consumer guide automotive - rating of the festiva

[todd00]

dont know if any of you have seen this before. pretty sad report on our beloved car. they werent even content with the fuel economy, rating it at only a 7 out of 10, yet said it got "exceptional" gas mileage. they also complained about the cargo space with the seat down claiming the space was only " mediocre". how many others cars that size can you get a washing machine into? in the rating chart area, out of a possible 100 points in 10 key areas, the festiva got just 30. i dont agree on any of their ratings.

its clear the editors dont know a thing about the durability and usefulness of the festiva.

http://consumerguideauto.howstuffworks.com/1990-to-1993-ford-festiva-6.htm

[JPT]

This is a good thing! Imagine if the general public suddenly realized how great these things are.

[Mike McKown]

I don't understand the high repair cost estimates.

[todd00]

no i didnt either, seemed a bit high, especially for the alternator.

[elcamino1]

There estimates are based on dealers doing the repairs with oem parts.

[25Horseplay]

Guess you can't believe everything you read!

[Levitan]

I agree with some of there stuff, disagree with other things, in fact some of their ratings are on the verge of ridiculous, but I do like the fact that we rated poorly. Face it guys, we aren't going to get any more of these cars or parts. So as long as the general public doesn't catch the Festiva piranha feeding frenzy for awhile, we can keep on keepin' on with our little addictions on a frugal budget!

[jglutz]

Howstuffworks operates like wiki.....first one there has editorial freedom. Also try the used car link they provide.....links to new cars...hmmmmm

[Axlander9289]

There estimates are based on dealers doing the repairs with oem parts.

That makes sense. I worked at a Ford dealership when I got my current Festiva. When the service manager saw it he made it a point to tell me that an OEM alternator through the dealer's parts department was over $600. So I imagine that would explain the $955 price tag for alternator repair, but that's still 7 hours. The flat rate can't be more than 2 hours for that job.

[FB71]

flat rate for Alt diag and R&I; 0.4hrs for diag, 0.7hrs for R&I, equals 1.1hrs labor.

I do remember a time when a new OEM alt for the Festy was over $800, dizzy was almost $600, cat conv was around $1200...