Hi mate. I can honestly say that the gearbox (touch a lot of wood!!) has been the least of my problems. Fuel system has been the main issue, although the Rear Calipers and Rear Sub-frame needed changing too. But they were relatively minor by comparison. Like you, my experience with the Mk3 (115, in my case) has really put me off Fords, and up to now I would never buy anything else. However, I am coming round to the thought of having a Mk 4, after the reassurance of quite a few people on here, that things, by and large, have been sorted on them. I have done quite a bit of research on the web, looking at viable alternatives and speaking to lots of local garages, and the consensus seems to be that all modern diesels are fine when they're OK, but when they go wrong!!!!

The real decider, is that most things on a Ford are relatively cheap to correct, but other manufacturers are a lot more expensive in this area, and all things like this must be taken into account, for me at least. Even Passats and Peugeots have diesel issues, but they do cost a lot more to correct compared to the Ford. I would consider a petrol, but road tax is becoming a bigger issue all of the time, with regards to them.

Happy hunting