Ford Ka: Thoughts?

[Scaff]

I've driven a ka about once a week for the last couple of years(we've got one at home), though it's quite fun to drive, it's slow as hell, and engine's wont last very long, because you've got to put the pedal to the metal to get anywhere.
Our Ka has died a few months ago, due to a weared out camshaft, which was apparantly made from the wrong kind of steel, which made it completely useless after 130000 kms, resulting in a horrible engine sound of a valve hitting a cilinder before death. The fuel consumption is quite bad by the way, we have a mondeo at home which is a significantly better performer and uses less (and is obviously twice as big). Also it will rust under the doors and the most of the time either the right speaker or the rear windscreenwiper wont work.
though when you can find a good one (the new engines are supposed to be better), you can have some fun with them at a reasonable price.

Camshaft wear is a known issue on pre-97 1.3 models, it generally only gets excessive if the car is not serviced on the button and can be greatly reduced by changing the oil every 5,000 miles.

One of the symptoms of it is excesive fuel consumption (hence the situation you faced - I can assure you that a Ka is an economical car if well maintained and not suffering from camshaft wear. To throw a valve as a rest is very rare and certainly not characteristic of the model at all.

Rust and electrical issue are also no more common on the Ka that any other comparable model, in fact are significantly lower, combine that with cheap and freely available parts and thats certainly not an issue at all.

I understand that you clearly have had issue with this particular car, but these issues can't then be applied as truisms to every Ka made.


Regards

Scaff

 

[Famine]

Amazingly, you're right.

What do you mean "amazingly"?

In all honesty though, it's going to be useless as a car to learn to drive on. Alright, I could argue that if I can park that, I'll have no problems doing it with the Corsa test car.

Reverse park sensors were an option on the Mk3 Mondeo (I have them as standard on the ST220), so if you're lucky you can find one with them fitted. More likely on newer ones, of course, as the price of the option came down and dealers fitted options to shift stock...

But it's actually more expensive to insure than our C4. I can't even get a quote under £2000 without a £500 voluntary excess.

That's actually quite a surprise. Have you tried confused.com?

Another cracking choice is the Mondeo saloon. They're really unfancied cars compared to the hatchback and you can get an incredible amount of car for no money at all. Insurance may be friendlier too.

I think I'd get tired of people telling me I should have bought a Corsa, though.

I don't think anyone would look at a 2002/3 Mondeo and say you should have bought a Corsa instead. Anyone worth listening to anyway. Plus you can easily get 4 women into the Mondeo compared to a Corsa.

Also Corsas are foul.

I dunno. I'll probably persuaded to do the sensible thing and get something small in the end (there's a lot of sensible-trouser wearing people in my family who will tell me what it is I want).

Can't get more sensible than a Mondeo...

 

[Jondot]

What do you mean "amazingly"?

Sorry

Reverse park sensors were an option on the Mk3 Mondeo (I have them as standard on the ST220), so if you're lucky you can find one with them fitted. More likely on newer ones, of course, as the price of the option came down and dealers fitted options to shift stock...

I think it goes a little beyond parking sensors I mean it's a big car when you compare it to the few cars I've ever had the displeasure to drive.

That's actually quite a surprise. Have you tried confused.com?

Another cracking choice is the Mondeo saloon. They're really unfancied cars compared to the hatchback and you can get an incredible amount of car for no money at all. Insurance may be friendlier too.

I used Tesco Compare. And to be fair, the difference was only a few hundred quid when I added the voluntary excess. I think the 1.6 diesel vs 1.8 petrol argument saw that one through. It's probably less teen-favoured, too - it's a car you sort of just forget exists.

Mmmm... saloon.... I like them, so that's not a problem. Funnily enough the same sister had a Mondeo saloon before the Ka, which I absolutely adored. I'd have an identical one if I didn't think it'd fall apart (it was a 1st generation one, all of which have now been driven into the ground).

 

[Dave A]

Famine is right on the ball with the Mondeo suggestion, insurance will be better, you'll get more car for your cash it'll certainly be no less reliable than a Ka, it probably won't be as fun to drive on a country lane. The only issue is how comfortable you'll be with a bigger car and what parking is like. Of the Ka, Fiesta, Focus and Mondeo my personal choice is the Focus but then that's also the more expensive option. The Mondeo is a great car and is frequently said to be a better car than the BMW 3 series and when not it's certianly not described as lagging miles behind. I've never known anyone who's bought a Mondeo who's thought it was a bad buy (barring the gen 1, £180, ready for the scrapheap once the MOT's due cars such as you'll often find with all kinds of cars).

 

[homeforsummer]

mk4 (mk3 facelift) Fiestas

The Mk4 is much more than just a facelift of the Mk3 The revisions were quite extensive, not least the difference between the car being pretty lame to drive to being one of the best superminis around.

I've driven a ka about once a week for the last couple of years(we've got one at home), though it's quite fun to drive, it's slow as hell, and engine's wont last very long, because you've got to put the pedal to the metal to get anywhere.

Lies It's only slow if you're used to something quicker, which as a new driver Jon probably wouldn't be. When you're learning to drive something quicker is unnecessary and I don't think that Jon's the boy-racer type who'll care about searing performance that much.

In addition, the engine is usefully torquey. Enough to make plenty rapid progress around town, enough to have decent fun on b-roads, and enough to cruise at 80mph without too much noise and with some power still left in reserve. Also enough to get from behind-lorry pace on the motorway (50-60mph) to cruising pace (70-80mph) in a decent amount of time, or drive up long motorway inclines like you'd on the M62 or M6 without needing to drop to 4th gear all the time.

Another cracking choice is the Mondeo saloon. They're really unfancied cars compared to the hatchback and you can get an incredible amount of car for no money at all. Insurance may be friendlier too.

Saloons seem to be generally cheaper on insurance, you're right. A VW Bora is a good 3-4 insurance groups lower than the equivalent Golf.

Which leads me on to...

Mmmm... saloon.... I like them, so that's not a problem. Funnily enough the same sister had a Mondeo saloon before the Ka, which I absolutely adored. I'd have an identical one if I didn't think it'd fall apart (it was a 1st generation one, all of which have now been driven into the ground).

Been considering the Bora much? Sounds like it could be right up your street. They can be picked up quite cheap, and if they've been looked after they should go on for ages. Should be fairly comfy, I've ridden in mk4 Golfs and the seats are quite nice. Something like the 90bhp TDi should be perfect, only group 6 or 7 insurance if I recall correctly and a decent turn of pace, along with an easy 50mpg. Could even get an auto, if you were that way inclined. And they do look quite nice, IMO.

EDIT: And I've just thought, how about something like an old Merc 190, for a laugh? They're dirt cheap, reasonable economy, even the cheap ones are in good nick (like... seriously good nick, perfect interiors, no rust etc). Can't believe it'd cost too much to insure either. Certainly aren't for me, I could insure one cheaper than my Fiesta.

 

[Famine]

I think it goes a little beyond parking sensors I mean it's a big car when you compare it to the few cars I've ever had the displeasure to drive.

Fun fact - you can get a Mk3 Mondeo into a standard Tesco supermarket space, but don't expect to be able to open the door and get out, especially not if there's another one alongside you...

It's actually relatively easy to park - you can see all four corners and the mirrors are great. Parking sensors make it even easier for the terminally lazy... Put it this way, Milford Cubicle can reverse our Mk3 into our garage, and she's a girl. A GIRL.

The Mk4 is much more than just a facelift of the Mk3 The revisions were quite extensive, not least the difference between the car being pretty lame to drive to being one of the best superminis around.

Coughhackspluttercough!

Most of the Mk4 suspension and brake revisions happened with the Mk3.5 (1993.5MY), with the biggest generational change being the introduction of the Zetec engines. The Mk3 was a fun little drive even in standard form, and the floorpan formed the basis of six of the best-handling Fords ever made (Mk3 XR2i, Mk3 RS Turbo, Mk3 RS1800, Mk5 Zetec-S, SportKa, Puma).

*Famine owned three Mk3s - a 90/G 1.1 (4 forward gears), a 93.5/L 1.3 LX and a 94/M 1.1 Sapphire - and has experienced a 90/H XR2i and a 94/L RS1800*

 

[Jondot]

I dunno. I'll probably persuaded to do the sensible thing and get something small in the end (there's a lot of sensible-trouser wearing people in my family who will tell me what it is I want).

Well looky here! Guess what's happening.

I think I'm going for it. Particularly as I just discovered it's just had its MOT and has done 20,000 miles. 20,000! I've walked further than that this week. The price turns out to be £2,500, which is still £500 less than the average one with a mileage near that. I can always get rid of it if I decide I detest it.

So yeah, Ka ahoy I believe!

 

[ExigeEvan]

4,000 miles a year? short runs or rarely used?

 

[Jondot]

4,000 miles a year? short runs or rarely used?

Bit of both. I know for a fact it does a 200 mile round trip once a week, which makes the mileage even more unbelievable. Or rather it's been doing it in the last year anyway.

 

[Famine]

Remember that the Ford Ka has a 5-digit odometer - like the Puma and Fiesta. It could have done 120,000 miles...

 

[ExigeEvan]

They even budgeted on the odometer!? That's beyond.

 

[Famine]

Same as the Mk3/4 Fiesta and even the Puma. It's a relatively clear message from Ford that they don't expect them to last beyond 99,999 miles.

 

[homeforsummer]

I'd have to double check but I'm sure my Fiesta has 6 digits... regardless, I'm only on about 44k at the moment so I'm not too worried about going around the clock...

And on that note actually, 4k miles a year isn't necessarily such a surprise. Again, my car has only done about 4.4k miles a year average through it's life. Admittedly, I've done nearly 5-6k miles a year in the time I've owned it and the previous owner neared 3k a year.

 

[Jondot]

Remember that the Ford Ka has a 5-digit odometer - like the Puma and Fiesta. It could have done 120,000 miles...

Nah, it was deffo 20k ish. The interior looked just like new to be honest, and they've had it from new so there's no mystery as such.

Anyway, I popped over today to see whether it actually suits me... and it does not. The steering wheel is too low and too far away from me to suit my disproportionately long legs. I kept hitting the wheel every time I lifted my foot off the clutch. Bye bye Ka!

 

[Dave A]

The milage will be on any old MOT certificates if they haven't been lost of thorwn away. I bought a car once had 39k on the clock but the MOT certificate from a few years earlier read 86k and the year before that 73k. That car had been clocked back, but it was a cheap stop gap car and I knew it had done a lot more than 86k before I bought it. Whoever had it clocked just forgot to throw away the certificates.

 

[Jondot]

Oh yeah, and y'know the theory that untypical teenage cars are cheaper to insure? Yeah... not so much.

From top to bottom:

Corsa 1.0 life, £2500
Ford Focus 1.8 TDCI Saloon, £2500
Ford SportKa 1.6, £2500
Ford Ka 1.3 Collection, £2500

All quotes for me as main driver, under the assumption that I'd passed this month.

 

[ExigeEvan]

Get a cheaper car and don't get fully comp.

3rd party, fire and theft are the only reasonable ways you'll be able to afford main-driver insurance.

 

[Famine]

That's not quite like-for-like though. The Focus is a higher quote because the insurance group is much higher and, as a diesel, it has higher repair and replace costs. The Ka - teenage girls. Such a risk it's not even funny. The SportKa is a Ka but much faster (higher iG) and with unique parts (higher replace costs).

A Focus 1.6 petrol, or even a Mondeo 1.6 petrol, which have similar performance to a 990cc Corsa (with the worst gearbox on Earth, by the way), might see you with "better" premiums.

 

[Jondot]

Getting closer.

And that's third party F+T.


So, I tried something rubbish. A 1st gen Mondeo 1.8 Verona worth approximately a fiver.

Third party F+T

Fully comp

This is annoying.

 

[homeforsummer]

And as Evan says, don't go fully comp. I think insurance companies only recommend fully comp if the car's value is over £4k. TPFT is much better and should see cheaper premiums.

Shame the Ka is too small! I keep forgetting that I'm below average height so small cars don't really matter...

EDIT: Disregard, you're already looking at TPFT.

EDIT 2: Have you tried other stuff like Cavaliers, Vectras, Lagunas, 406s etc? Or in the class below, Astras (the 4th gen ones are quite good), Meganes, 306s, Rover 200s/25s etc? Especially diesels? And especially boggo saloons as opposed to hatchbacks?

 

[Jondot]

Shame the Ka is too small! I keep forgetting that I'm below average height so small cars don't really matter...

Well the weird thing is, I'm not tall either. I'm about 5'9 but my legs stupidly long, so it would appear. Like in the Corsa I have to sit really far back, but my seat has to be as high as it'll go. And I just plain don't fit in a mk5 Golf - getting my legs around the steering column requires a special degree of gymnastic ability. Bah.

 

[homeforsummer]

How odd. I'm 5'9" too and I can't recall very many cars where I've struggled to fit into, only cars where the pedal box is too small for my size tens (I'm looking at you, Peugeots 106 and 206, and Fiat Seicento...). The Ka fits me like a glove.

 

[Jondot]

Well, if the wheel came towards me about 2 inches more it'd be fine. Oh well :/

 

[ExigeEvan]

I can't say I recomend this company for any more reasons than they were cheapest, but try Motor Direct. I did get a quote via a comparison site I think, but they don't do internet, only by phone. So basically give them basic and contact info and they'll get in touch with you.

 

[homeforsummer]

I'd have to double check but I'm sure my Fiesta has 6 digits...

Answer: Famine was right, it has five. Well, by jove. (The similar Mk5s have 6 though, as they gained a digital display. I assume later Kas are the same).