2000 Ford Falcon Forté 4.0 petrol from Australia and New Zealand

Summary:

Solid workhorse, reliable all-rounder

Faults:

Just some wear & tear items.

Both front wheel bearings were extremely noisy when I got the car & had movement in them, so I replaced them (having as many km on it when I bought it, they have probably been on the car for a LONG time, so I wasn't that annoyed about replacing them, as they're pretty cheap parts & easily replaced).

The exhaust system is now starting to rust out; also typical for the amount of km on the car.

Something snapped one day on the driver's inside door handle, which means now when I get out of the car, I have to pull up on the outside door handle once so the door will latch. It was annoying for a while, but don't think much of it any more & will probably get it fixed one day.

The driver's rear passenger door lock broke, meaning when you lock all the doors, you can just pull the outside door handle & open the door. For security reasons I'll definitely be getting that fixed.

The upper ball joints in the front suspension are very worn out & need to be replaced (another wear & tear age-related problem, simple cheap fix).

The central locking keypad stopped working, got a new-old stock one from Ford for $40, no problems.

General Comments:

This is the AU series 2 Forté. It's one of the most reliable cars I've owned. It mostly just gets me from home to work, which is only two suburbs away, & gets me all around town, but I occasionally need it to go on long trips, which I've done quite a few in it now, & that's where these Falcons are most comfortable. Very spacious, quiet & smooth on long trips, & the cruise control works perfectly well.

I chose to fit Pirelli Cinturato P1 tyres on my Falcon (215/60r16 standard size), which I think make it quieter & handle better.

The safety feature in the engine that let's you keep on driving if it loses all its coolant is comforting to have in case something does go wrong. It sure is a solid workhorse, & doesn't have any feeling that it's going to let you down.

I really can't complain about this car. The styling could be a little better, but I personally think they look pretty sleek. The Series 2 that I've got DEFINITELY looks better than the Series 1, but styling aside, they are a solid, well-made car. Highly recommended, but before buying one, check out all the components I listed above for signs of wear. These cars aren't getting any younger & most have led a hard life, but are hard to kill.

Great car.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 16th May, 2015

2000 Ford Falcon AU 2 4.0 from Australia and New Zealand

Summary:

One super strong car that won't let you down!

Faults:

Nothing went wrong with the car at all.

General Comments:

Amazing cabin.

Great sound with a Lukey exhaust.

Handles great.

A must is a set of nice 17 inch mags.

Looks great with a nice spoiler.

I wrote it off not long ago, and have spent thousands on new parts. When I spent that much money on it, I could have got a newer model, but this car is worth so much to me.

I have no coolant and no thermo fans, and drove it over 20kms at 100kph to the nearest town after I crashed, and it didn't stop because they have fail-safe cooling system. And it still goes strong today.

Also it took the impact of the crash so well, I didn't move in my seat!

I'm planning on having it for at least another 3 years.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 12th March, 2012

2000 Ford Falcon AU 4.0 petrol from Australia and New Zealand

Summary:

Very poor craftsmenship

Faults:

The shock springs needed replacing.

The exhaust pipe had holes in it, leaking carbon monoxide through the vents! It needed replacing.

The air conditioning unit was faulty and did not work.

The hand brake does not work.

Cruise control had to be fixed.

The CD player was broken and the radio aerial was snapped off.

The boot leaked water after it rained.

The floating power windows do not work; they get stuck when you move them.

The seat belts do not retract.

Central locking key was broken.

Brake pads were worn all the way down.

The seats had tears in them.

There are scratches all over the rear bumper, and the front bumper is holding on by ONE SCREW!!

The cruise control and volume buttons on the steering wheel are broken, and are broken off the steering wheel.

It costs 100 dollars or more to fill the tank, and with casual driving, I'm lucky to get 500 kilometres out of the tank.

General Comments:

There is a rattle and and loud clunk in the right back wheel, which is very noticeable every time you go over a bump.

The steering is off.

There were cigarette burns in the seat.

The car got extremely hot.

All in all, I was very very disappointed with this.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 6th February, 2011

6th Feb 2011, 17:10

Nearly all the stuff you've listed here is the result of abuse of this car by either yourself or the previous owner. Things like the holes in the exhaust is a maintenance issue. How can you blame cigarette burns on the seats as the cars fault? You probably bought it for $2000, what do you expect?

7th Feb 2011, 19:09

Sounds like the car has been molested. You need to be more careful choosing / looking after it.

17th Dec 2011, 04:27

Geesh, you won't even pass a warranty with all those things having gone wrong. Sounds like you bought a parts car for your other (better condition) Falcon, and forgot which was which!

21st Jul 2012, 07:38

Sounds like it's been mistreated to me.

20th Aug 2015, 07:17

We have just purchased one with most of the faults mentioned. We are replacing everything we can. Still happy. Maybe you got this car too cheap? We got ours too cheap, but knew what had to be done, and we're doing it. We're as happy as...