1995 Ford Escort LX 1.9 from North America

Summary:

This Ford Escort is great value, cheap and reliable, with good handling and performance

Faults:

150,000 km; Alternator.

180,000 km; Timing belt, battery.

250,000 km; Engine oil pan gasket, struts, wheel bearings, tie rod ends, ball joints.

300,000 km; Alternator, timing belt, battery.

General Comments:

The 91-96 Ford Escort is by far the most reliable lowest cost of ownership of any car I have ever owned. I commute and use my car at work, so I put in excess of 40000 km/year. I have owned 2 Escorts, a 91 and a 95; both were over 320,000 km each and were still going strong.

If you replace the timing belt and alternator every 150,000 km, you should be able to drive trouble free.

Parts are cheap and easy to change. Good handling, and performance, great fuel mileage, inexpensive for tires and repairs, highly reliable.

I have owned imports (BMW, Toyota, Nissan, Mitsubishi) and domestics (GM, Chrysler, Ford), and can say that this Escort is the most reliable and lowest cost to own over the life of the vehicle, and it is a long life.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 5th July, 2009

1995 Ford Escort LX 1.9, 4 cylinder gas from North America

Summary:

Good car if not for head gasket problem

Faults:

Head/ head gasket issues not evident at the time of purchase. Car ran great for a week. Then it suddenly began idling rough upon start up and would steam out the tail pipe, but would never run hot. However I had to add a quart of coolant a week. But there was no coolant mixing with the oil, but the radiator would bubble.

My mechanic said it was probably a blown head gasket or cracked head, so I traded it in.

General Comments:

I think it would be a good car if not for the head/ gasket issues. It had plenty of power, good brakes and it got good gas mileage. Great handling too.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 27th April, 2009

28th Apr 2009, 12:01

I'm surprised you traded it in. This car is otherwise very reliable and I routinely see this gen Escort/Tracer with >150,000 miles on the clock.

29th Apr 2009, 23:14

I agree these are good cars. My previous car, a 1993 Mercury Tracer had 282,000 before the engine gave out. My mechanic informed me if it was a cracked head it would be very expensive to fix, so I was afraid to chance it so I traded it in. My husband had already replaced the intake gasket. That gasket was indeed bad, but that did not solve the problem. Still, I would recommend these Escorts/ Tracers.

1995 Ford Escort LX 1.9L SEFI 5 speed from North America

Summary:

Will run like crap forever

Faults:

Oil pan: 32,000 miles.

Alternator: 78,000 miles.

Cooling fans: 109,000 miles.

EGR valve: 115,000 miles.

Distributor: 127,000 miles.

Oil pan (again) : 135,000 miles.

Lifter/valve knock: 156,000 miles.

Burning oil (blue smoke) : 178,000 miles.

General Comments:

Car is good on gas and is still somewhat reliable, but is on its last legs.

I beat the hell out of this car too, and it always starts first try.

It rattles around wherever I go.

I am still on the original clutch.

Car will be seeing 200,000 miles hopefully soon.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know

Review Date: 25th December, 2008

13th Aug 2009, 15:42

Are you sure about replacing the distributor, because if it's the 1995 LX with the 1.9 engine, it doesn't have one. Do you have the DOHC 1.8 engine?

13th Aug 2009, 15:48

If this is the 1.9L engine, the oil pan isn't the old-style stamped steel one, it's cast aluminum, and seems pretty tough, are you off-roading much? The only thing I can see is physical impact, a stripped oil drain plug isn't the car's problem, but it can be fixed without a pan replacement.

13th Aug 2009, 18:45

I like it, the classic double-edged sword! "It runs like crap, but at least it runs forever." Nice. I'm curious... do you want to beat it to death, or make it last as long as possible?

BTW, you can fix a stripped drain plug without replacing the pan. You can cut new threads and use an oversized plug, or you can coat the stripped threads with oil-resistant epoxy to restore the threads, or install a heli-coil. There are easier ways than replacing the whole pan.