2006 Ford Ka 1.3 Duratec petrol

Summary:

Built from very thin metal and held together with flimsy plastic taps

Faults:

A/C not working.

Heater broken/malfunctioning.

Steering shakes at highway speeds.

Tonnes of rust, especially around/under the tank filler cap, and the bottoms of doors are rusted.

Rear springs broken.

Battery went flat (probably due to the aftermarket engine/cabin heater, which requires the fan to be run together with it).

Lots (I mean LOTS) of water entered the trunk via the tail lamps; I have fixed it with duct tape. Also holes in the rear body caused by previous owner slamming the rear hatch way too hard when closing it. The thin metal sheet can't stand for that, so the "stop pads" (don't know what they are called in English) have hammered holes in the body, which I have covered with duct tape to slow the rust growing from those holes.

I have seen other Ford KAs with the exact same impact damage on the hatch as ours; people are simple banging that door way too hard. A little shame, because if one closes the hatch door the way it is meant to be closed, that is lowering the door with the hand grip inside, and then closing it with light force, it would have lasted. But people, especially women, think that the hatch door must be closed with the biggest possible BANG - and the metal is simply not strong enough to withstand that.

General Comments:

Bodywork is of very bad quality and craftsmanship. Built from the cheapest available materials.

Replacing the front light bulbs is a NIGHTMARE; never seen such impractical "solution" before.

The good things are there's lots of joy when driving and cornering in the city and back roads. And it's relatively silent in the cabin when doing so. Brakes are very, very easy, and have a wonderful "feel" of precision to them.

Door locks, electric side windows and such are good and work fine.

BUT when you take it on the highway, it becomes loud (not louder than other small cars though) - and the shaking in the steering wheel begins.

The electric fan makes an annoying, rattling noise.

You could ask why we bought such a low quality car?? - Well my girlfriend fell in love with that sweet little yellow KA, and I found it cute also. I thought "well, one used mini car is just as good as the other, it's not important if it is a Ford or Toyota or Mazda or whatever" - And it was only 8 years old, so it couldn't be that bad. And I honestly admit that I didn't really look closely at it, just bought it for the girlfriend. BIG mistake. I will never ever buy something with the brand Ford on it again...

Of course I am aware that the previous owner was a woman, and they don't always treat cars well. If I had owned the car from new myself, all those terrible things wouldn't have happened to it And a car so fragile as a Ford KA simply can't withstand it. We still have our KA; it will have to last for 10 months more. Our plan is to buy another car September 2016; not sure which brand, but not Ford...

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 18th November, 2015