Help me figure out if this '92 Escort only has 15,000 miles on it! . *UPDATE - ran a carfax report, help!!!

[Psylence]

As some of you may know I'm in the market for an early 90's 4-banger that gets good gas mileage. My budget is $3,000. Well, there was a new listing in the paper this morning. A 1992 Ford Escort 5-speed with only 15,000 miles on it for $1,800. I called and found out it wasn't a misprint. I was the first one to call and was gonna go look at it when the lady gets off work today, but in the meantime I was reading some reviews on Escorts and I found out that models prior to 1995 only have a 5-digit odometer. I don't think I should even bother now. I'd bet money that it's been rolled over.

UPDATE-Here are the results of the carfax report:

DATE REPORTED
ODOMETER READING
INFORMATION SOURCE
GENERAL COMMENTS
04/17/1992 53 Illinois
Motor Vehicle Dept.
Batavia, IL
Title #G6791097
Title issued
First owner reported
First lien reported


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

11/26/1994 Illinois
Inspection Station
Aurora, IL
Passed emissions inspection


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

10/12/1996 Illinois
Inspection Station
Schaumburg, IL
Passed emissions inspection


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

05/28/1998 Illinois
Motor Vehicle Dept.
Cary, IL
Title #T8148626026
Title issued


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

09/01/2000 Texas
Inspection Station
North Richland Hills, TX
Passed emissions inspection


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

12/13/2000 Illinois
Motor Vehicle Dept.
Cary, IL
Title #T0348249006
Title issued
Duplicate title issued
First lien reported
Exempt from odometer reporting


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

01/16/2002 14,317 Texas
Motor Vehicle Dept.
Mesquite, TX
Title #05725237242110342
Title issued


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

02/26/2002 14,461 Texas
Inspection Station
Mesquite, TX
Passed emissions inspection


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So does this car have 15,000 miles, or 115,000?? It doesn't give any odometer readings between 53 and 14,317!!!

 

[FoBoT]

it probably wasn't rolled back, it probably has 115,000
that isn't so bad for a '92

i have '90 mazda with 160,000 and it runs great, just the air conditioning is shot

 

[bubbadu]

yeah its got to have more than 15k on it... isn't a felony to lie if the lady knows that it has well over 100k on it.. i know at least here in vemront its a serious crime to change the odimeter or lie about it.. i would just check it out and run a carfax on it and check what the true miles on it is..

-Bubbadu

 

[NikPreviousAcct]

Yeah, FoBoT, but those Escorts weren't made to go 100,000 miles. If I remember right, it's somewhere around 80k or so that most of them poop out. I wouldn't be surprised if she's had to have it overhauled. If not, then you're probably looking at one within a few years.

One of the benefits of having a professional mechanic as a family friend is that I can ask them anything and get it answered

nik

 

[MazerRackham]

Is that really the case? How the hell could Ford produce a car with only a 5 digit odometer? That doesn't make any sense....oh.... wait. It IS a Ford...

You should call the lady back and ask her if she's lying about the price. Maybe you can get the price down to a 1K or something? It's worth a shot...

 

[apoppin]

It's pretty easy to tell the difference between a car with 15K miles (looks brand new, seats are new, tires are original) and 115K miles.

 

[vi edit]

It's quite possible that it *really* does have 15k on it. Is the lady older? You'd be amazed at the number of 10+ year old cars out there that have under 20,000 mile on them.

Older people simply use them to drive to the store once a week, and to church on sundays. I had a great aunt pass away and she had a 10 year Ford LTD. It only had 8,000 miles on it!

As for the actual car itself, escorts can run forever if you keep regular maintanence up on them. I personally know of about 10 different escorts that have all gone well over 150,000 miles with minimal problems.

 

[Capn]

<< ask her if she's lying about the price >>



Yeah she's secretly selling it for $400 but doesn't want anyone to know...

 

[Psylence]

bump for update

 

[Psylence]

anyone?

 

[Jzero]

What is this:
12/13/2000 Illinois
Motor Vehicle Dept.
Cary, IL
Title #T0348249006
Title issued
Duplicate title issued
First lien reported
Exempt from odometer reporting
?

That's weird.
Anyway, my '94 Escort was a POS. Never Again.

 

[RossMAN]

<< It's quite possible that it *really* does have 15k on it. Is the lady older? You'd be amazed at the number of 10+ year old cars out there that have under 20,000 mile on them. >>



Very true. A friend of mine bought a late 70's Toyota wagon from his parents, it only had 12,000 miles because they seldomly drove it and it sat in their garage for years and years and years.

 

[Psylence]

<<

<< It's quite possible that it *really* does have 15k on it. Is the lady older? You'd be amazed at the number of 10+ year old cars out there that have under 20,000 mile on them. >>



Very true. A friend of mine bought a late 70's Toyota wagon from his parents, it only had 12,000 miles because they seldomly drove it and it sat in their garage for years and years and years. >>



But did you notice from my carfax cut and paste that it was inspected at regular intervals??? I would think that if someone's car was just sitting in their garage and not being driven, they wouldn't worry about getting it inspected regularly.

 

[Lvis]

It won't cost you anything to look it over. It's pretty tough to make a 100k+ car look like a lightly used one. Just look it over really well, you might have found a great deal.

 

[RossMAN]

Why are you even bothering with a Ford Escort, one the biggest POS cars ever made? Unless you're getting a smoking deal on it then I would look for a Geo/Chevy Prizm (rebadged Toyota Corolla and they're cheap), Mazda Protege or Nissan Sentra.

AVOID THE FORD ESCORT at all costs regardless of how many miles it has.

 

[PsychoAndy]

theres a lien on that car, you do realize what that is right?

i dont know much about liens but you may/may not be able to get that car titled because of that. does your state like make the seller pay or do you have to do so at the DMV when you try to get the title transferred.

this might not be worth your time

 

[notfred]

<<

<<

<< It's quite possible that it *really* does have 15k on it. Is the lady older? You'd be amazed at the number of 10+ year old cars out there that have under 20,000 mile on them. >>



Very true. A friend of mine bought a late 70's Toyota wagon from his parents, it only had 12,000 miles because they seldomly drove it and it sat in their garage for years and years and years. >>



But did you notice from my carfax cut and paste that it was inspected at regular intervals??? I would think that if someone's car was just sitting in their garage and not being driven, they wouldn't worry about getting it inspected regularly. >>



Because it's required by law to get the car inspected every two years or you can't register it. Even if you only drive it 5 miles/month, it needs to be registered to be legal.

 

[NutBucket]

For 3k you should be able to get a 4th gen Accord, 90-93. Those cars will chug forever. Much better investment there. Plus, its a far more substantial car then the Escort, larger, more comfortable all while getting good milage (29 highway in mine). Personally, I'm scared of American economy cars.

 

[Viperoni]

I dunno if it's mentioned in the thread or not, but just by looking at the car (engine bay, interior, body), you should be able to tell if it has 15k or 115k...

 

[ultimatebob]

That CarFax report looks fishy to me. The car seems to jump from Illinois, to Texas, back to Illnois, and then BACK to Texas?!? Hell, just those road trips between Illinois and Texas would account for half of the supposed mileage on that car.

 

[Capn]

Just go look at the damn car, if you really like it and think 15k is accurate have a mechanic check it out.

There's really no need for the drama.

 

[evergreen96]

I agree....but the best way to check if the car has 15k or 115k is to check the tires for date of manufacture which in this case will be a 3 digit # in a circle.. it the DOT number that will represent the week/yr the tire was manufatures.. all 4 tires should have the same number


it maybe 1 or 2 is different that okay,...maybe it had a flat and she changed the tire..

NO F ing way can a single tire will have 115K miles on it unless it michelin Long life tree (w/tread wear of 660) ...also check the tread depth

 

[chickendinner]

<< AVOID THE FORD ESCORT at all costs regardless of how many miles it has. >>



Very good advice.