Ford Escort 1996 wagon.

[jsbush]

My dads giving me his crummy car in a few months. It's a 96 Escort wagon with 87k km on it, fully equipped except cruise control. He got a lot of parts replaced on it so I don't think it would break down very often.

Personally I had my eye on a 96 civic, but I think the escort will make a good car for a year or two till I get some money.

The problem is this thing only has 88hp is there any relatively cheap way to get more power out of it (200-400$)? What about the suspension. How?s the handling on these cars? I've driven it a few times and your really feel it when you take a corner. Anything to do about that?

I'm also going to be doing a lot of highway driving with it about 200-250km's a day, how expensive is cruse control? I heard it was a ticket saver.
I don't want to put to much money on it since I will be selling it in a year or to.


He's going to be getting a 98 honda crv for dirt cheap from his gf, anything to do with the power on that? It's only got 126hp.




Thanks.

 

[RambleOn]

I think the only way you're going to get an Escort Wagon to go any faster is to drop it off a cliff

 

[RambleOn]

<< How?s the handling on these cars? I've driven it a few times and your really feel it when you take a corner. Anything to do about that? >>



Come on man, this is an Escort wagon, what do you expect from it? It's not going to handle like an import no matter what you do. My winter car is an old 92 Buick Century 3.3l, it handles like sh1t, without a doubt your Escort handles better, and I got used to taking corners at a reasonable speed. That's all you can do really.........

 

[geno]

Say it with me now: This is a family car. Making it handle isn't gonna be cheap since the car isn't at all set up to corner, same goes for the engine, it isn't gonna be fast. I wouldn't bother doing too much to it, even if you dump a few hundred bucks into it I'm sure you're only get an extra 10 HP out of it.

 

[NetworkDad]

Your Dad is giving you his car? Quit your whining, at least you don't have to go out and buy your own.

 

[jsbush]

Alright thanks. I'll leave it as is, then just sell it.

Your Dad is giving you his car? Quit your whining, at least you don't have to go out and buy your own.



Well sort of. I have to continue the payments on it. But since I'm going to college next year instead of paying for an aparment I'll just drive there. So I only have to pay for it for a few months this summer when I'm working. He'll pay for it when I'm going to college and won't have any money to pay for it my self.

 

[Gunbuster]

Be proud of your hooptie

 

[geno]

<< Alright thanks. I'll leave it as is, then just sell it. >>


Honestly that's your best bet. You know why? Doing any mods to it will DECREASE its resale value and make your selling range smaller. Keep it like it is, and if you want to put some money into it, buy a stereo/alarm/cruise, the last 2 will actually ADD value to the car

 

[jsbush]

How much is cruise? Is it really worth it?

 

[Deeko]

Yo I'm cruisin in a '91 escort wagon, that thing is a monster off the line! Shame it tops out at like 60 lol

 

[perry]

<< Yo I'm cruisin in a '91 escort wagon, that thing is a monster off the line! Shame it tops out at like 60 lol >>



Shooot.. My only speeding ticket thus far was in my old 91 Escort Wagon. 72 in a 55. I was toppin 90 a few miles before.

 

[jsbush]

Anyone know how much cruise control is?


How is the stereo in it?

 

[ultimatebob]

Hey, there's nothing wrong with a Escort! I had an '88 GL 4 door, and it gave me 10 years of relatively trouble-free service.

It also accelerated half decently (for having an 85 housepower 4 banger), and you could get up to 90 if you drove it downhill on a highway

 

[Mikelh]

<< Shooot.. My only speeding ticket thus far was in my old 91 Escort Wagon. 72 in a 55. I was toppin 90 a few miles before. >>



You must have been going downhill with the wind behind you!

 

[geno]

<< Anyone know how much cruise control is?


How is the stereo in it? >>


Check jcwhitney.com, and I'm guessing the stereo in it is "not good"...just a guess though

 

[Freejack2]

I know Sears many years ago installed cruise controls for under $200. That was like 10 years ago though. May not be under $200 anymore but they probably still install em. The dealer will do it too but you'll be paying closer to $500 for a dealer one.
I don't use mine off the highway much but even on my short thruway commute I'll usually set the cruise to 74 and relax.
Basically if you drive highways a cruise is nice to have.

As for an alarm. It's a 96 Escort wagon, if your campus is a high crime area and you keep expensive stuff in the car then get one. Otherwise just put the radar detector and the stereo head unit in the glove box. Out of sight, out of mind.

As for a stereo, it may not really increase the resale value but it'll sure make the commute better. I have an mp3 unit in my car, nice to be able to drive all week without changing the cd or listening to commercials.

 

[jsbush]

What about remote keyless entry?

This car has power door looks, put it doesn't have a pump in the driver side door. When my dad got the remote starter installed he had the option of getting another pump for the driver side so he can have remote keyless entry. Is it to late to do that? Seems like a good option to have.


I won't be getting an alrame system for it, maybe just an anti start device (don't know what they are called) to lower the insurence a bit.

I will have at least an hour a day of high way driving and probably another hour a day in traffic. I'll look into cruise control hopefully it won't cost that much.



Since this car is noisey, whats a good and fairly cheap MP3 player and speaker setup that I should get?

thanks.

 

[Thegonagle]

Their engines are kind of poopy, but they serve their purpose. Personally, I wouldn't do a thing to it, except for taking it anywhere but Midass when the time comes to replace the muffler, so that they don't put on anything more restrictive. The small gains you can make without an engine swap will never even get you into Civic territory, so just cruise, and don't race.

In the handling department, new "heavy duty" shocks and springs installed at the local mechanic will make a difference, as will going "plus 1" on the wheels. Check out local places for used Escort "GT" wheels as well as Tire Rack. Tire Rack will ship you fully mounted rim/tire packages from slightly used steel wheels for dirt to fancy rims costing upwards of $1000 each, I'm sure. I recommend going with cheap aluminum wheels for slightly better ride/handling than the steel wheels will give you (lighter is always better on the wheels) or going for the black wheel "police cruiser" look if you just want to go cheap.

OTOH, if you don't want your (almost) free car at all, I will gladly take it. I could use another "utility" wagon.

PS: If you shop for alarms, you will see that most brands have an option available to wire into and operate the power locks for keyless entry. I think that many of the better shops that sell and install alarms also will sell and install after market cruise controls. Not sure about the cost though.

 

[VTrider]

Lol! I'm a proud owner of a 94' Escort Wagon!! Oooops, did I say proud? Ahh heck, it's wheels ya know and I only pay $350.00 / year for insurance! I'm not complaining. Well, just one grievence (sp?), you might as well have a bumper sticker on the back that reads..."TAILGATE ME, I'M A SLOW DRIVING SOCCER MOM". Wouldn't be bad perhaps if I was a slow driving soccer mom, but i'm not
Oh well, good luck with the cruise control. Hey, if you don't need the AC, I've heard if you remove the AC belt if could give you some extra horsies? Dunno though?

-VTrider

 

[jsbush]

The car has two sets of mag wheels.(4 mags for winter tires, 4 mags for summer tires), I think they are aluminum.


And what do you mean about the muffler? He just got it relplaced about two days ago.

The remote starter system has an option for remote keyless entrie it's just not hooked up. Anyway to hook it up?


I think I'm giong to like a wagon, I'll be able to keep my mountain bike in there during the summer and not worry about getting it stolen if it was on a bike rack or something.

 

[Thegonagle]

About the muffler, lots of the muffler chains use, smaller, cheaper parts than what came on the car originally so they can beat each other's estimates, so what they put on the car might be smaller and more restrictive than the factory part. If you tell a good mechanic that you want to avoid that, they'll put on a replacement system that is no more restrictive than the factory set up and in many cases, it is less restrictive. Thing is, you pay a little extra for it, but it's well worth it, IMO.

Did I understand that the car has factory power locks? Then someone who is familiar with your particular remote starter unit shouldn?t have trouble hooking it up. But I?d recommend, if you?re getting an alarm, to have keyless hooked up via that. Then you won?t need to pay someone extra to f--- around with something that?s already there, that a different person originally installed.

I ride bikes and I like wagons much more than racks (never owned a rack anyway), but if they want your bike, they?ll just break a window instead of a rack. Don?t leave your bike in the car if you?re leaving it unattended, even if you do have an alarm. Few people pay attention to alarms, so in fifteen seconds, he?ll have your window broken and be riding away, probably leaving a Huffy or Magna in the pile of broken glass by your blaring alarm, and it will already be too late.

 

[flot]

Don't do anything to the car. Pay it off, then trade it in on something that you like.

I can't imagine it'd really be worth installing cruise control.. I'd think the LEAST you could pay for this would be $250, and I'd guess more like $350-500 - although to be honest I didn't know anybody installed aftermarket cc systems anymore, seems like a lawsuit waiting to happen.

Don't go overboard - don't be one of those people who has a $3000 car with $2000 of modifications done to it - and then when you go to sell it, it's only worth $2500. You almost *never* get back any money that you spend on aftermarket car parts (including the stereo, alarm, etc). Think about it - is the target market for a 96 Escort Wagon going to care that it has an MP3 player? No. Ditto with speakers, suspension, etc, etc, etc.

If you really don't like the car, spend the $ keeping it well maintained and only do things that will help you sell it later.

PS: Looks like the trade-in value is about $3500-$4000 - so definitely keep that in mind when you're thinking of doing things to/with it. Also might want to consider socking some $ away instead, $3500+some cash will make a nice down payment on something else in a year or two.

 

[Jerboy]

<< My dads giving me his crummy car in a few months. It's a 96 Escort wagon with 87k km on it, fully equipped except cruise control. He got a lot of parts replaced on it so I don't think it would break down very often.

Personally I had my eye on a 96 civic, but I think the escort will make a good car for a year or two till I get some money.

The problem is this thing only has 88hp is there any relatively cheap way to get more power out of it (200-400$)? What about the suspension. How?s the handling on these cars? I've driven it a few times and your really feel it when you take a corner. Anything to do about that?

I'm also going to be doing a lot of highway driving with it about 200-250km's a day, how expensive is cruse control? I heard it was a ticket saver.
I don't want to put to much money on it since I will be selling it in a year or to.


He's going to be getting a 98 honda crv for dirt cheap from his gf, anything to do with the power on that? It's only got 126hp.




Thanks. >>




horsepower doesn't mean anything without knowing the weight of the vehicle. Well after doing some reserach, it seems like your car weighs 2,444lbs and I'm guessing about 2,600lbs with you in it and that gives you 0.0334hp/lb

or 55.5W/kg

(99 Mustang Cobra with V8 has 0.09hp/lb, about three times that Escort)

My van has about .04hp/lb and has a 3.3(or was it 3.4?)L V6 engine pumping 150hp, but it also weighs alot more than your Escort. Its still driveable, but when I have people in the back I often have to floor the gas.

So there goes your car. A car with mini-van like performance...

 

[jsbush]

Thanks guys.


I think I'll keep this car a few years till I'm out of college.

Anyways I was talking with my uncle last night about the car, and he gave me an old Alpine 5950 12disk cd changer. He pulled it out of his 87 accord when he sold it a few years back, but doesn't remember if it still works or not. Anyone know how to test it out? I'll post some pics if you want. He also said there was a bunch of old sub's, amps, and a car alrame down in my grandparents basements, that I could have. Next time I go I'll check it out. Would be great if I could still use the stuff.

I posted ^this^ question in a new post so I can attrack all the audio guys.