Faults:

My master brake cylinder was starting to go at about 83,700 miles.

I had a transmission tune-up and a oil change done when I first bought the car in October 2007. The tranny was so dirty that I may need another transmission tune-up again.

The thermostat is shot, but it's giving me hot and cold air.

Otherwise it was just minor thing1s that you would expect.

I expect to put new brakes, probably new struts, timing belt (if necessary) and make sure the car is still reliable in 2008 and beyond.

General Comments:

When I bought the car in October 2007, it was in a minor accident because you can tell of the discoloration of the driver's side passenger door. The door will open, but it struggles to open.

The car handles very well in the snow, ice, and the rain thus far. Now I'm impressed with how fast the car can go, but for some reason there are times it feels like it runs "cold" to me. Cold like it not fully warmed up, but when I drive the car during the day it gets better.

I would like to buy the next step up from the Escort, which would be the Ford Focus one day. I would like to buy the Caliber, but the Focus is improving it's reliability year by year.

Faults:

Nothing yet. It does have horrible acceleration, but that's OK.

General Comments:

Great on gas! Handles well considering the size of the tires.

AS I said no pick-up.

Economical car, cheap to maintain and repair.

Bought it cheap and did little work to get it going again.

A/C doesn't work though.

Has power steering, brakes and mirrors.

Stereo volume is messed up, it changes from whispers to screaming with no notice.

Faults:

Very little - just normal service items.

Required a new starter motor shortly after purchase.

General Comments:

A quick and very tunable pocket rocket.

Just make sure you buy a nice standard one (there are some out there) that hasn't been thrashed.

And keep an eye out for rust...

Faults:

Exhaust manifold failed at 98,000 miles, replaced and new one split soon after (manufacturing fault).

Revs drop away and keeps stalling at lights on damp days.

General Comments:

Considering it was given to me for free I can't really complain. In first year ran like clockwork, albeit a slow clock. As time moves on I'm carefull who I try to overtake as it takes a while to get a full head of steam, especially up hill. Stearing quality leaves a lot to be desired and handling is rather rough, but all in all it keeps to the road and the AA generally only see me in the winter months!

Excellent bodywork, starting to show rust around rear wheel arches and a few chips, but generally still in good condition.

Quite cheap to run as I get it serviced at work, so OK in that respect.

Faults:

Brake drums, pads, discs, etc. required replacing at 91,500 miles.

Offside rear wheel bearings went at 93,000 miles on motorway resulting in need to replace stub axle.

Nearside rear wheel bearings went at 95,000 miles on motorway resulting in need to replace stub axle.

Oil blows from filler cap (needed a couple of pints of oil every 1,000 miles).

New clutch required at approximately 110,000 miles.

Roof leaked due to drainage channel becoming blocked and sunroof tray overflowing from 100,000 miles.

New rear shock absorbers required at 132,000 miles.

Body corrosion would have required serious welding at 132,000 miles, thus vehicle was scrapped.

General Comments:

This was a good reliable car (apart from the wheel bearings wearing just after purchase) and never failed to start even in the coldest/wettest of weather.

General performance was good, especially acceleration in second gear.

However, the handling was always a bit suspect and didn't feel that safe at above 90mph (though would do 100+). Also tended to pull to one side under braking.

Insurance group is high for the specification, as it is not much different from the 1.6 LX (same engine/trim) apart from 3-door and spoiler.

The cabin and general design of the car has become dated by today's standards.

Having bought the car for only GBP500 in 2001, I was able to get 40,000+ miles out of this for only slightly higher than average servicing/maintenance costs.

Corrosion became a problem in the latter years (especially the foot-wells and the rear wheel arches), leading to welding work required.

The car was scrapped this week as the MOT would have required GBP600+ of work to pass.

I would buy another, but opted for a 1994 VW Golf Driver when replacing as I felt like a change and Escorts of that age all seem to suffer from corrosion.