Faults:

Serpentine belt at 62,000 miles

Head gasket at 180,000 miles

General Comments:

This car has been extremely reliable.

It is a great car and excellent on gas mileage. I have got over 324,000 original 1 owner miles... and this is a great car.

They do not make Fords like the one I got with this 1995 Ford Escort LX sedan.

Faults:

The first engine had serious oil pressure issues. The previous owner had abused the engine so badly, I figured it to be worth replacing, instead of just buying a new car.

I removed the engine from a 1994 Mercury Tracer and installed it. It had around 80,000 miles. Now, the car runs like it was brand new.

Aside from these engine issues, nothing has gone wrong with the car.

General Comments:

For an 88 horsepower, 1.9 liter inline four cylinder, it has no trouble getting you somewhere in a hurry.

The stock stereo system is not the greatest in the world, but it works.

All around, this car would be good for any basic needs, such as weekly runs to Wal-Mart. If your back can withstand hard seats, then it'd be good for long-distance travel too.

Faults:

I purchased the car on Thursday of last week. it is Tuesday of the following week and the car has been cutting off since I bought it. The car dealer thought it was an airflow valve issue so that part was ordered and once it was installed it did not good. Now the ford dealer that the car lot took my wagon to says it is the intake gasket. So here I sit still with no transportation. I was very impressed with reviews I had read originally about mileage and reliability, but I am very frustrated.

General Comments:

I got rid of my trusty 1995 Beretta when I purchased the Ford Escort wagon and I am slowly regretting my choice. I think I will go with a Chevy in the future.

Faults:

I have replaced the entire exhaust twice, including the muffler.

I have replaced the alternator, battery and radiator twice as well.

I have replaced the brakes, rotors, brake pads and shoes.

I replaced the rear struts and coils.

It needed new lifts for the hatchback.

I put a new lock on the hatchback as well as the original one was jammed.

I have had a new transmission kit installed.

I have put two refurbished heaters into the dash. (New one's are no longer available)

I have also put in another few hundred dollars worth of hoses and belts into this car.

General Comments:

The car is cheap looking. It has rust over the wheels, which seems to be a common problem with this car.

It has tremendous power for such a small engine. I can pass newer/larger cars with ease. It also picks up speed really well.

It is obviously not the coolest car out there, but it was a great starter-car for me and never failed me on long trips.

Faults:

The horn stopped working at about 200,000 miles.

The valve seats fell out of the number 1 and 3 cylinders at about 243,000 miles.

The cable control for the air vents in the dash broke at about 200,000 miles. You had to reach under the dash to control the vents.

The parking brake started sticking at about 243,000 miles.

General Comments:

As you can see, this car lasted for a very long time before anything serious went wrong with it. I acquired the car free of charge at 243,000 miles because of the problem with the valve seats. After that and the other couple of problems were fixed, it ran wonderfully. Because it was so small, it handled well; which was good because with a 1.9 litre engine you don't have much as far as power is concerned. How does 88 horsepower grab you? That little car was great and had no problem taking a full load of people all over town. It was really easy on the fuel tank too. I sold the car a few months after I fixed it, and even though I made a profit, I regret letting that little guy go. I was certainly a car of character.