Well, I've had my S2 for 4 months now and I'm fed up of it's (un)reliability. But, I love it to bits, when it goes it goes, it looks gorgeous but I'm fed up of little things breaking and leaving me stranded untill I can source parts. Dizzy, alternator after alternator, fuel gauge rattles and squeeks etc.

I dont want to sell her as she needs a respray (sumbody attacked it with a spray can) and I'll get nowhere near what she's worth without it. The underneath is absolutely solid, no rust to speak of whatsoever, undersealed from day 1 by the looks of it. When she's resprayed she'll look and I LOVE mk4 RST's.

I just need a reliable car!!!!! What can I do to make it more reliable (Bullet proof!!!)

Convince me to keep her (Or make me a decent offer )

Lee

 

keep her

you can buy something reliable for Ł100 but the performance of a chipped rs would be Ł ?

 

Break it, that way the 5 I've got locked away will be worth more sooner.
Thanx

 

It's upto you mate, but in all honesty things probablly aint gonna get better.

I had the same situation.

Loved it to bits, then something would go wrong so would get it fixed. Loved it again!, then something else would go wrong, now hated it!, got it fixed, loved it again! then something else would go wrong!

Went on for this like ages, until I just lost faith! I would keep on thinking "If I get this done, then it should be ok", but my car would always find a way to kick me while I was down, and I just ended up running out of money.

I think the best method, if you really want to keep it is to totally renew the engine, which itself is gonna cost ŁŁŁŁ's. Totally rebuild the engine, and upgrade all the parts you can, i/c, spark plugs, rad etc.... etc....

Of course your other option is to sell it and try to find a better example, which you are not guarunteed to get as it'ss only after you have owned for a little while that you get to know it's little quirks.

Ive been there and done it mate, and you are probablly gonna have to spend many more ŁŁŁ's yet, it's the sad reality of owning an RS I think.

 

I did tell ya not to fit a new alternator

Clearly another underlying issue! Only you can make the decision, but a well maintained car is rarely a hassle! Look at my Mk1 im letting go of.........done me proud.........only because its been looked after

 

Not me.......tonight has been my first night of posting since the alternator let go

 

No a few weeks back when u were picking my brain on msn, you had the problem of the battery discharging yes, your car has an immobiliser!

I was telling you to check for current drains etc........

 

oh actually, or was that davsmith

 

Keep it you tart you'll regret selling the problems you've listed are nothing one guy on here has just bought an RS had it about 2 weeks and now needs to get a bottom end (safechav knows who im on about ) thats what you call bad luck

 

Word is its your car antony

 

I new you would say something like that

 

You leave yourself wide open for abuse

 

Lol! Must ave been! It was a pain in the arse actually coz I was having the car RR'd, I got as far as his front door and the thing just died And then I snapped the bonnet opening cable And had to have a tow home

 

They are all small little problems,cant see why youre crying!!Its a 18 year old car after all.Try doing trackdays in it,then you'll really now about money issue's mate,reliabilty costs money at the end of the day!!!I'd sell it mate,as it sounds like a RST just doesnt suit ya.All the best,Micky

 

Keep it mate Im selling mine one day, then the other i want to keep it as i love the shape of the mk4, but i crave cossie power Shit what should i do ??? Im off the close my head in a door !!!

Its your motor mate do what you feel is right for you

 

If you think running an escort is unreliable and expensive wait till you get a cossie

 

keep it, u'll mis it if u get rid
Your problems seem to have bin quite small mate, i got a year outta mine b4 it went tits up so i have been lucky though
I was gonna sell mine but i've decided to keep it and try and modernise it a bit and replace old bits b4 i mod her- i think its the only way with these cars as they will bite u in the butt otherwise

 

I heard u bought some beige's

 

I didnt say running an escort is unreliable, antony215 touch wood ive had no major problems with my S2, and im sure some other S2 owners have had little problems, but its the same with any car out there, i intend to find a good cossie and im lucky to have a works van and the misses motor to run around in before i even consider using my RS.

 

I never said you did Im just saying running a cossie is alot more expensive and they are well known to be less reliable regardless of weather you think you've got/bought a good one or not

 

I never knew that they were more unreliable than a ERST

 

You evil fook, i'm in a paypal dispute as i type- fooking egayers

 

 

Well, I washed it yesterday and even tho it still needs a respray it looks gorgeous. Thinking about it what I've replaced has been easy to trace and repair and at least the engine hasn't blown up! When I bought it I was expecting things to break as it is 18 years old, it's just disheartening.

If I do keep it tho I'll have to join the AA!!!!!

 

I've had mine since August 2001

Yeah, it's had it's breakdowns, fuel relay was the biggest pain in the arse, but easily sorted. Gearbox's have gone, clutch etc, but, all in all, my car was very well looked after before I got it, and I've tried hard to do the same.

At the end of the day, all RS Turbo's are 15+ years old, and to be honest, I think they are a brilliant car. It winds me up when people are trying to compare them to today's Honda Civic's and such, Ford set the standard years ago

And, Cossie parts are often 5 - 10 times dearer then RS Turbo parts

 

BAD LUCK, i dont think so

i bought my rs a few months ago,
*firstly the turbo went Ł400
*then i lost compression, ended up replacing 4 pistons, rings, rebore, all gaskets, cambelt, water pump, oil pump, and whilst removing the turbo again i fuked the radiator, all fixed Ł1500
*then the gearbox went as i locked the diff Ł250
*fit new gearbox and BANG, blows a hole in the cassing, i loose drive
*just fitted stage 2 box last night Ł500
*whilst moving the turbo out the way i fuked the new rad, by this time i was well and truley fuked off, i sorted it tho with sum JD weld for the moment
*about 45 mins ago i took her for a spin around the block and find gear oil dripping on the floor

do u think im unlucky?

oh and im typing here now with my hands dripping with blood as i just punched two bells of shit out of my shed door

im pissed off

 

im also thinking about selling up

 

I dont think your unlucky, i think you ramp the fuck out of it maybe?:

 

not really mate, i dont dont the chance to thrash it

 

Sell it and get a cossie mate!

 

dont no if it was ment for me but im 19 with points

 

Sounds like you've been having loads of fun

 

Oh dear! If it's really solid, not rotten, not rusty at all, then for gods sake keep it!!! Mine is the exact opposite. Mechanically absolutely fine but infected with the dreaded tinworm. Can we swap please? Mechanical stuff is easy to repair...

Plus: It won't be easy to find one of those again in a few years. So you might end up being angry on yourself while you tell your grandchildren what a nice car you've once had...

 

i was in same position a while back and thought about selling mine as 2 weeks after i got it the box went then the starter alternator and battery and now it needs 2 new sills and there is a rattle at the top end and i fell like im doing this all the time.
i was talked out of selling mine too and im glad as there is nothing like owning an rs they need lots of tlc but im sure it will be worth it when the summer comes in

 

It's entirely your choice at the end of the day fella!"

I have been in the same position as you with my first S1. I owned it for one year and spent over Ł2000 in repairs and the thing was still a pile of crap so I decided to cut my losses and sold it for peanuts.

This didn't put me off RS's though as my mate who first got me into the RS scene with his S2 never had a single problem and at the end of the day I loved them to bits.

Brought another S1 and this time spent as much as I could possibly afford to get the best I could. (Now shawn's D plate S1) The car was pritty much spot on and the only prob I had was the fuel pump relay.

Since then I have brought my third S1 which has been perfect except for a fuel pump relay failure again. Other than that it has been 100% reliable and have owned it for nearly three years.

Some cars are just trouble mate, and others can be spot on. Luck at the end of the day!"

 

Did you win the fight?

I've felt the same. The day I got mine the spring jumped out of the back of the clutch pedal - cannot engage gear - thought i'd wasted all my money. But it was a simple fix really, just a patience task. (Now have ap modified pedal so no worries with that gremlin.)

Then the (bodged in by the previous owner) rad shifed back and hit the turbo, splitting it. Got a genuine ford replacement from a local motor factors for Ł50 cash. Lovely I thought, put it in, filled with coolant, turned engine on and its pissing out again. split down the middle. Great I thought, as anyone who's done a rad on these knows, its a pain in the arse. But got it repaired and pressure tested for Ł20 and its now as good as new.

I'm sure at one time or another most rst owners have suffered breakdowns or really annoying problems and want to kick the shit out of the car. I've had other problems like the two above, but persevere.

For me its ALL worth it when you go for a good blast on an empty road or race some tosser (on a private road of course) in a 330 convertable bmw who's been pointing at your car, and annihilating him.

At the end of the day, they are all 15 years at least old, and you would expect some problems with any vehicle of a similar vintage and performance.

I can't make you keep it, but I'm sure you'd miss it if you did flog it on.

 

Unfortunately you're gonna have to learn to live with these things.

I've been there though like most of the others so I understand, one day I want to sell it, the next day I don't. Luckily I'm currently going through a keep it phase

I would say join the AA (up to 25% off if you join online, thats what I did) and buy yourself a cheap runaround for daily use. Keep the RS if its making you happy.

At the end of the day 99% of the time you will not make any money from a car, you will just throw money at it that you won't get back. It's the same for any car. Having a retro car as a hobby means just that, you have to be prepared for it to have an effect on your bank balance. However, if the enjoyment it gives you outweighs that then it's worth it

The things you've described don't seem to serious, if you've not got a Haynes manual then buy yourself one and get your hands dirty, they aren't too hard to tinker around with. Plus there is a huge selection of new and 2nd hand parts for these cars on EBay.

Good luck

 

Very good advice. At least that way when it breaks it just sits in the garage until you have the time/money/motivation to fix it.

 

no lol i have sum nice bruzing now and the shed door is, well..... it works

 

Nah it was meant for the topic starter fella