no cambelt on this escort ?

I wouldn't use ebay for a first car, go to a car auction, of even better - to give yourself more time to look over it - do it privately.

An escort is a boring simple purchase, which I suppose was your intent. I think it's 'okay' for a first car, and the insurance will be the same as a nissan Micra 1.0 for an Escort 1.6, believe it or not.

Don't buy any French or Italian crap, or a Rover, as some are enjoyable, but I would imagine you want minimal overall chance of an expensive problem occurring, so leave that lot be.

If you make a wise choice, she could still be with the same car in a few years time.