ford escort lx (1996) - great until they get old (Ford Escort in general)

Member Name: yorkshire-lass

Product:	Ford Escort in general
Date:	13/01/09 (255 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: great to drive

Disadvantages: lots of problems in their old age

Up until the summer of 2008 we had a ford escort lx 1996 model and was very sad when it had to be scrapped (we think).

We got this car second hand and it out lived our life expectancy as we used the car a lot. This car was our baby (and cliffords the mechanics!) and we loved the colour which was a racing green.

Up until 2007 we had only had one major problem with the car. This was the fuse box and it was completely changed (yes it was expensive). Then the problems started happening in 2007.

First the starter motor started playing up. The advice from AA was to hit it with a big stick when it got stuck. This meant a brush handle was added to our essential tool kit.

Next thing to go was the battery however this over 12 years old so no complaints there. When it failed it was jumped started by the AA (yes them again) and we had to keep the motor running until the garage with the instructions dont stop! When the battery was took out it was full of water and leaves so this might explain why it needed changing.

The blower in the car was the next to fail. It turns out the fuse had blown. However it kept doing this so the fuse had to be diverted in the fuse box. This worked for a while before it started failing again so we gave up. However this didnt help demisting the windscreen and on one occasion we had to stick our heads out of the side windows to see if the long queue in the car park had gone down!

Not long after this we discovered there was a leak in the boot. This left it moldy inside. It turns out the back light needed a new seal on it.

Then came the final straw. We were on a trip to the seaside on a sunny may day when we started to smell something burning. It was our car so we pulled into the picnic area at north willingham and tried to get a phone signal to phone the aa yet again. When the aa bloke inspected the car he found the front brake kept sticking on. This meant a two hour journey (after a two hour wait) on a large tow truck back home (yes that did cause the curtains to twitch).

This was when we decided to look for another car. The front brake problem was actually easily fixed. After we found another car we were gobsmacked to get a £400 part exchange (the car at this point was basically knackered). I think the bloke thought he could sell it on but we reckon it was scrapped as only the engine was any good.

If you are wondering why we kept going with the car it was because it was a dream to drive and had a large boot (handy for our holidays - it would take 3 suitcases plus bags). It handled corners well and you could achieve good starts from traffic light (the look on boy racers faces was priceless). The fuel economony was good to.

I hope this review doesnt put you off ford escourt's cause they are a great car until they get old. We would actually have another one.

So overall the things we learnt:

Definetley join an emergency service it's well worth it.

If a lot of things keep going wrong the car has probably had it.

A ride on a tow truck is fun!

Summary: watch it when the car gets old

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