No, I wouldn't - and certainly not at that price.
I fully understand the strong nostalgia pull, as Escorts were well-marketed top sellers and seen around everywhere when I was
a child in the 1970's. My Dad had a Mk.2 and his side of the family had another 5 Escorts, (spanning 1969-1979) between them,
(Mum's side being Vauxhall loyalists)
Despite the Escort's, (and Ford's wider) popular UK image and sales dominance back then, I also remember the cars as being
mostly mediocre compared to a lot of the competition. A large percentage of sales were heavily-discounted company car orders,
aided with implied promise of cheaper/easier
servicing costs compared to rivals, regardless of the merits of the cars themselves.
Ford
dealers often wooed private punters, (like my Dad) with cars that had smart styling/well considered detail and an easy driving
experience, (light steering and slick-shifting gears) - if little else of benefit. Then came the mutterings from the salesman about
'unreliable/rusty' BL/Chrysler/Vauxhalls and expensive parts for all the (sic) 'foreign muck', (Grandad's last Escort 2 was built in
Belgium, much to his annoyance when he later found-out.)
The real killer thing though was the 20% or so extra money they used to offer as trade-in compared to other brand
dealers - but of
course they were getting that 20% back and more by asking top money for the Escort they were trying to sell.
Father finally woke-up when he got brave one day and dared to replace the Escort with a suspiciously well-equipped and good value
FIAT rust bucket - which turned-out to be overall a much better, more reliable car and it didn't rust any quicker than his Escort had...
