1992 Ford Escort CLX review from UK and Ireland

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.

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.