Dear Todd,

I would like to tell you a tale of Escort woes. We bought our 1997
Escort Wagon in February '97. At first it was a great little car. The
first thing to go was the main sensor. This happened last year. One day,
all of the dash lights just came on. We took it in to the local dealer,
and they said that the main sensor was bad, and they replaced it for an
exorbitant fee (including the $60 just to tell us it was a bad sensor).
Within a week, all the lights popped back on. We went back to the dealer
(who had proudly touted their one year warranty on all parts and labor),
and, surprise, it was the main sensor again! According to the service
rep, the sensors had been recalled. HOWEVER, only the replacement had
been recalled, not the original (how convenient!), so we would not be
reimbursed for the original work, although the car would be repaired for
"free" the second time. The next item to go was the radiator. One
evening, my wife went out to find a puddle of coolant under the car. I
noticed that there was coolant leaking slightly above the location of
the drain cock. I quickly checked the coolant to determine the freeze
point, which did measure at -46(F). The low that night had been +19(F).
Obviously, there was a problem! As it turned out, the "gaskets" between
the plastic tanks and the main radiator had gone bad. Originally, the
service advisor tried to tell my wife it was her fault, that obviously
she had overheated the car. IN THE MIDDLE OF WINTER!? The claim made to
me, when I politely asked about the reason for this problem, was that
these gaskets eventually wear out, though "not usually so fast." This
car was purchased in the same town in which I live, so I cannot buy the
explanation that it was intended for a warmer climate! This was two
weeks ago. Just today, my mother's Escort Wagon started leaking coolant.
Surprising? Probably not. But, consider that just one month ago she took
it in to the DEALER to have it "winterized"!

Of course, those are just the big headaches. There was the dome light
which had contacts that corroded before the warranty was even up, which
I cleaned up and has worked better than ever since that time. Then there
is the dash panel beneath the steering wheel which warped over time, and
does not stay in place. Both of the covers on the visor mirrors snapped
off (just while driving down the road, from road vibration) within the
first 15,000 miles. Then, consider the automatic fuel shut off that is
activated by depressing the remote "lock" button a second time
(indicated by the horn/light flash). What is that you say? There IS NO
SUCH THING? Absolutely correct! However, the salesman claimed there was,
and made it a key point in his sale.
As you can see, I am hardly a fan of the Escort. I suppose it is no
wonder that the Escort Wagon has gone the way of the dinosaur.

Thanks for letting me vent. If this saves just one poor soul from
purchasing a FORD, then I will consider this contribution a success.

Arthur