Ford Escort ZX2, anyone own one?

[DisneyJules]

Hello I'm seriously considering buying a 1998 ford escort zx2 but wanted to ask around and see if anyone owned one in hopes of getting a second opinion. The cars has been really well taken care of and it's being sold by a guy my dad works with, whom he trusts which is good. So any input?
I'd greatly appreciate it

 

[MAC3]

Hi,

I don't know if this is helpful but we have had 2 Ford Escorts! Both of which lasted forever with minimal maintenance. My DH just retired one that has 150,000 miles on it...

We plan on cleaning up and putting a for sale sign on it. It still runs well!

Good Luck,
Lisa

 

[wdwfam]

We bought a 2000 ZX2 for our DD last September. Since she isn't 16 yet, I drive it a lot. I pick her up at school in it and she drives home (our state has the permit at 15 law). We love it! It too was very well taken care of with 48,000 miles on it. It's a cute little sporty car for the money. DD's has power everything with a 6CD player. Otherwise, I drive an Explorer which I love too.

 

[CheshireVal]

I own a '99 Escort ZX2. (I bought it 3 years ago used.)

I love the car because it's got tons of features I've always wanted (sunroof, cd changer, rear defrost, auto locks, alarm, etc.) but I have had a few problems with it.

Last year I had a problem with the front headlight sockets that cost $250 to fix (and I had to fix it because a headlight was out). Right now there's a short in one of my rear turn signals but I'm ignoring that one.

The A/C broke last summer and I had to pay $350 to fix that.

The automatic transmission doesn't seem very smooth to me and I'm worried that it's slipping.

Also, one final thing you should be aware of: the tires! Apparently the ZX2 takes a special size tire that was only used on one other kind of car (Dodge Neon). So when I needed new tires a few months ago the cheapest I could find was $65 and they had to be brought in from somewhere else.

Anyway, I love the car itself but it's already had lots more problems than the other two cars I've ever owned (Ford Festiva and Toyota Tercel).

Hope that helps!

 

[DisneyJules]

Val, the tires have just been changed. It's funny you mentioned that because I was looking at them the other day and thought they appeared rather small for tires. I guess any car will eventually need repairs I just don't want to buy a vehicule that's prone to breaking down often.
Thanks for all the help everyone!!!

 

[DwarfMaster]

I had a 1999 ZX2 ~ I can honestly say I never had a problem with the car. It ran like a champ & I loved it. I did have the special tires as well.

I had to get rid of the car because my family just got too big for it. My only complaint was that nobody wanted it! It had very low miles, interior & exterior were spotless, etc etc ~ but the trade-in value was extremely low! Since I'd only had the car 2 years I still owed way more than it was worth. It took me a very long time before I was able to find a dealer who would take it off my hands.

I'd highly reccommend this car IF you've checked around to make sure you're getting a good deal ~ and if you plan on keeping it a while.

 

[Jenn Lynn]

I had one of these in 2000. Brand new, red, 2 door, moonroof, spoiler-SIGH! Had to trade it in for the SUV when DD came along. I LOVED that car!

Now I am sad.

 

[Jasminesmommy]

I had a 98 but got ran over by a truck in 99 and it got totaled.I loved that car but I got a 99 interpid which is now gone and now I have a 96 ford tempo