A colleague at work has a 96 Escort on a 'P' plate which has done 178K miles. Beyond normal service and consumable items it has only needed parts of the exhaust and a battery. MOTs have involved brake work and some welding but nothing ruinous. I think this is a good demonstration of what can be achieved by properly maintaining a fairly basic means of motoring.
Anybody else running anything similar and with similar low costs?
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That's an interesting story.
I had a 1990 'H' reg Escort (new shape on the 'H' reg) and it was knackered at 96,000 miles.
Rust on the rear arches and the big ends going.
Horrible car.
Maybe Ford had fixed lots of problems by the time 'P' reg Escorts were made.
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So beyond normal service
Its had to have new brakes, exhaust, battery and the underneath is rotten as a pear requiring welding.
Normal for a 14 year old starship mileage shed. It should be down the tip.
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Not at all zero! The use of conumables and the cost of them is part of the overall cost of running a car. In that mileage it has used items and been serviced. The parts replaced are nothing out of the ordinary during the life of a 14 year old car. There was a bit of rust at one MOT which was repaired. It passes an MOT every year and is in daily use. It is nowhere near the tip and doesn't need to be!
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Maybe not quite so basic, but I had a Volvo S60 2.0T manual until earlier this year. It was a 2001 car with 153,000 miles. The previous owner was a good friend, and the first owner was a lease company who provided a complete printout of the service history. In other words, I had a pretty good idea of the complete history of the car.
In all its 153,000 miles, excluding scheduled service items, and consumables such as brake friction material, bulbs and tyres, it needed:
A clutch
An alternator (failed because the servicing dealer fitted the wrong auxiliary belt at service time - they admitted it and paid up!)
A pair of front wishbones.
An indicator switch.
It was still running (beautifully) when sold on. Negligible oil consumption, started instantly, smooth, gutsy, quiet. Everything worked, no MOT advisories on the last test, original battery and exhaust still giving sterling service. One small patch of rust about the size of a thumb nail starting to bubble up on the boot lid near the numberplate.
With continued maintenance, I don't think this car would have had any trouble doing another 100,000 miles or ten years.
SWMBO hated the car, otherwise I would have kept it! :-(
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>>SWMBO hated the car, otherwise I would have kept it! :-(
They're not really a girl's car are they. Probably better for a man to take them home in it, but not for the girl to drive. I read an motoring interview with I think Jodie Kidd, and she was asked, what should a man pick up a girl in and drive them home, and she said something like a Jaguar XJ6.
Sorry luv, can't afford the fuel :-)
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>> They're not really a girl's car are they.
Her list of criticisms:
1. Horrible colour (Maya Gold - not to everyone's taste. I gave her that one).
2. Ugly. I mean, whatever you think of the S60, how can anyone call it ugly?
3. Too big and cumbersome around town.
4. Poor turning circle and perceived size (it's no bigger than a Mondeo, but it does feel it) made it horrible to park.
5. Not enough rear leg room for such a big car (fair point)
6. Too thirsty.
She admitted it was gutsy, comfy, refined, and said it felt very safe, but none of this outweighed the negatives, in her view.
Personally speaking, I would buy another (a D5 this time, probably) tomorrow.
Last edited by: DP on Mon 23 Aug 10 at 11:05
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why would anyone want to keep a p reg escort going?
they must be the most dullest car ive ever had to drive
tell him to get rid and buy something decent before he dies
the old skinflint................
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Got something on the lot you could recommend BB ? One owner, little old lady from Skipton, only ever used it to drive to York once a year at Christmas to deliver soup to the homeless, spent the rest of its time in a heated garage, full service history, ( well, her Scout Leader nephew used to change the oil for her regularly ) nearly a whole month's MOT, almost no rust.......?
:-)
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Because it suits his needs and because he doesn't see any point in keeping motor dealers employed by flogging stuff which depreciates 5o% in 3 years - that's my best guess anyway. I am not looking for comments on his lifestyle and financial situation but on the apparent longevity of the basic car which he drives! I am not in the habit of "Telling" people to do anything.
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Our firm used to have a 1.8d Escort van that had gone over 500,000 miles-still on original engine with just routine servicing.But it was probably on the road for almost 24/24.
Last edited by: jc2 on Sun 22 Aug 10 at 19:41
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My last car but one was a 1983 Escort 1.6 Ghia 3 Door - a relatively rare model. My dad bought it new and ran it until 1995 when, at the age of 84, his inherent good sense told him that he wasn't as sharp as he used to be and he packed up driving and gave the Escort to me. From memory it had 64000 miles on the clock when I took it over and by the time that I scrapped it in 2005 it had 190000. It cost me very little in replacement parts and it passed its final MOT first time.
Several things went wrong at the same time just after the final MOT - the brakes started to judder frighteningly, the petrol tank split, all of the instrument lighting packed in and a stone flicked up by a car ahead put a huge scar on the windscreen just in my line of sight. I thought that it was telling me that it had had enough so I put it out of its misery.
But it had been a belting car.
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Ford Escort - Longevity of Properly Maintained car - Bellboy
why would anyone want to keep a p reg escort going?
they must be the most dullest car ive ever had to drive
tell him to get rid and buy something decent before he dies
the old skinflint................
LMAO...........................
However the major problem with these cars is RUST but if you have a nice clean garage with fresh air and no damp you have cracked it but who does?
I loved the XR3I well known as a female's parts!
Time is a great thing move forward some will keep these and restore them others will scrap them but me id rather move forward they was a good car nice to see at a few rallies but i don't want one now.
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My last car was a 90s Escort 1.6 twin cam estate. It was remarkably cheap to maintain as parts weren't too dear and my mechanic is an honest man who does sound work. It was always a bit rough but even after I had hammered and neglected it for five years or more, washing it seldom but changing the oil and keeping the other fluids topped up, it was semi-respectable.
It returned mid-30s petrol consumption in London and the South-East, used little oil and was willing and nippy when pressed, hitting 90 on the road often when out of town. It didn't bottom over speed bumps even when they were taken too fast. I ran over a massive oak limb near Dorking one stormy night. The car took off but was unharmed.
In the time I had it it needed a cambelt, one front bottom arm, a secondhand gearbox (100 quid delivered, perfect), a pair of front discs and the usual consumables. The sills began to look a bit tatty with my man's cheapo minimalist patches, but no other serious rust had obtruded by the time I got rid of it at about 160,000 miles. It would have passed another MoT for not much money but it was becoming a bit crotchety in the immobiliser department. Still OK if you understood it but no good for the sort of ignorant young person who might have thought it worth 100 quid. I paid 250 for it and ran it for six years or so for a cost of less than £1000, excluding fuel and consumables.
A damned good consumer product. Fords are a bit coarse but Respect, man.
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>> why would anyone want to keep a p reg escort going?
>> they must be the most dullest car ive ever had to drive
>> tell him to get rid and buy something decent before he dies
>> the old skinflint................
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The service manager (who obviously isn't interested in bringing in work!) said not far off the same thing about my 6 year old Mercedes when I asked him what I should do now the Mercedes ServicePlus scheme has run out.
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in reply to the OP
Can I ask is the car garaged?, if so would you take that into account? - does Garaging a car make a difference, I would love a garage but i dont have one and have to keep my car outside - but i try to keep it fully waxed at all time so water beads off it - but does Garaging make a difference to how a car ages?
Many Thanks
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>> but does Garaging make a difference to how a car ages?
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I would say it does, my car is usually garaged when not in use. Polish may help to protect the paintwork from acid rain, bird droppings, etc, but sunlight damages the paintwork, external rubber, and interior trim over the lifetime of the car. Look at some southern European cars for extreme examples.
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in that case, a big enough garage (rare these days on some new houses) is definetly top of my list of priorties when we come to move house :-)
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"but sunlight damages the paintwork, external rubber, and interior trim over the lifetime of the car"
Undoubtedly true but if you use your car on a daily basis it will be exposed to sunlight unless of course you only venture out after dark. Putting your car away each night doesn't do much to extend its life and if it is warm and poorly ventilated will actually encourage corrosion, especially if the car is wet when put away.
A car port is far preferable to a garage in protecting a car from the elements.
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Our cars are kept in a draughty unheated garage. Good for the cars, but in winter nasty to work in...
You can stick your carports. Give me a draughty garage anytime.. preferably a three car one with pit and over garage storage...
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>> but does Garaging make a difference to how a car ages
Was there not a big name magazine or something did a 10 year comparison of a water tight garage and a street kept car... i can't find the link.
From memory the results were the garaged car had better paintwork after 10 years and the street kept car, counterintuitively, had less rust. There was a paragraph or two about why this might be but no definite conslusion.
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Not a car but a forklift.
When some were brand new they went to work in Hot warehouse after 3 yrs they had got used to this enviroment and after the lease we got them back would they start after been outside in the cold would they heck.
A right bar steward springs to mind, So if you have a garage yes use it not leave half the contents of your house in it clear out the carp and stick the motor in.
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Interesting thread as my preference is to run cars into the ground. Last to go was in 2005, a 91/H BX19TGD estate on around 150k.
We'd bought it in 93 from the local franchise as hallmark approved used, it was main family transport until 2000. Apart from routine cambelt replacement and the odd glowplug I don't recall anything ever being done to the engine itself. Clutch changed once at 80k or so. Alternator gave up after 8yrs and it had a couple of air into fuel leaks. Rear trailing arm bearings were an expensive repair as were brake callipers ('lopsided' application/seize). The supposedly complex suspension had new spheres all round once and probably both height correctors.
Went to the scrappie after advice that MoT would need a new steering rack with the suspension bearings on way out again and first signs of serious corrosion.
Current fleet leader is a 2000/X Xantia HDi 110 on 120k. Not sure it will have same longevity. Could hit 150k in next eighteen months but anything on the engine electronics/injection would be instant death - not prepared to risk investing big bucks in that stuff!!
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Redviper - I won't be seeing the owner again until next weekend, at the earliest, but I will ask. I guess that it is garaged, from its condition.
Last edited by: Perky Penguin on Mon 23 Aug 10 at 15:37
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I have just seen my colleague; he tells me that he has never garaged the car.
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Ford Escort - Longevity of Properly Maintained car - diddy1234
