23 replies to this topic

[ROD]

Whos had one?

What sort of problem do they suffer with, or anything to look out for??

Edited by ROD, 06 February 2009 - 06:51 PM.

[MiNi FiZ]

my gf looking to at the ka for her first car although they are prone to rust, especially around the petrol neck, ill tell you more when i see her later

[sazal]

Write up in which?!

2000-2002
Light and serious rusting
Heating and vetilation problems
Paintwork
Steering and suspension problems

2003-2005
Light rusting
suspension problems

2006-2008
No troubles reported

Reliability:
breakdowns- 5 stars
faults- 3 stars
niggles- 00-05-3 stars
06-08-5 stars


My mum has a SportKA, its really nice to drive and shes never had any problems with it Its a nice little car.

[The_Mistro]

i have driven 2, and to be honest, i couldnt wait to get out of either of them!

one of which tried to kill, following a corsa through a bend, not even fast, and it just tried to carry on going straight, which happened to be over a cliff!!!

they are prob ok as little city cars, which is what they are meant for, but i wouldnt have one out in the country side or rural areas!

[ROD]

Write up in which?!

2000-2002
Light and serious rusting
Heating and vetilation problems
Paintwork
Steering and suspension problems

It's a 02 i ve been asked to go and look at.

[Mini_Magic]

I love the fact that people are so quick to *woman of ill repute* off KAs, yet fail to realise that they are exactly the same as the Mk5 Fiesta.

Anyway, they have very good handling and gearchanges are very easy. Main problems are rust around the petrol cap, along the sills and parts of the floor pan. Paint protection is poor on these cars, I guess that's another reason to call them the real modern Mini. The engine is generally reliable, but can be prone to idle speed control problems and damaged rear suspension springs.

You should be able to pick up a good one with some toys for about £1000 these days. Anything under £800 is probably going to be scruffy and badly looked after.

[998dave]

one of which tried to kill, following a corsa through a bend, not even fast, and it just tried to carry on going straight, which happened to be over a cliff!!!

How did it carry on going straight, normally this is poor road, cheap tyres, or poor driver, modern cars don't just break for no reason.

So you know all modern Fords are tested for hundreds of thousands of miles on one of several proving grouds, on test circuits designed to simulate absolutely the most abuse that vehicle should take, kerb strikes, salt baths, dust, max speeds, dropped clutches, etc. And no vehicle is released for sale if it can't cope, with a good safety margin.

Only reason for it now to turn in would be road conditions, driver, or very shoddy maintenance.

Dave

P.S. We took a Transit on a 200,000 mile test with minimal servicing, and only cleaned it once finished, was hard to distinguish from a new vehicle!

[The_Mistro]

I love the fact that people are so quick to *woman of ill repute* off KAs, yet fail to realise that they are exactly the same as the Mk5 Fiesta.

if that was aimed at me, il go into more detail, i didnt like interior at all, i found it rather cramped, even though i have a mini as a daily drive, i did find the older one i drove, the 1998 one, quite a nippy little motor, and the 52 plate i drove, lagged a bit, very slow acceleration, but it did handle a bit better, i found it a smoother drive though, both from the engine and suspension.

the 1998 model i drove was better on the motorway, a lot more responsive, but wasnt so nice on country roads, as i said it tried to take me over a cliff! and it wasnt as nice around town, quite jerky, almost too responsive in the lower gears! where as i said before the 52 plate was a lot smoother, but lagged so much on the motorway!

to be honest there not my kind of car, but that is what i thought about them, and how i found them!

[The_Mistro]

one of which tried to kill, following a corsa through a bend, not even fast, and it just tried to carry on going straight, which happened to be over a cliff!!!

How did it carry on going straight, normally this is poor road, cheap tyres, or poor driver, modern cars don't just break for no reason.

So you know all modern Fords are tested for hundreds of thousands of miles on one of several proving grouds, on test circuits designed to simulate absolutely the most abuse that vehicle should take, kerb strikes, salt baths, dust, max speeds, dropped clutches, etc. And no vehicle is released for sale if it can't cope, with a good safety margin.

Only reason for it now to turn in would be road conditions, driver, or very shoddy maintenance.

Dave

P.S. We took a Transit on a 200,000 mile test with minimal servicing, and only cleaned it once finished, was hard to distinguish from a new vehicle!

it didnt break, it just carried on going straight when i turned to go round the corner, like when u hit a sheet of ice, to be honest, i think it was a mix of road conditions and crappy tyres, it was quite a greasy road, and they are cheapish tyres on it! it wasnt at high speeds, and i wasnt ragging it, it was a road i didnt know, and had just driven a few hundred miles in it, so i wasnt really in the mood to be "aggressive" with it

[998dave]

to be honest, i think it was a mix of road conditions and crappy tyres, it was quite a greasy road, and they are cheapish tyres on it!

Could I ask you're a little clearer in future then, it's hardly Ford's fault the road surface was rubbish, or that someone had put cheap tyres on.

You'll understand I'm quite protective, being one of the powertrain engineers for B-car, (new Fiesta anyone), and Ford's are known for being dynamically much better then our competitors, unfortunately once we've sold a car we can't stop people compromising this by putting cheap rubber on.

"Putting cheap rubber on your car is like putting poundland rubber on your willy, you could, but you shouldn't risk it"

Dave

[chelseahelen]

I've just bought a 2000 W reg, standard Ka and although I'm not doing a great deal of driving at the mo, its a good choice of car.

One of the "bigger" niggles is the oil sump - they are prone to rusting and cost about £115 to buy. Otherwise, couple of very minor electrical issues, but goes very well and nippy and good on fuel.

Cheap to run, cheap to service and good for getting parts. Have to be honest, quiet a fan! Insurance isn't bad either - only group 2 unless you have a sport or street version.

[ROD]

I've just bought a 2000 W reg, standard Ka and although I'm not doing a great deal of driving at the mo, its a good choice of car.

One of the "bigger" niggles is the oil sump - they are prone to rusting and cost about £115 to buy. Otherwise, couple of very minor electrical issues, but goes very well and nippy and good on fuel.

Cheap to run, cheap to service and good for getting parts. Have to be honest, quiet a fan! Insurance isn't bad either - only group 2 unless you have a sport or street version.

I hope you don't mind me asking but how much was it and the miles?? (you can pm me if you don't want to post up here)

This will give me a guide to whats a fair price.

Edited by ROD, 06 February 2009 - 08:16 PM.

[kez_19]

i used to work for ford as a mechanic back in 96-99 and we used to have ka's as loan cars and i also did about 6 months as a collect and delivery driver where we had a ka to get us to the customers cars and then drive them back to get worked on so i put quite a lot of miles on several ka's and i always found them to be nippy and responsive i know that they were brand new then and not a lot of people had driven them but i always said that they were fun to drive

michael

[markaboot]

Whos had one?

What sort of problem do they suffer with, or anything to look out for??

they're horrible!!

the suspension needs replacing almost yearly. depending on how many speed bumps and how fast there hit.
the engines get very tappety, they end up sounding like diesels.
as said above, rust round the petrol cap.
noisey, very tinny inside.
no room to rest clutch foot.
only 4 seats, gets annoying when giving mates lifts.
over priced for what they are.
good 0-30, nothing after that.
nothing left at all for motorways.
brakes are rubbish!!

good points they handle well, and are cheap to run. provided they are serviced reguarly, otherwise they get a little thirsty.

my mum has one, i've driven it, my brother has, and my sister has bumped it serveral times
i thought it was alright till i got my 306 and realised how bad they are. you can probably tell i dont like em much, id definatly never recomend anyone to buy one.
i still have my pug, i really like it. i wanted something newer but couldnt find anything better.
i'd have a look around n see if anything else takes ur fancy, maybe a 106?

Edited by markaboot, 06 February 2009 - 09:04 PM.

[The_Mistro]

that might be the case that it was the cheap tyres and road conditions, but i still wasnt that impressed with the handling generally, and the brakes snatched a lot! i have driven a number of other model fords, and havent a bad word to say about them! i have had 2 mk 3 fiestas as field cars, and the handeling of them i found better than the KA's, even though the tracking would of been well out after hitting numerous pot holls and foroughs! as i said before, as a town car, a more modern KA would be brilliant, but anything else, go for the fiesta!