Faults:

Water pump gave up at 180,000km ($200).

Throttle cable stretched and needed replacing at 200,000km ($80).

Radiator threw in the towel 230,000km ($200).

General Comments:

I bought this car for $5000 in 2003, owned it for 5 years and did about 70,000km in it. It was the 5th of 8 cars I've owned, and of those, it was by far the most reliable.

For a cost effective, reliable, cheap to run vehicle, it had grunt coming out its ears. A 0-100km/h girlfriend timed run of 7.9 seconds was proof enough, let only the fact it beat my weekend car to 100km/h, an AUII XR8 220 auto.

Plant the throttle in 2nd gear at 20km/h, and with only the slightest bit of lock on the steering wheel, it'd torch the inside tyre all the way to 90km/h. In 1st and 2nd gear, wheelspin was its default setting.

Engine, gearbox, steering, handling, brakes, air con, electrics and suspension all remained in great shape the entire 5 years I owned it. I wasn't the most careful owner of all time either, regularly dropping skids and taking it down dirt roads to see how long I could keep it sideways.

Of all the cars I've sold, this is the only one I'd want back, it was a gem. It ran perfect the day I bought it, and it ran perfect the day I sold it.

Faults:

Head gasket blew at 200,000.

Serviced alternator.

Had a new circuit breaker made for high beam.

General Comments:

This reliable old Falcon has served me well, the handling is great, from 60km/h the acceleration is awesome (bit slow from a stop). But I wasn't expecting to buy a sports car when I purchased this.

This makes a great P Plater car. Just do the regular maintenance, and this great Aussie car will give you no problems at all. I don't see why everyone runs them down!! They're great! Can't kill them. Maybe the people that run them down should actually drive them first! =)

Faults:

Replaced head at about 230,000 and 350,000 Kilometers.

Reconditioned gearbox at 450,000 Kilometers.

Replaced differential at 400,000 Kilometers.

Recovered the drivers side of the bench seat in 2008.

Had a minor engine fire in 2008.

Replaced radiator at about 200,000 Kilometers.

The car ran hot for the first 3 years I owned it; the dealership could not rectify problem through this whole period of time, even though the car was serviced as per log book and the amount of money paid to try and locate the problem, so I drove it accordingly and nursed it along.

Eventually I went to a radiator expert, and they replaced it. They said it was full of casting sand from when the engine was manufactured, it did weigh a ton, never looked back from there.

The cause of the fire was never really found; we assume it was either engine oil build up or a spray of hydraulic fluid on the hot manifold. The major damage was to the paintwork on the bonnet.

General Comments:

The car has surpassed any test I can throw at it, though I have always driven it conservatively, considering the payload I carry every day for its entire life. I am a tradesman, and the vehicle has been my mobile business carrying between 1 and 1.5 ton every day doing short distance runs, with the odd once or twice a year marathon 1000 kilometer drive between Ipswich and Charleville. I did have the rear suspension reset the very first day after I loaded her up, and she has sat true ever since.

My main criticism, though petty, but others have commented, is the amount of head room or lack of it, especially after driving a Station Wagon for many years.