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Can't believe it's been almost a year since I was last here! I've missed y'all! 
Last summer, I unexpectedly became the owner of a 2006 Toyota Rav4. This meant that my trusty Festy didn't get driven much anymore and it sat parked in my driveway for the most part.
One of my brothers, who was in the process of getting his driver's license, needed a car to practice driving on. Being the generous person I am, I said he could drive the Festiva around and rack up some experience. Once he got his license, he said he would buy the car off me.
That was all well and good, until the day he went to take his driving test. The test went great, and he passed with flying colors. Literally moments after he finished his test, I got a phone call: "Dude, your car's broken. I'm pushing the gas pedal but the engine just revs. And there's this giant puddle of oil or something under the car."
You can probably imagine my reaction to that. I was 2000 miles away and couldn't go look at the car myself, so I called AAA and had them tow the car home, fearing the transmission was toast.
I'm still not sure what happened. I think a seal in the transmission failed, dumping out all the ATF. Luckily for me it happened pretty quickly and my brother pulled over as soon as he noticed something was wrong, so the transmission escaped undamaged.
Of course he was broke and couldn't pay to have the car fixed, so I was stuck with a broken Festiva and no time, place, or money to fix it. To make matters worse, one of the front wheel bearings went bad from sitting. I just let it sit for the next couple months, not wanting to deal with it.
Last Saturday, I decided to list it on Craigslist and see if it got any bites. Surprisingly, within an hour, I got no less than a half dozen people wanting to take a look at it. One guy even said he'd be over the next day with a trailer and cash to pick it up - sight unseen!
That day three different people came by to take a look at it. And all three of these people arrived in...you guessed it...Festivas! I was grilled about the car, asked technical questions that only a seasoned Festiva owner would ask, and watched as they went over my car with a fine tooth comb. All of them left, saying they'd think about it.
The next day I got a call. It was the guy with the trailer. He wanted to know if I still had it, if he could get it right now, and that he had the full amount in cash.
I was kind of nervous, not knowing what this person's intentions were. Luckily, the guy turned out to be a mechanic, and he brought another friend, also a mechanic with him. He was looking for a daily driver and my Festiva caught his eye as the perfect car. I told them all of the issues the car had but they didn't seem to care. After a quick once-over, he handed me the cash and loaded the car up, without even seeing if it ran.
While we were talking about the car, I mentioned s the Aspire swap and the B6 engine upgrade. The guy's eyes lit up when he heard about them and wanted to know the details...my guess is the car is in pieces right now getting ready for some upgrades.
So the story had a happy ending. The car went to a good home, and I have rent money. Some day I'll probably get another Festiva - there doesn't seem to be a cure for the disease!
Regards,
Tim
PS - I removed the dealer A/C and the factory brass dual-core radiator. Those should be up for grabs in the For Sale section pretty soon.
Last summer, I unexpectedly became the owner of a 2006 Toyota Rav4. This meant that my trusty Festy didn't get driven much anymore and it sat parked in my driveway for the most part.
One of my brothers, who was in the process of getting his driver's license, needed a car to practice driving on. Being the generous person I am, I said he could drive the Festiva around and rack up some experience. Once he got his license, he said he would buy the car off me.
That was all well and good, until the day he went to take his driving test. The test went great, and he passed with flying colors. Literally moments after he finished his test, I got a phone call: "Dude, your car's broken. I'm pushing the gas pedal but the engine just revs. And there's this giant puddle of oil or something under the car."
You can probably imagine my reaction to that. I was 2000 miles away and couldn't go look at the car myself, so I called AAA and had them tow the car home, fearing the transmission was toast.
I'm still not sure what happened. I think a seal in the transmission failed, dumping out all the ATF. Luckily for me it happened pretty quickly and my brother pulled over as soon as he noticed something was wrong, so the transmission escaped undamaged.
Of course he was broke and couldn't pay to have the car fixed, so I was stuck with a broken Festiva and no time, place, or money to fix it. To make matters worse, one of the front wheel bearings went bad from sitting. I just let it sit for the next couple months, not wanting to deal with it.
Last Saturday, I decided to list it on Craigslist and see if it got any bites. Surprisingly, within an hour, I got no less than a half dozen people wanting to take a look at it. One guy even said he'd be over the next day with a trailer and cash to pick it up - sight unseen!
That day three different people came by to take a look at it. And all three of these people arrived in...you guessed it...Festivas! I was grilled about the car, asked technical questions that only a seasoned Festiva owner would ask, and watched as they went over my car with a fine tooth comb. All of them left, saying they'd think about it.
The next day I got a call. It was the guy with the trailer. He wanted to know if I still had it, if he could get it right now, and that he had the full amount in cash.
I was kind of nervous, not knowing what this person's intentions were. Luckily, the guy turned out to be a mechanic, and he brought another friend, also a mechanic with him. He was looking for a daily driver and my Festiva caught his eye as the perfect car. I told them all of the issues the car had but they didn't seem to care. After a quick once-over, he handed me the cash and loaded the car up, without even seeing if it ran.
While we were talking about the car, I mentioned s the Aspire swap and the B6 engine upgrade. The guy's eyes lit up when he heard about them and wanted to know the details...my guess is the car is in pieces right now getting ready for some upgrades.
So the story had a happy ending. The car went to a good home, and I have rent money. Some day I'll probably get another Festiva - there doesn't seem to be a cure for the disease!
Regards,
Tim
PS - I removed the dealer A/C and the factory brass dual-core radiator. Those should be up for grabs in the For Sale section pretty soon.
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