Faults:

Warped front disks. Fixed by a garage for minimal cost - one caliper bracket was found to be broken at this time and was replaced with one from a scrap yard.

Rusty sills needed welding for MOT.

Upper alternator bracket sheared off at ~150k miles replaced with one from a scrap yard. Access to the bracket mounting bolt necessitated fuel injection pump removal and hence was ~£100 job for the garage to do.

General Comments:

Interior very basic for a modern car.

Very noisy engine, especially when idling and cold.

Forget about overtaking, performance is abysmal.

BUT outstanding cheap motoring, phenomenal 60+ mpg achieved with steady cruising on A roads. (Much cheaper to run than my current Mondeo TD)

Faults:

This car has been excellent from day one.

Apart from the alternator wearing out at 100,000 miles, which only cost £35 for a new one, the only things I have had to replace are regular service items such as tires, exhaust and brake pads.

General Comments:

For a 1.3, this car is fairly quick at accelerating clocking in at 12 second 0-60 mph.

The interior is still in immaculate condition.

Keep up regular servicing, and this car will prove to be really reliable. I have drove this car huge distances with no hassle and a comfortable ride.

All in all a great buy for £100!!

Faults:

Just a general service kept this brilliant car out of trouble.

Alternator at 106,000.

New exhaust and gearbox seals, ignition modules at about 105,000.

Cheap to do all of that.

General Comments:

Absolutely stunning car for performance and looks; all round brilliant.

It's true about the Escort bug, once you drive one for a few miles, you will never be without one.

I got the bug, and I'm pleased to say I still have it.

I bought this XR3i, and fell in love with it, until someone made me a huge offer on it that I couldn't resist, but now deeply regret, and would pay the world to get it back.

Faults:

The tappets were making a right racket! The engine sounded like a sewing machine! I adjusted the tappets so they didn't hit as hard and then problem 2 started:

The valve seals went. The car started drinking fuel. When the car was running in the power band and above, loads of choking smoke belched from the exhaust.

The car only fires on 3 cylinders when it is started on a cold morning and takes 3-6 minutes for the fourth to kick in.

Car failed to start for no apparent reason one day. A week later I bought some Easy Start and that got it going, after I cleaned all of the plugs.

General Comments:

The car always has a 'feel' that it's about to break down. I don't trust it as far as I could power slide it; and with the power on it, that's not very far at all.

This car is not very powerful at all, and I mean for a 1.3! I nearly fried the clutch towing my Renault 11 up a slight hill. The acceleration is poor.

The 4-speed gearbox is quite annoying because the car needs a fifth gear to cruise, which makes the fuel economy poor.

Faults:

It has leaked water.

Gearchange not too smooth.

Engine mounting broke at 97,000 miles.

Exhaust very smoky on start up.

General Comments:

This is a car that doesn't do anything too well or too badly. It has been very well maintained from new and I am trying my best to keep it in tip top condition. The ride is not too good and it is a little cramped inside. the gearchange is really odd, as it big breaks in between the ratios. I. e the revs drop dramatically on changing into 2nd gear thus losing power.

It is cheap to run and always starts well. The performance is brisk in first gear and then mediocre in 2nd and 3rd.