I bought this car a couple of years ago when I was in between cars, I have a van that is used for my Business during the day, but you cant realy use it for pleasure, or trips out to places. So I bought this car .. cheap ( £100) with no MOT, and in need of a few mechanical repairs.
***First thoughts***
The escort I got had a bent rear axle, ( probably due to the poor handling !! ) and was in need of some welding. , MOT and tax later , the car was back on the road. I must admit I had a very low view of this car , compaired to other cars I've owned, but I have to say this car was a pleasure to own, it did all that was required of it,
was reliable transport, cheap on all it's running costs, and does exactly what it says on the tin.
The interior is comfortable, seats adjustable, has inbuilt security, by way of a standard alarm (sounding a horn type alarm under the bonnett) and immobilser. These are activated from a senser behind the drivers door lock, some have a "chipped key" that is sensed by the car as it is inserted into the ignition switch, generally recognised by a red dot on a fat key. Rear seats can be folded down to provide a very large carrying space. Interior fittings are a bit on the cheapo side, but are very functional.
*** General***
The 1.4 ( CVH ) type engine will provide enough performance for general round town cut and thrust nightmare driving of today, will keep up with the flow of traffic no probs'. On long journeys, ( which I've done in this car ) legal motorway speeds are no problem. It will cruise all day long to where ever you want to take it. If you push its limits in the twisty stuff, you'll find it will understeer ( you turn it one way, the car carries on in the same direction ! ) usually towards the curb, resulting in more work for me by replacing the lower wishbone arms, (or the rear axle if that hit first !! ). There is a lot of body roll in cornering, due to the weak standard suspension, and high profile tyres. But if you want a high performance car ...... dont buy a 1.4 LX !!
*** Tekki stuff *** These are the areas to look out for when buying a second hand escort of this year, if in doubt , take someone with you, who you can trust, who knows about cars, ( you'll save in the long term ).
Some of you escort owners may have already noticed water dripping onto your passengers feet ! , this is caused by a rotted battery tray, very common on escorts, rain will run down and find its way to the floor, repair will involve removal of the dashboard ( to prevent fires when welding !! ) and be very expensive to fix. Both front lower arms will wear out , dont go for cheap arms as these are crap, get dealer parts for a bit more , and do a better job. Check the underside of the car, for rust around the...... front seat mounts, + front floors, if you can pull up the front passengers carpet and find the spongey padding soaking wet , that will indicate battery tray / possible floor corrosion. Also inner and outer sills, + rear inner sill webbs, rear wheel arches and under petrol filler cap are prone to rusting.
*** engine ***
CVH engines will rattle if oil is not changed for a long time. This can be checked by looking in the (yellow) oil filler cap, If you see any build up of crap in there you'll know it has not been serviced for a long time. Dont use engine flush on this one or all the build up will drop to the bottom of the engine and block the oil pick up pipe. Causing the red oil light to come on ( also comes on when oil is too low .)
Also check to make sure when the cam belt was last changed. Other things to watchout for is the main fuse box, these are also a fairly common problem area. Generally I find the first indication of a fault is when the heater blower motor packs up completly. ( if it still works on No 3 setting ... this will be something else ). Also clutch pedal adjusters can fail ! , so make sure it drives well on the testdrive.
This car can be a little diamond , ( if you get a good un, ) but be ware of the problems. This car can provide good , cheap reliabe transport. The Scrap yards are full of escorts, if you want non life threatening spare parts.
Best of luck !!
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Our family had an Escort when I was young and it was a reliable and comfortable car. You seem to believe that Ford Escorts are good cars (even though they are old now), but you have had some bad experiences with yours.
lozloz 01.12.2006 14:25
There's nothing wrong with fords. I had a p reg escort for 3 years and had no problems or rust until i crashed it and wrote it. I loved my little Escort
sgjenning 28.11.2006 17:26
I'm confused by the difference between your product rating and your review - the review reads like it's a great car (allowing for age & the fact that Fords always rust!), the ratings say it's a bit rubbish ...
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Advantages: Cheap to run, plenty of room, 5 seats, good first car, cheap parts, widely available, large boot Disadvantages: no power steering, slow going up a steep hill
f1insidetrack 29.10.2009 (30.11.2009)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Ford Escort 1.4 Hatchback
Advantages: Looks good Disadvantages: slow,poor on petrol,breaks a lot
Joe_the_Chef 04.05.2001 (04.05.2001)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: somewhat helpful
Review of Ford Escort 1.4 Hatchback
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