Who knows about Ford Ka's

[dirtydog]

Basically what are the engines like? How long will a serviced engine last?
Am looking at one with 108k and "lots of service bills" what else should i look out for?

[Tomtoms]

you should keep an eye out on the exteria body work. Mainly the shape, it has been know to cause servere eye ache. This is common on models straight out of the factory....and older models.

Can be rectified with a Large hammer...:p

[Dave20046]

As much as I hate them they're cheap to run cars that seem to just keep going. Look out for rot. They're a slight step up from a bike in terms of protection :P

[the_lone_wolf]

Basically what are the engines like?

a hornet in a jam jar...

i usually get one to drive for a day when my focus goes in for service, an although having a wheel on each corner makes it drive hilariously like a go-kart, the engine is very buzzy and they appear to have made the sound proofing out of metal and air

as for the mileage, surely there can't be a shortage of that model around? even with regular servicing i'd say 100k+ is a lot of miles for a ford petrol engine and i'd be tempted to look elsewhere, the rest of the car will be looking pretty tired by then too

"four wheels and a board" and all that...

[dirtydog]

Serious answers please, car isn't for me it's for an 18yr old that needs a cheap car to get around in. He's a student so the budget is limited to less than £800

[injury_ian]

Good honest cars, some are well equipt too!

I've recenly been out looking at a few with my mate, for £1600 we got a Ka2, 80k on clock with e/w, a/c, front and rear heated screen.

not sure of your budget, but it is a buyers market, knocked the dealer down from £2000

[the_lone_wolf]

Serious answers please, car isn't for me it's for an 18yr old that needs a cheap car to get around in. He's a student so the budget is limited to less than £800

i was being serious...

as a runaround for £800 i'd probably look at something a bit older, at least you'll be able to fix it yourself when it stops working, and i'd expect a 100k+ mile ka to stop fairly frequently, most likely with electrical problems if the two fords i've owned are anything to go by...

[jimmy__riddle]

for that budget you can get other cars with less mileage. my GF got a saxo (as much as i dislike french cars) for 700 with 56K and FSH.

[hovis]

not too bad, for the money

dont buy owt french

[Viney]

The early ones should have a 1300 cross flow which is about as bulit proof engine as you can get. It was fitted in nearly every car that ford made from about 1960 up until the KA. The early ones were carbbed and the latter fuel injection. My mate jase's missus KA has 94000 on the clock in 3 years with no real trouble. They can get a bit tapety. If its the early model, then this can be adjusted i believe like a proper old car. If latter, then Hydrulic tappets, will proabably need to be replaced.

Also, the speaker connections to the doors have a habit of breaking, and thats an £90 loom to replace!

I would check the 'lots of bills' to see whats actually been going on.

[custard]

i have one.

have a look at the rubber seal in the boot. lift it up at the bottom where the lock on the boot lid locates an have a look at the metal sill. mine has 60k and this is rotten.
check the door sills (lift the carpet at the edge in the footwell) and check the arches for rust.

under the bonnet. take a good look around the spark plugs. on mine they rust on the engine block and are a pig to remove. when my sister had it the garage botched the removal and crap got in the cylinder heads... was expensive.

fine tooth comb through the service history, i would expect it to have had the cam belt done and proabably a new exhaust by now. if the cam belt hasnt been done would check the service intervals on them cos if memory serves it is an expensive job.

on the whole they are cheap to run and quite a laugh to drive. not sure about 100k miles though...

[johnnyrod]

Viney obviously has the inside line, I'd generally say that an old Ford is asking for trouble. By this age though it will depend a lot on how well it has been looked after. I'd go for an old Micra or something like that, plenty around and not usually ragged. Protons are dirt cheap too, they're Mistubishi copies, engines made in the same factory.

[jimmy__riddle]

Viney obviously has the inside line, I'd generally say that an old Ford is asking for trouble. By this age though it will depend a lot on how well it has been looked after. I'd go for an old Micra or something like that, plenty around and not usually ragged. Protons are dirt cheap too, they're Mistubishi copies, engines made in the same factory.

i bet old fords have a higher survival rate than protons!

[darylB]

We've got a 2000 model coming up to 94000 on the clock, serviced regularly, the only thing we've had to replace were the front shock boots, otherwise cheap to run, insure and economical, we would definately have another when this one expires although no sign of that happening yet, (i hope).

Daryl.

[Viney]

i bet old fords have a higher survival rate than protons!
Agreed, certianly engine wise though it would give the ford a run for its money

[Gazza77]

My first car was a 96 Fiesta with the 1300 Ford engine that also powers the Ka. Was mechanically bulletproof for me; the cambelt wasn't particularly expensive to replace but it would be if you skipped it and it snapped...

[Warthog]

My girlfried has a Y reg one that I have to drive all the time, I have done about 30,000 miles in it. It is currently on 70,000 miles and I have to say, the engine still starts everytime, and sounds and performs perfectly fine. I do have a mountain of other issues with it, like the front suspension seems to be constantly broken. It used to squeak going over bumps, then had various things replaced, now it still clonks and I also suspect the gearbox is loose or something as it clonks when I put in in gear and rattles a bit like the whole thing is loose in the chassis. I also can't hear music above 80 cos it is made of tin and really wind noisy. It also has no power above about 50 at all. But on the good side it is cheap to run (I get 300 miles out of about 30 litres of petrol) and it is easy to drive and park etc. Another problem I had that was apparently fairly common is the heating broke. The valve that opens and lets the hot water circulate was stuck closed so all I had was cold air in the winter! So test the heating. When it was replaced the actual nozzles snapped off too, so they have been known to snap and drain your car of radiator fluid mid trip according to the garage

All in all, I berate it a lot, but it was and is cheap, and I throw it around a lot. If you want a cheap car with a faultless engine but all manor of other niggly faults, get one.

Oh and it truly is a girls car. I am the only man driving one, I have been looking for 3 whole years for other men in one and can't find any. And I even have stupid soft toys in the windows and pink everything cos my gf insists :(.

[dirtydog]

not sure of your budget, but it is a buyers market,

Budget is only £800

i'd expect a 100k+ mile ka to stop fairly frequently, most likely with electrical problems if the two fords i've owned are anything to go by...

I'm on my 6th Ford now and have had no electrical problems with any of them

for that budget you can get other cars with less mileage. my GF got a saxo (as much as i dislike french cars) for 700 with 56K and FSH.

Really don't like the french stuff have had a couple or Renaults and a Peugeot and they were both a PITA and expensive to run.

The early ones should have a 1300 cross flow which is about as bulit proof engine as you can get. It was fitted in nearly every car that ford made from about 1960 up until the KA. The early ones were carbbed and the latter fuel injection. My mate jase's missus KA has 94000 on the clock in 3 years with no real trouble. They can get a bit tapety. If its the early model, then this can be adjusted i believe like a proper old car. If latter, then Hydrulic tappets, will proabably need to be replaced.

Also, the speaker connections to the doors have a habit of breaking, and thats an £90 loom to replace!

I would check the 'lots of bills' to see whats actually been going on.

It's a 1997 we're looking at so it's an early one.

Viney obviously has the inside line, I'd generally say that an old Ford is asking for trouble. By this age though it will depend a lot on how well it has been looked after. I'd go for an old Micra or something like that, plenty around and not usually ragged. Protons are dirt cheap too, they're Mistubishi copies, engines made in the same factory.

A bloke i used to work with had a proton and had nothing but trouble with it and always had trouble finding the parts for it

[the_lone_wolf]

I'm on my 6th Ford now and have had no electrical problems with any of them

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statistics

[dirtydog]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statistics


I understand statistics thanks

[Viney]

Personaly DD, for £800 you are not going to get a perfect car, but you need something that when it does go worng has a huge parts catalouge and are easy to come by and also cheap as chips to repair. The KA imho fits that bill 100%.

The New KA is very nice, although a little dear next to the Fiesta.

[fizzwheel]

When I was looking for a cheap runabout I wanted a Ka, I like them, but I couldnt find one in my budget, I did find a Fiesta that fitted the bill and that never gave me any trouble and I believe they share alot of running gear between the two cars.

[jimmy__riddle]

dont worry, i wasnt recommending a french car, I hate them. just pointing out you might be able to find something with lower miles.

Although i think 100K is fine, as longs as you know its not gonna last forever. at least with an older car its easy to fix and doesnt need a computer.

[steveg]

Bought my son a old mk3 golf for 500 quid , had done 80 k , had for 18 months no problems / no bills ( fingers crossed) , seems really well built for a old car , alot better than my newer Vectra

Cheers Steve

[Skip]

Bought my son a old mk3 golf for 500 quid , had done 80 k , had for 18 months no problems / no bills ( fingers crossed) , seems really well built for a old car , alot better than my newer Vectra

Cheers Steve
+1

Old german iron is where my money goes - I currently have a 1997 E36 BMW 316i Compact - 135k with FSH it drives like a dream and does 35mpg - £800 with a years MOT and 3 months tax I reckon was a steal - its black too which was a bonus!

[embee]

For a cheap runabout I'd always recommend Micras (the jelly mould one, injected 16V 1.0L engine is fine). You'll find decent sound examples for the same sort of money as the Fords, but IMHO they are a much better tool. Old Fiestas and Kas always sound like a bag o' nails to me.

Jelly mould Micras have chain driven cams so no belt to worry about, though a few did have chain tensioner problems but that was a short production run issue, around "T" reg I think.

Avoid earlier ones with the wider tyres and no power steering, way too heavy to haul around. Airbags from around '95 on.

This is the table for the 2005 J.D.Power survey (owners results) so reflects cars back to around 2002, as an indicator
http://www.whatcar.com/NonCar/1345545551.jpg

A quick look in Autotrader (http://www.autotrader.co.uk/) says £1k will easily get you up to year 2000 and 50k miles examples.

[dirtydog]

one of the main reasons we're looking at a Ka is the low insurance group, he's got a Pug 205 at the mo and the insurance is a killer as it's group 6 insurance and he's only 18

[Daywalker]

not a bad run about those ka's if its bog standard, with out central locking & electric windows there's less to go wrong. Also you're never to far away from a Ford spares counter good luck. :cool:

[shonadoll]

I've got an 02, its a bit rusty but has never once let me down. Apparently my McPherson struts will need attention soon, but it's been cheap as chips thus far, and costs me a tenner a week in petrol.

Most reliable car I've ever had. To be honest though- I wouldn't have thought mine would have been worth £1000- and it's done 15,000 miles. I'm sure you could get one cheaper.

[plowsie]

If you can find a good one then thats a start DD.

Bushes are quite often a replacement every year or so on them. We had an over revving problem with the one we had (common on the 1300 engines, rewired ECU for £100 in the end). We sold it a few weeks back because the clutch slave cylinder had gone. £400 to replace amongst other work... But I reckon shopping about woulda got it down. Always check for rust on Ka's thats what the guy who bought it off us said, look all round below it etc. And also look around the tops of the suspension mounting, prone to cracking (ours did).

Like I say, if you can get a good one, go for it. I'd recommend a Corsa though.

BTW ours was a 97 P reg with EW, CL and PAS, these did not come as standard so look out for that.

[DarrenSV650S]

They should have an extra K on the end of Ka

[dirtydog]

They should have an extra K on the end of Ka


Ah another helpfull post... thanks :roll:

[dirtydog]

Personaly DD, for £800 you are not going to get a perfect car.

As long as it's mechanically sound it's fine as it's going to get bashed in the student carpark anyway

And also look around the tops of the suspension mounting, prone to cracking (ours did).

Like I say, if you can get a good one, go for it. I'd recommend a Corsa though.

BTW ours was a 97 P reg with EW, CL and PAS, these did not come as standard so look out for that.

Are the tops of the suspension repairable, is it a big job?
I'm not too keen on Corsas myself but if the insurance group is low enough then might look into it

[Balky001]

Sorry but not read all the replies so may be repeat. Watch out for rusty door seals, the finish is poor and they can go. Locks need lubing especially boot, make sure they open easily. The heating thermostat is a real weakness, I got through 3 before one worked. The Endura engine (I think before 02) is strong but make sure tappets are done and watch out for the plugs, they can rust in a break off, nightmare to get out. I got a P reg Blue Ka2 and electrics OK (electric window went as the connection in passenger side is in a stupid place and can get damaged) but everything else is good. I had mine serived and the tapets were pretty quiet after and it goes really well. You can get problems with suspension mounts so just make sure they are secure.

[DarrenSV650S]

Ah another helpfull post... thanks :roll:
That sums them up from my experience. You're welcome!!!!!!

[fizzwheel]

if the insurance group is low enough then might look into it

What about a Fiesta, I found they were cheaper to buy than a Ka was when I was looking for another car a while ago. Oughta be cheap enough on the insurance to...

[yorkie_chris]

They're right enough motors, but I'd have a fester instead. The 1.0 micras are alright too.

[plowsie]

Are the tops of the suspension repairable, is it a big job?
See below mate
Sorry but not read all the replies so may be repeat. Watch out for rusty door seals, the finish is poor and they can go. Locks need lubing especially boot, make sure they open easily. The heating thermostat is a real weakness, I got through 3 before one worked. The Endura engine (I think before 02) is strong but make sure tappets are done and watch out for the plugs, they can rust in a break off, nightmare to get out. I got a P reg Blue Ka2 and electrics OK (electric window went as the connection in passenger side is in a stupid place and can get damaged) but everything else is good. I had mine serived and the tapets were pretty quiet after and it goes really well. You can get problems with suspension mounts so just make sure they are secure.
As said by me earlier, to elaborate on it, where it actually mounts to the chassis the weld can break, it is a re-welding job as i was told.

+1 with the boots, I know someone whose doesn't work consistently. +1 on the doors, they squeek and are annoying, bit of grease on the pivot points and tighten a screw clears this up :) (not very helpful with that bit).

IMO whilst we had it, I drove it the whole time cos missus hadn't passed the test, it was a fun going little economic roller skate :) When it broke, it was quite saddening actually. I'd say go for it because of insurance. Me and the missus were paying £70 a month with a £180 deposit for both of us, I'd only passed my test in September and she was a learner and this was in October :)

[dirtydog]

What about a Fiesta, I found they were cheaper to buy than a Ka was when I was looking for another car a while ago. Oughta be cheap enough on the insurance to...

The Fiestas are going a bit cheaper but theyre group 4+ for insurance whereas the Ka is only group 2. Here's an idea of the insurance for him at the mo he's got an old pug 205 nothing flash just a`1.1 engine, kept on his drive. The cost??? TPFT £1500!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

They're right enough motors, but I'd have a fester instead.
See above

See below mate

As said by me earlier, to elaborate on it, where it actually mounts to the chassis the weld can break, it is a re-welding job as i was told.

+1 with the boots, I know someone whose doesn't work consistently. +1 on the doors, they squeek and are annoying, bit of grease on the pivot points and tighten a screw clears this up :) (not very helpful with that bit).

IMO whilst we had it, I drove it the whole time cos missus hadn't passed the test, it was a fun going little economic roller skate :) When it broke, it was quite saddening actually. I'd say go for it because of insurance. Me and the missus were paying £70 a month with a £180 deposit for both of us, I'd only passed my test in September and she was a learner and this was in October :)

cheers for that plowsie

[fizzwheel]

The Fiestas are going a bit cheaper but theyre group 4+ for insurance whereas the Ka is only group 2. Here's an idea of the insurance for him at the mo he's got an old pug 205 nothing flash just a`1.1 engine, kept on his drive. The cost??? TPFT £1500!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

f*cking hell...

[dirtydog]

f*cking hell...


exactly!

[Thingus]

All i know is the spark plugs rust up all the time and if you break one, you might aswell scrap it!

[yorkie_chris]

Nah, just pull the head off and get it drilled and helicoiled. Them 1300 engines are pretty stone age so it's none too complicated.

[custard]

All i know is the spark plugs rust up all the time and if you break one, you might aswell scrap it!

or, if you are the garage my sister went to. drill it out. let the swarf go in the cylinder. then start it before cleaning the cylinder out....

[plowsie]

f*cking hell...
Remember my pics of my Civic, know how much insurance wanted for that TPFT?

£1850 :D :lol:

So work paid for it :)

[embee]

Nissan Micra.................honestly. Nothing much really goes wrong with them. Anyone on here had one that went wrong? My 2 were fine, so were my mate's. Just servicing. :smt115

Why go for something which has a proven track record of things going wrong on the basis that it doesn't cost too much to fix?

:-D:-D

[yorkie_chris]

The crossmember under the back of the motor likes to rot, there's a couple of other little places which go but nothing serious. Also it's a f##ker to weld because there's soundproofing/insulation stuff inside that drips all over you.

Good car though, no particular vices and really cheap to run.

[RAPTOR]

i have one.

have a look at the rubber seal in the boot. lift it up at the bottom where the lock on the boot lid locates an have a look at the metal sill. mine has 60k and this is rotten.
check the door sills (lift the carpet at the edge in the footwell) and check the arches for rust.

under the bonnet. take a good look around the spark plugs. on mine they rust on the engine block and are a pig to remove. when my sister had it the garage botched the removal and crap got in the cylinder heads... was expensive.

fine tooth comb through the service history, i would expect it to have had the cam belt done and proabably a new exhaust by now. if the cam belt hasnt been done would check the service intervals on them cos if memory serves it is an expensive job.

on the whole they are cheap to run and quite a laugh to drive. not sure about 100k miles though...


Early KAs had the old fiesta overhead valve engines very very tried and tested and no cam belt.The later models have the overhead cam engine with drive chain,ie no cam belt so if youv'e been charged for a replacement then youv'e been done.

[custard]

clearly memory dont serve then :) :)

[Dave20046]

Nah, just pull the head off and get it drilled and helicoiled. Them 1300 engines are pretty stone age so it's none too complicated.
just like the classic mini :takeabow: