May seem like a vague question, and no doubt will return varying opinions... but... what's it like to live with a cosworth (most likely saph in this case) as a main car?

Will be looking for a new car later in the year/early next year and i keep getting drawn towards an RS badge Jus wondered what theyre like to live with as a main car. It probably wont be used a whole lot as i'll have a van for going back and forth to work with, so mostly weekends and have plenty of space for fittin wife and kid and all their stuff in lol

Obviously one of the main points is reliability, but im guessing that if its suitable taken care of it it should be pretty alright? Wouldnt be modified to the hilt etc anyway so shouldnt decrease reliability that way. Insurance is fine, as is petrol costs...what are parts like pricewise? and general tyre wear etc?

I did a quick search of the forum but didnt turn up all that much lol just a few questions really as im not overly familiar with the RS's.

 

same as any care if taken care of will be totally reliable, tyre wear is down to driving style and whether its 2/4wd, well set up stg 3 will give good mpg and reliability

 

cant fault mine not to bad on fuel, drive 50 miles to missis house 30 motor way and 20 A roads and can do it there and back on 25 quid of super unleaded, and hasnt let me down yet, ( apart from the little miss in 1ST LOL)

 

Cool, good to hear some positive notes on reliabilty, heard some right horror stories but then like you said its down the drier and the servicing lol

My current daily returns about 18mpg so im well used to heavy bills lol generally pretty lightfooted aswell as my son is usually in the car. I only work about a mile from home so even if it took it to work now and again it wouldnt be too bad.

 

forgot to say it did spin a shell on the 3rd day of owning it lol cost 4000 for the car and another 5000 on a engine and the paint, but its been good since lol

 

Some say its hell. Some say it heaven. All we know is....its called a cossie

 

Look after the car and it will look after you !

 

Cossies get a bad rep due to, a lot of the time, people don't want to spend the money to keep them maintained properly and bodge stuff up then bitch and moan when the car keeps on breaking down.

Until I took my car off the road for an engine rebuild (due to wear and tear, not a blowup!! ), my car was running 30 psi of boost on greys and got seriously abused everytime it went out and in a year and a half in that spec the alternator failed and a fuel pump relay packed in. I come across modern cars that have a lot more go wrong with them than that!!

Providing you bag a good one (getting hard to find now ), look after it properly and don't go too wild with the spec, there is no reason whatsoever why a saph couldn't be a good everyday car IMO.

 

I have had 3 cosworths over the years.... Never once let me down as I serviced them regular and looked after them.......

 

^^^ What he said + a good mapper............

 

Driving round in heritage, its the bolox mate ........ can be perfectly realiable and suit your requirements . Cant beat when your just driving about amongst the norm cars of today and see an RS saph rollin down the street .....(even if your in one urself)

 

well said

 

perfectly fine if you buy a good one and spend a lil money on it to make it reliable

 

do all the silly things like

fan wiring loom...

fuel pump loom...

remove stupid alarm....

put wheels on that fit an old car

get it properly setup...

LISTEN to what your tuner tells you to do....

and do it not wait until it goes pop and post on here!

 

One simple question ? How many cars of that sort of year do you now see on the roads on a daily basis ?

I would say they can be totaly reliable but would i trust one to start every morning rain or shine to get me to work nope.

 

Mine was faultless. Never let me down, apart from doing the diff 3 days after getting her because I was excited plenty of room for the kids, big boot for shopping, they dont shout about their performance, and when you wanna let off steam it will go sideways out of every junction. but as said above keep it maintained and checked over regular

 

Get yourself a good one, don't just buy one on impulse like I did. It cost me a small fortune to put right, but worth it. I use mine as my everyday car and I love it LOL

 

mine was also faultless and was used every single day and started first time

 

Ive had my sapp for a few months now and I cover 200 miles in one week, its on a stage one so reliable and not to bad in fuel if you drive it right.
Just make sure you look at a few before jumping into purchase one, and keep in mind that if you do some work to the car brakes/suspension etc you may hit a problem and it could take double the time to fix it lol.
(snap bolts rusty siezed etc)
Get it bought Fella , the more you worry about it the less you will get one. Maintenance is the key level checks every other day and remember its it an old car that needs to be warmed up properly in the morning before booting it and let that turbo wind on idle before switching off, do this and it should serve you well as a daily.
Hope this helps.

 

Thanks for all the input guys, always better to hear from people that use them Would definetly have to search around and make sure i get a good one. IM already sold on them as ive loved them since i was knee high and i must admit that im addicted to driving RWD now too... so it fits the bill perfectly lol

 

i use mine everyday its never not started , exellent advise in here mate and in this thread , i love mine and have no regrets even driving nice newer stuff i wouldnt swap it , its a keeper as far as im concerned

Mike

 

I know of a nice moonstone 4x4 with 400bhp

not rwd but still lively with 400

 

Get it bought, mine has now covered 199,362 miles, letting it crack 200K then recon bottom end,(I've already done the head).
With a decent stg 1 or 3 will/can be very good on fuel, I've done over 40mpg on a run, no motorway either, average is about 26/28 doing short trip stuff, use mine everyday, sometimes 2500 miles week, runs 0.97% co on greys even with a 200K bottom end and runs 100% faultless, even starting and idling perfect from cold with a diff iscv.
They can as said be 100% reliable, but are old technology so don't need plugging in to a computer when they do occasionally go wrong.
As said fuel pump and fan loom need attending to, nothing hard to do on them really, being a ford most parts are cheap, I do around 8-9K on rear tyres, 15k or so on fronts, mine is rwd(sapph) 4wd are gay ha ha had to say it, no seriously drive one of each if you can 2wd and 4wd as 4wd are less scary esp in wet!!
Just bought a new seat belt for mine Ł28 delivered, as same as other fords.
Try to take someone with you who knows cossies, certainly for a extensive test drive, and let it idle so fans come on then off a few times, see if the owner sweats, as HG can be a issue.
tabetha

 

as wot everyone says service them regularly always have a spare rotor arm dizzy cap phase sensor in the glove box and have fun but remember its a 20 yr old motor

 

Ive had mine over 4 years now.I had a fww problems with it at first.Kept cutting out,changed fuel fiter cured this.Then it would misfire when it was warm.Replaced water temp sensor.

I use mine as much as i can.I start work at 6am so i go out to my car at 5.30 on a morning,start it up and go to work.Done this for nearly 2 years now.

I drove mine to the RS show at santa pod in april.It did 230 mile there and back and it never missed a beat.I was doing 80 90 100 most of the way home.

Its the only car ive owned which puts a smile on my face everytime i drive it.

 

Thanks guys, good info here

Would definetly like to try a 2wd and 4wd to see what i prefer - although i know myself itll probably be the 2wd lol

I much prefer working on older cars should anything go wrong anyway and no doubt ill always have a 2nd car for those "just incase" moments should they arise lol Definetly becoming more of a real consideration since reading the replies!

 

look after it and try not to use it as a daily driver and it will look after you.

both my cossies never gave me a bit of trouble

 

Like I said just be prepared to get your hands dirty at the drop of a hat if it needs it just be patient and expect to be working on it longer than you thought lol. (dont let me put you off) im just fussy mate.
Old cars are so much better and I look foward to checking it over every now and again, things you dont do with modern stuff.
Hope it works out for you, and there aint nothing wrong with a back up car on standby.
And yes it does put a grin on your face especially when you back bumper modern things that dont expect it cause they dont understand what a Cosworth badge means.
Keep us posted if you find one and you need any help Fella.