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47 Posts
So I just got this Escort from my Grandmother in July. It sat a lot the last four years, but was driven regularly before that. Got 81k miles on it now, had 79k when I got it at the beginning of July, and around 74k when Grandpa died in '05.
Just seems like it's one thing after another as long as I've had it...and as I've repaired them, I've been, uh, less than impressed with the way Ford did a lot of things on this vehicle. It's not awful, but it's not as well engineered, or built with as high-quality parts, as my Ranger, IMO.
So far I've given it a basic tune-up, put in a radiator and new hoses, new rear coils, and rear sway bar mounts. It's not a lot, all in all, and I've been able to do it all myself which cuts down on costs a lot, but it IS kind of a lot for a car with under 100k miles, in just over a month (and 2k miles) of ownership, IMO.
My Ranger, I'm fond enough of that I'm ok with the "joys" of living with a worn-out vehicle...but it's also got a ton of miles on it. This Escort, well, I don't like it anywhere near as much as the Ranger and never will, and it doesn't have enough miles for me to "forgive" it's imperfections quite as easily.
I'm not trying to bash Escorts- it's got a lot of good qualities, and if it was a stick, I'd probably be a lot more tolerant of the rest. I'm not in love with it, never will be, but it's decent transportation.
But I AM wondering if I've hit (or fallen into, I guess) that point where it's just a never-ending stream of repairs. The Ranger's been there for pretty well as long as I've owned it (since 200k), and I had rather hoped to get away from that. So far, I've done more work per mile of driving than I ever did with the Ranger, though...
Seems like there's a lot of people who figure an Escort is good for 120k or so, and then there's the people who get WAY over 200k out of 'em. I'm a "run it 'til the wheels fall off" kinda guy, I'm just trying to get a handle on how long I've got 'til they do, and how bumpy a road it'll be to get there.
Thanks!
Just seems like it's one thing after another as long as I've had it...and as I've repaired them, I've been, uh, less than impressed with the way Ford did a lot of things on this vehicle. It's not awful, but it's not as well engineered, or built with as high-quality parts, as my Ranger, IMO.
So far I've given it a basic tune-up, put in a radiator and new hoses, new rear coils, and rear sway bar mounts. It's not a lot, all in all, and I've been able to do it all myself which cuts down on costs a lot, but it IS kind of a lot for a car with under 100k miles, in just over a month (and 2k miles) of ownership, IMO.
My Ranger, I'm fond enough of that I'm ok with the "joys" of living with a worn-out vehicle...but it's also got a ton of miles on it. This Escort, well, I don't like it anywhere near as much as the Ranger and never will, and it doesn't have enough miles for me to "forgive" it's imperfections quite as easily.
I'm not trying to bash Escorts- it's got a lot of good qualities, and if it was a stick, I'd probably be a lot more tolerant of the rest. I'm not in love with it, never will be, but it's decent transportation.
But I AM wondering if I've hit (or fallen into, I guess) that point where it's just a never-ending stream of repairs. The Ranger's been there for pretty well as long as I've owned it (since 200k), and I had rather hoped to get away from that. So far, I've done more work per mile of driving than I ever did with the Ranger, though...
Seems like there's a lot of people who figure an Escort is good for 120k or so, and then there's the people who get WAY over 200k out of 'em. I'm a "run it 'til the wheels fall off" kinda guy, I'm just trying to get a handle on how long I've got 'til they do, and how bumpy a road it'll be to get there.
Thanks!