Ford Ka

[Cigaro]

Well, the person who was meant to be selling me the Polo has sold it to someone else (no idea why, as I said I was picking it up Wednesday )

Looking at a 1.3 Ford Ka tonight. 1997, blue, 1.3, looks pretty tidy.

Anyone had any experience of these? Anything to watch out for?

[MattHirst]

https://www.ct.gov/dph/lib/dph/phho/barber_hairdessers/haircut.jpg

Lol only kidding, i know a few people that have had them as first cars (i know this isn't your first but still) and they were great little run arounds. My dad had one aswell, not sure what model but don't expect anyone above hobbit size to fit in the back
____________________
It's all fun and games until someone gets hurt, then it's bloody hilarious!!!

[Kickstart]

Hi

Watch out for rot. They do rot a fair bit, and are prone to it starting just behind the doors (look at them and you will regularly see rust coming through as the paint and rust protection has been damaged).

All the best

Keith
____________________
Traxpics, track day and racing photographs - Bimota Forum - Bike performance / thrust graphs for choosing gearing

[jayvfr]

As kieth says, rot and the obligatory ford tappet rattle. Don't be too put off if it sounds fairly "tappety" as it's a pretty old engine design and as such will sound a tad rattly most of the time. Gotta keep on top of it if you can but they do tend to be a little noisy.

Just make sure you do check what comes out of the exhaust when its cold (as always), I've known of a few that have skipped a service and started with the blue smoke pretty sharpish.
____________________
A quater of a NC30 and a whole tatty ZX6R J2, that's plenty...
VFR bits for sale, PM me for details!
PSN ID: money85

[Whosthedaddy]

1999 1.3 KA3 (black) (50,000 miles) with AC, full leather seats and CD player.

The wife has had since 6 months old and is really starting to look its age.

If you look all KA's seem to have dents in the rear panels were the rear arches flare out. Whether this is due to the owner knocking it when going through narrow places or the obligatory car park dings and dents. The wifes car is full of them, only one of which is due to both me and her driving it.

The CD player has broke and can't be fixed.
The AC unit has a broken or corroded pipe and is not economical to repair.
Tyres wear quite a bit and each corner has had a change more than once.
Exhaust back box seems to rot / break / snap from the link pipe and has had 3 so far
Gearbox was a little iffy and got stuck in 2nd and was damn expensive to get fixed!
The rear boot lid switch is intermittent depending on whether it has been opened recently by the manual means.
The passenger door has slipped a little meaning that the coach lines are a little off round the door.
Rot, as mentioned above, the bottom of the doors are the first to go.
The lacquer on the tyres has started to peel off.

The driving position is quite high and results in quite a lot of rolling into corners like on the bike.

Its cheap to insure
Is relatively nippy
Good mpg
Been abused for the time that its been owned by dog and 2 children and kept on going.

Just ignore the FZR
https://www.bikechatforums.com/files/fzr600_026_190.jpg

[plugger147]

Skipping service's isn't the problem, the blue smoke is usually from people not keeping a regular check on the oil and they have been know to use quite a bit.

Other than rot the only common repairs that I've come across are waterleaks from the plastic slam panel below the windscreen and the wire's on the plug going into the alternator snapping, both are something you can do yourself although the wires can be a pain to solder back on.
____________________
Tristan the wrote: just whipped off my trousers to find a big bruise on my arse, caused by matt rear ending me...

[Ste]

Get one like this.

https://www.okas.co.uk/stuff/ka.jpg

[UnknownStuntm...]

Most common problems on a Ka that I've heard of are the spark plugs rusting onto the heads, so check they're fairly recent plugs in there (and if you buy it, change them every year using plenty of copper grease) and the air bypass valve system can make the revs go a bit haywire - noticeable when you change gear, sounds like the engine is racing. That's a quick and easy fix most of the time, just a couple of new seals to fix an air leak.

[Davo]

Had two KA's, only ever had a few issues with them.

As kickstart mentioned rotting around the door sills is fairly common.

Spark plugs need removing every so often as they rust in to the head very quickly (remove and re copper slip every 5000 miles).

[butterob]

[Whosthedaddy]

A bit of WD40 cured the revving problem, it just appeared that the throttle cable was a little sticky when returning? It stopped it anyways.

[butterob]

forgot to mention i have a fiesta mk4 1999 not a KA!
____________________
j1 zx6r in green
g2 zx6r trackbike Trackdays done: Mallory park, Brands Hatch Indy, Snetterton 300

[Mudskipper]

Steering rack went on mine (apparently common, though I do have a tendancy to corner cars beyond their handling capabilities ) cost £250 to fix I think.

Apart from that it was fine, till the engine blew up of course. Again, I think that was probably my fault.

They are fun to drive, but painfully slow on motorways obviously.
____________________
CBR125|||GSXR400|||CBR400|||CBR400|||CB250RS|||GSXR750|||CB250RS
"You're clumsy, you eat too much and you behave like a 12 year old boy. But you know what? Every once in a while, you find a thumb."

[UnknownStuntm...]

[Blau Zedong]

I had a 97 one (vaguely disguised Kent engine with single point fuel injection). Went ok (seen 105mph on the M1 down a steep hill). Ate an exhaust and needed new discs and calipers for MOT (Ford dealer, £500 spunked ). Quite entertaining to drive as FWD cars go, the interior is foul and on mine looked barried even though it was stock (metallic blue surrounds????? fuck off!!!!). Not a bad car though all things considered.
____________________
18:54:48 Rob Fzs: jews don't give away stuff for free

18:54:59 Rob Fzs: unless its their clothes/ hair/ golden teeth

[Phil_G]

echo the others

rust

Inside the doors

Sill (mid way along) spreading upwards

windscreen "A" pillar tips (just under hte front wings)

Fuel filler neck (think Mk3 fiesta)

IF the rear windscreen wiper doesn't work properly/at all then try knocking the boot hinge pins with a drift and hammer as they earth the tailgate through these, which can lead to poor earthing, hence the erratic performance. If that sorts it then it is possible to run a proper earthing strap through the high level light conduit. There is apparently at least one point you can fix it to either end already moulded into the panel work.

ICV as well as throttle position sensor can go

suspension bushes fail prematurely

Bonus: Superb fun to drive on a lane. Just wind it up and let rip. They will out handle most cars I have driven pound for pound. I had no problems with space inside (im 6'2") and whilst not a rocketship on the bypass/motorway, it was more than capable of keeping up with traffic and exceeding the NSL. Cheap as hell to buy now and plenty about, so be fussy and buy the best you can.

We loved it, but found the dissolving bodywork somewhat distasteful. Ours was a UK sourced vehicle, washed regularly and bought from the dealership brand new. It was badly rusted (near enough holed!) within 4 years on the drivers sill, a pillar and passenger side door with the Drivers side door right through. When we tried to claim under warranty, it was rejected and a poor mechanic was blamed. We decided to take a hit and chopped it in for a Citroen which has had none of the Ka's issues, and has a vastly superior Anti corrosion warranty to Ford as standard.
____________________
1997 Kawasaki ER 500 A1:- Once again, Its merely crap

[Blau Zedong]

I've seen a KA with a hole in the sill. Last car I saw with such obvious rot was a B310 RWD Datsun Sunny my mum owned!
____________________
18:54:48 Rob Fzs: jews don't give away stuff for free

18:54:59 Rob Fzs: unless its their clothes/ hair/ golden teeth

[Ben.]

apperentley they are a death trap if you crash them
____________________
follow my racing season
Race bike - R6
Road bike - sv650

[JonB]

They have a 3 star NCAP rating which isn't overly bad. Better than the MK3 OR 4 fiestas which are only 2 star.

https://www.euroncap.com/tests/ford_ka_2000/77.aspx
____________________
Be careful whose advice you buy, but, be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it?s worth.

[UnknownStuntm...]

[Cigaro]

Went for a Polo in the end.

Tidy little 1.4CL in black, 1999 T-reg, alloys, leccy windows and mirrors, 3 door... £950.

Most I've ever spent on a car, but it seems worth it.

[UnknownStuntm...]

WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY better car you got there chap. Welcome to Club Dub (tm)

[AJI]

Half_lyfe, don't be a half_wit. Any mid-nineties small car isn't going to fare too well if you stack it, but they're no more dangerous than any other small car of that age, and indeed were safer than the Fiesta/Polo/Corsa of the time in crash tests.