Faults:

Water pump leak, door locks, minor rust here and there, radiator fan, exhaust rattle, gearbox bushings, not much else. Local mechanic at the time was a Ford specialist and I got most things fixed for cheap.

General Comments:

1988 black RS Turbo, a very 1980's and good looking fast Ford. I loved this car.

An absolute joy to drive and much faster than my previous early 80's XR3i Escort (which was still a good car) but the RS Turbo was a cut above. Much better everything not just performance. Managed over 30 mpg on petrol as well, excellent economy back in the day when fuel was cheaper! Ride a bit firm but the car was comfortable enough, sporty Recaro seats were great and held you in corners well. The car handled better than you would think, especially with quality tyres.

1.6 turbo petrol engine was a good one and as long as serviced on time, they rarely gave trouble. I bought my car used and it was far from mint, I do not think the previous owner took care of it, but I did the best I could with it.

In my younger days the car was my fun weekend car and I enjoyed every minute in it. Simple fun innocent times, I do miss cars like this.

An absolute legend that I should never have sold as they are rare and worth a fortune now.

Faults:

Nothing has actually gone wrong with the car since my ownership. The gearbox seals (small leak) and front shock absorbers had to be replaced (leak) after a month (the car had been stood in dry storage for 3 years before I started using it!).

Been using the car for 2 years now, and clocked up 26,000 with no problems!!

Has been well maintained all its life, and I've continued to look after the car with good oil (5w30w PS), plugs, filters etc...

The Escort also has NO RUST!!... It has never been taken out in the rain since I acquired it, I've continued to wash and wax the car on a regular basis, and the paintwork still looks stunning and no rust has appeared!

General Comments:

This is my first car, and it's been a great experience, very fun to drive even for such a small engine. I'm glad I've experienced a semi old car, as I feel it's made me a better driver for the future (I got the car at 18).

I don't plan to sell it any time soon; with only 45,800 miles on the 1.3 OHV engine, the car runs very smoothly and returns great MPG.

Top speed: 100MPH!! (Scary)

To see a video of my car on Youtube, check out this link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSZkmKpye3c

I can highly recommend a Ford Escort Mk4. Find one that's been well looked after, and continue to maintain it!

Faults:

Bought this in a hurry after my Golf MkII was written off by a drunk driver. A mistake.

Had a catalogue of failures from major ones like a core plug on the engine corroding through at 2.5 years old through to losing wheel hub caps whenever it went over a bump.

Dealer service expensive and the 1.4CVH (Constant Vibration & Harshness) engine needed a new cambelt every 22500 miles.

Rubbing strips peeled off door, rust spots appeared under bonnet etc.

General Comments:

The CVH engine was supposed to be "lean burn" but it could not do more than 42mpg on a good day and mostly hovered around 40 even driving gently on the motorway.

Engine was very harsh, especially under acceleration and not very quiet.

Interior plastics wore badly and rapidly developed lots of scratches.

Handling was OK, but the car needed constant adjustment of the steering wheel to keep on track. Also unstable in side winds and easily pushed off line. Not a very relaxing car to drive.

On the plus side, it was reasonably fast in a straight line, but that's the only good point I can think of.

Car had no personality and I was glad to get rid of it after 18 months as soon as I could afford something better.