Ford Ka Collection Review

Overall Rating

Reasonably easily available 'pre-registered' for under £5,000.

Ford struggles to honour the warranty. Poorly finished.

I purchased a new basic 'KA' in January 2005 for my daughter and drove it 1.50 miles home in my track suit. On arriving home I checked over the vehicle and found that several fluid levels were very low, threads in the driver's seat were badly pulled, and the petrol gauge did not work. Ford refused to repair or replace the seat, stating that I must have damaged it on the drive home. Eventually, I gave in and repaired the seat myself. I had to return the car five times - eventually 'dumping it' at Fords and declaring that I would not collect it until they REALLY fixed the fuel gauge! (On previous attempts they had repeatedly taken out the tank and changed the sender unit). They eventually fixed it after head office sent an engineer to their premises who explained to them that every wire has two ends: He took out the dashboard and tightened a loose wire - at last fixing that fault. But, the car was returned to me with all three seats stained with grease and a front wing scratched - all done at the garage. After 6,000 miles the engine suffered badly from 'pinking' and I took it in early for a 12k service (at 8k), requesting that the pinking problem be sorted. On collecting the vehicle I was charged £150. plus VAT for the oil and filter and labour and was told that they did not sort out pinking problems as (1) This could not be undertaken during a 12k service (not withstanding that I specifically requested such work be carried out) , and (2) They could only adjust the timing electronically and did not know how to do this!!!! For my sins I loaded the car with 98 octane fuel and sold it on. Incidentally, the pinking never started during the first three miles of driving so my buyer was happy with her test drive. I told her about the pinking, and the balance of the 36 months warranty so I did not feel too bad. Still, it was very sad to part with an eight months old vehicle which the family had hoped to retain for four years. The car returned good MPG and was reasonably comfortable but was badly finished eg. interior rear boot panel missing (Ford never fit this in the basic model - the electrics simply hang out into the boot) and it takes little more than a strong wind to buckle the panels as they are ultra lightweight. We have now purchased a basic pre-reg. Fiat Punto -again for under £5k- (British Car Auctions) and there really is no comparison - same price but £3k higher value to our family! Very, very sad - I remember my first car a 1961 Ford Anglia 105E (which never let me down) with such affection but now feel very bitter about this recent experience.