The finest a to b car in the real world
Nothing.
This car has been thrashed from new, it comes back for more.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 3rd May, 2002
Get an Astra or Vectra... cheaper and better
What didn't??
Major electrical faults, led to me being locked out in a car park, and breaking down on the M6. Almost leading to severe overheating of the engine due to the fan not working.
Boot hinge rattles.
Noisy heater.
Squeaky rattly seats.
New shock absorbers.
New suspension struts.
Strange knocking noise from the wheel area on the driver's side (Ford says non existent? So I'm a liar!).
Air conditioning failure.
Boot release failure.
Faulty alarm.
Broken stereo.
This car drinks petrol for fun, seems like Ford have fitted the car with a Granada engine, simply too expensive to run in Britain, maybe OK to run in America where petrol is 20p a litre, but here at 76p a litre it's a no go.
The build quality of this car is appalling, so many things have gone wrong for me which maybe a one off, but the build quality is still tacky and very plastic orientated in the interior. For me it's summed up by the CD player, where half the buttons fell off, then the replacement won't work in the cold. Shocking.
The interior is dull, the exterior is nothing out of the ordinary, in fact once you get used to the car it looks pretty stupid. The seats appear to be made from the same materials as the ones in the Ford Transit (i.e incredibly uncomfortable, especially when travelling for long distance like I frequently do), and the plastic dash could have been lifted straight from an Escort van.
The reliability leaves a lot to be desired, I don't expect a lot from a cheap car, but I expect to visit the dealer only once every 4 months or so, not every week.
The dealers really do not care once you have left the showroom and they have their commission. Many dealers are poor, but Ford have to be the worst I have ever had to deal with.
It is a shame Ford have to make this car because with nicer seats, it would be a pleasure to drive when it is working properly.
I have dealt with many car companies over the past ten years, and I have owned 3 Fords, all of which leave a lot to be desired. I drive many miles each year due to my rep job, but this car has only done half of them this year, hire cars did the rest. I now will not use Ford Dealers again to service my car, I will use Vauxhall as they seem to have got the car working OK and are polite about it as well.
I will make sure I never use Ford again. My N-reg Cavalier did 178000 miles virtually trouble free and was still going when the cars were replaced, my advice - if you have to buy a cheap car, buy a Vauxhall not a Ford. Vauxhall are cheaper, more comfortable, soundly built, and so much more cheap to run with the Ecotec engines.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No
Review Date: 9th September, 2001
I am the current owner of MK4 Astra 1.7 turbo diesel (1999) and I wouldn't recommend buying an Astra again as the one I has many faults - I had to get the air flow meter replaced which is a common fault in MK4 Astras ,also they tend to use a lot of oil.
There is periods were my Astra will blow lots of headlamp bulbs and the rest of time she will be OK - an intermittent problem.
Seats are not very comfortable.
Its only number one because it is a fleet car.
But the Astra is also a fleet car!! The Focus won the German awards for used car reliability. Has any Vauxhall won it? Nope.
My Dad has had his focus for almost 5 years and has provided him with continued trouble free motoring. A friend of mine has had an astra for about the same time and has not had any problems either. Both the cars are serviced by the main dealers and are well looked after. Maybe its just the way the cars get driven. Maybe if you drive your car really hard its asking for trouble (and some hefty repair bills). But on the other hand, take a look at for example the Honda Civic. I have known people to drive those cars like in a permanent touring car race to 120k and beyond, and the car still runs as new. Maybe it is the way you look after it and drive it or maybe just plain unlucky?
12th Feb 2002, 02:45
Buy a Vauxhall, do you mean cheaper and nastier? Focus best selling car since its launch and still number one...
Nobody forced you to buy a Focus, if your Cavalier is so great why buy another car? Obviously you don't rate Vauxhall otherwise you wouldn't have deserted them.