1988 Ford Festiva L review from North America

The fuel pump sprang a leak. I bought one from Auto Zone for around $30 and replaced it in a half hour.

I had to replace the distributor cap when the car wouldn't run in wet weather. I blame this on over tightening by the previous owner, since it was cracked at both mounting bosses.

The vacuum advance wore out. They are unavailable from any source except junkyards, but I found one (and a rear tail light and window handle) for $10. The tail light was broken when a friend ran into me.

I replaced the front main oil seal since it leaked a bit. Since I was "in there" anyway, I replaced the water pump and the timing belt. This cost less than $100 for everything.

These are the only items on this car that have been worked on or replaced except for regular maintenance (oil changes) and wear items (a set of tires, mounted, balanced, road hazard warranty, all for $114).

I bought this car for $1000. I figure it's the cheapest, most reliable ride I've had since my 1983 Datsun Nissan Sentra Diesel got totaled in '98.

The performance is OK considering the gas mileage (mid thirties in town, high thirties to low forties on the road).

The A/C still chills and still has R-12 in it.

The heater is great, but you can't get warm air out of the dash vents.

I am told the fuel injected Festivas are even more reliable than the carbureted ones.

The seats are lousy on long (over 4 hour) trips.

The car is very easy to work on!