (9)

if you buy a french car with your own money you need your head looking at , sorry, the build quality makes a ford look like a hand built rolls royce , and as people have said, if your mrs has a bump at anything more than walkign speed she could be hurt , my mate had someone pull out infront of him in his saxo, hit a merc doing 30mph, and ended up getting cut out of the car because it was such a mess

Get her a fiesta Zetec S, cracking little motors

RWD_cossie_wil

iTrader: (9)

tell you what is even better, a toyota yaris I had a vvti for a hire car in spain, was an absolute hoot to drive

matts1

Cheers for the comments guys,

The Fiesta Zetec S would be the first option in all honesty but we don't want a phase 1, way to many phase 1 lumps go bang for my liking despite the fact that a lot of people dismiss this.

Plus at our money £2500 your at the snotter end of the market. I own a clean one myself and know that anything like mine is going to be £3500 - 4K all day long.

Matt

rapidcossie

open your eyes mate...

NO fords short of a focus rs or ST hanlde as well as a VTR..

bold statement but true...

yeah the build quality of them isnt the best bu thats what makes all french hot hatches so great...they are so light.

good engines and great chassis...

if you say they are shit you have never driven one...

EIL132

Sums it up

RWD_cossie_wil

iTrader: (9)

I have driven a VTR and VTS on numerous occasions, and to be fair they do handle very well, but thats no good if they are in bits all the time is it? sorry but french build quality is appalling

dave120

ive had am 98 Mk1 VTS for 5 years and its been a great car, granted ive heard a few horror stories but that happens with all car makes IMO

MK2s are generally more reliable, engines are vquiet and do handle very very well

bodywork is dented and scratched very easily, things like CV joints and driveshafts go very easily, even on newer cars, Radiators are a big thing too.

in my experience if its well looked after it should be a very nice car to own.

make sure and look at loads because they are ten a penny these days.

also as rapidcossie says unless u are willing to get an ST or above then no ford will touch it for driveability.

Back axle on my car has only really started to go now ive done 90k plus, listen out for a light banging noise coming just from one side of the back of the car.

Watcb out for oil leaks at the rocker cover gasket.

the build quality certainly isnt the best but its not exactly terrible.

If something doesnt look or feel right then its probs been bumped

dave120

also i know this is a ford site but compared with ur average fiesta etc the VTR is a bit more special

cant believe i just said that about a saxo but IMO fiestas etc as mentioned in original post are rubbish

fords4fun

vtr is slower than an xr2i 8v if your happy with the build quality (plastic breaks easy) and the safety fears (although heavily damaged car often means safer ocupants due to slower deceleration) and the slowness of the vtr (vts is quite nippy) then the saxo isnt a bad car but its no ford

Deedum

indeed it has

dave120

sorry mate but there is no chance an XR2i 8v is faster than a VTR

also most XR2is are rust buckets!

at least with a saxo you dont have to conted with rust

thats a bit off topic i know but i just thought id make my opinnion known

matts1

Getting some good info here peeps.

i appriciate that the build quality is abit easy dented and scratched panels, but rust isn't an issue on these cars. Plus there are some commons problems to keep my eye out for.

I don't need it to be a rocket, the misses just wants a car that is a little nippier than her 1.25 fez.

From whats been said i think the level of driverbility and toys you get for the money, coupled with the modernish styling (front end atleast) the saxo is deffinately the one for her.

I would love her to have a fiesta Zetec S, but really can't see that as an option on here budget, and Ford offer nothing else in our price bracket that comes close the Saxo.

It's Czech Mate

Never driven a Zetec-S then....its better in EVERY way to a VTR....altho I concede that VTR's arent bad little cars for the money