Ok my friend is looking at a 1992 Escort GT. It looks very clean inside and out. On the autotrader page it says it has 54k on it. But after research the 91-93 escorts only had 5 digit odometers, so that means it could be 150-250k but it really doesnt look like it does. The thing is that its an 8 hr drive if he decides to buy it on friday. Hers is the link to its page....

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?car_id=236438298&dealer_id=100010380&car_year=1992&model=ESCO&num_records=25&systime=&make2=&start_year=1992&keywordsfyc=__Z3Q,__&keywordsrep=103116&engine=&certified=&body_code=0&fuel=&awsp=false&search_type=both&distance=0&marketZipError=false&search_lang=en&make=FORD&color=&page_location=findacar%3A%3Aispsearchform&min_price=&drive=&default_sort=priceDESC&max_mileage=&style_flag=1&sort_type=priceDESC&address=40517&advanced=y&end_year=1992&doors=&transmission=&max_price=&cardist=384

So any advice would be great.

FYI- the car would cost him $2285 out the door, plus gas to pay me to drive him there and back.

It looks really clean. I would be worth it if it checks out with carfax. I don't know if it's too old to get the Ford Oasis report on ,but I would try.

Looks legit but get a carfax. Even with 150k those still run forever. My boss's son has one with 200k and the original clutch and it's still running fine.

yea we have done research on feoa.com, and teh carfax seems to be fine but you still never know, Ironcally the previous owner traded in for a ..... focus! lol

I hate to raise the caution flag....

I've looked at many cars around the DC area, including Stafford. Many of the DC area dealers advertising on Autotrader are selling crap. Misrepresentations, exaggerations, etc. If you look at the engine pic, you'll see an aftermarket intake tube, and cone filter - likely this car has been breathed on somewhat, so the engine may not be as fresh as you think.

Just ONE of my experiences with the DC area Autotrader dealers: I drove up on a weekend and looked at several cars at different dealerships which I had been assured were in decent shape, no mechanical damage etc etc. Not a one was as it was purported to be. '93 Jetta, very good condition, around 90k miles. I got up there and found the leftside scraped half-off, it wouldn't go in reverse, mirror caps missing. It was an absolute junker yet the price was right around $2900. A basic Escort 4 door wagon in good condition, relatively low miles for the year - get there and the doors on the right side are missing. Problems like that. Despite being told that the cars were on site and ready for sale. They want to get you in the door, or on the lot, or in my case, sent to the back lot and wait for Tony or whoever to unlock the gate so you can browse their junkyard.

If your friend does make the trip, try to get a salesperson name and photos OTHER THAN what's showing on the website. If Stafford was a little closer, I'd drive up and check it out for you. Good luck whatever your friend decides.

The 2nd generation Escort GT was a fun little car, I know, I've owned 2 of them, but you just can't find one nowadays that hasn't been beaten to death.

Thanks for that huge reply, helps alot. I posted in the regional forums to see if anyone was close that could help.

That is definitely not a stock intake.

I did notice something else. On the center console pic, the yellow sticker. That is the original instruction sticker, telling you to turn on the A/C when you are using the defroster. I peeled mine off the second day after I bought my '93.

Ironcally the previous owner traded in for a ..... focus! lol

That sounds REALLY familiar.....[8D]

wow i just noticed that, thats insane. That would get so annoying

one thing thats bothering me is the gap between the top of the bumper and body, actually both umpers are that way. i i remember right they should be tight against the body such as the focus are, not seeming to hang there like these look.

the bumpers are a concern... either the previous owner had a body kit and replaced with stock upon sale (poorly) or there was an incident not recorded in carfax.

well I can't see any pictures for some reason, but I will tell you this I have a 1994 GT and if this is at legit I'd say go for it. They're great cars and mine with almost 3 times as many miles is still going strong. It's a fun car to drive, torque to spare, and good milage. good luck man.

if u can leave with it for 1700 id say its a steal

Yup, good cars, the Mazda-Ford Escort-ege.
I bought one a few years back that had over 200K on the original motor.
It died a week later. That one is still sitting in my yard, but I swapped in a good running replacement 1.8L BP03 which are all over the junkyards for like $300-500.
The chassis has over 250K on it now though, and it's going strong with the original tranny. These cars can go a very long way.

hey!!!... it looks exactly like mine... i got mine a few months ago for a winter car, i love it, its very fun to drive .... mine doesnt look in that condition, but i just paid 800 bucks for it ...

looks clean and mint... i say go for it!

I'm not going to repeat what everyone else has said. but $1700 is the most i would pay for it. It is still an Escort and it is 16 years old... = not a $4000 car. but give it a go see what happens. even if it is a 54k car its not worth that much. If the guy keeps pressing its a 54k mi car keep telling him its a 16 year old Escort. You should get the price down.

^^ i second that ...

one thing thats bothering me is the gap between the top of the bumper and body, actually both umpers are that way. i i remember right they should be tight against the body such as the focus are, not seeming to hang there like these look.


I don't know, it doesn't look any different than mine:

http://home.earthlink.net/~ksgriffith/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/93escortgt.jpg

well it wouldnt cost 4k, I think he be out the door paying around $2250, maybe less if we can find somethings wrong with it.

Check the NADA numbers for the car. At 154000 miles in excellent condition the car would be worth only $2200. And at 54000 miles in exc. cond. it's worth $2725.

Odds are being that it's from a DC area Autotrader dealer, it's going to be in a lot less than desireable shape. So you're looking at $1050 for 154k and $1575 for 54k.

one thing thats bothering me is the gap between the top of the bumper and body, actually both umpers are that way. i i remember right they should be tight against the body such as the focus are, not seeming to hang there like these look.

Both my GT's were the same way - it's just how they were made. Seam tolerances were a lot looser in the those days. That's actually why more people turned Escorts into bass-slammers than Civics in the 90s. Because the Civics would rattle more due to their clearances being tighter. For your fund of useless-trivia knowledge.....

well ive owned one and thats just a lil too much slack and if you look in the rear wheel well lips both sides,,those screws should not be showing like that,they would be white same color as the car painted at factory.id say the car probaly had a full body kit on it at one time.not to mention the corner of the front bumper and the rear bumper doesnt look flush under the fenders they look slightly protuded out...and an aftermarket intake is a good sign there probably have been other things that were done to the car. the 1.8 was a peppy lil 127hp engine(another ford with a mazda engine)but no way is it worth what there asking.and how did they varify the milage?

yea idk we mentioned aout the millage and they said it was carfax certified. But i just talked to him and i think hes going to forget about this one and look for something closer.

wise choice,,, i mean there good lil cars,,but theres too much suspicous areas to it,,and no way on that price.

dealership called today, said they sold it for 3k! man thats alot of dough for a 92 scort. o well

youll be glad they did,,lol

FWIW, if he's looking specifically for an Escort GT, if you go for a 1994 you'll get a driver's side airbag and a much more comfortable steering wheel (plus it may be optionally equipped with anti-lock brakes). 1995 or 1996 and you get dual airbags (although the shape of the dash looks weird IMO)... but no matter what year, they all have those annoying-ass motorized seatbelts. I had '94 GT, it was cheap fun, but little things always bugged me, like the seatbelts (especially after the driver's side belt got stuck in the middle of the track and couldn't be moved).

easy fix on the track is to pop the panel every 60-70k and grese it up a bit.

they can be disconected.

well the badnews is my friend is on some honda kick now. i was like noooo! EGT EGT! He can get a 1998 black civic E coupe with 120k and its auto(ugh) for 2k from his dads dealership. The car is in really good shape and is clean, and hes talking about swapping to manual since parts for those are everywhere and cheap. But its not v-tech, so whats the point right? lol

easy fix on the track is to pop the panel every 60-70k and grese it up a bit.

they can be disconected.

Yes and yes, The belts on my '93 GT still worked fine. Lubed them up every 30,000 miles. The car also came with a tool to move the belt if it got stuck. It was in the owner's manual folder

If you look at the engine pic, you'll see an aftermarket intake tube, and cone filter - likely this car has been breathed on somewhat, so the engine may not be as fresh as you think.


That's what I was thinking.

Yes and yes, The belts on my '93 GT still worked fine. Lubed them up every 30,000 miles. The car also came with a tool to move the belt if it got stuck. It was in the owner's manual folder

Yes, I had the tool, it was apparently too stuck for even the tool to help, something was jammed. I don't know, the car was pretty much at the end of it's life with me at that point, so it didn't really matter that much.

As for a Civic coupe... meh. Such a generic car, the Escort is generic too but at least the GT is a little bit like a "stock sleeper" car.