Are Australian Fords REALLY so bad?

Crazy Dazz · 05-05-2013, 01:09 AM

I read it in this forum all the time; Falcons are ****, the balls fell off my Territory, Ford Australia has let the consumer down, Falcons are dying because they have a reputation for being unreliable, whah, whah.
So I ask the question, in all honesty are they REALLY that bad???
Sure these Australian cars have had their share of problems, and by and large Ford have issued recalls and fixed the problem. The Terri’s balls are a case in point. Yes, a **** problem and Ford began by replacing them free well outside warranty, and then issued a recall once they had a solution. SO let’s compare that to the “uber reliable” Toyota Landcruiser: In the 90’s when they launched their new turbo diesel they didn’t bother to upgrade the big-end bearings with the result that they inevitably failed. Toyota’s response, denial, denial, then grudging offer to pay for HALF the labour and cost of bearings ONLY on a “case by case” basis (despite the extensive other damage often caused. Or the 2nd biggest seller, Nissan Patrol. Google “Nissan Grenade” then come back and complain about your balls. A fundamental design flaw that practically guarantees destruction of the engine, that took Nissan years to fix on their new cars (no recalls, no assistance, nothing) but at least the new ones lasted long-enough for the Turbos to implode.
Have a look around at how many AUs there are, still cruising along with 300k+ on the original engine, or Taxi’s that have racked up 700k+. Phenomenal engines.
Over my preceding 30 (mostly poor) years I have owned many older cars, and I will tell you that ALL older cars break and require maintenance, but none are as cheap or easy to fix yourself as a Falcon. I have a 22 year old DAUGHTER, who can barely sew a button on her designer blouses, but she fix just about anything on her AU.

I also wonder how much of this “reputation” has been caused by non-genuine knockoff parts? It may be LESS of a problem now, but when Commode and/or Falcon were the market leaders it made sense for everyone to be making and selling knock-off parts. If you own an E or A series, and want to know why you’re replacing the power steer pressure switch very year or so, stop buying the cheap ones, or at least fit decent ‘o’ rings that don’t dissolve on contact with hydraulic fluid.

My personal car is an XR4, supposedly designed, engineered, and built by Germans (those epitomes of high quality manufacturing.) I LOVE it to bits,
BUT,
No cruise control on a top of the range model.
One cup holder, that you can’t even use because of the gearshift (and if you want an ashtray, guess where that goes.)
Bonnet release is in the passenger footwell (how HARD would it have been to re-route that cable?)
Indicators on the wrong side. Seriously? You can move the whole fekkin steering assembly, but can’t swap the indicator and wiper controls?
Put any more than a pair of midgets on board and the ***-end lets fly (Took AUSTRALIANS to design and develop an anti-sway bar.)
Hit 100kph and you’re left hunting for the missing 6th gear (those autobahns must be bloody slow.)
Aircon simply cannot cope with ambient air above 30c.
Heater is always on (heater tap is designed not to close all the way to prevent freezing.)

As I said, I love it to bits, but let’s not pretend that everything coming out of Europe or Japan is all glittering perfection.
And don’t get me started on some of the crap still coming out of Korea.
People whinge about their Falcon because after 10 years and 200k a switch or button falls off. Have you looked at a Kia of the same vintage?

(After driving a near new model with the RAC, I almost bought the missus a nice shiny new Santé Fe Diesel. But we wanted one with the leather and all the fruit, so when I saw a top of the range 2nd hand, 2 years old with under 50k on the clock, I trotted down for a test drive. I still shudder just thinking about it.) And check out the engines in the craptiva after 100k; sounds like a 100 angry Koreans belting it with hammers

Ford sell how many Falcons each year? Whilst Toyota manage to con over a million simpletons into buying Corollas. Wonder who has the biggest budget to spend on process improvement and quality control?

“Falcons don’t hold their value” is another chestnut, and up til now this has probably been true in the short-term, and for one simple reason. Large “fleet” and lease sales lead to huge volumes being dumped in the market from 1~5 years. Just check out the number of 20+ year old Falcons still chugging along, compare them to the few horrific little cars (that haven’t made it to the scrap heap yet.) The numbers are also misleading when you consider the cost of replacing major components.

I'm not suggesting that we look at Falcons & Terris through Rose-coloured glasses, only that we be realistic in our criticism. Furthermore if so many “Ford Enthusiasts” want to do nothing but rubbish Fords in a FORD forum, I hate to think just how much you are running down the brand in public?

Ibanezteve · 05-05-2013, 01:29 AM

I think you need remember that we are on a ford forum, so people do come on here to discuss problems that they are having with their cars in the understanding that others who are driving the same cars, more often than not can provide a positive solution.
I can't give ford a big enough wrap, never had any major issues with their cars, the main winge I see on here is related to after sales service, but I've never dealt with them that way.
People don't post threads about how their wheel bearing is working as it should!

1TUFFUTE · 05-05-2013, 03:39 AM

I like you Crazy Dazz

you know what your talking about. Now people forget many things that go in one ear and out their mouth in the form of an uneducated whinge.
Ford Falcon FG won SAFEST car of ANY car you can buy last year. And as ive said before..thats not just the crappy 5 star ancap ratings...its a full independent front and rear passenger crash testing. You simply CANNOT BEAT that. And ive brought this up many times but it doesn't seem to sink in much.

But while olde mate might be right about this being a ford forum and the obvious place to hear about these problems.....its the fact that clowns go on as if the other makes don't have similar or worse problems. I mean the heavily praised VE has been recalled like 4 times for safety issues I think it is now....and has never beat the FG in independent coty awards...and yet the Australian public still somehow vote it as the greatest aussie car ever. Not to mention voting with their wallets. But that aside...EVERY single car model/ make has problems.....even top end euro models where youd expect the budjet would iron out any faults. But no.....every single car is made to a budget and therefore will have some generic faults over time.

But to sum it up...you just simply don't win the amount of awards and accolades like safest car and coty like the FG Gseries has if the cars are rubbish.
I always have...and have no doubt I always will love my fords. better then all that other SOULLESS rubbish out there.

MethodX · 05-05-2013, 03:20 AM

Ford and GM simply arent the cool brands they were to a lot of people.
Although Ford are trying to change this image at least.

VW and Mazda are just the in fashion brands to own.

sbcb · 05-05-2013, 04:40 AM

Go to any popular brand and there are threads on all kinds of problems. BMW Merc anything so take some comfort as all cars have their problems. Ford Aus can still hold its head high.

**DJM83** · 05-05-2013, 07:46 AM

Nice comments re XR4 makes a good argument against euro Ford's don't it

SumoDog68 · 05-05-2013, 08:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DJM83

Nice comments re XR4 makes a good argument against euro Ford's don't it

I dont think OZ Ford made cars are bad. Does Territory compare with a LC or a Patrol ? Probably not. Are people who buy Corollas simpetons ? Corolla is in its 11th generation and one of the best selling cars in the world ever .That is lot of simpletons...People buy what suits their needs and budget.
My family and friends who own local Ford product like the robustness of the design but some are a bit dissapointed with wet road handling of AU or fuel economy of Petrol Territory. Trick with car brands is to have loyal group of buyers and than to conquest sales from competition.
Ford OZ should try to play the niches more rather than manufacture to one size fits all model. Ford also gambled with local fleet supply deciding not to discount to fleets and chase private buyers. What is wrong with selling to fleets - those cars are sold at auctions where they are bought by people who would never buy new anyway.
Only local Ford i would buy is XR6T and only for its excellent driveline - body would have to be a wagon. It looks like there wont be a wagon available so might have to grab piece of history before the only engine avaliable is 2.0 EB.

tezxr8man · 05-05-2013, 05:51 PM

[QUOTE=
My family and friends who own local Ford product like the robustness of the design but some are a bit dissapointed with wet road handling of AU or fuel economy of Petrol Territory.[/QUOTE]

I don't wanna have a go or any thing but has anybody driven a hilux in the wet?? there are dangerous and they are brand new ones . territory do use a bit of fuel but Land cruisers of the same vintage are hopeless in that regard as well

on a whole Aussie cars are robust and keep going for years longer and with less cost than most of the competition sure they have a few small dramas but hardly ever stop completely

flooded one · 05-05-2013, 06:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tezxr8man

I don't wanna have a go or any thing but has anybody driven a hilux in the wet?? there are dangerous and they are brand new ones . territory do use a bit of fuel but Land cruisers of the same vintage are hopeless in that regard as well

on a whole Aussie cars are robust and keep going for years longer and with less cost than most of the competition sure they have a few small dramas but hardly ever stop completely

yep like most utes in the wet!! I find it fun :p

Yellow_Festiva · 05-05-2013, 09:14 AM

I'm very happy with the cars I have bought from Ford (both times), and very let down by the after sales customer service (both times).....

LeadFoot81 · 05-05-2013, 09:14 AM

Crazy Dazz I appreciate your passion, but (I think) your post is a venomous, muddled mess of broad brush strokes that will offend too many different people (many on these very forums) for you to get your point across.

Wretched · 05-05-2013, 05:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LeadFoot81

Crazy Dazz I appreciate your passion, but (I think) your post is a venomous, muddled mess of broad brush strokes that will offend too many different people (many on these very forums) for you to get your point across.

I agree, the post had good intentions but came across as offensive, immature, full of spite and mixed with a lot of baseless assumptions.

There are a variety of reasons why Ford can't sell the Falcon. These range from a market that shifted years ago to more versatile vehicles (SUV), downsized to a more suitable car or simply want something different. Then there is the quality, the lack of innovation and the poor after sales service that many have experienced.

I have been brought up in a Ford family, we've owned many Falcons and I myself had two B series ones.
Initially I wanted an AU3 Fairmont ghia V8. Instead I bought a brand new BA. I wish I had bought that AU3, the BA was the worst car I ever owned, I won't go into detail of what went wrong with it but lets just say the only good about it was the I6, and the air conditioner. The rest, well lets just say I couldn't offload the thing quick enough.

I thought ok, lets give it another go and bought a BF2 XR8. Initially it was good to have the power and the sound, there far less issues with this car than with the BA. Overall though the I6 was a better engine, a better package. Still, like the BA there were too many quality issues that I just couldn't afford the time to keep getting fixed. For a car that was designed and built for Australian conditions like we're led to believe both sure faltered under these conditions (did Ford make the interior out of cardboard?).

I then decided ( and after sampling a friend's XR5) I would "downsize" to a Focus XR5. For once I made the best purchasing decision. After 5.5 years I have only had one issue with the car mechanically and that was fixed for free out of warranty. The car is far from perfect, I mean the A/C is pathetic at best and I would have liked bluetooth (Ford not able to get it for the LT Focus XR5) but other than that I cannot fault it (interior is like the day i picked it up). I don't want to move on to another car, I love this car to bits and each time I drive it I just want to keep driving. Will my next car be a Ford? Not sure, depends on my requirements and what they have on offer compared to the market. Of course I will look at what they do have in their range but now they are not the automatic purchase they once were.

My Focus ownership also drove my father (a 7 time Falcon owner) to "downsize" and get himself a 2013 Focus ST and he loves it. First time since I was born we have not had a Falcon in the family and really that's not going to change. The LW Focus is that good.

I don't blame the market, other makes or other countries for the demise of the Falcon, I blame Ford, Ford AU, Ford NA. They had it good until the mid 2000's where the market shifted and they didn't read it right, whether that was management or just a lack of insight.
The other problem is quality and the product, for something made here for here and for so god damn long they sure have a long way to go. Again I blame Ford. I don't know if it is the penny pinching or just an attitude issue but them alone are to blame.
People can bag Koreans, Japanese (and to a point US) and Euro all they want but with each iteration of their cars they went that extra step, that extra mile to address the criticisms, not all the time they have fixed everything (Hyundai still dynamically is a boat) but they're adapting and learning and this is where I think Ford (and Holden) locally have fallen, they have gone a little here and there to fix issues but still have such a way to go.

For Ford the Territory is their car that could milk the market, as good as the SZ is, it only caught up to the market, I really hope that Ford AU ditch the "she'll be right" attitude and start to get ahead. The Ranger is a brilliant car and shows what Ford AU can do, lets hope they keep the momentum for the next Territory and Falcon.

nstg8a · 05-05-2013, 05:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wretched

I agree, the post had good intentions but came across as offensive, immature, full of spite and mixed with a lot of baseless assumptions.

There are a variety of reasons why Ford can't sell the Falcon. These range from a market that shifted years ago to more versatile vehicles (SUV), downsized to a more suitable car or simply want something different. Then there is the quality, the lack of innovation and the poor after sales service that many have experienced.

I have been brought up in a Ford family, we've owned many Falcons and I myself had two B series ones.
Initially I wanted an AU3 Fairmont ghia V8. Instead I bought a brand new BA. I wish I had bought that AU3, the BA was the worst car I ever owned, I won't go into detail of what went wrong with it but lets just say the only good about it was the I6, and the air conditioner. The rest, well lets just say I couldn't offload the thing quick enough.

I thought ok, lets give it another go and bought a BF2 XR8. Initially it was good to have the power and the sound, there far less issues with this car than with the BA. Overall though the I6 was a better engine, a better package. Still, like the BA there were too many quality issues that I just couldn't afford the time to keep getting fixed. For a car that was designed and built for Australian conditions like we're led to believe both sure faltered under these conditions (did Ford make the interior out of cardboard?).

I then decided ( and after sampling a friend's XR5) I would "downsize" to a Focus XR5. For once I made the best purchasing decision. After 5.5 years I have only had one issue with the car mechanically and that was fixed for free out of warranty. The car is far from perfect, I mean the A/C is pathetic at best and I would have liked bluetooth (Ford not able to get it for the LT Focus XR5) but other than that I cannot fault it (interior is like the day i picked it up). I don't want to move on to another car, I love this car to bits and each time I drive it I just want to keep driving. Will my next car be a Ford? Not sure, depends on my requirements and what they have on offer compared to the market. Of course I will look at what they do have in their range but now they are not the automatic purchase they once were.

My Focus ownership also drove my father (a 7 time Falcon owner) to "downsize" and get himself a 2013 Focus ST and he loves it. First time since I was born we have not had a Falcon in the family and really that's not going to change. The LW Focus is that good.

I don't blame the market, other makes or other countries for the demise of the Falcon, I blame Ford, Ford AU, Ford NA. They had it good until the mid 2000's where the market shifted and they didn't read it right, whether that was management or just a lack of insight.
The other problem is quality and the product, for something made here for here and for so god damn long they sure have a long way to go. Again I blame Ford. I don't know if it is the penny pinching or just an attitude issue but them alone are to blame.
People can bag Koreans, Japanese (and to a point US) and Euro all they want but with each iteration of their cars they went that extra step, that extra mile to address the criticisms, not all the time they have fixed everything (Hyundai still dynamically is a boat) but they're adapting and learning and this is where I think Ford (and Holden) locally have fallen, they have gone a little here and there to fix issues but still have such a way to go.

For Ford the Territory is their car that could milk the market, as good as the SZ is, it only caught up to the market, I really hope that Ford AU ditch the "she'll be right" attitude and start to get ahead. The Ranger is a brilliant car and shows what Ford AU can do, lets hope they keep the momentum for the next Territory and Falcon.

Great post!

AU Mont · 05-05-2013, 05:35 PM

who would buy a focus to replace a falcon?

quality aside, these are 2 very different cars for different markets. I think people still want larger vehicles just not in sedan form. People still need the interior & luggage space, things havnt changed that much.......

Franco Cozzo · 05-05-2013, 06:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AU Mont

who would buy a focus to replace a falcon?

quality aside, these are 2 very different cars for different markets. I think people still want larger vehicles just not in sedan form. People still need the interior & luggage space, things havnt changed that much.......

Ask DJM83.

Quote:

Originally Posted by peteypete

My family have always owned fords, I've owned two in my past 4 years of driving (NL Fairlane and now a 2008 BF xr6)
Mum and dad own a F250, and they used to own an explorer.
Out of these four cars, the explorer was the worst. But it was always little problems which were rectified quite quickly and didn't take a huge chunk out of the hip pocket.
The f250 has been a great car and has racked up about 140 thousand K's, never ever had any problems. It's a work car and gets treated like one, dints in every panel, broken tailgate, headlight held on with gaffa tape etc but mechanically it is very sound and doesn't miss a beat.
Mum traded her explorer in on a 2003 honda accord with only 60thousand k's on it, about 8 years ago.
It is at 190 thousand, the transmission has fully **** itself. It slips and carrys on, and after some research have found that this was a common problem with such a model and Honda offered warranties for a BRIEF amount of time after the release of it.
There has been other issues with the honda but that was the worst and the fact that the transmission is going to cost two and a half g's to repair for a 10 year old car just makes me wonder why someone would even bother keeping it when the trade in value is about 7k for said car.
My fairlane (which I gave to my parents because of their honda) Has never skipped a beat. It has now reached 230 thousand kays, and the car is great.
Apart from some old creaky ball joints in the front, it is perfect.
My xr6, which I've now owned for a year and cops the occasional spirited drive has never had any problems and I've chucked an extra 50 thousand k's on her.
The biggest thing I've had to replace on the car is a wheel bearing hub, and that is when we had floods down here in kooweerup. I went to a mates place down the road, where it started to rain. Came out 3 hours later and bam, his street was a lake. Car was hub deep in water and thats when I stuffed the hub driving through it.
I fixed it myself and two new hubs cost me 140$ and it took me what, 2 hours to do with basic tools and a torque wrench.
its now at 190 thousand k's and I think the ORIGINAL diff bushes have just given out so she'll be in getting some new ones which is the first major fix I've had
My brother bought a BMW, 1994 e36 coupe 4 banger thing.
Piece of junk. 130 thousand k's. Coolant leaks. Manifold leaks. Idling problems. Lots of other problems I forget.
It now has a blown head gasket. Pretty pathetic for such a low mileage car, but then again buying second hand you never know what it's been through.

Good thing about the honda dieing is that I've let my parents drive my XR which convinced dad to buy an FG mk2 xr6

Woohoo.

When I did my brief stint at a Honda dealership in 2010, we were doing a lot of autos under warranty on new cars, Honda autos really suck, at least 5 cars a week.

That was a bastard of a job, you and 5 other people get called over to hold the sub frame under the car on the hoist while another guy undoes it with an impact gun, man that **** was heavy.

AU Mont · 05-05-2013, 06:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Big Damo

Ask DJM83.

im sure people have their reasons for crossing over from falcon to sardine tin

but to compare both is not realistic?......... might as well say " my Toyota Landcruiser was such a pos, i bought a new hyandai i30 and couldnt be happier !!"

**DJM83** · 05-05-2013, 06:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AU Mont

who would buy a focus to replace a falcon?

quality aside, these are 2 very different cars for different markets. I think people still want larger vehicles just not in sedan form. People still need the interior & luggage space, things havnt changed that much.......

Ill tell ya a story

I was looking for a car to replace my AU TE50, now i was dead set keen on an FG XR6T Ute with a 6 speed proper gearbox.

Now i always loved the XR5 and thought id own one no worries but its not for me.
Alas i went to have a look at cars and there was an LS XR5T, i said to the used car folk do you have a newer LV i went to have a look at it and i was bloody surprised. I had never driven one and was mighty impressed, enough so to put a deposit on a new one in 2010.
Now i live interstate, away from mine and my partners family. So packing gear inside it, it was gonna have to try hard to swallow the gear that my AU did. Well it did it with aplomb, and it did everything my AU did on a long trip and i had a hell of a lot more fun in it compared to the AU.
Now the LV came up for change over (Well it didnt as it was still faultless with only 2 warranty issues). And upon trade in day it never had a rattle, squeak or any other.
A falcon never even come into the picture unfortunately, i have no need for one. My new Focus IMHO is a much nicer place to sit compared to an XR6T, yeah sure it aint as fast in a straight line but again IMO thats the only thing it has over my ST is straight line speed.
I dont wish the falcons demise, but again IMO the falcon went south after the AU.
Id love too see the falcon kick on. But i wont have one as it doesnt suit my needs but it does for some people.

LeadFoot81 · 05-05-2013, 09:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AU Mont

who would buy a focus to replace a falcon?

quality aside, these are 2 very different cars for different markets. I think people still want larger vehicles just not in sedan form. People still need the interior & luggage space, things havnt changed that much.......

People are realizing (in droves) that hatches (such as Focus) are bigger than they used to be but are packaged more efficiently so:

They have comfortably sized cabins
They're easier to get in and out of
They're easier to park
Have usable space that's easier to access

They're also a good compromise between power, speed and fuel economy.

Add the fact that most look very smart, come loaded with features, and are cheaper than a large car...its easy to understand why someone would cross shop a large sedan with a hatch (if only out of curiosity) or swap from a Falcon to a Focus.

I went from a string of Falcons to a Fiesta because it met all the points I've listed AND I realized I didn't need the larger car. I suspect many hundreds of thousands of people in Oz have done or are doing the same.

AU Mont · 05-05-2013, 09:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LeadFoot81

Add the fact that most look very smart, come loaded with features, and are cheaper than a large car...its easy to understand why someone would switch to a Focus or cross shop a large car with a small one.

nah?

i cant see anyone wanting to downsize to a focus to replace a family car? Dunno mate, have you ever done a trip with kids and all the junk that comes along for the holidays?

anyone who could fathom the change from falcon to focus never really needed the falcon in the first place. 'OR' all the kids have grown up and left home which means a large sedan isnt required anymore which is the case when my dad put electrical tape over his falcon's flashing fault codes and traded the car for a mid sized Euro lol

Crazy Dazz · 05-05-2013, 11:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LeadFoot81

Crazy Dazz I appreciate your passion, but (I think) your post is a venomous,

Venomous? Gees, you should see me when I actually get fired up?
As for offending people, I AM offended everytime I come into a dedicated Ford Forum and read idiots slagging off the cars and the brand, or proclaiming that they will never buy another Ford because they had problems.
We ALL buy cars that fit our needs and our budgets, and I certainly don’t condemn people for their choices. It does however annoy me when supposed Ford Enthusiasts fail to support the brand because of ill-conceived and foolish notions. When I last bought the missus a NEW car, we almost went for the Terri, but opted for a Honda Odyssey because it was better suited to the role of people carrier we needed at the time. It was a great car, but I'm not going to defend my decision by PRETENDING that it didn’t have problems, claim that it was as powerful as a Terri, or that its driving was any match for the AWD.

**DJM83** · 05-05-2013, 09:14 AM

Agreed, i have no qualms with aussie cars at all, i mean for the a G6ET is a hot looking car with one of if not the best motors under the bonnet. But alas i have no need for one.
But comparing a 4-5 year old XR4, that was neither designed nor built for the Australian market IMO isnt right. Hell my old XR5 had a lot of the traits of the XR4 and then some, even my new ST has many a euro trait thats because its well a euro. But at least the indicators are back on the right side

csv8 · 05-05-2013, 09:28 AM

My BF Mk2 Ghia has just done 120,000kms, been extremely economical and reliable..One reason why I have kept it,,but a Calais for $39,990 is so tempting.. Don't know how FORD can/will fight back...If they drop the G6E to Calais price it still lacks the kit of the new Calais....no value for $$$..so sad,,,

Franco Cozzo · 05-05-2013, 09:31 AM

I've got a problem with BA and onwards Falcons, the seat is too high and the steering column too low, I'm a fat bastard at 185cm tall and 125KG, so no excuses, but I can comfortably fit into my WS Fiesta and my LV TDCI Focus, and its much more comfortable, the seats have heaps of adjustments backwards/forwards/up/down and the steering column too.

The EL doesn't have this problem, but the seat is a bit flat, there is no support for your right thigh when you're on the accelerator for long periods of time, I try to rest my leg on the door while I'm driving.

The only other problem with the EL is its a big car on the outside, but seems small on the inside, maybe its because the firewall is pretty far back because of the I6 engine? My apprentice is 6'4" or over and he can't drive it even with the seat so far back as his legs are too long.

Other than that, it rides really nicely on rough roads, has a lot of ground clearance so I can it out off the beaten path, there isn't much road noise and the aircon is simply awesome. I imagine the newer Falcons like FG probably do this even better.

The aircon sucks in both my LV Focus and my WS Fiesta, so they do have their down sides.

peterr · 05-05-2013, 09:53 AM

Slightly off topic put makes our Fords look good.

I quote Daily Telegragh cars guide May 3rd 2013 : Used cars guide BMW X5, 2007-11 models Rear tyre wear is an issue.The wear is more pronoinced on the inner half of the tyer and cant be adjusted out,not enough adjstement avalable,considerable cost to replace run flat tyres,the rear outer bush on lower control arms wear,while at the front the caster bushes wear out,the aircon drains onto the the drive shaft and can cause rust,starter motor bushes wear out replacement of starter motor,the water cooled alternator has a plastic bush that wears and breaks ups,plastic hose fittings around engine bay go brittle and fall apart need replacing,door locks and window regulators regularly rail,dash and control panel display fade. Anyone considering buying one should think long and hard one with 100,00 ks or mor runs a real risk of their dream becoming a expensive one.

Nic85 · 05-05-2013, 10:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by peterr

Slightly off topic put makes our Fords look good.

I quote Daily Telegragh cars guide May 3rd 2013 : Used cars guide BMW X5, 2007-11 models Rear tyre wear is an issue.The wear is more pronoinced on the inner half of the tyer and cant be adjusted out,not enough adjstement avalable,considerable cost to replace run flat tyres,the rear outer bush on lower control arms wear,while at the front the caster bushes wear out,the aircon drains onto the the drive shaft and can cause rust,starter motor bushes wear out replacement of starter motor,the water cooled alternator has a plastic bush that wears and breaks ups,plastic hose fittings around engine bay go brittle and fall apart need replacing,door locks and window regulators regularly rail,dash and control panel display fade. Anyone considering buying one should think long and hard one with 100,00 ks or mor runs a real risk of their dream becoming a expensive one.

How is this any different to a Territory? My Sister bought a 2005 Territory Ghia RWD. 100,000kms on it and the suspension is completely shot, all dampers need to be replaced plus all the bushes - Sounds like you're playing Pong on the Atari when you drive over bumps. The rear diff clunks and carries on, the transmission is on its way out and jolts into gears. Nearly all the interior bits don't line up anymore (don't know if they ever did) and rattle when you go over bumps.

The only difference is that the Territory parts will be cheaper to replace and easier to get a hold of.

irish2 · 05-05-2013, 12:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nic85

How is this any different to a Territory? My Sister bought a 2005 Territory Ghia RWD. 100,000kms on it and the suspension is completely shot, all dampers need to be replaced plus all the bushes - Sounds like you're playing Pong on the Atari when you drive over bumps. The rear diff clunks and carries on, the transmission is on its way out and jolts into gears. Nearly all the interior bits don't line up anymore (don't know if they ever did) and rattle when you go over bumps.

The only difference is that the Territory parts will be cheaper to replace and easier to get a hold of.

I don't know how much you know about cars. Generally shock absorbers don't last past 100,000k's, doesn't matter which car or make. Also the BTR 4 speed is extremely simple. A service is probably all it needs.

Nic85 · 05-05-2013, 03:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by irish2

I don't know how much you know about cars. Generally shock absorbers don't last past 100,000k's, doesn't matter which car or make. Also the BTR 4 speed is extremely simple. A service is probably all it needs.

Transmission was serviced when she bought the car by a reputable transmission specialist. Also, My current car has 110,000kms on it and the shocks aren't buggered. My last car had 150,000kms when I sold it and the shocks weren't buggered either, neither were any of the bushes. I guess it depends on what type of roads the cars are driven on.

SPArKy_Dave · 07-05-2013, 03:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by irish2

I don't know how much you know about cars. Generally shock absorbers don't last past 100,000k's, doesn't matter which car or make. Also the BTR 4 speed is extremely simple. A service is probably all it needs.

In my experience, falcon shocks are good till around 300,000km.
(or were)

Have several falcons still on all original suspension (yep, bushes and all)
at 278,000km and 285,000km respectively.

Milty · 05-05-2013, 11:02 AM

Without taking part in the politics of the thread, I’ll just say this. My 2003 BA Fairlane has just passed 400,000ks and I won’t be parting with it any time soon. There are a couple of other toys in my shed; like a 1968 ZA Fairlane and a 1977 GT and a BA ute.
Fords Bhaa who’d drive the crap. It probably wont last

poppa smurf · 05-05-2013, 11:07 AM

it has been a massive love/hate relationship with my B.A.......it is to go back in to the workshop once more for another break down, I have to admit that I have never owned a vehicle that has spent so much time in the workshop.

however I cant foresee any problems occurring from here on in.....nearly everything has been replaced