Cruise control buttons on steering wheel were missing when I bought the car, so I fixed them.
The ignition coil was replaced at 158,000 kms.
Have had the front muffler on the exhaust system mig welded as it was leaking.
The car was stalling when slowing down to turn a corner or slowing to a red traffic light for a while.
Distributor cap, rotor button, distributor leads, spark plugs and an engine tune were all performed at 177,000 kms - as a result, stalling has stopped.
New lower radiator cover was replaced (original was damaged from a tree stump).
Left hand power window motor was adjusted at 170,000 kms.
This car is remarkably comfortable to drive around town, and especially on long highway trips.
Engine response is good for a large car, its not made for taking off quickly at the lights like a little sports car.
This car is built for cruising (in comfort).
Smooth shifting four speed floor shift automatic.
The leather seats are awesome, very comfy to sit on, the seats provide great support with adjustment of the front seats being in easy reach with large turning wheels.
Big cabin space inside, plenty of room for five adults, seated in comfort.
Great factory sound system includes a compact disc stacker in the boot.
Lots of interior lighting, full power options, tasteful use of woodgrain inside.
Heaps of safety features including seat belt pre - tensioners, dual air bags, body reinforcements and ABS (anti lock braking system).
Security system is an engine immoboliser, with remote central locking.
Generous boot volume as well, back seat folds down for large awkward objects.
The fuel economy is great for a large car - I get about 20 to 21 miles per gallon around town (almost 500 kms out of one tank of fuel).
This is increased to 30 to 32 miles per gallon on the highway (almost 770 kms out of one tank of fuel).
The power assisted steering is easy to use around town and firms up on the highway.
Beautiful body styling - a few scrapes and small dings here and there, the car is seven years old now.
Some downside points are that the car is big, therefore need to be careful when parking and not underjudge distances when parking.
The heater isn't terribly warm, but air conditioning is ice cold.
Full instrument gauges are provided including a volt meter and oil pressure gauge, as well as a tachometer, fuel gauge, temperature gauge and speedometer.
Digital display for odometer and trip meter - service indicator lights up every 10,000 kms you have travelled.
The way petrol prices are going (in Australia) we are paying too much ($1.15 per litre), I need to drive only when I really need to - like to work or interstate.
Excellent review. Informative to potential buyers in realworld situations, fuel economy for example. Keep up the good work.
I also have a 1998 Fairlane Concorde Ghia 6cylinder. However I can't say that I am as impressed with the Fairlane as the other reviewer. We purchased the Failane after owning a 1992 EB Falcon, then a 1996 EF Falcon and having been fairly happy with those vehicles figured we couldn't go wrong.
While the car hasn't been a complete disaster I have had to repair the self levelling rear suspension (which using genuine was going to cost in excess of $1000, instead I fitted a pair of standard air shocks), the aircon has now failed, the passenger side window motor has failed, new radiator, new overflow/reservoir tank ($100) plus a new sender ($90), new front shocks... though still scrubs tyres.
In defence of the vehicle though I will add that it does cruise well and on the highway a return of 10 kilometres per litre is easily achieved even at sustained speeds of 140 km/h.
Not a horrible car, but has had more issues than I find acceptable considering the number of kilometres travelled and service history.
Rgds.
I have a '97 EL Falcon, and I noticed your comment about the heater in your Fairlane. In my car, I noticed the heater was mediocre and the engine seemed to be running very cold all the time - always below the normal mark on the temperature gauge.
In my case it turned out to be the thermostat (or something) was stuck and wouldn't close (or open or whatever it needed to do). After replacing this the engine runs in the normal range, and the heater is HOT. The work was done in July, and living in Canberra I really noticed the difference. Believe me, the heater works WELL.
The heater problem (thermostat) sounds about right, it won't be closing, so the car takes longer to warm up, a thermostat should cost around $10 or so.
I just bought an NL Concorde, and I have to say this thing actually gets up and goes, and in respect to thee above people, my fords have always had problems, however they are cheap to replace and easy to maintain myself, as with the NL however, the more expensive the car, the more expensive the parts.
Any car is going to have it's problems. the more gizmo's it has, the more things there are to break.
I own a NL Fairlane Concorde also; the car gets up and moves considering its size, the 3.45 diff ratio and the Tickford 6 help somewhat in that. The 'sports suspension' that the Concorde’s come with is a fairly solid ride, but it means the car doesn't float around like a boat. Overall it’s a nice ride.
I have also had the problem with the thermostat, but I reckon if I got that hot I would also spit the dummy also. This is a quick job that anyone can do at home and the part isn’t that dear.
The SLS (self levelling suspension) also died on me, the compressor carked it. In defence for the car, the SLS pumps up every time you start the car to make sure its ‘sitting level’ the compressor was 9 years old. Once the compressor was replace for $600 it has been fantastic. (if you are looking at buying a Fairlane with SLS and the car has a tow bar make sure you find out what has been towed with it, otherwise the compressor might be fairly worn costing money.)
Most recently, the blend door motor for the climate control has given up, the motor is about $250ish I think from Fords. In Ford's wisdom they decided to put this in the deepest part of the dash, making it a major job to fix.
The body of the car is good, but still suffers from the usual Ford short cuts. Look out for the normal rust spots around rear window and also up just behind the front mudguards. If you lived in a big city like Melbourne, the length of the car may become an issue as it is longer than a wagon, and often doesn’t fit in parks due to length.
Boot space is fantastic; you could fit several bodies in there easy, or several sets of golf clubs if that is your thing. The boot also hosts the 6 stacker CD player.
The cabin itself is somewhat like a Christmas tree as there are lights pretty much everywhere. The car is also blessed with the GT steering wheel and the leather seats.
Fuel consumption around town is a little scary, average about 16-17lts per 100km with stop start traffic. On the open road this drops down to 8-9lts per 100km. Overtaking is an easy task as the Tickford 6 pulls that extra bit harder than the standard 6.
If I had a chance to buy another one, I would have to say yes. These are a lovely car; the power, and the space, the overall feeling of driving a prestige car with some form of sportingness about it.
If you are looking at buying one, go for your life.
Remember to check that it has:
A Tickford motor (red rocker cover, remove plastic belt guard you should see a “T” cast in the block).
The diff is a 3.45LSD - standard
GT steering wheel - wood/leather
Two tone seats - seats have darker grey leather in parts.
(talking to an EX Ford dealer, they use to make up mock Concordes, they would get a normal Fairlane and put on Concorde decals. People unaware would think they are getting a limited edition, but they weren’t. This way they could put on a few extra thousand.)
As you can mostly tell, I am 18 and I love my car to bits. Go get one!
Hope this helps or have I just babbled??
We have owned our Concorde since 2003, and although we have had some problems with it we still love the vehicle. We do frequent trips to Brisbane and with my husbands back injuries we know we can drive in comfort. When we bought ours our decals had been replaced, and as at that time we could not find out if the "concorde decal" was supposed to be in gold, my husband went ahead and had them replaced in gold.
Regrettably though we have had some problems being some the same as other concorde owners and some just related to this vehicle:
1. New radiator, as we had a heating problem that our selling dealer failed to accept.
2. We replaced our suspension, with sports shocks and had the SLS disconnected.
3. We have also had to replace a air-conditioning hose, power steering hose and just recently new water pump and hoses.
Some of these jobs my husband was able to do himself; however there are those he could not as well.
Most of our parts we have put into our car we have been able to source aftermarket, as the cost of the genuine part is completely out of reach.
Aside from these problems, and from a woman's point of view, I love the "Concorde." I love the size as I feel far more comfortable should I be involved in an accident, and I just love the luxury that this car offers.
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