Not if you buy a decent one and choose carefully, my mate's K reg needed only minor welding at the rear where it had been involved in an accident. otherwise, the chassis was solid.
TCW - By the way, I didn't mean the car price guide thing, I mean they actually do a specific car check review of the model, as Jud has said, have a look at their website, you can buy them on there...
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Parkers is a good site, but it doesn't have everything. Particularly the bulkhead problem, which has been in the car by car breakdown on this site right from the start.
HJ
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1.3 HCS Escorts seem to turn up regularly in the Back Room technical forum, usually with major engine wear problems. Do a site search on 'Escort HCS' and see what you find. They're cheap to insure so you might be tempted, but I would say any other Escort engine is a better bet.
Richard Hall
bangernomics.tripod.com
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My dad had a 1.4 K reg from new and it was the biggest pile of pants.
Electrics were dodgy, it went through wheel bearings at an alarming rate, it was reluctant to start, had a couple of clutches in three years (once left him unable to get up a hill), the build quality was rubbish and it ate tyres.
Put him off Fords for a long time.
Obviously with £2k you'd be looking at something a lot more decent than a K reg but personally i'd steer clear and go for a Golf even though they can be a bit pricy.
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Hmmm... Now I'm confused, is that the battery tray rusting problem? Or something else, having only ever read a Parkers car check about the Escort in particular (I was buying one before I knew this site existed) the only problem their review pointed out was that the battery trays can rust causing water to leak into the passenger footwell. Is the bulkhead something else?
*Soz I can be a bit thick with car terms!*
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The battery tray is the bulkhead on the Escorts. The repair is horrid on mk5s.
How about an Audi 80? They seem sound and cheap - just the insurance. Or perhaps a golf with a boot whatever they are called theses days. Pug 306? Go to an auction and spend half a day looking closely at cars in your price / insurance range.
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IMO it's rather scandalous for people to be cheerfully talking about welding on a ten year-old or younger car. Look at Peugeot, Citroen, or VW from this era and rust will not be a problem. They will be more fun to drive as well, and the Frenchies at least will be much better on fuel economy (dunno about the VWs). Good grief, I know someone with a rust-free 1990 FIAT!
Chris
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If you buy a french car, expect to have lots of electrical problems and more hassle getting it fixed cheaply. Everyone can fix an Escort if it goes wrong. Like I said, my mate's Escort needed welding at 10 years old, but it had beenin an accident and had a bodged repair by a past owner so it's hardly a fair example...
Have you seen K reg Clios, I think rust was a problem, many that I see in the works car park are equally as badly rusted, and some are worse than the Escorts...
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My neighbour has got an M reg with rust all over the bottom of the door sill. Fair enough it's in a place that gets a lot of abuse but my N reg Corolla has only got one tiny rusty blemish on the bit where the wheel arch folds under (I don't know the technical name!), and that car hasn't been treated too well.
Fiestas of that time have a bad rust problem as well, I have seem some nasty M & N reg ones around.
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Escorts could rust badly in the wheelarches etc. up until N reg, (1995 - 2000) after that they seemed to get it right, not many have any significant rust showing.
There'll always be exceptions of course, someone at work has an L reg with rust all over, the doors, the wings, the arches, door bottoms and sills. Me thinks something is very wrong with that car...
Just go and get one, if it's the car you want then don't let other people put you off, I did, and ended up with a Fiesta that I dis-liked after viewing just 2 Escorts. Plus it'll be cheap to fix if something goes wrong and isn't even too bad for home DIY. People can make "better" suggestions all they like, but I find most french cars of the time and price you're looking at quite dull, and I wouldn't even touch a VX Astra...
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I agree with Chris R.
For a fairly new car I would have thought Japanese would give the ultimate reliability (and perhaps boredom in some cases)
But for an older car go for a Pug or VW. They just dont seem to rust unless they have poorly repaired accident damage. I have owned both and can honestly say I have had no electrical problems at all.
Try reselling an Escort compared to a Golf
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Look out for an early K/L mk111 golf or if you can afford the insurance a two door driver. Looks good and there are some very clean ones about. Very sound, strong motors and drive chain. watch the insurance group.
Peter
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Yeah, but the Golf is a bit more hefty on the fuel, it may be solid, but you have to pay for that when something goes wrong - and it will on a GOlf that costs less than 2 grand, also, lik Peter said, the insurance is higher on most Golfs than an Essy.
The Escort IMO is a fun car to start with which shouldn't cause too many headaches, and if I had my learning time again, it's the car that I would buy without any doubt at all.
Japs are good, but dull...
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