Hey guys.

Stacy sent me an email, and her sister has a friend who is selling a '97 Ford Escort Wagon. The car has 116,420 miles, and gets 30-33 miles per gallon. The car is in relatively good condition, but needs a new exhaust

She is asking $1300 for it, and am interested... As it would be a cheap car to drive to and from work. I don't know much about this era of the Ford Escort, that is why I am posting up.

Stacy still wants a new car, but this will tide us over in the meantime.

Here's a couple pics:




I was looking for a nissan altima (1st gen), but can't really find one for around the same price.

Anyway, I just wanted to throw it out there, and get an opinion. Remember, this is just for a daily driver, nothing special.

I still need to talk to the owner of the car, and ask a bunch of questions. That will either make or break the deal.

I emailed this guy too... 1997 Altima in Phx: http://phoenix.craigslist.org/car/682195971.html

You'll hate getting in and out of that thing. That 4 door sentra we had was of a similar size, and getting in and out sucked.

you referring to the escort?

I am personally leaning towards the altima... just waiting to hear back from the seller.

Dood, that Altima is perfect! The SE is the one you want, 4 wheel disk breaks, better suspension and it's a manual to boot!

I have no trouble getting in and out of my Altima (93). I'm not quite as big as you though, but I can't imagine it's worse than a frontier single cab.

x2 on the altima. Those are good cars. Rare manual you've found.

still waiting on the seller to contact me...

I have cash in hand, and a green light from the wife, pending overall condition of the car.

I have 205,000 miles on my Altima (93 SE 5 speed). It doesn't get 32mpg like it should, I think I average around 25-28, but it's still better than any of my other cars.

I'm still on the original clutch, original A/C compressor, original calipers. I always replace parts with OEM Nissan parts because they last so damn long compared to vatozone or csk parts.

Yeah, i meant the escort.

The Altima will almost certainly outlast an escort.

Still waiting. :/

http://phoenix.craigslist.org/car/681691621.html

Another altima SE... voicemail left. Not as nice as the other one, but would work. just a paint job

I had a 94. Great car, saved my and my sons life.....

There's another one here in Tucson, but it is a GXE model, and an auto. but, listed for $2k. I was thinking about calling on that one, but I'll wait at least a couple days to hear back about these ones. I'd prefer a manual, and the SE's are nice.

Get a manual Altima if you get one. The autos dont get near the mileage. Also, with a high mileage automatic tranny, you'll probably end up eating a new transmission cost in the near future.

My '96 Altima has been pretty good. It gets 28-32mpg and has held up to running around on rough job sites at work for the last year. I got 32mpg that day that I came down to see you and pick up the hydraulic stuff in Tucson. And that included cruising at 82mph on the freeway most the way. It also has the coldest A/C of any car I've owned.

The only big issues with the Altimas are the motor mounts will probably need replaced. ~$300 for those. Also, the distributors end up with oil in them due to o-ring failure and the ignition cuts out. You can clean them up and they'll work again, but will need a new distributor. Those are the only two big problems I can think of.

Also on my '96, I had a rattly timing chain. I pulled the front top cover off the engine and removed the top chain guides (as per Nissan's tech notes). Its silent now.

If you do pick up that Escort, make sure the timing belt has been changed recently. The timing belts tend to kill those cars when they let go.

quote:

Originally posted by reddog:
Dood, that Altima is perfect! The SE is the one you want, 4 wheel disk breaks, better suspension and it's a manual to boot!

I have no trouble getting in and out of my Altima (93). I'm not quite as big as you though, but I can't imagine it's worse than a frontier single cab.

Mine is an XE model and has 4 wheel discs & manual. I had to add power locks to mine though since it didn't have any to start with. Thats the only gripe I've had about the XE model.