1996 Ford Aspire Standard from North America - Comments

The sheet metal is way too thin to do the job and dent to easy.

I really like this car. I bought it for 2500 and have gotten every penny out of it. Great gas mileage, fun to drive. Unfortunately, I feel raped when it comes to buying replacement parts for this car. Whats the deal Ford? The taillights alone are over 200.00. It's terrible. There should be no economic reason for the parts to be that expensive.

Before buying any new parts for my Aspire I always check the local junk-yard. I got a rear tail-light housing for $10.00. Unless you absolutely have to, I'd steer well clear of the dealer when it comes to new parts with this particular car.

Have an Aspire with the same problems mentioned here. Sheet metal is paper thin. Seems even thinner than that on my previous Festivas. I can get almost every front end part 3rd party EXCEPT the CV axle seals and almost entirely the control arm/ball joint assembly. Ford wants 244 bux a piece and has to order them. Ford lists the bolts that hold them on. But they're "NA". I had to buy two good used ones from the junkyard.

Another problem is checking/adding to manual tranny fluid. You have to take the speedo cable apart in the middle, unscrew the cable from the male end sticking out of the back of the transmission (5 speed only), the with a 10 mm wrench or socket, remove the screw that holds the speedo gear assembly in place. Don't force it, but a little prying with a stubby flathead screw driver is in order to get it to break looks Be EXTREMELY careful with the nylon gear on the end of this assembly. Break it and no speedo!.

This is the only way to check/add fluid (Standard or better yet, Synthetic Dextron III. I also recommed draining a little of the fluid away and replacing it with the contents of a 24 oz jug of Lucas transmission lube (the THICK kind). Really helps even if leaning over the intake is a bit of a hassle with a long funnel. Mazda, who made the transmission, should be shot for not putting in a separate filler/sight hole on the side of the tranny like most applications.

I bought mine for 200 bux with 91 k miles..I've put almost 40 k on it since November 2004. Nary a problem except with the half-shaft seals. I just check fluid almost daily to enure I've got enough to stay safe.

While the Aspire was a better car than the Festiva as far as safety and size (it had airbags), it simply was not as fun as the Festiva.

My Festiva was unfortunately totaled and I figured the Aspire was simply a bigger Festiva. But the Aspire just drives like an average car, which is fine for its purpose, but it definitely has no "soul".

Last year I bought an Aveo and it is somewhat like the next generation Festiva, small and fun with "soul". Of course, I have no idea if the car will be as bulletproof reliable as my Festiva was.