Noshy, I've had my MK2 just over a year now and the only things I've had to replace to keep the car going were the brakes, wheel bearing I f**ked up when changing the hand brake cable oh and a filter, oil & plug change.
Not bad to keep a 20yr old MK2 running for a year, wouldn't you say? The only other things that need changing are my tyres soon.
My MK2 is much better to drive than Ford Escorts, Ford Focus, and even my brother in law's 06 Passat 2.0TDi which is a boat in comparison (but doesn't feel as bad as it looks).
(excluding the obvious insurance, tax and petrol)