Faults:

Alternator back fed meaning the warning light remained on despite the ignition being off.

Crankcase breather system blockage leading to oil pressurisation and leakage (just needs me to give it a big service).

Before I owned it, the front suspension collapsed and it had numerous wheel bearings replaced.

Corrosion is taking over on the offside rear wheelarch but apart from that it looks really good.

General Comments:

I bought this car at 75,000 miles and it has been very reliable so far. It is extremely easy to do DIY service and repairs on, which is just as well because it needs looking at soon.

Another good feature of this type of car is the relative ease by which they can be upgraded or improved, because the scrapyards are full of them (lots of Maestro/Montego's are abandoned by the roadside too). I've fitted electric windows and will be adding electric mirrors and sunroof control shortly. Even power steering is relatively easy to fit.

You can actually buy new Maestros, built from repatriated export knock down kits from a firm in Herefordshire. There is even an owners club for them, to which I belong. People might not be impressed by my choice of car, but there's no depreciation, it's cheap to run, it's comfortable and it keeps up with the traffic.

Faults:

I drove it hard for 5 years and 120,000 miles. It never broke down. Apart from routine servicing, its only real vice was eating front brake discs. Rust started appearing when only two or three years old. Clutch replaced at 100,000 miles.

General Comments:

Don't be fooled by its dowdy looks and granny image, this is a capable mid-size fast hatch. It out-accelerates many other fast hatches 0-60 and especially 50-70 in top. Goes and handles better than an 8v Golf GTI and far better than an XR3i.

Lacklustre image means traffic police and thieves don't see it. Unfortunately nor did other drivers - it got rammed in the back several times, and the final time wrote it off. After 120,000 miles it still matched the published 0-60 and MPG figures.