Rusting very bad, inner and outer sills.
Broken front wishbone suspension
exhaust silencer dropped off
headlights always dim (why?)
eats oil every week
drivers seat won't recline
filler cap rust is shocking (through bad design of petrol tank)
probably lots more! though note this car is nearly as old as me, and came with most of these faults, probably not taken care of well.
Reliability is overall very good! I have thrashed this car (typical fast road use) and it hasn't let me down yet (touch wood). the handling is great for a first car (i got it to learn in and only now 4 years later am moving onto something else).
Body roll is quite significant in the car although try as I might, could not get the back end to slide. understeer all the way here. though for a beginner driver, the handling is very good in my opinion, have only lost control in snow when traction is quite poor.
Rust is the biggst problem, although what can you expect for a car of this age. particular areas to watch out for are filler cap, sills and front valance. mechanically sound, enging has gone well despite being hammered to try to get more oomph out of it. performance isn't great, having now driven cars such as the mini one and newer ka/fiestas. acceleration to 70/80 can be a struggle though fine in lower gears, 4th and 5th are pretty useless. on hills and overtaking particularly slow. though always enough for the younger driver.
Insurance has been £1000 when I was 17 on provisional to £500 aged 21 full license.
Interior is pretty boggy, though functional. window winders came off after door slamming.
Hi.
I had a 1993 1.1 LX and I must say, I experienced exactly the same as you have!
I ended up getting rid of it when I was experiencing a severe shaking of the steering (suspected steering rack/bearings who knows) and it developed a bad leak around the gasket, letting in water.
The car never let me down though, decent little car it was.
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