Faults:

Not much in nearly 10 years:

Radiator dismantled at 124,000km to cure warm running. Most of the casting sand used to manufacture the block was inside it! Water pump not affected - original. Radiator and heater hoses replaced at the same time.

Head gasket replaced at 139,000km - alloy head not affected by distortion as sometimes happens.

Starter motor replaced at 144,000km by a reconditioned unit.

Cassette player died at 155,000km - not repaired. Radio and clock both fine.

Fabric on part of driver's seat was 'pilling' - used wife's woolly jumper shaver to remove it. Getting this trivial suggests I haven't much to complain about.

General Comments:

Car is in clean and original condition, plain white.

What hasn't happened - odometer working okay despite failures of gear train usually occurring at around 140,000km.

Except for 2 battery failures, the car has never failed to start.

Front brake pads were replaced at 146,000km - these were new when I bought the car in Jan 1998. That's 65,000km from standard pads. Rear pads are about 80% worn and were part-worn when I bought the car! Might have something to do with how I drive.

Car has Bridgestone tyres; can't find the figures, but the Falcon gives them long, easy lives, provided pressures are kept in the 34 to 36lb range front and back.

Air conditioning gas replaced by non-CFC type in 2001 with some drop in performance.

For a large car, access to the oil filter is needlessly difficult. All other servicing jobs are simple affairs.

Apart from the pilling of the driver's seat fabric mentioned above, the interior has stood up remarkably well to the climate near Sydney. The car has not been garaged since 2002 and is also parked on a street each weekday.

I am kind to machinery and the car's regular servicing is repaid by reliability, particularly in a large car with a lazy 6 cylinder OHC engine and 4 speed auto. The car covers about 7,500km a year these days.