1988 Ford Granada Ghia X review from UK and Ireland

Plenty of small faults that come with age and mileage including:

Various electric windows not working- sorted out by electrician.

Driver's heated seat not working.

LOTS of split hoses- car has left me stranded twice because of them, but this was to be expected as it was sometimes left unused for months.

ABS light currently on- likely to be a sensor (fairly straightforward job).

Speedo sensor packed up disabling the cruise control- new sensor fitted by dealer.

Blown reversing light fuse somehow stopped the speedo and lights from working.

Mysterious electrical fault (wiring?) stopped the operation of indicators and Air-conditioning- easily fixed by dealer.

Alternator currently whining whenever all electrical loads are on at once.

Factory fitted Radio-cassette was munching tapes and was replaced with a modern MP3 player.

Alarm sometimes doesn't disengage together with central locking- very tricky fault to pin down and I am learning to live with it.

Tailgate struts are past their best after 15 years and will soon need replacing.

Rust on rear wheel-arches and sills that had to be repaired for the car to stay road-legal.

Despite the very long list of problems encountered with the car (which, incidentally, was bought for £200 with 20 GBP's worth in the tank), it has always started first time every time (even after standing for 3 months or more) and the engine and gearbox are still very quiet and perform superbly (had the engine tested a 2 years ago and it delivered 156PS as opposed to the manufacturer's figure of 150!).

Bills do add up and it's not the cheapest car to run, but the combination of low-down torque, comfort and equipment make it worth every penny in my opinion. Plus there is a great community forming online in both England and Germany.

The dealers tend to be very inattentive. They forgot to check the spark plugs ("had been there for years", an independent mechanic commented) failed to spot two hoses that split within only 1000 miles of major service), let me drive across Europe with a bearing missing that meant my shock absorber could abandon the car at any time, couldn't trace faults and so on. The parts departments tend to be better, but many parts are a rip-off (once quoted me £32 for the bit of clear plastic separating the instrument panel from the rest of the cabin!)

By the way, this is not the story of one Ford dealer, it happened to me with franchised Ford dealerships in the UK, Greece, and France!!!