Faults:

Electrics, electrics, electrics, everything from the windows packing up, to the rev counter not working.

The car "dying" whilst pulling 90 mph on the M25, and then not coming back to life for 30 minutes.

Leaky sunroof.

4 fuel pumps in the last 100,000 miles.

Central locking decided to lock up all by itself, the list goes on and on...

General Comments:

Diesel, nice enough idea, but forget it if you don't have a turbo. This car "accelerates" from 0-60 mph in... (wait for it..) 17.4 seconds!

Trouble is, when you thrash it (in order to keep up with normal traffic) it's no more economical than a petrol car. So, it's true, there's no point in diesel motoring. I'm off to buy a nice petrol Rover or something......

Faults:

Not a lot to be honest, although I only had the car about 5 months!

General Comments:

I only brought the car off a trader friend of mine as it was cheap. The car is a complete heap of rubbish.

Boy racer car, looks crap, interior is rubbish and you simply don't get any slower than this thing.

Why do kids think these are good, they ARE NOT!

I'm now a little older and wiser and am running a Ford Mondeo ST24 which is spectacular.

Faults:

2 x starter motors.

Engine blew up (piston disappeared into the sump!)

New battery.

Seat mounts on the driver's side broken twice.

New wishbones.

New engine (Vege branded).

New clutch.

New wheels.

New brakes all round.

Leaks a bit.

Seam rust.

Rear arch rust.

Speakers broke.

Alternator needed replacing.

Steering rack needs replacing.

General Comments:

Ok, so this car has cost me a shed load to keep on the road.

The steering rack has a too low ratio, and the steering wheel a bit too big. Would be ideal to manouvere around town, but not much fun to drive on twisty roads.

Performance not too bad with a brand new engine, car needs a 5th gear, but acceleration is OK due to the low gearing of the 4 speed box.

Ride is too high and soft, car affected by crosswinds, i.e. when overtaking lorries etc. you can really feel the car getting blown across the road. When it's sorted though after a restoration project, it will be a nice car!

I would steer clear of the UK built Escorts - look for German or Belgian - VIN # starts with WF0 for German/Belgian, or SFA for UK. UK ones rust far too early!

Faults:

Virtually had to rebuild this rubbish:

Engine gearbox.

Steering rack x2.

Electical faults in the central locking.

3x indicator/light stems fitted.

Seat welds broken, had to have these rewelded back on.

Constant problems with the automatic choke.

New wheel bearings.

New wishbones, half shafts, the list is endless, I will never buy another Escort!

General Comments:

A complete piece of British junk.

I also have a mate who has just spent 9000 on the GT version and is having many of the same problems.