2003 Ford Fairmont 4.0L from Australia and New Zealand

Summary:

Fundamentally a good car. Ford just needs to take more care with the details

Faults:

Front brake shudder (fixed by replacing with DBA slotted rotors and QFM pads).

Handbrake useless; easily falls out of adjustment and brake shoes rub against inside of rotor (crappy design by PBR, but fixed by using plastic cable ties next to adjuster to stop it moving).

Power steering leaks (ongoing).

Idle problems (fixed after Ford re-flashed ECM).

General Comments:

Generally a good car, annoying little faults mostly.

Very comfortable, and great on long trips.

Terrific air con.

Fuel consumption around the city is high, but great on the highway.

Ford dealer service and warranty claims well below par. Use independent service now. Having owned three Nissan's previously, all dealer serviced, Ford is not a patch on them for service or rectifying faults. Perfect example being the handbrake, which has been adjusted more times than I care to mention (charged at $55+ each time, although a couple of times done as warranty) and unable to fix. Not once did Nissan ever charge extra for handbrake adjustment, and it was just done at service time.

Given that I purchased it at 2.5 years old with 30,000KM for only $20500, for what it is, it's a cheap car.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know

Review Date: 19th July, 2007