I needed to replace the faulty coolant within two months of bringing it home.
Replaced the Timing Belt as required.
Had to bring it in to have the park brake repaired, but they have to do it again do to poor workmanship.
New front bearing was put in a few weeks ago, and that was about $100.00.
After 9 years I finally had to replace the first bulb in the drivers side tail light.
I have to replace the exhaust system this year.
It also needs new rotors which will be replaced by a tire shop because they over torqued the wheel nuts when I had new brake pads put on at around 120000kms.
This is truly the best car I have ever owned. I have had everything from overpriced Chevrolet Blazers, to over priced and over rated BMW's. This car will outlast all of them put together. I would rate this car as high as my Honda Civics in reliability.
Comfort on the other hand is not it's strong point. The seats are lacking in back support. The heater is really poor.
The paint is not in good shape at all even after being cleaned, waxed, and polished.
It handles better then any car I have driven, and navigates threw snow like it's a four wheel drive.
I can drive on a tank of gas for two weeks with gas left over.
I wish they still made them. They were todays answer to the beetle of yesteryear. They were affordable, tough, and economical to drive.
I will get rid of mine when they pry the steering wheel from my cold dead hands.
I agree! I own a 1993 and it still running at 150K. strong! best ford car out there. designed by mazda, made by kia. best kia car made. my paint is actually in good shape. no rust, no nothing. just burns oil.. but keeps on going and going.. why pay extra for a honda when you can own this gem. and yes, it is great in the snow. completly agree!
I agree this great little car does everything. Once I upgraded the lame 145 tires for 165's, I was able to do 75 mph on the highway all day. People were constantly shocked at how this car performed given its small engine size.
I don't understand the original poster's heater comments. I never had a problem with the heater, other than you always have to have it on defrost to get heat.
The car was dirt cheap to fix, and the only thing that ever really went wrong was the starter motor had to be replaced twice.
From my understanding the design came from Kia and the motor came from Mazda. That's why the body panels are so flimsy (having your doors vibrate at speed in high winds is very disconcerting). Thank God the only Ford part of this car was the emblem on the back.
Finally, believe it or not I remember when this car came out reading an article that said it was safe for its size. Of course, there are no airbags and such, but I would take this over a Geo any day.
Unfortunately, the safer and larger Aspire lost all the "spirit" of the Festiva, and that's why I replaced my (unfortunately) totaled Festiva with a 1984 BMW.
I also loved the car's anti-status image. I remember meeting friends for dinner at an extremely expensive restaurant in San Francisco. I had to have the Festiva valet parked. When I came out there it was, my little red baby set among the giant Mercedes, Jaguars, and BMWs - I wish I had a camera. The valet actually treated me better than some of his other customers. The Festiva seems to put a smile on everyone's face.
I have to agree with you in the fact that it IS the best thing Ford ever built because they didn't design it. Oh, and the part about the only thing they did design was the logo? I took the logo off when I got the car. *smile*
I've NEVER had a heating problem with my Festiva, although I wish the darn thing had an Air Conditioner.
Whoever says the heat works fine on these must live in an area that doesn't get winter. I got this car as a loner from a garage and thought it would make for a good pizza delivery car. I saved on gas, but I had to drive with the windows down because it couldn't even keep the windshield from frosting up, I spent the first hour continually scraping it. In -20 to -30 celsius weather, I couldn't get any heat even after the car had been running all evening I tried to drive home with the windows up and it didn't warm up at all, but I think the windshield actually stayed clear.
I bought a 1992 Festiva recently and it also had a very poor heating system, although the cabin airflow was good. As with many cars with such a problem, managed to find that the thermostat was faulty. Replaced the part (less than $20), which fixed the problem.
The other symptom was that the engine never warmed up properly; it was difficult to get the coolant temperature past about 70-75 degrees Celsius.
I now own two of these little beauties!! A 1989 Mazda 121 and a 1993, Ford Festiva.
The 121 has recently clocked over 418,000 km (seriously!!) and is still going strong. I’ve moved from state to state several times using the 121 to move all of my belongings. Even in one occasion tying up a dinning table on the roof and the chairs inside. Its flexibility is amazing, and the space you get when folding the rear seats is huge!!
The 121 has only cost me AU$500 in repairs:
· CV-Joints $300
· Gear stuck in reverse $200
The A/C has died now, but when it worked you could be sure that your ice-cream would not melt, and the heater would feel like a sauna. The best part is that I only paid AU$700 back in 1992.
The Ford Festiva is a different story. I’m having problems with overheating (might be the thermostat) and there is clicking noises coming from the engine (might be a cracked head).
Overall the cars are amazing. They use very little petrol, they are very responsive and easy and fun to drive.
I own a 1991 ford festiva and it is really amazing on fuel, i actually get about 55 miles per gallon!i bought the car in june 2001 with only 26000 kms. on it.the body is rust free and the only problems I have had with the car is the spindle wheel bearings, probably due to the tire size, they have to make a lot more revolutions in order to get the speed of larger veichles. another problem was the parking brake, replaced it for 158 dollars. i find the cabin roomy for the car size, when I fold the back seat ahead I have put in 6ft. step ladder, lawnmower anything for yardwork, this car is amazing in what you can get in the back when you organize it right. too bad they don, t make them any more. if you want economy and getting arround fast this is the best choice you will ever find. very cheap to operate and parts are very accessible whenever you need them. they are very easy to work on when necessary. i call my little beauty "the smurf"it is fun to drive and very easy to park in small spaces.
We have had our Festiva for 10 years now and it has never let us down. The only thing that has needed to be replaced is the starter motor and I think the CV joints need to be replaced soon, but this doesn't bother me because my parents have some mechanical history. The Festiva is the car that I learned to drive in, and let me say that it is a very easy car to drive. I would recommend this little economical beauty to anyone.
My parents used to have 2 of these one a '93 and the other a '90 and both had over 200,000 mile on them in '98 when they got rid of them. I remember having to put a new altenater in the '90 and the '93 front end was going out when we got rid of it. Those cars had a lot of driving in them. They were a great car.
I just got my 93 an have had to do complete exhaust, gas tank, full brake lines, and I'm not done yet lol... but I can't complain because I only paid $100 cdn for it, so I've got about 600 into it so far and its pretty solid now.
I bought a 1993 Ford Festiva with 129,000 miles on eBay for $1,200. I thought I got a deal considering that they have been going for $1,525 lately on eBay, depending on condition and mileage. I have heard so many good reviews about these cars and I can't wait to get mine.
You paid $1200 for a 129K mile Festiva? Not such a great deal. You paid over book value for a car that is likely to need significant repairs soon if not already due to the high mileage.
I think I got a deal on my Festiva. For a car with 129,000 miles on it, the vehicle hardly has any rust on it and the Engines in these go past 200,000 miles at least before they quit. I made sure I asked the eBay Seller that I bought it from 20 questions before even placing a bid. I also made sure that he had a positive Feedback Rating of 100 percent. There is no doubt that this car may need repairs in the future, but 129,000 is low miles for a 1993 Ford Festiva. Believe it or not, the ones with the Automatic Transmission always cost more than the Manual Shift ones. I will also be saving a load of money on Gas and when the Hurricane hits in Florida, Gas will go back up to three dollars a gallon here and this baby will pay for itself quickly.
The man buys a car to save money and avoid high gas costs and all you do is critisize him on his purchase?...i sense a little jealousy here...1200 was a deal for that car..
I drive a 1993 Festiva and wish it would last forever. The heater works great if on defrost. I live on a gravel road and have had to have the front end replaced. I don't know how many miles are on it because it is on it's third speedometer. This baby car is always ready to go and great on gas. I love it!