93 festiva should i buy ?

[staypoor]

so test drove a 93 festiva seems solid there is only heat on defrost that i could tell and the engine didnt warm up ? everything else seems good just curious what would do that ? and is it worth $800? its got 200k so she is just broke in. The heating and engine not warming up above the first notch on the temp gauge are the problems.

[hotfordcat]

New two stage thermostat should fix the heat problem. It's worth what you're willing to pay for it. No more, no less

[Old Geezer]

Seems to me that the good news is it has a good radiator. It probably has the wrong thermostadt in it. Check some threads here and you will find some suggestions. Don't know enough to comment on the $800.00. Have you checked brakes, transmission, condition of interior, etc. So far on my 93 I have replaced the fuel pump, and will have to do a complete brake job, replace carpets, clean engine and bay. It's a lot of work and this one also has 201000 miles on it. The reason I am investing is that I think the touchie, feelie, don't let facks get in the way public, will continue to support the lunacy of "global warming" and get gas up to $4.00 a gallon or better. These cars are great for running around for essential errands and once fixed up and maintained don't eat up a lot of cash. If you decide you are truely interested take it to someone you trust who knows what he's doing and have him go over the car. Be smart and know what you are getting into rather than investing your hard earned money and then discovering you have to spend much more to make it safe and useful.
Good Luck.

[Bert]

If she's mechanically altogether and structurally sound (not rusted out) there is nothing insurmountable to be dealt with after that. Standards are more desirable than Automatics (in most cases) and figuring on doing a switch (from ATX-MTX) at a later date is not for the faint of heart, especially for novices. Except for replacing front wheel bearings and OEM rotors, these little cars are easy to work on and it is only electronics diagnosis (if there is a failure) that requires careful thinking and testing. If you're strictly looking for a daily driver (DD), and are not inclined to get your hands dirty, these cars are at least 10 years older than maybe what you should be looking at. Numerous parts are often no longer 'over-the-counter' items and wreckers and U-pulls are no longer reliable sources for oddball stuff. But the good news is that there are 1000s of Festy 'nuts' out there that take Pride (pun intended) in these Mazda-Kia-Ford cars and are good sources for advice, parts and especially encouragement.
$800 is fairly typical for a decent car that does not have a 'certificate of mechanical fitness' nor a valid emissions 'pass'. First thing you're going to want to do is flush the cooling system and replace the thermostat. Heating systems on Festys are meagre at the best of times and are reknowned to be so.
Welcome to the site.

[staypoor]

im a aircraft mechanic and ive been playing with cars since i could drive . ive looked at alot of the threads on here and everything seems basic so im not worryed about the work involved the car and the suport here is amazing! . as for the car it has solid shifts all 5 speeds no slop runs good dives good evein on the highway got it to 85. the interior is good could use a good cleaning. could use a alingment no big deal . oh and there was a pice of cardboard over the radiator also so if you guys think the thermostadt will fix the heat problem i feel its top dolor for the car thanks for all the replys

[crazyrog17]

Sounds like a good deal. We could always use moar pictures.

As for the heat, you can do a cascade coolant flush to pull some of the scale off the walls of the head and heater core before you change the thermostat. Also know, heat does not come out of the face vents, only defrost and floor.

[koRnhead]

One, heat will only come out of the defrost and floor vents
Two its cold in wisco right now. If it made heat, youre good to go.
For 800 bucks and the body is fairly solid. Its a steal!!
Good luck

[koRnhead]

One, heat will only come out of the defrost and floor vents
Two its cold in wisco right now. If it made heat, youre good to go.
For 800 bucks and the body is fairly solid. Its a steal!!
Good luck

[Bert]

One, heat will only come out of the defrost and floor vents
Two its cold in wisco right now. If it made heat, youre good to go.
For 800 bucks and the body is fairly solid. Its a steal!!
Good luck

I don't think $800 is a steal (I got my first one for $50 9 years ago) and the latest one for free, but certainly if it's undamaged and rust free and there are new tires, battery and exhaust on one that runs $800 is not out of line at all. If you're patient and wave around some hundred dollar bills in advance often times the price can be negotiated much lower once the vehicle has sat for awhile.

[staypoor]

One, heat will only come out of the defrost and floor vents
Two its cold in wisco right now. If it made heat, youre good to go.
For 800 bucks and the body is fairly solid. Its a steal!!
Good luck

it has been cold ! agreed ! its slim pickings for festivas in wisconsin from what i can see !

[TheresGabe]

I don't think $800 is a steal (I got my first one for $50 9 years ago) and the latest one for free, but certainly if it's undamaged and rust free and there are new tires, battery and exhaust on one that runs $800 is not out of line at all. If you're patient and wave around some hundred dollar bills in advance often times the price can be negotiated much lower once the vehicle has sat for awhile.

I used to think like this as well... I drove my $190 festiva for a long time, and I loved my $200 Aspire... However the bluebook value of these cars has more than doubled in the last 8 years. $800 for a good running vehicle that gets 40mpg is a STEAL.

[koRnhead]

In Wisconsin....the going Craigslist price for any running festiva regardless of condition is over 1500.....so 800 in fair to good shape, ie, not falling apart. Is a steal.
The days of 100 dollar little cars in America is long long long gone......but if you want to sell me your festiva for 50 bucks ill make the drive to canada anytime.

[Prafeston]

How long did you wait to see if the engine would warm up? Takes mine quite awhile to get past the first notch!

Also like someone already said the heater only blows out the defrost and feet area. Doesn't come out the dash vents.

[TheresGabe]

My car finally starts to "make heat" and gets above the little first notch, after about 3 miles...

[Bert]

In Wisconsin....the going Craigslist price for any running festiva regardless of condition is over 1500.....so 800 in fair to good shape, ie, not falling apart. Is a steal.
The days of 100 dollar little cars in America is long long long gone......but if you want to sell me your festiva for 50 bucks ill make the drive to canada anytime.

You think a running Festy is worth $1500! I won't be able to retire on the proceeds , but you can start talking about the 3 'runners' I have.