Comments: 1-15, 16-19
I have owned my 1998 Ford Escort ZX2 for just over 2 years. My boyfriend, who is a mechanic, has done regular maintenance on the vehicle (oil changes, filters, etc.) Those people who keep commenting on maintaining vehicles can shove it. I drive all highway and keep regular maintenance and do NOT race the car or have it pimped out. The fact of the matter is, Ford does not put enough time or effort into building their cars. At 120,000km, the serpentine belt needed to be replaced as one of the bearings blew up and wrecked the entire unit! At 130,000km I replaced the radiator which wasn't a huge deal except for the fact that the thermostat gauge stopped working entirely after working on and off for about a year. Since about 130,000km also, my transmission started slipping. When merging onto the hwy, the car would rev up no matter how much gas was given, but the car wouldn't go past 20km/h. Eventually it'd catch after a few seconds and run regular. In keeping up the maintenance, my boyfriend did a tranny flush in hopes of clearing the problem up temporarily. 2 weeks after the flush, my tranny died. I only have 148,000km on my car. My alternator is on it's way out as well. This car has cost me more than I paid for it. It was driven by an old lady before and she gave me the records on the car indicating regular maintenance as well.
From what I've read on previous comments, the trannys on the Ford Escort ZX2 (1997-2002) have serious defects. Some of you may be lucky enough to find one that was built by a professional, but most are lemons and I wouldn't suggest investing your money on these. I will be buying an import from now on.
I'm a mechanic and I have advised a handicapped friend (who must have reliable cars due to their handicap) on two occasions to buy a Ford Escort because they were so reliable. He put 190,000 miles on the first one with virtually no problems, and well over 100,000 miles on the second one before it was hit by a truck and totalled.
The Escort is a very solid and dependable car. To regard a 9-year-old one that was probably abused and neglected as typical of all Escorts (or Fords) is a big mistake.
Of course if you insist on an import, be ready for big buck repairs from day one. My experience with imports has proven them to be more unreliable than any domestic I've ever owned.
Import?! FYI, Honda's and Toyota's are made in the U.S.A!
I love my Escort so much. It's very reliable, and imports? Seriously they are the real waste of money. Repairs are beyond expensive.
Any non-American cars in the US are going to have extremely expensive repairs.
I own a ford ZX2 03 model and I have had it since 2005, bought it with just 8000 miles now 72000 miles. that's 64000 in 2 years. no major problems and I have added a lot of after market performance parts and have had zero problems other than regular maintenance. I also drive very aggressivly and have no problems with the manual transmission.
My father and I have been co-owning a Ford Escort ZX2 1998 5 speed manual transmission for the past 2 years... there was 160000 km on the car when we bought it... and within the 1st day of ownership my father cracked the speed clock cable... was going down the highway and cracked the gear back from 5th to second (meaning to go to 4th), and ground the teeth off the gear... now we have no second gear and no speed clock...
2 weeks later the flex pipe cracked off (let go at the header); that was an expensive month... so... now I've been driving for 2 years with no 2nd gear and no speed clock..
Would someone please contact me if they have any knowledge of finding a new gear box. My email is mad_money_mike@hotmail.com .. any help would be greatly appreciated.
I bought a 1998 Escort ZX2 new in 1997. It had 166 miles on it. I just sold it in July 2007, and it had over 130,000 miles on it. I had a few problems with it over the years, but nothing major. Before the warranty was up, I had the brakes replaced because they were squeaking and the power steering pump replaced because it was making noise. After the warranty was up, the alternator was rebuilt and the PVC valve went bad twice. All this happened gradually over the 10 years that I owned the car. It was regularly maintained and I never drove it hard. The transmission was a manual, and it never gave me any problems. I would still own that car today, but I had to trade it for a minivan because of my growing family. Would I buy another one again? As long as it wasn't drove hard and it was well taken care of--Absolutely! I loved that car!
I bought my ZX2 in 1999, it was a 1998 model and had 19,000 miles on it. From the start it leaked antifreeze, and I had to put a new radiator in. At about 60k I had to replace the fuel gage sensor. The car ran great until about 150k and the transmission was starting to slip. It would go dead at stop signs and red lights. It was so embarrassing. It made this loud screeching almost screaming sound. I never really had that checked out. The odometer stopped at 165k and didn't record miles for about eight or nine months. Also the speedometer at the same time. I feel like I got my moneys worth out of the car, I loved that car. Its been sitting in the yard now for about 2 years, we parked it because it was not dependable anymore. We hate to put any more money in it. But after sitting in the yard that long-we sold it and it drove off anyhow with a few glitches. The transmission still hasn't died.
I have a 1999 ZX-2, and I bought it used for $250.00 from a co-worker. It had 125000 on it.
The A/C doesn't work, but I don't care. This is a good car and I have a lot of fun driving it. (5 speed)
It has aftermarket header, turbo kit and exhaust system. My motor is pumping out 250 hp at 15 pounds of boost. And a new short shifter. All I know that my ZX-2 is a good car. I had lots of fun driving it. Imports break down a lot and cost so much to fix.
I'm considering a purchase of a 1998, ZX2 with 150,000 miles on it. It has been well maintained and owned by 2 people, a lady at work and her daughter who bought it new. She wants $1000 for it. Is this a good deal? It will be a second car for me to use back and forth to work (6 miles round trip). She said the air/heat fan is not working as well as it should and will have her repair guy fix it.
To 11:41. No one here can tell you if the car you are looking at is good or not. Take it to a mechanic for full inspection. These reviews and comments help you point out what to look for in your purchase candidate.
1998 zx-2, bought at 110 k miles. in 19000 miles has had 2 serpentine belts, one alternator, one ac pump, one timing belt (routine replacement), brakes & alignment (probably normal). Something is misaligned causing bearing wear on serpentine belt-driven stuff; STILL hesitates and sputters at low speeds and has a bearing-type howl at high speeds. Very noisy and as unreliable as any car ever--all the expensive parts blow out in small towns. Serpentine belt, I think, was installed wrong, by one of the small town mechanics, and that didn't help. Spent a LOT OF MONEY-- (over $2k so far, I think I lost track) --highly recommend a honda or nissan.
I bought my 98 Ford Escort ZX2 at 120,000 miles. I'm now at 204,000 miles.
My only 3 problems have been the A/C quit, and that's because the thing was clogged, and I now have a bearing sound at the engine. I've switched out the pulley tensioner and the upper pulley. After reading here, I believe it's either the water pump bearings or the power steering pump.
The other problem is the fog lights stopped working, and after bulb replacements they still are not working. All fuses are great.
I had lighting hit close to the car, and it over charges my battery and fried my alternator, and caused my computer, which controlled my air bag and fuel gauge to stop working.
84,000 miles in just 2 years, tons of highway and I do speeds of 100mph on the highway at times.
I love this car and will buy another.
I bought my 1998 Ford Escort ZX2 brand new for $12,000. I love this car and still own and drive it today. It has 103,000 miles. The only problem I had with it is the AC stopped working about 3 years ago. I do not drive it on really hot days, over 80 degrees. Otherwise, but for general maintenance, nothing has gone wrong. I like this car and would recommend it to others looking for an inexpensive reliable vehicle.
I own a 1998 Ford Escort ZZ2 that was given to me from my parents after being given to them by my grand parents. I'm not sure how many miles are on it, but I think over 200k.
It was a very reliable car for my grandmother for a long time. General maintenance was done and it was wrecked one time in the front end; that was repaired with little after effect.
One day the motor over heated and burned up (dum dum dooooom). She gave it to my parents and me and my father built a new engine (block, pistons, pushrods, everything) for it excepting the head and everything went easy. One problem... It won't STAY IN TIME. There is something wrong with the exhaust camshaft/camshaft timing gear that makes it slip out of time from the rest of the motor. The timing gear was torqued on to the proper specification and still it slips... Anyone know what the problem is? It is a great, very reliable car that doesn't deserve to sit dying in my driveway. I'm out of ideas, and even the Ford house couldn't fix it...
email me at army.greg_25c@ymail.com if you have any ideas.
I have a 98 ZX2 with a 5 speed, and it has 220,000 kms on it and it is a great little car, except for the fact that on the highway at 105 kph in 5th gear it is revving at 3000 rpm. I guess it keeps me from speeding LOL.
This is my second Escort; my first one was put to rest with 365,000 kms on it and it was still running strong, but the body was completely shot. I bought it with 137,000kms off the hoist at work with a cooked transmission, rebuilt the trans and did the regular high mileage repairs (tires and brakes) and had no problems.
These are great little cars.