New (to me) car decision

[alexkostun_]

Hey guys. I'm somewhat new to the forums as I've read a lot of posts on here but have never really posted myself. I've used the forums in a lot of research for me for my new (to me) car. Right now I drive a 1997 Honda Civic Hatch. I wanted it as a daily but also project car but as I am 19 and go to school and work full time, I feel as if I bit off more than I can chew. I don't have the time or money to do the things to the civic that I want to, so now I am looking for a new car and would like some opinions. Obviously I won't be able to buy new as both cars are discontinued.

Right now the cars I am looking at are a 2016 Ford Fiesta ST and a 2009-2010 BMW 128i. They are both around the same for price and insurance being only $40 more for the FiST, so I am not really worried about that. I've sort of made a PROS and CONS list for both the cars and just need help with deciding.

I am looking at the Fiesta ST because I love the practicality it has with 4 doors and a hatch with great fuel economy. However, again, I'm 19 so it is just my girlfriend and I, with no kids, and all my friends have moved away to college so I don't really have a need for backseats. I've heard that they have decent reliability and tend not to live up to the "Found On Road Dead" slogan everyone loves to regurgitate. My cons for the Fiesta is that it is FWD and all I've had at this point is FWD cars and I want to get away from that. I found a clean 2016 FiST near me with 104k miles for $13k and I'm curious if that is too big a price for that amount of miles.

Now, the 128i. I've been looking at them for about a year now and just honestly fell in love with them the minute I found out about them. I really want to get into that traditional BMW, straight 6, NA, 6MT, RWD experience. I've read some other threads from 128i owners saying how in love with the car they are and how great it treats them. The only thing I am worried about is that beloved BMW reliability everyone talks so badly about. I just want to know that if I get one how it will treat me as a daily. I found a 2009 manual 128i near me with 79k miles for $16k. The dealer says they have all the service paperwork which is a great sign but then again I don't know how trustworthy that is.

I just want to know how the 128i and the FiST will treat me and help in my car buying decision. Thanks guys!

-Alex

 

[Old Mike Emerson]

If you thought the Civic was expensive to work on a BMW would be 3 times as much.

 

[D1JL]

Dave

 

[Dpro]

Welcome !
If you want spend money and not on performance items but just maintenance buy the BMW. I speak from experience here being a BMW owner they are not cheap to own.

At 79k you are roughly 30k off the magic 100k I say magic 100k because it’s usually around that time that things start going out after 100k it’s a total crap shoot on repairs. Great cars if you the money to maintain them. Otherwise they will bleed you dry.

If you keep your eyes peeled you could find a FiST with well under 100k for 16k that FiST with 104k for 13k is way over priced. Keep looking don’t rush into anything.

 

[RubenZZZ]

Financing a 12y/o Bimmer is a terrible decision. Maintenance is gonna be more expensive than anything your Civic will ever need.

I had 2004 BMW 325i. Great car to drive, but it seemed like i was dropping $500+ every other month for maintenance. Got rid of it for my a new 2016 Fiesta ST. Aside from brake pads, tires, and axles, the car has been pretty much problem free. Im about to hit 101k and i drive the car HARD.


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[dhminer]

Fiesta all day. It will be more cost effective due to reliability. Always buy the newer lower mileage car if you’re talking about a daily driver. If it was a second vehicle, I’d say get the bmw. In 5 years/75k miles I’ve has zero unscheduled maintenance aside from the blend door actuator x2 that you’ll ready about on here.

 

[FiSTY]

I've never owned a BMW, but I have owned two FiSTs. Hands down the most fun I've had in a daily driver. For comparison, my other "fun" dailys have included:. 71 roadrunner restomod, 82 Toyota 4x4 Bajamod, 93 eclipse & 05 WRX both boyracermoded. All of them were faster than the FiST, but none were as fun.

All I can say is drive one.

 

[dhminer]

I've never owned a BMW, but I have owned two FiSTs. Hands down the most fun I've had in a daily driver. For comparison, my other "fun" dailys have included:. 71 roadrunner restomod, 82 Toyota 4x4 Bajamod, 93 eclipse & 05 WRX both boyracermoded. All of them were faster than the FiST, but none were as fun.

All I can say is drive one.

Couldn’t agree more. It’s the cheapest and slowest car I’ve owned (before the big turbo) but easily the most fun to drive, especially at road legal speeds.

 

[scooter123]

First google "BMW cost of maintenance after 100,000 miles". When you see the result you'll understand why used BMW's are so dirt cheap. You will also understand why I won't ever purchase a BMW or Mercedes, they are truly cars that you should have scrapped when they hit 100 K miles.

Second at about 120,000 miles on the Fist you are looking down the barrels of replacing two major drivetrain components. First is the timing belt on the engine, which I expect that a dealer will likely charge in excess of 1000 dollars to replace. Note, when replacing that timing belt it's a VERY SMART thing to replace the tensioner(s) at the same time. Next item is the Clutch. Note, do NOT get a high performance clutch thinking it will last longer because it will NOT. The high performance clutches are designed to insure they wont slip with a 400 hp engine providing power. As a result they can need replacing after 30K miles. Pay the price and get the correct Factory clutch for the ST along with a new dual mass flywheel and Slave Cylinder. I expect that the cost for the labor on replacing the clutch will run around 1000 dollars. Note, some will state that the timing belt and clutch should last 150,000 miles. It's probably true. However if that timing belt fails you will have to purchase a new Long Block, because your old engine will be totalled.

BTW, I have the official Ford Service Manual for the ST on a CD and replacing the timing belt requires the purchase of some specialty tools to lock the crankshaft and both camshafts into a specific position. I haven't priced these tools out but due to them having a Ford Part numbers I suspect that the total for these tools will likely be around 500 dollars. So it's possible that paying the dealer to replace the timing belt is actually less expensive than doing it yourself. Gone are the days when all you had to do when changing the timing chain or belt was to align a couple of marks, now we need specialty tools that cost $ $ $.

I'll also note that I've been working on cars and motorcycles since 1965. In that time one thing I have learned the Hard Way is that trying to cheap out or take short cuts ALWAYS ends up costing more than doing the job right the first time. After market clutches may be cheaper than factory but the service life will be 1/4 to 1/3 that of the Factory part. Same is true for Brake Pads. It doesn't matter if the auto shop states the parts have a lifetime warranty, when you pull that transmission to replace that "warrantied" clutch you'll understand completely why spending the money for the Factory clutch is a lot cheaper. It's also why when doing a clutch I'll replace parts like the slave cylinder that are still working well. Because it's a near guarantee that slave cylinder is near the end of it's service life so if you don't replace it you'll just end up pulling the transmission again for that part.

Finally, I agree with everyone else, 13K for that 2016 FiST is too much. If you want to start working on that dealer just ask if he has paperwork showing that the Timing Belt, Tensioner, Clutch, Flywheel, and Slave Cylinder have been replaced with OEM components. If he say's know then tell him that you will only pay 13K for that car once he's had those items replaced at a Ford Dealer using OEM parts. As it stands now I would not offer even a dime over 9000 dollars.

 

[Capri to ST]

I agree with the other people on here, a FiST is a great performance bargain, and quite cheap to maintain. I had a 2008 E90 M3 before I got my ST, and it was a great car, but very expensive to keep going. It would nickel and dime you with random electrical sensors and other small parts going out, except the nickels and dimes were $500 and $1,000. Getting a new battery cost about $600, because in addition to buying the expensive part you had to pay for an hour of dealer programming time to reprogram the car to the battery,as it was set up to charge more slowly when the battery was new and increase the charging rate as it aged. And this kind of thing went on and on.
The only thing about that car that was better than the ST was the incredible V8 engine, and you couldn't really use the performance without getting into license losing territory about 3 seconds after stomping on the gas. The ST is a great car to enjoy in normal driving situations.

 

[Bull Run]

Fiesta ST has a strong aftermarket support and it's easy to find new or used parts for repairs or performance upgrades. All the work I've done to it has been easier than expected so far.

 

[dhminer]

Fiesta ST has a strong aftermarket support and it's easy to find new or used parts for repairs or performance upgrades. All the work I've done to it has been easier than expected so far.

The only annoying thing I've done was getting the OEM downpipe out. What a bastard that was! Everything else including turbo swap has been a relative breeze.

 

[rallytaff]

Fiesta ST every time over a BMW! Like many have said, money pits!

 

[ptfire]

I had a 2012 BMW 335is for 3 years. It was 3 years old when I bought out the lease from my friend. I am 57 and owned many cars from many different manufacturers. That BMW was the most unreliable car I have ever owned.
I have strong reservations on ever owning g another BMW again.

 

[flbchbm]

BMW..... Big Money Waster
FiST, inexpensive to buy, maintain, repair, update, drive and insure.
Welcome to the machine.