Potential new owner

[Wiring3826]

Hello everyone! Our 2017 Impreza was recently totaled, so I've been shopping around for a fun replacement car. When we bought the Impreza, the spouse was fairly adamant about having the latest and greatest safety features (blind spot, collision avoidance, adaptive cruise, etc). So we got the Impreza w/ Eyesight package and (snoooooze) CVT. However with the car being totaled she is a little more open-minded about foregoing those features.

There are a few clean Fiesta STs near us, and I've always heard good things about these cars. Doing some reading on this forum, it seems like the engine and drivetrain are pretty reliable in stock form, with people easily getting to 150k miles. The main issues I've read about are:

• HVAC blend door - seems annoying, but not a deal breaker
• radiator cooling capacity - some have replaced with an aftermarket radiator, but maybe only pertinent to 2015 and prior, and/or people who heavily mod their cars?
• Cheap interior - can't complain too much since it's an econo hot hatch

I also found this buyer's guide thread, which all makes sense to me.

Any other major issues I should be aware of that didn't come up during my searches? I would want to purchase a 100% mechanically stock vehicle and would plan on leaving it that way, as I need this car to be a reliable daily driver.

 

[D1JL]

Dave

 

[akiraproject24]

Check the inner door seams and hatch seam up top, check the edge seams of the hood too. Look for signs of rust under the paint along all those seams. It's a common issue. I had it and while I was able to have Ford fix it, it's a pain in the ass.

I'll also add check the paint on the roof around the base of the antenna

 

[Wiring3826]

Check the inner door seams and hatch seam up top, check the edge seams of the hood too. Look for signs of rust under the paint along all those seams. It's a common issue. I had it and while I was able to have Ford fix it, it's a pain in the ass.

I'll also add check the paint on the roof around the base of the antenna

Thanks for the tip! Being in Minnesota rust is kind of hard to avoid. I try to undercoat my vehicles with some lanolin-based spray (Fluid Film or similar) to keep it at bay. I will look at these potential hot spots though.

 

[XanRules]

As you have sort of gathered, most of the issues with the ST are based in the fact that at the end of the day it's a tarted-up econobox and are largely "econobox problems" such as a rattly interior, poor quality paint, etc.

This thread reminds me that I need to redo the paint around my antenna.

Minus those kinds of issues, these cars are, in my experience, incredibly reliable as the motor and transmission are very stout and not anywhere near their limits from the factory. I have not had a single issue with mine in 60k other than needing to get the sunroof seals replaced twice in the first six months I owned it.

 

[Wiring3826]

As you have sort of gathered, most of the issues with the ST are based in the fact that at the end of the day it's a tarted-up econobox and are largely "econobox problems" such as a rattly interior, poor quality paint, etc.

This thread reminds me that I need to redo the paint around my antenna.

Minus those kinds of issues, these cars are, in my experience, incredibly reliable as the motor and transmission are very stout and not anywhere near their limits from the factory. I have not had a single issue with mine in 60k other than needing to get the sunroof seals replaced twice in the first six months I owned it.

Excellent, glad to hear. I can live with econobox as long as I don't have to constantly wrench on it!

 

[NATYPE]

Just thirding the specifics around checking for rust and corrosion issues. Anything else you can either ignore or address at your leisure. It's getting crazy hot here and I'm on the stock radiator. If it wasn't for my hot air intake cooling capacity wouldn't be a problem. It's still technically not, but in 95+ degree weather if I'm stationary and idling with AC on I'll creep up to 216 on coolant temp after about 20-30 minutes. In motion things stay absolutely fine for me. Have yet to have my blend door actuator go out on this Fiesta (18K miles so far) but it went on my previous 2015 Titanium (non ST). Where I ignored it for years before trading it in hahaa!

These are wonderfully cheap to maintain with an honestly good enough assortment of OEM parts and our aftermarket is also shockingly solid given how small our owner base is. Very, VERY happy I went this route.

The Recaro package plusses up the interior to the point it always gets compliments. If you want to really finish it out some custom work from RedlineGoods for a shift boot, center console armrest cover, and even door armrest covers would really complete it for a little bit of time and money invested. Have done the shift boot and armrest cover so far personally. There are aftermarket options for the reverse lockout as well if you're trying to fine tune fit and finish on touch points. I think our steering wheel is already perfect.

 

[Capri to ST]

It is based on an econobox, but I have found it to feel substantial, surprisingly enough. When I cruise at highway speeds it doesn't feel like a dinky little car.
As others have said, the cars have been quite reliable and sturdy. The engines are used virtually stock in the Formula Ford series, so the fact that it can be used in racing gives me some comfort level that it will be reliable on the street. Anecdotally, there are many people on here pushing up to 300 horsepower reliably, after that, you seem to be pushing it a little too far and things may start breaking, but that's a pretty good margin of safety.
There was an issue with the cylinder head on some cars from 2015 and before, which could cause coolant to leak and possibly catch on fire. The fix was somewhat of a Band-Aid, just a coolant level sensor. It appears that the problem was fixed after that with a new cylinder head which has a new part number. Because of that and because it has the newer Sync 3 system, I would recommend getting a 2016 or newer.
You have identified the main issue, the blend door actuators, which is annoying, but not a huge deal. This problem is not unique to our car or even to Fords. Some people have reported overheating with any of the model years, but many people have not had this problem, myself included, knock on wood and hope I don't jinx myself. That does seem to be more prevalent with heavily modified cars, mine's mechanically stock except for the factory approved tune which bumped up the power and torque some.
In summary, the cars are hell of a lot of fun and punch way above their weight. I would highly recommend them. They are also quite cheap to run, getting decent gas mileage even if you drive them hard, and parts are quite cheap. My previous car was an E90 BMW M3, and surprisingly I like this car better in almost every way, except interior quality, and when you're driving you're not looking at the interior you're just enjoying the car. You can also spiff up the interior a bit by getting the Recaro seats as @NATYPE said above. I love them, but make sure you try them first because they don't fit some people.
The M3 got about 12 or 13 mi per gallon, and was constantly nickel and diming me with random things like electrical sensors going out, except the nickels and dimes were $500 and $1,000. The only repairs I've had in 6 years on my ST are one blend door actuator, which happened after warranty and which I paid for myself, and the screen system went out on my Sync 3, which was replaced on warranty.
Good luck, hope to see you on here as an owner.

 

[Capri to ST]

Here's my favorite video to show prospective and new owners. This video shows that the car basically stock survives rally treatment, which is some of the roughest usage you can get. Enjoy

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kM1nkR8pkX4&list=FLur65YQuzud3gXqwZTZTrxQ&index=5

 

[Wiring3826]

Thanks everyone for the additional input, and that rally video is awesome! I rally crossed my Impreza and decided I needed to buy a beater car to truly race it, as I was constantly worried about the toll it was taking on the family car.

The other constraint I'm working with is that we have a very tall 5 year old in a forward facing booster/car seat. The couple threads I found on this forum seem to indicate it should be no problem for forward facing kids, but I guess we'll have to see the car in person to make sure.

 

[Wiring3826]

Well, test drove a 2016 FiST at a local used car dealership today. Car was kind of a mess - under inflated snow tires, interior stank and was dirty. Had some aftermarket BOV which sounds kinda cool but got annoying real fast. Despite all this, I really enjoyed driving it. Just going to wait for a cleaner example. Actually didn't find the Recaros all that uncomfortable. But I could see people not liking them for daily driving.

My question to you folks - how loud is the stock exhaust? This thing looked stock underneath but was much louder than I expected. My wife did not like the "look at me" aspect.

Oh, also test drove a FoST they had on the lot, and that transmission felt TERRIBLE compared to the FiST. Super long throw and clunky feel.

 

[Capri to ST]

Well, test drove a 2016 FiST at a local used car dealership today. Car was kind of a mess - under inflated snow tires, interior stank and was dirty. Had some aftermarket BOV which sounds kinda cool but got annoying real fast. Despite all this, I really enjoyed driving it. Just going to wait for a cleaner example. Actually didn't find the Recaros all that uncomfortable. But I could see people not liking them for daily driving.

My question to you folks - how loud is the stock exhaust? This thing looked stock underneath but was much louder than I expected. My wife did not like the "look at me" aspect.

Oh, also test drove a FoST they had on the lot, and that transmission felt TERRIBLE compared to the FiST. Super long throw and clunky feel.

The stock exhaust is not at all loud. It sounds like the one you drove either had an aftermarket exhaust, or if it was stock it was worn out pretty badly.

 

[Intuit]

I disabled my sound SymPOSER by plugging it.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00NUFRS0C/

Sounds like you're already pretty well researched.

So you know to look for mod-reversals.

Unfortunately there's no easy way to determine whether or not the stock programming has been altered.

 

[Wiring3826]

Ok good to hear, hopefully test driving a better example will help sway the wife.

I also read about the symposer delete and may look further into that if needed. Seems cheap and easy.

 

[ORANGEST]

Your mileage may vary... I removed my sound symposer and wasn't able to tell a difference whatsoever.

 

[Dpro]

Welcome I deleted my sound symposer and the car was too quite with stock exhaust there are some tasteful aftermarket exhausts that sound good and do not do so much of a look at me thing as well.

 

[Intuit]

I deleted my sound symposer and the car was too quiet

I should add, that I waited until I got used to the engine/trans and sounds before removal. At time of install I had had the vehicle for roughly eighteen months.
My previous was a five speed transmission SOHC engine. Due in part to the 6 gear trans where the one added gear was beneath the first, this engine ramps up pretty quick. So if you're not used to it, it's easy to over-rev the engine.

 

[Wiring3826]

Playing hooky from work on Friday to check out a 100% stock FiST. I have high hopes for this one... Friday can't come soon enough

 

[Wiring3826]

Requesting a price check:

2016 FiST, 60k miles, zero mechanical mods other than rims (includes OEM rims as well). No recaros (not a huge deal in my book, didn't love the feel of them). Added seat warmers, weathertech mats, backup cam, etc. Nice accessories that I would've done anyway, but doesn't necessarily add value. Very very clean from the photos, and owner seems like a responsible dude.

Asking price is $15k, and this is by far the nicest example I've seen in my area. Seem reasonable? Prices here seem to be all over the place, ranging from $9k for a salvage title to $19k for a 2016 w/ 40k miles. The clapped out example I test drove was $14k.

Sorry to keep bumping my own thread, but I figure that's better than starting new threads each time.

 

[NATYPE]

Requesting a price check:

2016 FiST, 60k miles, zero mechanical mods other than rims (includes OEM rims as well). No recaros (not a huge deal in my book, didn't love the feel of them). Added seat warmers, weathertech mats, backup cam, etc. Nice accessories that I would've done anyway, but doesn't necessarily add value. Very very clean from the photos, and owner seems like a responsible dude.

Asking price is $15k, and this is by far the nicest example I've seen in my area. Seem reasonable? Prices here seem to be all over the place, ranging from $9k for a salvage title to $19k for a 2016 w/ 40k miles. The clapped out example I test drove was $14k.

Sorry to keep bumping my own thread, but I figure that's better than starting new threads each time.

I feel like that's not bad. Especially if it seems clean / well kept. Definitely some nice added accessories.