Listing snapshot
| Spotted | July 2023 |
| Asking price | $3,952 |
| Mileage | 59,000 |
| Listed on | Cars.com, dealer listing |
| Drivetrain | 2.0-liter four-cylinder, four-speed automatic, front-wheel drive |
| Status | Ad expired. This page is our archive of the listing. |
We spotted this 1998 Ford Escort SE on Cars.com in July 2023. A dealer was asking $3,952 for it with 59,000 miles. The listing is gone now. We keep the record because it shows what a low-mileage, no-frills Escort was bringing in 2023, which is useful if you are shopping for cheap, simple transport.
What this car was
A four-door Escort SE in Bright Red with a Medium Graphite cloth interior. It sat on alloy wheels and had a rear spoiler. The dealer had written the mileage on the side window, and the photos show straight panels and even paint.
The front seats were gray cloth and still had a paper floor mat from the dealer’s prep. The driver seat looked clean and untorn.
Power came from the 2.0-liter single-overhead-cam four-cylinder with a four-speed automatic. The dealer listed these features and a clean AutoCheck report:
- Aluminum wheels
- Keyless entry and alarm
- Rear spoiler
- Bucket seats
- Child safety locks
Was $3,952 a fair ask?
For a car with this mileage and a clean history report, it looked like a fair price. Escorts were never worth much, so the real value was in buying one that had not been used up. Fifty-nine thousand miles is very low for a 25-year-old economy car. The trade-off is an old four-speed automatic and basic safety equipment by modern standards. Parts are cheap and easy to find, which helps keep running costs low.
A little Escort history
Ford sold the Escort in North America from 1981 to 2003. The second-generation car, redesigned for 1997, came as a sedan and a wagon, and a ZX2 coupe joined for 1998. The SE was the better-equipped sedan trim. The Escort was replaced by the Focus, although some versions stayed on sale for a few years after it arrived.
More cars from the archive
- Every Ford Escort we’ve spotted, with asking prices
- 1997 Ford F-150 Lariat SuperCab, another Ford
- 1995 Ford Aspire, another Ford
- 2005 Ford Taurus SE, another Ford
- 1992 Ford Probe GL, another Ford
