1999 Ford Escort ZX2 review from North America
"Money pit"
What things have gone wrong with the car?
Don't ever buy one of these pieces of junk!
The serpentine belt blew out, got that fixed.
The pipe that ran the antifreeze rusted out, which resulted in having to have the head re-machined.
The timing belt was replaced twice, and an axle tonge cracked and basically fell off.
The brakes failed less than a year after being completely redone.
The airbag light came on.
When I took it in to have the brakes fixed, the mechanic said it belched out black smoke from the passenger-side of the hood, and that the head had blown (again), the timing belt needed to be replaced (for a third time), that the frame had completely rotted out and that I would be better to junk it.
I paid $2995 for it, kept up all the maintenance, and put over $3,500 worth of work into it... I got less than 12,000 miles out of it before it took a dump. What a waste; I could have leased a car for that much.
This car was off the road more than it was on for the 15 months I owned it.
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| Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? | No |
| Model year | 1999 |
| Year of manufacture | 1998 |
| First year of ownership | 2007 |
| Most recent year of ownership | 2008 |
| Engine and transmission | 4-banger Automatic |
| Performance marks | 0 / 10 |
| Reliability marks | 0 / 10 |
| Comfort marks | 5 / 10 |
| Dealer Service marks | 0 / 10 |
| Running Costs (higher is cheaper) | 0 / 10 |
| Overall marks (average of all marks) | |
| Distance when acquired | 129000 miles |
| Most recent distance | 138000 miles |
| Previous car | Toyota Camry |
| Date of Entry | 8th June, 2008 |