2009 Ford Fiesta 1.2L Petrol · BD09 AVJ

The 2009 Ford Fiesta passed its most recent MOT on 1 December 2023 at 117,303 miles, but the record reveals a maintenance pattern that is neither stable nor fully resolving. The December 2023 pass came with four advisories, including a corroded nearside front coil spring, a binding offside rear service brake, a minor front exhaust leak, and a perishing offside front tyre. These are not new isolated faults. The corroded coil spring first appeared in the July 2022 test at 115,430 miles and was still present eighteen months and nearly 2,000 miles later. The binding rear brake advisory also persisted from the same period. This indicates that known defects were monitored rather than repaired, a pattern that demands careful physical inspection before purchase. The mileage progression is broadly consistent with light-to-moderate use for a seventeen-year-old vehicle. Between the August 2021 pass at 110,913 miles and the December 2023 pass at 117,303 miles, the car covered approximately 6,390 miles over two years and four months, averaging roughly 2,800 miles annually in that window. That is lower than the overall lifetime average of around 6,900 miles per year, suggesting the car may have been used less intensively in recent years or possibly stood for periods. The record is complete with no significant gaps, and the mileage figures do not show any anomalies or rollback concerns. A buyer should focus the physical inspection on the front suspension and braking system, where the most concerning patterns appear. The nearside front coil spring corrosion has been flagged in two consecutive tests, and on a vehicle of this age, corrosion on load-bearing springs raises questions about the condition of the mating strut top mount and the structural integrity of the spring seat. The offside front suspension arm ball joint was excessively worn at the July 2022 failure at 115,427 miles, and while it passed in December 2023, the joint should be checked for play given the known history. Both front anti-roll bar linkages and the offside track rod end were also flagged as worn in the July 2021 failure at 110,849 miles, so the entire front-end steering and stabiliser assembly warrants a thorough check for clunking, uneven tyre wear, and vague steering feel. The binding offside rear service brake is a recurring concern that should not be dismissed. A binding caliper or handbrake mechanism can cause localised overheating, premature pad wear, and uneven braking effort. The minor front exhaust leak, noted in December 2023, may have worsened in the eighteen months since the last test, so the buyer should inspect the front pipe and manifold joint for soot staining and check exhaust emissions compliance. Tyre condition has been flagged multiple times, including a structural sidewall bulge in 2022 and perishing in 2023, suggesting basic consumable upkeep was inconsistent. A test drive should include a sustained brake application followed by a check for a hot offside rear wheel, and a full suspension bounce test and visual inspection of all visible metalwork for corrosion, particularly around the front spring towers and rear beam mounting points.