2011 Ford Fiesta?

[supton]

Coworker has one, we took a quick look at KBB private party price, did not shock either of us ($3,800). 148k on the clock, automatic. What might be some problem areas?

Plan is a cheap runaround for the daughter, she might only be driving for a few years before college, then no idea. Mostly backroads, not a lot of highway, maybe 20kmiles over the next 2 years?

Edit: thread title updated, not a Festiva.

 

[Pew]

Did you mean Ford Fiesta?

 

[PimTac]

I don’t think they made Festivas during that time frame.

 

[Tdbo]

I'm going to assume you mean Fiesta.
It is an automatic.
The problems with those automatics have been well documented.
Run. Run far away.
If it was a stick, I'd say go for it.

 

[Thermo1223]

Well odds are it's had the clutches done at least twice already, all under warranty mind you. You'd ask how? Well I know trust me

Are they bad cars? Yes & no, peppy little thing and not overly uncomfortable for its size but the dual dry clutch automatic was it's downfall. Think VW DSG without the oil but imagine what would happen if dirt/oil/grease got on the clutches that shouldn't have them. Ya and then add in a finicky computer to manage all this which if a problem did occur it would put it's "foot" on the clutch pedal, throw its hands in the air, and say I give up.

If possible get a manual yes and if not test drive the car EXTENSIVELY before purchase. Ask for service records or have a local Ford dealer run the Vin to see how many times it's been in for warranty repairs. If it's a silver 2011 Hatchback it could be even be mine!

 

[supton]

Fiesta, you're right, fumbled it. Not going to hide it, I'm a Toyota fan, not Ford.

Was this one of those powershift debacle ones? If so then I'll run. He didn't mention having clutch/transmission issues, and he's a good friend. Not one to flip junk. If it's a problem child trans then I'll do us both a favor and say no.

 

[Pew]

Fiesta, you're right, fumbled it. Not going to hide it, I'm a Toyota fan, not Ford.

Was this one of those powershift debacle ones? If so then I'll run. He didn't mention having clutch/transmission issues, and he's a good friend. Not one to flip junk. If it's a problem child trans then I'll do us both a favor and say no.

View attachment 169954

Indeed, that Fiesta is the PowerShift one so run! At that mileage if it hasn't broken a couple times, it will very soon.

 

[eljefino]

I saw a stick shift one for sale on CL and thought, maybe.

Then I saw one on the highway. Death wish tiny. Passed.

 

[atikovi]

They are nice looking cars and probably fun to drive. The automatics with that mileage bring around $1200 at the dealer auctions for a reason. If it runs ok with no shifting issues, I wouldn't spend more than $2000 knowing it could turn into a paperweight at any time.

 

[Danh]

As others have said, if it’s an automatic don’t touch it. There is no cure for this gearbox’s issues, they recur regularly and are pricey. Probably Ford’s worst product mistake in the last 50 years. (Ask me how I know…)

 

[IndyIan]

I saw a stick shift one for sale on CL and thought, maybe.

Then I saw one on the highway. Death wish tiny. Passed.

I think around 2015 Ford kind of got these transmissions sorted out, but the early ones weren't good!
They almost weigh the same as my Focus wagon, so they are kind of dense I guess, and far safer. Regular compact size cars are a bit better still though and 2012 or 2013 or newer is a good idea.

 

[supton]

Well, sounds like a hard pass then. Bummer. I mean, I've been watching CL for months now (unfortunately not every 5 minutes) for the next beater, so to have one pop up at work with like zero effort extended on my part... win! 'cept it's a problem car... fail! Oh well.

 

[Thermo1223]

I saw a stick shift one for sale on CL and thought, maybe.

Then I saw one on the highway. Death wish tiny. Passed.

Ignorance is bliss...same size as a Honda Fit and Smart cars and safer than a Honda Civic.

 

[Thermo1223]

Well, sounds like a hard pass then. Bummer. I mean, I've been watching CL for months now (unfortunately not every 5 minutes) for the next beater, so to have one pop up at work with like zero effort extended on my part... win! 'cept it's a problem car... fail! Oh well.

Drive it, see how it feels but let your friend know you're not giving him $3k for possible trans issues down the road. It's not the worst car I've ever owned but it's not the best.

 

[Pew]

I think around 2015 Ford kind of got these transmissions sorted out, but the early ones weren't good!
They almost weigh the same as my Focus wagon, so they are kind of dense I guess, and far safer. Regular compact size cars are a bit better still though and 2012 or 2013 or newer is a good idea.

Negative sir, all the powershift cars have the same issues across the MYs.

 

[cptbarkey]

Agree, run fast. That DCT is cursed sorry to say.

 

[gfh77665]

I think around 2015 Ford kind of got these transmissions sorted out, but the early ones weren't good!

You are right on. The 2015 DCT was improved, and the 2016 DCT was vastly improved. After that all the DCT's are excellent.

The OP should not buy a 2011. It goes beyond just "repairs". The early DCT's were so bad they were dangerous. A number of people were killed trying to make a turn in front of oncoming traffic, etc. 2011 is a bad year.

 

[supton]

This seems to go against the BITOG adage "all cars are good today". 2011 isn't new but I believe it's now considered average age. Add in CVT's and a few other technologies, and I'm going to quit saying "all cars are good today".

 

[Tdbo]

They were decent cars, except for the automatic.
There was an article floating around (and it was posted here) about a guy who was a courier out west that had I believe the Focus with the automatic.
He would keep an extra rebuilt transmission on hand, and swap it out on his downtime.
He put something like 768K on the car before swapping it out, for a Subaru wagon with a stick.
His wife took over the Focus, and continued driving it.

 

[supton]

There was an article floating around (and it was posted here) about a guy who was a courier out west that had I believe the Focus with the automatic.

I guess after a bit one gets good at it. Get it down to a couple hours and maybe it's a "trivial" job to do. 'cept for buying the reman. But I thought it was just the clutch that was the problem, not the rest of the trans?

Wonder what a shop charges to R&R one.