Faults:

The car appears to go through Catalytic Converters at a faster than expected rate. In the 5 years that the car has been owned by my family, we have gone through 3 - this is much higher than normal. This costs in excess of £180 per throw.

The door skins have rusted very badly. A friend assures me that this is due to the fact that the car is a matt colour (white). Had it been a metallic finish, this wouldn't have occurred as the metallic finish has additional layers of lacquer on the paintwork.

The ball joints on the front wheels have worn and now make a really annoying clicking noise when on full lock. This problem is not too expensive to rectify and is not an MOT issue.

The drive shaft is on its way out - this is not too expensive to repair although is common on Escorts.

The steering rack is starting to show signs of excess 'play'. This would cost about £180 for a new one or about £80 for a good second hand replacement. This is an MOT issue.

General Comments:

This car has been dependable, reliable and simply did the job.

The great thing is that you can go out in the morning (including very cold and wet ones!) and the car will start and just get on with taking you from A to B.

It's a comfortable ride for up to 5 adults.

The car has power there for when you need it.

The car can go for a long time between servicing (this particular car has been serviced once a year/16,000 miles). Service costs are low (from independent garages and dealers) and parts are readily available and reasonably priced.

Many parts needed for this car can now be obtained second hand from scrap yards etc and are perfectly fine for most needs.

Fuel economy has always been very good although gets less efficient when approaching a service and as the car ages.

The interior is tough and shows no signs of wear even at this high mileage. The interior still looks modern and not at all dated.

The car has been a great servant - it just keeps going and going - no matter how much it is pushed, punished and neglected - it doesn't die!

Faults:

Heater matrix went at 71,000 miles.

Car pulls to one side.

Speedometer woefully inaccurate (says 10mph when flying down the motorway)

Cooling fan packed up causing car to overheat and boil over.

Central locking motors malfunctioned causing me to get locked out of my car on a freezing day.

Interior panels falling apart.

Lots of rust on the wheel arches.

Thermostat causing car to overheat.

Oil warning light constantly illuminated when plenty oil is in the car.

Oil leaking all over engine and black oil spurting out of exhaust.

Excessive vibrations at high and low speeds.

Engine idling erratically at 3000rpm, replaced automatic choke.

Engine would sometimes not start, problem never diagnosed.

Almost total loss of power at 100,00 miles.

Loud scraping noises coming from left front wheel.

Gearbox almost impossible to engage, 1st and 2nd finally packed in and gearbox finally broke completely.

Replaced gearbox and clutch at 109,000 miles.

Finally less than 1000 miles later engine engulfed in flames whilst driving on a hot day due to a leaking petrol pipe, (I was lucky to escape with minor burns)

General Comments:

This was my first and last ford.

The quality is woeful.

The handling is atrocious (too much over steer).

The reliablility is nothing short of a cruel joke.

The ride is like being inside a pneumatic drill.

The interior is plastic and cheap.

The seats are misshaped and leave your back aching.

Dump trucks can get better acceleration (although top speed was not too bad).

Massive lack of power, car almost goes back wards when on a steep hill.

All in all I found out one valuable lesson in this car 'never buy or accept a Ford' they make cheap cars that are cheaply made and cheaply built! I'm know going to give my hard earned cash to top quality like Toyota.