Faults:

Clutch pressure plate springs failed. (115000kms)

Battery died. (would happen to any car)

Exhaust pipe has been replaced twice in the time that I've owned the car.

General Comments:

The Escort from 91 till 95 used mainly Mazda 323 parts which made it very reliable, but that certainly doesn't say anything about how quiet or comfortable it is. It is very fuel efficient and economical, but very strenuous on long trips.

This car is getting quite old now and still nothing major has failed. Although, many of the plastic parts (made by Ford no doubt) have been rattling for years now.

Everything is still working like it did when I bought it car and considering that I paid less than $4000 for it, it's extremely economical.

Faults:

The car is really really slow.

You can't replace any of the speakers because ford made them really weird and small.

Shifts really hard.

General Comments:

All around it's a great car.

I can get about 200 miles per tank and a full tank only costs about $12.00.

Its very slow.

But I have put it threw quite abit and it still holds up.

Faults:

The hydraulic tappets required changing at 70,000 miles. This job was easy and cost £35 for the bits.

The clutch shudder, this is annoying.

General Comments:

This car is long geared, which affects performance a little. The benefit of this is good fuel return on long journeys.

This car is ideal for long journeys it will sit at 70 to 80 miles per hour comfortably.

If this car is serviced regularly the 1400cc engine is very good.

Faults:

Headlights are gone, control unit had to be changed (cost 90£), happened twice in 2 years. Shortly before I noticed a smell as if a wire was burning.

Foot-well and boot are damp when raining.

Sometimes the alarm goes off for no reason (couple of times a year), opening and closing the doors solve the problem.

Rear wiper works erratically.

Sometimes I can't turn on the radio, restarting the engine solve the problem.

Front shock leaking.

Ball joints changed at 80000 miles, but during the MOT they still found some play in the steering. Dealer wanted to charge me 500£ to change the rack. MOT said it was fine.

Kick down cable snapped. Dealer wouldn't change it because they don't do automatic cars. I had to contact 10 garages before I could find one.

Exhaust gasket changed.

Oil and coolant leaking.

General Comments:

Despite all these problems I find this car to be a bargain. I hardly perform any maintenance and I use it every day. Fuel consumption is high (20-25 mpg) but this is not too bad for an old automatic car.

The engine is not a beast, but it is smooth and silent. The steering is a bit heavy although it is powered, but no problem to do a U-turn on a narrow road.

The comfort is good. It is not a very big car, but there is still enough room and I like the sound from the built-in radio. It looks like some leaking in the body might be the cause of the electrical problems I experienced.

The automatic transmission is great, I already had a Ford Falcon (Australian car) with automatic transmission and it makes driving easy. Pity that it is so difficult to find good mechanics in Ireland.

Braking is sometimes funny, unlike a manual car.

My conclusion is that it is a good car which would have been perfect with a slightly better attention to details from the manufacturer.