I remember the Allegros, Marinas and the Minis all suffered the same fault, crappy balljoints. It was quite common to see these models at the side of the road with a front wheel hanging off. Ah the 70s
One of the many sites we work on is a Civic Amenity site (a tip) We often take appliances dumped by the public- washing machines, tumble dryers, Dyson vacuum cleaners etc, fix them then give them away to youngsters starting out , unemployed, single parents etc. What i've learnt, over the years, from this Robin Hood act is, if you want the best appliance, buy a German one. Same applies to cars