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Isnt this the Prince engine as fitted to the Mini ? if it is, its got a chain not a belt. not uncommon to wear prematurely.
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Ah okay. Yes I think this engine has the chain after looking into it.
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My wife gets a Motability car which we keep for 3 years. Its coming up for time to change and when I checked the miles the other day I discovered we'd only covered around 8200 in the last (nearly) 3 years.
I don't think it is that uncommon, and TBH, I have seen plenty of cars with way less miles (per annum) than the DS3.
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Fair point! I was thinking it might have been low miles due to issues keeping it off the road but there are plenty of other genuine reasons like you say.
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Isnt this the Prince engine as fitted to the Mini ? if it is, its got a chain not a belt. not uncommon to wear prematurely.
Yup, pretty notorious for timing chain failures, among other things. These have a pretty awful reputation, be it in a Mini, Peugeot or a Citroen. It failed its last Mot in November because of an engine management light and it has done only 2 miles since. I suspect there’s a problem a lurking and the last owner got shot of it. Likely the current Mot was achieved thanks to the warning light being reset rather than said fault being repaired, you wouldn’t spend a load of money on a car then trade it in. The Mot history is a pretty horrid tale of neglect too for such a low mileage car. Plenty of wear on that driver seat side bolster and the rear bumper has been painted by a blind man.
These are quite good to drive though, but you run the risk of losing the full £6k investment if that engine sticks to form and explodes. A good 1.25/1.4 Fiesta or a Suzuki Swift would offer less go but just as much fun in the twists, a nicer gearbox and vastly superior reliability.
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Thanks for the insight. I think you could be right about a lurking fault looking at that MOT history. Might be too much of a risk for me.. I may be blind too though because I can't see what's wrong with the rear bumper? Hard to tell from the pictures but it seems okay?
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Thanks for the insight. I think you could be right about a lurking fault looking at that MOT history. Might be too much of a risk for me.. I may be blind too though because I can't see what's wrong with the rear bumper? Hard to tell from the pictures but it seems okay?
Maybe just weird reflections in it? The Prince engines are quite notorious.
People here will be happy to find other options for you.. Is your budget 6k and you're in the North East?
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Yeah the more I read into these engines the more worried I get lol. I'd certainly welcome recommendations :) Yes Middlesbrough area. I can stretch to 10k but it is hard to find anything that can accelerate to 60 in under 8 seconds with that budget (that isn't really old or decrepit). I was considering stretching for a Fiesta ST I found that was just under 11k. I think these cars are pretty well loved. Has a full service history too and seems to have been looked after. www.motors.co.uk/car-66934421/?i=8&m=sr
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This any good?
www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202301153273550?a...3
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Oh I do like the Leon Fr's but that mileage would be concerning for me. I would assume once you get around the 100k milestone things just start failing and need replacing/fixing.
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Oh I do like the Leon Fr's but that mileage would be concerning for me. I would assume once you get around the 100k milestone things just start failing and need replacing/fixing.
Not necessarily, if the car has been maintained properly. That's why you ask to see the service history, and the MoT history helps too. But as you are looking for a sporty car, that means it may have been used at face value, as it were, so you have to be more careful than an everyday punter.
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Oh I do like the Leon Fr's but that mileage would be concerning for me. I would assume once you get around the 100k milestone things just start failing and need replacing/fixing.
Not necessarily, if the car has been maintained properly. That's why you ask to see the service history, and the MoT history helps too. But as you are looking for a sporty car, that means it may have been used at face value, as it were, so you have to be more careful than an everyday punter.
It looks like it did a lot of miles in one year, so may have had an easy motorway commute
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Fiesta is a great car , but not with that engine . The 1.6 ecoboost engines are prone to overheating with resulting fractures in the cylinder liners . Design of the water jacket causes inadequate heat dissipation.
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Using the postcode of where the DS3 is, I had a quick look on Autotrader for possible alternatives to too far away and found this one owner Mazda 3 2.0 Sport in Leeds. Not as quick as the DS3 having slightly less power, being slightly bigger and not being a turbo. But there should be no reliability concerns with it, just check for underbody rust.
202304056005063
There are also a few Corsa VXR's within a reasonable distance. I know they have a reputation for being a boy racer's car, but I believe they are pretty reliable (if the car in question hasn't been thrashed to within an inch of its life!). The ride is supposedly pretty hard, but might be worth a test drive to see how you find it (I've had a couple of cars over the years which have been described as having a harsh ride, but I've found fine). This one in Morpeth caught my eye as it looks pretty mint going by the pics,
202205035306721
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Yeah the more I read into these engines the more worried I get lol. I'd certainly welcome recommendations :) Yes Middlesbrough area. I can stretch to 10k but it is hard to find anything that can accelerate to 60 in under 8 seconds with that budget (that isn't really old or decrepit). I was considering stretching for a Fiesta ST I found that was just under 11k. I think these cars are pretty well loved. Has a full service history too and seems to have been looked after. www.motors.co.uk/car-66934421/?i=8&m=sr
I'm curious to know why you need 0 - 60 in under 8 seconds.
Do you go drag-racing at Santa Pod, or just like to beat everyone away from traffic lights?
Remember that quoted 0 - 60 times may be based on runs by testers who don't pay for tyres, clutches or transmission repairs.
Edited by galileo on 12/05/2023 at 11:39
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Yeah the more I read into these engines the more worried I get lol. I'd certainly welcome recommendations :) Yes Middlesbrough area. I can stretch to 10k but it is hard to find anything that can accelerate to 60 in under 8 seconds with that budget (that isn't really old or decrepit). I was considering stretching for a Fiesta ST I found that was just under 11k. I think these cars are pretty well loved. Has a full service history too and seems to have been looked after. www.motors.co.uk/car-66934421/?i=8&m=sr
I'm curious to know why you need 0 - 60 in under 8 seconds.
Do you go drag-racing at Santa Pod, or just like to beat everyone away from traffic lights?
Remember that quoted 0 - 60 times may be based on runs by testers who don't pay for tyres, clutches or transmission repairs.
Didn't actually notice the 8 second 0-60 thing when I linked the Mazda!.
I do also find it odd when folk focus on that particular measurement. If you think about it, how often does anyone accelerate from a standstill to 60mph or more, as fast as the car will go, in everyday circumstances?. Never, or at least hardly ever, so not a very relevant figure. Unless you are always thrashing the car, the torque figure and power to weight ratio are much more indicative of how lively a car is going to feel on the road.
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Thanks for the input guys. I guess I just like cars with some punch so I can have a bit of fun now and then. I shopped around a bit more and decided to go with a 2014 1.6 Fiesta ST-3 that I found near me with full ford service history and good MOT history. Only 47k miles. Was rapid and really fun to drive so I just couldn't resist. Picking it up next week!
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