I purchased a Ford Fiest Zetec-S from Hamer Ford, West Bromwich back in September 2000 for a total of £11,500 including two services, a years fully comp insurance and a three year Ford Warranty. Fitted out in Panther Black with a Grey/Red interior,I can still remember it as vividly as the day I picked it up at the height of the fuel crisis. So no free tank of petrol as I'd been promised and by the time the petrol strike was over the deal was done and Hamer Ford didn't want to know! Sad eh but welcome to the world of car sales. Having said that, I was given a generous £5500 part ex allowance on my year old Fiesta Zetec 1.4 so maybe I shouldn't grumble.

The thing I noticed immediatly on being handed the keys was the bigger key fob. Not much to worry about in one sense, but it was bigger for a reason . Full remote central locking which turned out to be a boon . Driving position was identical to the previous car with the driver being high up in front of a nice leather covered three-spoke steering wheel c/w an Airbag, a neat instrument cluster inc speedo and rev counter finished tastefully in black on a white background plus all the usual controls etc. Fitted as standard was a reasonable Ford 6000 Double Din sized CD player with a removable front panel (for security) and had a six-speaker system included. My car also had Air conditioning fitted-an extra which turned out to be a real life saver in the sweltering summer of 2001.

The interior was compact, with plenty of room in the front for a large adult like me. The front seats were bucket shaped in appearance and proved very comfortable on a long journey. Real space wasn't quite so good but I virtually never had passengers in the rear seats so it didn't matter so much.

Handling and gear change were also improved on the high standards experienced on the 1.4-so it proved exceptionally agile with a taut, sporty ride. The 5sp gearbox had been modified and had a closer ration than previous versions-more gear changing but better,sharper acceleration as a result.

Well almost, until mine suffered a major failure. I was accelerating to overtake a white pick-up track on St John's Ringway, Wolverhampton when I heard this almighty crash
as I attempted to change from 2nd into 3rd. Suddenly the gear change went limp and the car continued to move as if no gear was engaged-oh dear, I was in trouble. And it continued
to go until it came to rest at a very convenient place-outside Birmingham Rd Police Station. on with the hazards and out with the mobile. one call to the RAC (something else Ford had thrown in) and it was towed to Reg Vardy Ford on the Birmingham Rd, Wolverhampton. Trouble was I was now off the road for the weekend as Reg Vardy Ford were off till Monday and Ford UK were as well. A call from Reg Vardy informed me the clutch had failed. Failed? After 3,000 miles?... a manufacturing fault and i was entitled to an exchange by law. But Ford were a law unto themselves. I demanded an exchange but Ford refused as did Hamer Ford. After all my thud and bluster the thing I ended up with was a replacement clutch, no gestures NOTHING! The technical report Reg Vardy did indicated metal particles in the gearbox oil. So unless I did 7000 rpm and slammed it into 4th, I can't see how it could happen apart from a manufacturing fault. Possession is cetainly 9/10ths of the law.
Yove been warned. Another aspect of the Car industry....

Finally, I lived with that foible and had a £4000 car hifi install supplied by Bass Junkies in Wolverhampton-which sounded awesome as you would expect. I grew to love that car and drove it on every possible opportunity, kept it clean and serviced. In fact it was better looked after than some humans. But sadly personal circumstances were about to deal a cruel blow. I ended up selling the car in the vain attempt to keep my wife, but sadly it was already too late though I didn't know it. The car went and my wife followed in quick succession-the money going to pay off a loan she'd taken out for a previous capital purchase. The divorce papers followed and eventually I lost my house and almost my life.