Faults:

It eats front tyres a bit. It also had a contact-problem with a starter-motor, but that was easy to fix.

General Comments:

Performance is very good. Acceleration is better than Supra 3.0i or e36 320i BMW. Overtaking is also very easy because of the 190Nm-engine. Recaro-seats are excellent and I also like white dials. Cabin overall isn't the best I have seen. Exhaust note is superb because of sport-system and free-flow air-filter. This car really want's to be driven fast. Nice car overall.

Faults:

Valve stuck at around 65,000 miles, but that was my fault for not putting Magnatec (or similar) oil in and Zetecs prefer this. Luckily it was freed by flushing the engine through and has not been troublesome since.

Starter motor needed replacing at 89,000 miles.

Link below one of the rear shock absorbers broke at 93,000 miles and needed welding which was a small job.

General Comments:

The car has been excellent value for money as a second hand buy.

Apart from running costs e.g. tyres, exhaust, etc. nothing much has gone wrong. Parts are quite cheap too.

Have made sure the cam belt is 'in date' which is a good precaution.

Oil & filter are changed every 7,000 miles and plugs changed annually, but apart from that no other servicing is done.

Handles and drives well.

Cruises well on motorway, but just as happy on a farm track or field if taken gently.

Plenty of luggage space - has taken 5 people and all their luggage on holiday a few times.

Faults:

The sliding seat belt on driver side stopped working (but not a pain to just unclip).

I had an issue one morning with it starting at a gas station, checked cables on battery worked.

I had to replace front and back struts at 150,000+ miles drives good now.

General Comments:

Great Gas Mileage

Cheap to maintain

Great amount of space

Easy to work on

Cheap insurance.

Faults:

Other than routine maintenance, not much.

I put in a new clutch at 98k (cheap part, expensive labor), new tires when I purchased it, and new brake pads.

Steering was a little hard to keep aligned, needed to redo the rack and pinion bushings shortly after purchase as well. At 103,000 miles the alternator went, but at about 80 dollars (an easy self install) that wasn't a big deal. The air conditioner needed some recharging with refrigerant, ran for a year with the recharge until I sold it. A mechanic couldn't find a leak.

General Comments:

I bought the car from a reapo agency after another driver's insurance (from an accident where they were at fault) paid top dollar for my totaled 1983 Toyota Tercel Wagon. A short time later, the shifter bushings wore out, causing the gearshift to have a loose feel, but that wouldn't have cost too much to fix had I cared. I guess I bought the car at a point where it needed some consumable parts replaced: clutch, tires, brakes, etc. so that's to be expected. The car also came with some electrical quirks; the previous owner had screwed with the wiring, messed up the engine kill switch and rigged the engine fan to run full time. Also, by the time I sold it the motor and/or transmission mounts felt like they could do with a check up; a quick start into first gear caused the engine to jump up, literally, maybe a cm or two. but careful clutchwork made that easily avoidable.

All put together, I'd still have the car except I'm starting college and figured I could do without the hassle and expense of insurance and inevitable repairs. My only real complaint- the car could've used more power. Above 70 mph, fourth gear revved the engine too high and acceleration in 5th felt dangerously slow. Not a car to pass trucks on rainy interstates with. But that's the trade-off for 33+ mpg on the highway. An overall good experience, but I wouldn't trust it to last 20 years and 250,000 miles like my tercel!