1986 Ford Fairmont XF Ghia review from Australia and New Zealand

Hmm Where do I start?

Headlights Bulb Holders

Globes loose inside reflectors.

Failed from heat/UV (from globes).

Reversing lights and tail lights -

Full of water

Couldn't locate leak.

Windscreen Leak

Passenger floor flooded.

Door Handles -

Approx 7-8 broke off

Do not use the child safety locks

on back doors as you have no way

of opening the door when the

handles break!

Door Hinges Failed -

Doors too heavy.

No adjustment possible.

Electronic Dashboard -

Failed due to cracking of PC board

Body flexed?

Alternator failed -

Due to dash wiring burning out.

Cruise control -

Accelerator jammed in maximum

when put foot on accelerator

pedal and turned C.C. off.

Very "exciting" problem due to

outer cable sheathing plastic

locator retainer failed &

dislocated under hood.

Mystery Problem -

There was a severe scraping noise

from the back wheels which could

not be diagnosed despite many

attempts.

Head Gasket -

Failed for no reason

Head was not cracked or warped.

Boot/Rear trunk Seals leaked -

Eventually gave up trying to

solve this and just punched

discrete drain holes in

undersides of rear fenders and

tyre-well.

Power Steering leak -

Left a stain on the driveway

Transmission Shifter -

Was loose and sloppy

Rattled continuously

Repair involved removal of trans.

Transmission Shifter Button -

Was not effective

You could all too easliy change

into reverse going forward at 60.

Repair involved removal of trans.

Seat Slide -

Front passenger seat slide jamed.

Seat could not be removed with it

jammed.

Ignition Switch burnt/caused fire -

There was no key in ignition

lock or any obvious reason.

Lucky I was sitting in the

car.

Fuel Pump -

Failed.

Airconditioner -

Gas leak at seals.

Central locking switch -

Worked to lock, but not unlock.

Door lock knobs -

Tops broke off meaning you

couldn't unlock doors without

power and you had to use the

(after market) alarm remote to

unlock the doors.

Temperature Gauge -

The poor person that bought it

cooked the engine about 6 months

later because the temperature

gauge failed.

The above things are what I would call "extraordinary" - in addition we had the following failures in the 5 years we had it.

Radiator - Re-core

Hoses - 3 Hoses

Exhaust - from engine pipe back

Catalytic converter - say no more

Disk pads - quite a few as top and second gear ratio is quite high and didn't really slow the heavy car down so you were always on the brakes.

Rust was starting between the rear window and the boot and in the bottoms of the doors and in the rear quater panels. Normal for a 9 year old car I guess, but surely accelerated by the fact that all these panels filled up with water as the drain holes were very blocked or non-existent.

Finally a chance to express my disappointment - too bad its so long ago, but you can tell the bitter taste in my mouth is still there.

There were many more problems caused Specifically by the fact that the car was on LPG gas. I have not listed any of these, but advise to not convert the car to gas. My wife was virtually on first name basis with the Emergency Roadside Service guys as a result of the gas issues.

I kept it so long as I liked the way it drove and the interior was spacious and extremely comfortable. It was easy to get in and out of especially for elderly relatives. I kept thinking - I will fix this thing and then it will be a great car because everything is done - huge mistake!

The worst car I have ever owned.

I paid good money for it $10000 after having the all clear on a professional inspection from our state motoring organisation. I added a $1000 alarm and $1000 seat covers and sold it 4 years later for $3500 which I estimate might have come close to covering the cost of the repairs.