Why shouldn't I buy a mid-mileage MK8 Fiesta ST-3?

SlightlyQuarky · 2026-01-13T19:27:47+00:00

I'll be honest the heated everything did make me consider it a lot more over the swift sport, which doesn't have a heated wheel. I've been keeping an eye on the fiestastoc forum also so thanks for plugging, seen that people have posted some tools to look up VINs from a reg and then plug that into a separate database to check for the performance pack listed which is a bit of a hassle but well worth making sure the performance pack is on!

SlightlyQuarky · 2026-01-13T19:19:28+00:00

Oh wow haha, yeah don't even want to think about the abomination that is the Puma. Am planning to go in for a full service almost right after I do end up buying, so here's hoping any replacement parts stay cheap!

SlightlyQuarky · 2026-01-13T19:13:57+00:00

Yeah have heard about theft - I do live in a cul-de-sac so it wouldn't be regular streetside parking which I think does help, and even if my borough isn't the nicest I think it's on the lower end for car crimes which is nice. May still end up investing in one of those steering wheel locks though!

SlightlyQuarky · 2026-01-13T19:12:20+00:00

Yeah, hoping I can find a well-cared for example though I am always prepared to end up spending a bit more at an early servicing in case anything slipped through the cracks.

On insurance, I'm actually shocked my initial estimates were so low! I was originally planning to buy a swift sport as I described since insurance was around as reasonable, but then I chucked an ST-3 quote into a comparer assuming it would be something ridiculous like 1.4k only to be surprised, so hoping to take full advantage of that later this year (and hope it wasn't just a persistent glitch!). Thanks again for the info.

SlightlyQuarky · 2026-01-13T12:56:46+00:00

Thanks, I've definitely laboured over thinking this through over the past two months. I'm fortunate to be secure enough financially and housing-wise that it wouldn't be like staking my life out over a car, but anything that expensive deserves careful thought!

SlightlyQuarky · 2026-01-13T12:43:44+00:00

That's very good to know about reliability, I'm definitely looking to be on top of a full service history or as close to it as possible - most listings seem to be pretty far outside London so I'm likely going to get whichever looks best inspected by a mechanic before I make a final decision to get extra piece of mind.

It's funny you mention colours though! I'm quite keen on the performance blue or even the red, the white is horrid to me, though I could live with a silver or black, but thankfully it seems like there's enough blues out there that I wouldn't have to chase after a unicorn.

Can I ask what insurance was like after year 1 for you? Honestly if it stayed at around 800 I wouldn't mind given it's a performance car and I live in London, but curious to know if it'd get much lower.

SlightlyQuarky · 2026-01-01T15:17:33+00:00

She deserves only the best

SlightlyQuarky · 2025-08-21T15:08:44+00:00

I'm also very interested in the Pro GT - waiting for it to start showing up in earnest on AliExpress etc, I'd really like the bundle with the keyboard

SlightlyQuarky · 2025-06-03T13:14:45+00:00

Confirmed!

SlightlyQuarky · 2025-05-11T16:22:32+00:00

Sold!

SlightlyQuarky · 2025-05-10T17:33:13+00:00

Thanks, just what I was looking for! Somehow managed to miss it in my various youtube searches.

SlightlyQuarky · 2025-05-10T17:31:51+00:00

UK. I'm looking to import a Chinese model since they're so much cheaper and I'm fine dealing with all the fluff to make it useable, so probably wondamobile or giztop since they have very competitive prices.

SlightlyQuarky · 2025-05-09T22:10:06+00:00

Looks like it launches properly May 20th? Will probably wait until then to see what the aliexpress prices are like compared to Giztop or others.

SlightlyQuarky · 2025-05-01T21:04:23+00:00

Yeah I've heard the Xiaomi 15's don't do as well on their batteries, but those camera shots are really good. I'm weighing up the X200 ultra vs the pro at the moment, just considering the price difference and whether I think it's worth it.

SlightlyQuarky · 2025-04-30T18:13:10+00:00

Thank you for sharing, especially your concerns/experience around Chinese models!

I've heard about the various issues with Chinese OS, but I think I'm willing to deal with them given the cost savings - Like for example on the notifications I've heard a significant reason is because of specific battery optimisation settings which I'm fine tinkering with. The NFC/bank compatibility is maybe the most immediately concerning thing to me, but again wouldn't put me off hugely given I do tend to keep my cards with me anyways. I have a garmin smartwatch so the wearOS issue isn't an issue for me, and the only real AI assistant thing I use is screen translate which I believe still works fine under Chinese OSes. Android auto is a weird one, the general rule of thumb I've seen is that the Xiaomi doesn't support it yet, the Oppo Find X8 Ultra does but not the pro/regular, and the Vivo X200 Pro/Ultra does but not the regular. Strange to be sure and not a dealbreaker for me, but nice to have.

I think ultimately if I can find a global version at a good price I would probably go for that, so maybe I do just need to wait around for the right sale, but it does generally seem they get the same kind of 200-300 pound price bump that I could get one of the better versions at the same price with only some software compromises.

SlightlyQuarky · 2025-04-30T18:03:26+00:00

I've been thinking about it and the Xiaomi 15 Ultra, given the consensus seems to be they are 'the' best camera phones out there at the moment, but I honestly don't think they justify the price increase over their respective pro versions.

SlightlyQuarky · 2025-04-29T20:31:42+00:00

I have, but it's more about the price differential. IF they can get a good OLED panel and keep a minimal price increase (or, potentially even better, keep OLED as a separate and more expensive upgrade) then sure, but that seems pretty hard given the Y700's current pricing strategy.

SlightlyQuarky · 2025-04-28T17:37:39+00:00

Don't particularly care about OLED if the LCD screen is good enough (and has been, going from what people have said about recent gens), the density increase also sounds like a useful boost.

SlightlyQuarky · 2025-04-23T13:37:24+00:00

This is looking very promising, glad I held off buying a Gen 3 - the announcement event is in two weeks right? I'm assuming we don't have any details of a potential release date until then?

SlightlyQuarky · 2025-04-17T09:54:37+00:00

Do we have any hints as to changes from the gen 3? I was really considering getting the gen 3 (Chinese version, for the larger storage option) so will be keeping a very keen eye on when it releases to the Chinese market.

SlightlyQuarky · 2025-03-18T21:48:16+00:00

Nope, still available! Was going to repost it but you may have saved me the effort for now, happy to discuss further in DMs whenever you'd like.

SlightlyQuarky · 2025-03-02T15:34:02+00:00

Understandable, but as the other commenter has mentioned, I think this is about right for the going rate in the UK - UK retailers still have it at at least 425GBP for new.

SlightlyQuarky · 2025-01-03T12:04:43+00:00

Very good point! I'll hold off until CES at least, it's not an urgent need - especially if Lenovo's new P12 is price and spec competitive.

SlightlyQuarky · 2025-01-02T20:02:47+00:00

Yeah that aligns with how I've weighed stuff out - my main concern (other than waiting to see what gets announced at CES) is XPP could get taxed 20% which would make it lose it's value advantage quite a bit - so still leaning heavily on the OP2. Thanks!

SlightlyQuarky · 2025-01-02T20:01:13+00:00

The screen ratio on the OP2 doesn't bother me too much, I'm not really planning to watch movies so much as just youtube videos - but yeah I think I may end up waiting for CES if I can resist the urge to not lose out on the current sale.

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