13th Aug 2006, 00:59
After covering more than 200,000 kms in a Fairmont Ghia without any major reliability problems, in a very comfortable interior, loaded with 4 adults and max luggage on many occassions I must say this..
Find another car that will cover this distance without major repairs, not a single breakdown (except once for a dead battery) where parts are cheaper than others, easy to get, all mechanics know fords pretty well and handle dirt and poor roads with complete comfort...
For the purpose of a FAMILY car affordable by all... Falcons are unbeatable.
Speaking from experience.
23rd Oct 2006, 06:43
After having an ED Falcon bought second hand in 2000 and doing from odometer 52 to 100k on it, I would completely agree with the Fairmont Ghia owner... for a big country with real distances and living in a state that's way bigger than Texas, Falcons are unbeatable here.
For highway cruising and comfort on a real person's budget, nothing comes close. To do it more cheaply than a Japanese micro car, use the LPG option. Parts are cheaper than any other car.
Through work I have sampled many Commodores and Falcons VT on and BA on and the Ford seems to be set up more for comfort and ride, the Holden to fang young blokes around corners in cities at relatively low speeds... know which I prefer.
As for going Japanese, we did after the Falcon, and I am just hanging to get back to the Ford. The quality is good on the Japanese cars, but neither the ED or its replacement had anything go wrong in our time with them. After that it comes back to a size you are comfortable with.
2nd Nov 2006, 01:28
I laugh at the comments about the reliability of Fords. To date I know of no worse example of Aussie patriotism than Ford and Holden. If it weren't for them being the only affordable large RWD cars in Australia noone would buy them. People have wised up and are buying up corollas for a reason. Good resale, cheap to buy, economical.
In California one of the most popular cars are the Civic CNG. It runs on compressed natural gas, is super efficient compared to anything else on CNG is reliable, and has great resale. IT is also like a civic to drive and unlike other CNG cars has good acceleration. Time to take a note out of Japan's book and build our cars with some pride in engineering before we lose the domestic market. At least Ford is making LPG affordable as a free option with new cars. Great incentive, but if I have another Ford fall apart around me such as a AU falcon that had a faulty bonnet release, fuel pump and handbrake, all fail on the one trip a 2001 model ute, that belonged to my father then I would go mental, and pour petrol over it and light it.
12th Oct 2009, 07:54
Who really cares what they drive in California? We are talking about cars built for and used in Australian conditions. Just one question for the original poster; have you had any towing experience with this car?
12th Oct 2009, 18:50
HA Corolla, try putting 2 kids, prams, a dog, toys and clothes into a small wagon, and then drive from Adelaide to Brisbane. My AUII Fairmont V8 wagon did this trip with ease.
We have done 150000 kms from new and this is the best car I have owned by far. We are about to trade in our smaller Lancer wagon for a BF Futura and I can't wait. The Lancer is starting to struggle and bits are going wrong after only 70000 kms of soft city driving only.
Give me a car that's designed in Australia for Australian conditions.
17th Oct 2009, 01:34
To suggest that Falcons and Commodores are the only passenger cars capable of dealing with long distances in "Australian conditions" is ridiculous. I took 2009 off work to do some camping trips to various parts of Australia in my '99 Camry V6 wagon. It's crossed the country six times and done numerous other long distance trips besides, including a lot of gravel roads. It's now done 260,000 km and I've never had a single problem with it. It's not quite as big as a Falcon, but it still seats four tall adults comfortably with plenty of room for cargo. They are also common enough for most mechanics to know how to fix them if ever anything did go wrong.
I'm not saying that Falcons are bad cars - far from it (my mum drives a '99 AU Falcon wagon that's only had a couple of minor electrical issues in it's 240,000 km) - but if you think Falcons and Commodores are the only cars capable of traveling long distances on rough roads without falling apart, then you've obviously never driven or considered anything else.
6th Nov 2010, 12:45
It's obvious here that the comments posted FOR the Falcon are just general comments posted by happy owners with experience with these cars.
The comments posted AGAINST are coming across from people who seem to hate Ford cars and don't actually drive them.
I have owned 14 cars in my life, including European, Japanese, a Holden Commodore and 3 Ford Falcons. I have found the Fords to be as reliable as any other car, no major problems at all, and one of the most practical cars on the market.
Falcons give you space, power, decent looks, excellent build quality and reliability in 2002 onwards, one of the worlds best 6 cylinder engines (quiet, reliable, heaps of torque and power) and very economical for its size.
The guy who mentioned the V6 Camry; he would have found the Falcon more comfortable for driving around Australia 6 times, and would have had better economy than the Toyota V6 engine.
18th Mar 2012, 11:21
Japanese cars ARE CHEAP and NASTY.
I've owned and ran a mechanical business for 4 years, and Falcons and Commodores are built far stronger than ANY Japanese car in their class.
BUY AUSSIE MADE!!!
NOT Japanese CRAP!!!
23rd Aug 2012, 02:07
If Holdens are so good, then why is it that they don't use them as taxis? Could it be they don't have the reliability that you get from the Ford Falcons. You won't get 500 000 kms from a Commodore motor, I mean a Chevy motor, because GM can't build good motors.
27th Nov 2012, 22:07
OK guys, I'm looking at buying a 2005 Ford Falcon BA MkII XR6. It's done 160000 km with a full service history. This is going to be my first car, and all I want is something that I can rely on.
So is this car going to give me what I want? And how much would you pay for a XR6 with this amount of km and a full service history.
Also, WORST CASE SCENARIO. How much will it cost to replace the engine, including labour costs?
19th Apr 2006, 01:31
Actually the Falcon has been very good, the old BA was replaced at 115,000km with a few problems along the way, but thank you for feeling sorry for me, I should have mentioned that both cars company paid for vehicles, while we wouldn't spend our own money on one it is still a very nice car.
I will take the opportunity to say though that with a job change next week the BF will be handed back in with 12,000 fairly happy kilometres. It will hopefully be replaced with a personally purchased 2006 Turbo-Diesel Nissan Pathfinder.