Faults:

Wheel trim began to fall off after 74,000 miles, but had alloy wheels fitted and they stuck on firm.

Clutch plate broke after 92,000 miles, had clutch replaced for £60 and 3 months later I sold it for £45.

No other problems, although the dealer service was awful.

General Comments:

Bought an 11-year-old 86D Orion for £700 in December 1997. Had 65,000 miles on the clock and did another 29,000 before September 2003, until I sold it to my brother-in-law for £45.

The wheel trim and the clutch plate both went wrong, but that was probably because of age and otherwise the Orion was superbly reliable and well built.

Ride, handling and performance were all very good.

The dealer service was a terrible drawback. So bad that after a year I got a friend to do it. When I went to the dealership to ask for new wheel trim, my order took nearly a month to be answered - and I got a rear windscreen wiper instead of a wheel trim!

When I went to complain, I found a notice on the forecourt saying that the dealership had relocated.

Otherwise, the Orion was a really good car and is still giving sterling service to its new owner.

I have since bought a 99T Peugeot 206 1.9 diesel which is good, but not as good as the Orion.

Faults:

Rust, rust, rust.

Brakes failed completely one wet stormy night and I had to have the whole system replaced. That was the major thing, otherwise it went well.

Had to scrap it when the apron which separates you from the engine had rusted through and there was only a piece of carpet there to protect me.

General Comments:

Once I got the engine tuned correctly it was brilliant. If only Ford could get the rust proofing right they would be more successful. The engine was brill but the bodywork let it down big time. The engine had 76,000 miles on it when it was scrapped, but it would have done that again easily.