The Fiesta was the UK's favourite car for many years and yet it seems to have something of a poor reputation here in Thailand. I wonder if it was all Fiestas or just certain years/models that were not good but certainly by comparison with other similar cars they are quite a bit cheaper second-hand. I am also wondering if the same is true of the Focus.

I should be grateful to know the story behind all of this from anyone who knows.

I see someone in the village whose had a fiesta for 5 years or more, seen a few Focus's about on the road they seem to be a rare buy in our neck of the woods difficult to get any feedback, unless you google it. 

 

If you're looking secondhand cars I'd stick with a Toyota or a Honda. 

Ford gave up selling their normal passanger vehicles in Thailand a few years ago. They had serious quality issues. My friend had a Focus and had to get the gearbox I think it was fixed twice. Not fun. There's a reason why they dropped in second hand resell value so much.

 

Stick with any of the japanese in Thailand and save yourself some headache.

The Focus is a bigger version of the Fiesta. Ford in Thailand has a reputation for throwing its customers under a bus, and the brand didn't get the soubriquet Fix Or Repair Daily by chance.

The big problem was with the DCT - Dual Clutch transmission.

If you can find - if they even made - one with a manual gearbox you will avoid all that bother.

Parts supply for normal maintenance items should be OK for the foreseeable - body panels, etc maybe not so much.

Fiesta powershift gear (also in later model of Focus available in Thailand) problem is unfixable, there were a big class action lawsuit

Ford Thailand just extend the warranty another couple of years, by which if it fails again the customer is SOL

 

Mazda 2 and 3 are essentially same enough without the problem bits (but plenty of problems of their own for fuel pumps and the diesel which is another can of worms)

The pre 2011 Focus has a normal torque convertor gearbox and is a pleasure to drive.

I bought a new Focus S in 2013. Fantastic car. 

 

I kept reading about other owners having problems. I had none.

 

Sold it in 2019. Somebody got a very cheap, very nice car.

Fiesta is no longer being made in 2023 

A friend of mine had a fiesta for years here with no issues,  obviously he didn't get a lemon.

2 hours ago, digbeth said:

Mazda 2 and 3 are essentially same enough without the problem bits (but plenty of problems of their own for fuel pumps and the diesel which is another can of worms)

Where did you get that information?

 

I bought a Mazda 3 in 2009 and just sold it a year ago with nearly 300k km on it. Kept up with mfg recommended maintenance. Only costly issue was the front two cv joints being replaced. 

 

I was extremely satisfied with that purchase. 

 

Had a few Ford Focuses that wanted to see if they could keep up with me but didn't have a chance.

 

FORD (Found On Road Dead) 

16 minutes ago, dingdongrb said:

Where did you get that information?

 

I bought a Mazda 3 in 2009 and just sold it a year ago with nearly 300k km on it. Kept up with mfg recommended maintenance. Only costly issue was the front two cv joints being replaced. 

 

I was extremely satisfied with that purchase. 

 

Had a few Ford Focuses that wanted to see if they could keep up with me but didn't have a chance.

 

FORD (Found On Road Dead) 

Mazda fuel pump is an issue for cars from around 2017 onwards, big recall worldwide but only years after the issue has surfaced

Missus had a Fiesta and I can safely say, stay away from it. Felt like it was a toy car. High fuel consumption, gear problems, flimsy internal parts, expensive repairs, got rusty here and there, just to mention a few. 

1 hour ago, steven100 said:

A neat little run around....   I’m tempted to get something like that as second car... 

A good Plan C... the Wife mostly uses the car and when I can’t (don’t want to) use the motorbike (rain etc) something small and cheap would be a good option...  

 

 

 

 

 

3 hours ago, digbeth said:

but plenty of problems of their own for fuel pumps and the diesel which is another can of worms

please elaborate

  

52 minutes ago, digbeth said:

Mazda fuel pump is an issue for cars from around 2017 onwards, big recall worldwide but only years after the issue has surfaced

ah, got it, thanks.

All Fiestas in Thailand have powershift DPS6 DCT gearbox, better stay out esp now when warranty end time even for latest models is coming due soon. At least I would. 

 

Focus pre-2012 and about 2015 onwards (with new face and 1.5 turbo engine instead of the 2.0L) is with torque converter that's OK. 2015 kind of like a bug fix facelift  - unfortunately not many sold here as reputation for the model gone with the 2012 powershift disaster. If you want to learn more about the worldwide issue, just google Ford powershift recall or problem.

 

I have 2013 foxus S I bought cheap 2nd hand early 2017 with about 50km in odo at the time, driven about 30k since. Great car to drive and so far lucky without trans/clutch or any other major issues, other than the free software update. Engine and trans mounts are the other weak spot, mine were shot when bought and replaced right a way, since that OK.

 

Ex Gf has fiesta 2012. Trans control unit failed, luckily few months before warranty expiry. Also, some plastic cooling system part failed resulting to water out and conseuqent full engine job costing 20+k baht overall.

 

I would not buy powershift equipped ford now in any possible scenario even if like my car. But likely to keep mine as long as it works ok.

 

But 2015- focus I would consider. Issue is limited quantities in market and spare parts price/availability concerns due to that

 

Get a Mazda, 2 or 3 about same car with Fiesta/Focus without trans issues and spare parts concerns, looks of course matter of taste. Mazda does not use CVT either unlike most new small cheap japanese sedans do.

 

On 11/29/2022 at 4:45 PM, richard_smith237 said:

A neat little run around....   I’m tempted to get something like that as second car... 

A good Plan C... the Wife mostly uses the car and when I can’t (don’t want to) use the motorbike (rain etc) something small and cheap would be a good option...  

 

 

 

 

 

exactly ... imo ,  if I was looking for something cheap and nice , I would be buy this in a heartbeat ....  geeze....   198k  .... what else do you get for that?

On 11/29/2022 at 4:45 PM, richard_smith237 said:

A neat little run around....   I’m tempted to get something like that as second car... 

A good Plan C... the Wife mostly uses the car and when I can’t (don’t want to) use the motorbike (rain etc) something small and cheap would be a good option...  

 

 

 

 

 

Better off with a Suzuki Swift IMO.  You could get them with a manual gearbox until 2018.

 

Or even a Nissan March if you don't like driving and just want a tin box to keep the rain off your head.

 

The Ford Powershift transmission tends to be a money pit.

I am so tempted to but a new Ford Raptor or maybe Wildtrak but i also have this little niggle in the back of my head and i am sure if the gearbox were to sh7t itself i already would be thinking why i had not gone with my instinct.

14 hours ago, kwak250 said:

I am so tempted to but a new Ford Raptor or maybe Wildtrak but i also have this little niggle in the back of my head and i am sure if the gearbox were to sh7t itself i already would be thinking why i had not gone with my instinct.

 

Ranger gearbox nothing to do with powershift, it is conventional torque converter trans. I'm not aware of any major issues with any other Ford gearbox than the DPS6 that was put to use before development and verification properly completed. 

 

The Jatco-made  CVT gearboxes most japanese now use in their compacts now is another thing I would not touch even with a stick... 

 

 

1 hour ago, mran66 said:

 

Ranger gearbox nothing to do with powershift, it is conventional torque converter trans. I'm not aware of any major issues with any other Ford gearbox than the DPS6 that was put to use before development and verification properly completed. 

 

The Jatco-made  CVT gearboxes most japanese now use in their compacts now is another thing I would not touch even with a stick... 

 

 

I often see people on fb with problems with ranger gearbox and transmissions.

 

Maybe the new ones are sorted but still really do not want to risk it I will wait for a couple of years.

 

own a fiesta ecoboost, great to drive but not great, lots of issues,
biggest problem though was ford staff, they seem to employ the best of them
we stopped going back to ford, after they told us the water coolant tank is leaking and needs to be replaced for a third time
buy something else
Service at Mitsu is another level compared to Ford

1 hour ago, mran66 said:

I'm not aware of any major issues with any other Ford gearbox than the DPS6 that was put to use before development and verification properly completed.

Google Ford 10 speed auto problems.

Is a class action lawsuit and a recall of over 47,000 not major issues ?

16 minutes ago, kwak250 said:

I often see people on fb with problems with ranger gearbox and transmissions.

 

Maybe the new ones are sorted but still really do not want to risk it I will wait for a couple of years.

 

Oh okay, have to admit I really dont now much abou that, just that the T6 ranger (that I was considering to buy in 2016-7)  used the 6-speed auto that was licensed copy of ZF 6HP26 that is good trans widely used in euro and US cars (and also have Aisin copy for Japanese)

 

Newer 10 speed I think some kind of joint job with GM, not aware of details nor possible relation to 6HP26 or issues of it.

6 minutes ago, seedy said:

Google Ford 10 speed auto problems.

Is a class action lawsuit and a recall of over 47,000 not major issues ?

okay seems like a powershift dejavu! 

 

anyway I not followed this trans at all, but all too familiar with powershift...

I used to quite like the look of the Ford Ranger until I took a drive in one.

 

When I tried to open the door the door handle came away in my hand. 

 

It is made of plastic and had broken.  That was a Ranger maybe two or three years old.

2 hours ago, In the jungle said:

I used to quite like the look of the Ford Ranger until I took a drive in one.

 

When I tried to open the door the door handle came away in my hand. 

 

It is made of plastic and had broken.  That was a Ranger maybe two or three years old.

OK then....

3 hours ago, mran66 said:

okay seems like a powershift dejavu! 

 

anyway I not followed this trans at all, but all too familiar with powershift...

Yeah, right..

Not even close.

Those initially troubled 10-speeds were extensively reworked since then.

Mostly programming.

Besides it is extremely difficult to optimize  any 10-speed transmission where heavy towing is involved.

Ford had to start somewhere when they decided to introduce it to the truck market.

I don't know if it was a right decision on their part to make it available on the Australian and US markets.

I think they took a big risk and got exposed to a class action suit in the US but in return obtained a lot of real world experience and data that was necessary to make appropriate changes.

The current generation should be much more reliable when towing.

And if you don't tow then it shouldn't be even an issue.

btw, the most Rangers in Thailand are equipped with the proven 6-speed ZF derivative.

2 hours ago, In the jungle said:

I used to quite like the look of the Ford Ranger until I took a drive in one.

 

When I tried to open the door the door handle came away in my hand. 

 

It is made of plastic and had broken.  That was a Ranger maybe two or three years old.

Get a new handle. ????