1977 Ford Escort review from Czech Republic
"It' s obvious why you don't see them any more"
What things have gone wrong with the car?
When I bought it, for very little money, it was a bit rusty, but mechanically fully OK, from the first elderly owner, with an original 65k on the odometer. I had to fit a new exhaust. So far, so good.
In use, it literally started to fall apart within a few thousand km:
The engine blew its oil through every gasket, the thermostat housing started to leak, front brakes got seized, clutch didn't separate any more when cold a.s.o.
In the end, I dismantled it for a few good parts, and threw the rest into the crusher.
General comments?
Pretty economical to run, if you don't count the spare parts needed to fix all its ills.
Dealership support is utterly ridiculous. You hardly get anything from Ford no more. Scrap yards and Ford aficionados were helpful, otherwise I would have had to ditch the car after 2 days.
General quality is amongst the worse I've ever had (and I had had around 50 different cars so far). Other old Fords I had long time ago (Consul Coupe, Granada Turnier, Taunus Turnier, P7a Turnier) were much better. So I wouldn't exclude buying another Ford, but certainly no more Escorts. (Turnier = Station Wagon)
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  | This is the last car I will ever buy and I'm 24, I love the bloody thing |
| Not bad for an old car that was cheap in its day |
| Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? | Don't Know |
| First year of ownership | 2000 |
| Most recent year of ownership | 2000 |
| Engine and transmission | 1.3 Manual |
| Performance marks | 4/10 |
| Reliability marks | 1/10 |
| Comfort marks | 3/10 |
| Dealer Service marks | 0/10 |
| Running Costs (higher is cheaper) | 6/10 |
| Distance when acquired | 65000 kilometres |
| Most recent distance | 69000 kilometres |
| Previous car | BMW 2002 |
| Date of Entry | 22nd May, 2001 |