First car 1985 Ford Escort 1.3 - Ford Forums - Mustang Forum, Ford Trucks, Ford Focus and Ford Cars

the-musicman · 08-09-2009, 11:49

Hi everyone !

Just passed my driving test and i have the chance to buy a 1985 1.3 Escort, i'm friends with the guy who's selling it and he says it runs fine with a FSH.

Now i'm just wondering how reliable are these cars ? What's the availability/cost of parts ? Would it be a decent first car ?

Any advice would be much appreciated !

**R.S.LOGAN** · 08-09-2009, 14:34

A car that year won't cost a lot to buy and provided you get someone with mechanical knowledge to give it a quick check and road test , it sounds ideal for first car .Easy to fix and get parts for , whether new or from scrapyard if needed. If you are in U.K. make sure the car has a recent M.O.T otherwise could be bad news. Normally with a car that year , biggest problem is corrosion . Hope this helps .

the-musicman · 08-10-2009, 01:24

Thanks for the reply !

It has 6 months left on the MOT. There are a couple of rust patches where the paint has bubbled up but these are only small and there are no holes or anything. Rest of the car (cosmetically) is fantastic...he's asking £700 for it.

**R.S.LOGAN** · 08-10-2009, 05:31

Unless there is something exceptional about this car , that is a crazy price for a car of that year !!!! A quick check on Auto Trader UK - Buy & Sell New & Used Cars, Car Loans, Car Insurance will verify this.Check the used Escorts for less than £1000 and you will see that you can get a car at least 12 yrs newer for less !!