Buying a ford ka

Have you scrapped the Fester already? If not - i might be interested :)

As for your 3k budget - a friend of mine picked up a 'P' reg Ka2 LHD for just under £2000 - so you're probably looking at the right amount - but look out for the door panels - you slam the door - they pop off :/

Known idle problems, electrical gaffs, lack of power etc - so make sure any one you want to buy has a good history.

Kai

Thanks for the info! The old fiesta has 2 weeks of MOT left to run, which gives us that long to either buy a new car or cough up the cash and have the welding done. We're thinking of taking it banger racing for a laugh! Hmm, how fast can it do in 1st gear before exploding - LOL :)

Should definately get you a T-plate. Main IMO thing is rust, they tend to go around the back of the doors when stones hit them, mine's got a couple of small spots on the boot lid too. Later Kas have little clear plastic stickers over this area, if you get one with unchipped paint here, or you get it sorted, get some of these from the dealer and stick them on to protect the paint.

Suspension bushes start packing up and make for noisy suspension, apparently the best way to replace them is new suspension arms as the bushes are difficult to take out and put new ones in. Ring your Ford dealer to find out what the bits will cost you. Apparently they can also need new dampers quite early on.

The engine is the one they've been putting in Fiestas and things for years, needs the tappets doing every 10k.

If you can, try and get one with vented disks rather than solid ones (the calipers are different, so you can't just fit vented disks), otherwise you'll find driving quickly on twisty roads or stopping from top speed can cause brake fade, and getting through pads like they're made out of cheese.

The pearlescent paint is nigh on impossible to touch up well yourself. That's about it.

In message , Andrew Ratcliffe writes

The biggest thing is to check for rust on the sills. Some seem to be fine but others seem to start rusting after 2-3 years. The engine is fairly bullet proof provided it has had regular oil changes. Lower arm bushes go at low mileage's but they are fairly cheap to replace. Tailgate earthing is poor but again its an easy fix.

The first Ka 1's didn't have PAS so best to go for a Ka 2. The Ka 3 gets you aircon, CD player, alloys and leather steering wheel.

Heh - the engine stems from the original X-Flow - which IIRC debuted in 1968 in the Mk1 Escort :D

Kai

That's the very first though. I'm fairly sure that by T-reg all Kas were fitted with PAS as standard.

Kai Robinson made the world a better place for us by saying..

YRIncorrectly.

The x-flow lump was based on an even earlier lump in the Ford Anglia, I think it can be traced back to about 1959.

this is still newer than the T-S lump in my 164, which in non T-S form started life in 1951.

Doki made the world a better place for us by saying..

A Ka weighs about the same as a Wrigleys wrapper. They really don't need PAS.

Around 850kilos IIRC. I agree that it doesn't *need* PAS, but PAS gives you a quicker rack, and the various car guides and Honest John types say to avoid Non-PAS models, which of course makes them harder to sell on if you get one.

I'd happily have the extra feel from boggo steering if it had a quick rack, parking doesn't really bother me, and for what it's worth, the PAS in the Ka isn't really that heavily assisted compared to something like a Punto (absolutely horrible steering in those IMO, no idea of when things are going to let go). I'd happily drive around in a Caterham though. Very happily. :P

Doki made the world a better place for us by saying..

A Ka?

My faithful, and for some reason, unsellable, Mk2 Golf weighs about 875 Kg, and it's hooge compared to a Ka.

. o 0 (wonder why my Golf doesn't sell? Maybe I should advertise it? )

Not really, about par for the course for similar vehicles, except for the Cinquecento / Siecento, which are around 700 kg lighter.

But it's a lot older design, the Ka has all sorts of strengthening and bracing.

To add what's been said: later Kas (2001 onwards) have a different earthing system in the boot, much more reliable.

Vented disc brakes is a useful thing to get, ABS too.

PAS makes them feel very handy, 2.25 turns lock to lock, but they can chew steering racks - look for leaking. Some groaning or murmuring is quite normal.

Early models tend to have better bodywork but the donks are not to hardy. Very early models had camshaft problems.

Common faults include a hunting sticky idle, which can either be a new wiring loom (seventy notes) or cleaning the idle control valve.

Check for the usual, of course.

And don't pay too much for them!

A little bit of Ka-ness on my website too. :)

I remember the Cinquecento being light but I'm sure it weighed more than 150Kg

New PAS fluid makes quite a difference to this IME. Of course, you normally don't change PAS fluid :P.

Its Italian. They all rust down to 150kg after a while :)

Oops!

Sorry, the S and SX weighed a quoted 700 kg, the 1.1 Sporting a whopping 735 kg.

Yeah. They seem to rust just as quicky as old Fiestas.

Also use the same wheezy, rattly old 'Kent' based lump.

They look silly.

The interior is equally ugly.

Although they take up as much road space as a MkI / II Fiesta, they're about 1/2 the size inside.

Need I go on?

Do yourself a favour and buy something like a 106 / Clio / Punto instead.