New to forum, could I get some advice please

[caps1976]

Like I said I am a new guy to the forum, I currently do not own a festiva but I am tossing around the idea of getting one for my commute each day. I was told that one can put a lot of miles on these engines and you can get some really great mpg's. Looking around my area there are very few to choose from. Are there years that I should try and stay away from or does it not really matter. Right now I have my eye on an 1989 festiva with 154,000 on it, how reliable of a car could it be? What would be the first things I should replace/upgrade to make it a more reliable car? Thanks for any input you veterans could throw my way.

[Damkid]

Buy a festiva, you'll never regret it, awesome in all weather conditions, extremely reliable no matter how high the miles and some members have reached 50mpgs

The automatics gets worse mileage

88-89's were carbureted (except 89' autos, they were EFI) and usually had 4 speed standards, I've heard once the carbs start acting up, it's very difficult to fix

90-93's were fuel injected and had 5 speeds, of course there were autos too

If you get a 90-93' first thing I would do is open the hood and on the drivers side strut tower there's fusible links, they're garbage and unreliable, replace with cartridge style fuses and never look back

[getnpsi]

The 1989 is the oddball year. Unless its immaculate body and interior, its not the easiest for upgrades to the engine. Reliable is also subjective. These cars still function when everything is in total disrepair, which is one strayed definition of reliable. The 1989 has a different efi system if it is an automatic, and a different carb system if it is not. A few ignition replacement parts are harder to find, but can easily be found just by finding this forum and signing up with your post today. Lots of members have 1989, or owned one and saved the pieces! Give your location, some members might be close enough to help you pick your car with you if you like. Many of us are married and have to experience another festiva purchase thru someone else...

[nonamekid]

....Many of us are married and have to experience another festiva purchase thru someone else...

So true, my wife wouldn't be too happy with me if I bought yet another festiva to add to the 9 in the yard.

[eurotiva]

5 here...lol

[fastivaca]

Only 3 at my house ... and welcome to the madness that is fordfestiva.com

Sent from my GT-P7510 using Tapatalk 2

[bravekozak]

welcome.gif

Replace all fluids + Aspire suspension/brake upgrade + Four Green shifter rebuild kit and you are good to go.

[sc72]

6 here, three running and three strippers.

[Team Lightning]

5 here.

[jawbraeka]

i have 1 but i love it all the same.

[eurotiva]

three strippers.

Karl...family site...cough cough...jk I had to

[bobbyspider]

i had 4 till last week when i sold one... and that was mostly because my wife threatened to over cercumsize me in my sleep :nightmare:

depending on where you are check the undercarage for rust. i bought mine for 600 and had 216,000 mi and still ran strong and i beat the daylights out of it for about 10,000 more miles then upgraded to a b6. the b3 still ran fine and i sold it to another member and im pretty sure he is using it and its still running. best cars i have ever owned and will never get rid of them. i have people that want to buy one from me all the time. the one i sold last week while we were loading it up was offered cash to buy it there on the spot from the guy who was buying it lol and that one didnt even run!

[getnpsi]

If you want to ride the stripper metaphor, until the wheels fall off, a festiva that is highly modified then stock again is different somehow vs a mustang that was demodded, especially a fox body that cant take torque without a golden gate bridge certification in welding. They go right back to that high school senior who didnt lie about her age to work. Everyone here seems to appreciate all states of festivas. Dont think because 2 dozen have turbo swaps with almost nothing standard issue left they do not enjoy a really clean bone stock one, one modified into a truck, one for autox, one to haul wood, camp in, whatever. It's fun to see these cars put to every use imaginable. Im a fan of it all, probably why so many have multiple cars, its cheaper to own 3 for 3 purposes, cheaper to buy a car for one part at times too!

[defprun]

Welcome! Festivas are fun because its relatively easy to make one mint. I never had a car from the early nineties with new tires, axles, brake lines and control arm, bearings and brakes lol

Sent from the trash can.

[sc72]

Karl...family site...cough cough...jk I had to

No worries, I had a good chuckle also.