General Comments:

I absolutely loved this car, you can't go wrong with an Escort.

Three problems however, steering wheel needs to be re-aligned, the outside lock on the driver's side doesn't work, and there's a cassette player. It'll be taken care of ASAP. Other than that, it's very good in performance and gas mileage, and it has A/C. I filled it up, only to find out it overflowed. Oops...

I'm 16, and I love it, so much better than driving my grandaddy's Dodge Ram with no A/C.

Faults:

Rear defroster button does not work unless I hold it down. It's not really a big deal to me.

The clearcoat is peeling off the hood. I just tell everyone that the car is so fast, the paint rips off.

General Comments:

I found my Escort at a local car dealership for $900. The right front fender, right side of front bumper and part of the front passenger door were dented in. It sounds like a nasty picture, but it's minor. The steering wheel is off to the right just a little bit, but not enough for me to worry about. All tires are wearing evenly and there are no weird sounds from any tires.

The serpentine belt barely makes a sound. My mechanic said it's really nothing to worry about.

The air conditioning is freezing cold and very powerful. The heat is very good and my windows defrost in a matter of seconds.

On long distance trips, the seats can be a little uncomfortable due to the stiffness, so I just make a few rest stops along my journeys... nothing to complain about. This car gets incredible gas mileage so it makes up for the numb butt.

Although this is a compact car, there is a surprising amount of cabin/trunk space when the seats are folded down. I was able to fit my entire bedroom in this car and the boxspring and mattress on the roof.

Faults:

150,000 km; Alternator.

180,000 km; Timing belt, battery.

250,000 km; Engine oil pan gasket, struts, wheel bearings, tie rod ends, ball joints.

300,000 km; Alternator, timing belt, battery.

General Comments:

The 91-96 Ford Escort is by far the most reliable lowest cost of ownership of any car I have ever owned. I commute and use my car at work, so I put in excess of 40000 km/year. I have owned 2 Escorts, a 91 and a 95; both were over 320,000 km each and were still going strong.

If you replace the timing belt and alternator every 150,000 km, you should be able to drive trouble free.

Parts are cheap and easy to change. Good handling, and performance, great fuel mileage, inexpensive for tires and repairs, highly reliable.

I have owned imports (BMW, Toyota, Nissan, Mitsubishi) and domestics (GM, Chrysler, Ford), and can say that this Escort is the most reliable and lowest cost to own over the life of the vehicle, and it is a long life.

Faults:

Head/ head gasket issues not evident at the time of purchase. Car ran great for a week. Then it suddenly began idling rough upon start up and would steam out the tail pipe, but would never run hot. However I had to add a quart of coolant a week. But there was no coolant mixing with the oil, but the radiator would bubble.

My mechanic said it was probably a blown head gasket or cracked head, so I traded it in.

General Comments:

I think it would be a good car if not for the head/ gasket issues. It had plenty of power, good brakes and it got good gas mileage. Great handling too.