Faults:

Camshaft & tappets @ 102,000 miles.

Gearbox mountings @ 98,000 miles.

Headgasket @ 100,000 miles.

General Comments:

For two years I have loved every minute of driving my Escort. Everything is solid on the car, the interior, bodywork and most impotantly the engine.

The modifications you can do to the Escort are endless e.g. different suspension, bodykits and you can tweak the engine up a little if you please.

Once you get the Escort bug there's no turning back.

Faults:

Nothing!!

General Comments:

I love the XR3i - to me it has the most appeal of all of the cars to leave the Dagenham plant. It is responsive without being too overpowering - and with the correct tyres allows me to cruise the bumpy Fenland roads in the safety and knowledge that I WILL get round the corner! It offers comfort and style, and the opportunities to mod this car are endless and by no means expensive.

Faults:

Brakes squeaked, boot hinge broke, steering wheel rattled, brakes juddered.

General Comments:

Very cheap to run and easy to maintain, but not very refined. Generally reliable, never let me down.

Faults:

Clutch, leaking gearbox, gearbox bearings worn, metering head gone, injectors gone, cam lobes worn, crankcase oil seal gone.

General Comments:

THEFT MAGNET, be prepared to spend lots of money on these, you may pick one up cheap but it will cost you a fortune!!

BE WARNED!!!

Faults:

Just tyres and a coolant leak that I know of.

General Comments:

Diesels are the slowest cars you can buy but you don't have to change gear all the time, because of the big fat wad of torque it's got, it'll pull from nothing but you'll be hard pushed to get it much over 70.

Faults:

In 75K miles, the following apart from routine servicing:-

1 De-Coke.

1 Alternator.

1 Water Pump.

When the car was part exchanged, it was ready for another de-coke.

Beginning to rust on the roof!

As I used non-franchised dealers for most of the car's life, the dealer service varied.

General Comments:

This was a good car. It never broke down and was normally off the road only twice a year for routine servicing.

I replaced it with a new Renault Megane (my comments are in the Renault Section).

This was a mistake. A case of better the devil you know.

Faults:

Nothing major to date.

Simple things like a new motor for the wipers.

New brake discs.

Little rust.

General Comments:

Good overall car as I'm only young / good insurance.

Good performance compared with other 1400's ie. Novas.

Faults:

Expensive on tyres.

General Comments:

A good fast car, high insurance, otherwise excellent. Buy one now.

Faults:

Ignition amplifier at 75K.

Clutch at 90K.

Original Alternator gave up at 134K.

Starter motor gave up at 133K.

No 3 cylinder exhuast valve burnt out at 134K.

General Comments:

As the only items, other than consumables, that I have had to replace have been at high milages I am extremly impressed by the cars durability.

Even after 135K miles there is no serious rust, the interior is superb and the car drives like it did when I bought it.

Spax sport shock absorbers and springs are a better bet than the Ford ones.

Faults:

New starter motor at 70,000 miles.

Electric window switch at 72,500 miles

Clutch, brake pipes and hood at 76,000 miles.

General Comments:

I have found the car not too economical at an average of 26 mpg, but reliability, comfort and general driving are exceptionally good. A good bonus about older Ford models is that the prices for parts are extremely good value. The downside to a Ford is the dealer service which I feel has regrettably plummeted over the years. My advice is find a good local garage. Overall I feel I have made a good buy and can't wait for the summer again, no matter how short it usually is!

Faults:

Alternator, Timing.

General Comments:

I would never buy another Ford Orion 1.4 LX. I wanted a 1.6i Ghia really, but then I couldn't find one and I needed a car quickly.

Faults:

Three carbs, two starter motors, two alternators, all shockers twice and masses of electrical faults, mainly to do with lighting, and all this was in just two years of ownership!

General Comments:

I would never buy another Ford again, which is a shame really because I really like the look of the Mondeo.