Ford Fiesta, and why the HELL don't I own one?

[kennith]

I was thinking about these earlier. I really like them. There's just enough power to let you drive like you really want to, and they are pretty economical. So economical, in fact, that it gave me a horrible idea...

I, for the first time in my life, calculated how much I spend on fuel every year. I'd always ignored it, and simply paid my bills at the end of the month, deliberately skipping over any fuel points in the list. I never even look at the price of fuel. Why bother? It's never a pretty sight, and I'm going to buy it anyway.

Well, when I came up with a figure of $5,000... :rofl: atriot:

That's so bad that it's fucking funny. While we are at it, let's consider (not calculate) the maintenance costs I fire into that DII. You guys know where I'm going here. You know I'm pretty obsessive about maintenance. It's probably around, to quote Penn Gillette, one mother-fucking shitload.

No wonder I'm broke all the time.

So, I was browsing the Ford website, and I calculated the fuel costs associated with the Fiesta. Yeah, it would be just over $1,000! There will be no maintenance costs, either. Dealerships pretty much give maintenance away, and the power-train warranty is five years.

So long as I toss only long trips and maintenance drives on the Rover, I'll kill off those tight service intervals, and obliterate fuel costs.

I really like the Fiesta, and it's cheap. It would cost me about $3,000 a year to buy and run, if my sleep-deprived brain is functioning properly. That's a hell of a lot less than the DII. To put it in perspective, the monthly payments on a Fiesta wouldn't be too much more than an average phone bill.

It's so much less, in fact, that I'd save money buying a new Fiesta and keeping some of those miles and their associated maintenance costs off the Rover.

I should go buy one.

Cheers,

Kennith

 

[Blueboy]

We almost went that route when getting a car over here. They drive very well. We ended up with a VW Polo which after 41k KM is going strong and with very little maintenance. The Polo is like a 3/4 version of a Golf.

We will be considering a Fiesta upon our return under the FORD ExPat program.

 

[garrett]

Tim likes 'em too. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYpI6yjaCIw

 

[Tysmagic]

I work for Ford Credit. I'd be happy to hook you up with an x plan code which would make it even cheaper

 

[mgreenspan]

I had a 5 door fiesta diesel as a rental for 5 months during an extended TDY/deployment. It was fantastic. I would own one but they don't sell the diesel option here.

 

[ArmyRover]

I had one as a rental car 2 weeks ago in Denver, aside from the steering seeming a bit twitchy I liked the little thing.

Clarkson liked it to...

http://vimeo.com/2636777

 

[Some Dude]

I've burned 3,632 gallons through my D2 in a little under 5 years. atriot:

 

[p m]

Every time I think of that, I remind myself of:
- late-1980s 190E and E30, and
- 2007-8 Grand Cherokee CRD.

Either of those would be a more economical choice than a brand new econobox.
That, and by simply relaxing my daily commute to 65mph would net me a 2.5 mpg increase.

 

[kennith]

Tim likes 'em too. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYpI6yjaCIw

No. Bad Garrett. No showing Kennith videos of Fiestas with Ford Racing kits being driven on gravel.

Cheers,

Kennith

 

[pdxrovermech]

gas savings is the only reason i went with my 300tdi. Even with a fairly minimal increase in MPGs I calculated it out to an extra $150 a month in savings. However I'm ready to sell it and move onto a car that gets at least 30 MPG and just keep my 10 MPG rover for some weekend fun.

 

[kennith]

Every time I think of that, I remind myself of:
- late-1980s 190E and E30, and
- 2007-8 Grand Cherokee CRD.

Either of those would be a more economical choice than a brand new econobox.
That, and by simply relaxing my daily commute to 65mph would net me a 2.5 mpg increase.

Yeah, all that's true. Actually, the Jaguar is pretty cheap to run, but I'm fully restoring it as well as giving it a bit of a modern feel. That means a lot of time in the garage, and that means more time in the Rover.

If it was all about saving money, I'd just go buy another Nissan 720, but there's something to be said for piling miles onto a new, modern car.

Really, it's about having good air conditioning, no warm-up times, a warranty, free maintenance, and a damned fun little car on top of it all, which will still manage to leave me a few dollars in the clear.

I love driving the Rover, but it doesn't need to see so many miles. I'd like to at least cut them in half.

The Jaguar was supposed to be a daily driver, but after the convertible top incident, I started in on upholstery, brand new seals (yeah, I found some), carpets, steering (which I made worse), and it's headed for suspension and eventually a full re-spray.

I do drive the Jag quite a bit, but right now, for example, I need to do something on both cars for a couple of days. The Jag is pretty much without any seals or upholstery at the moment, and I've got to start bending some tube and moving electronics for another rack in back of the Rover.

Keeping an overland vehicle going and restoring a Jaguar would be a bit easier with something to putter about town in. By putter, of course, I mean not puttering at all.

I'm not saying I'll step out and buy one tomorrow, but I will indeed be stopping by a dealership to see what's what.

Cheers,

Kennith

 

[kennith]

I had a 5 door fiesta diesel as a rental for 5 months during an extended TDY/deployment. It was fantastic. I would own one but they don't sell the diesel option here.

The last time I rented a car, I got a Nissan Versa with a manual, no power steering, and no ABS.

That was a hell of a lot of fun. The car itself fucking sucked, but enjoying the lack of certain features in a new car was outstanding.

Cheers,

Kennith

 

[p m]

I love driving the Rover, but it doesn't need to see so many miles. I'd like to at least cut them in half.

I did exactly that.
By buying another Disco.
Now it's a toss-up which one I take to work every morning.

 

[stu454]

I'm considering picking up an '05 Corolla that is surplus at work. 195k miles and $1500.

Or I could just plow that $1500 into the D1........

It would be nice to have a no-bullshit runabout car.

 

[SGaynor]

gas savings is the only reason i went with my 300tdi. Even with a fairly minimal increase in MPGs I calculated it out to an extra $150 a month in savings. However I'm ready to sell it and move onto a car that gets at least 30 MPG and just keep my 10 MPG rover for some weekend fun.

I did that - bought an old BMW Z3 that gets 30 mpg on the highway.

Then my daughter got her drivers license and insisted on driving the Disco.

So, I'm still paying for gas (and more insurance), and now it looks like this:

 

[p m]

Stu - when my son needed a car in Berkeley, we spent all of 20 minutes looking for one. An 88 240 wagon for $900.
I thought it was impossible to get a speeding ticket in it, but my nephew proved me wrong. The wagon is still on the road, and will likely be for many years to come.

 

[61rover]

Remember the Ford Fiesta from the late 70s? My girlfriend had one and it rocked too.

 

[mbrummal]

I've been thinking about getting a Fiesta ST. That would be a lot of fun at track days....

 

[Tysmagic]

I've been thinking about getting a Fiesta ST. That would be a lot of fun at track days....

Worth the extra couple thousand for the Focus ST in my opinion. I've been wanting one for ages. But either would be fun on track days, turn around and drive it back home for DD use.

 

[kennith]

Worth the extra couple thousand for the Focus ST in my opinion. I've been wanting one for ages. But either would be fun on track days, turn around and drive it back home for DD use.

It's half again as much at MSRP over the S. That's a big step over the base model. It's not as bad in comparison with the others, but still, I'm not trying to spend twenty grand.

Cheers,

Kennith