Faults:

Dashboard was cracked in a few places.

Brake pads were replaced and brake rotors were warped.

Clutch died at 124000 miles.

General Comments:

Ever wanted to get 24,000 miles out of a car for almost no money?

When my transmission went out, I just junked the car because it would have cost more than I paid for the car itself! The purchase of this little car was the best $600 I ever spent.

You can't beat the price of an escort, and this car (which I originally bought just to get me through the winter) survived thousands of rush-hour miles, a 900-mile round trip to Chicago, and my constant high-rpm driving.

The four-cylinder engine was not a powerhouse, but it got wonderful mileage (35 miles per gallon) and was easy to drive with the 4 speed clutch.

One problem - this car burned oil very rapidly in the final 1/5 of its life.

Many of you who have bought cars that are in their final stages of life have had to worry about the possibility of it breaking down at any moment. Escorts, however are about as reliable as they come.

By the way, it drives great on ice and snow and started every time in the sub-zero temperatures.

This car doesn't look like much, but I grew to love it. Those of you making payments every two months that are equal to what I paid for this car in full are missing out on the simple pleasures of the Ford Escort Pony.

Faults:

Brakes wore very quick.

Transmission blew.

Engine blew.

The automatic seat belts kept jamming.

General Comments:

The car was great when I first got it.

It was a cute little car, with a stylish look. After I had the car for about 12,000 miles the transmission blew and then the engine at the same time.

I had to get rid of it because on a GT those don't come cheap. I'm getting a 1989 Ford Escort LX for my next car. I'm buying it for $250 U.S. dollars. Nice price and it only has 40,00o miles on it.

Faults:

The gearbox linkage detached from underneath the car, causing the gearstick to disappear through the floor.

The rear nearside wheel fell off complete with brake drum.

The windscreen cracked which, according to Autoglass was due to the original windscreen not being laminated correctly.

The brakes suddenly failed with absolutely no warning.

The entire exhaust system rusted away and needed to be replaced.

General Comments:

The handling on this car isn't anything exciting. I do appreciate this is the estate model so it does have extra weight to cope with, but if Renault and VW can make an estate car that handles well, why can't Ford?

The car is very sluggish, particularly up hills.

One thing I was very surprised at is the fact the steering is very heavy, Ford really should have had power steering as standard on the estate models as I've heard similar stories from other Escort estate owners.

Reliability of this car has been truly dreadful. I've spent a lot of money in repairs and this has overshadowed the fact that the general economy of the fuel-injected 1.4 engine is actually very good.

The overall build quality is very poor. Fair enough this is a 10 year old car now, but I've driven other cars of a similar age and non have aged as badly as this. It's rusting on nearly every body panel and the paintwork is so badly faded it's now white (it was originally red)

In the car's defense, the seats are very comfortable and the carrying capacity is excellent, even with the back seats up.