First Festiva?

[thedirekter]

Hey guys, a couple of days ago I got in a really bad car accident, but came out with a tiny scratch and am now looking for a new car. I saw on my local Craigslist that someone is selling a lovely looking Festiva for $500 and the only things "wrong" with it are a little smoke out of the pipe and it has no CatCon on, but he has one he can put on. He also says it runs well other than the smoke.

My big question is whether or not I should pull the trigger on it or not. I have to pay off the accident related stuff and only leaves me with a max budget whilst eating only Ramen for the next month at $600 or so. Might be able to talk him down some, so is the smoke a relatively simple fix on these cars? I understand it could be several things such as a head gasket, piston rings, valves, etc. I've looked at these parts and they all seem relatively cheap, so with all of your experience, is it worth it?

I appreciate any and all info from you guys! Thank you!

[1chrisapple]

depends on what the smoke is from. only on start up or? when revved up or all the time. but deff. wouldn't give 500 for one that needs motor right off the bat.

[thedirekter]

I haven't been able to check it out yet, hopefully within the next few days or so. I'm going to be in contact with him more tomorrow and can ask him about it.

[Larry Hampton]

Where are you located? We may have an experienced member near you that can help.

[Bert]

Where are you located? We may have an experienced member near you that can help.

This is a good opener for anyone looking to invest in 20-25 year old cars as potential daily drivers. Especially if you're located in the rust belt.

[Charlie1717]

Are you in Colorado? Your description of the Festy lines up with one I was reading the other day.

http://cosprings.craigslist.org/cto/4163350350.html

If this is the car, there are a couple of knowledgeable members very close, who I'm sure could lend a hand! I know there are emissions tests and crap out there that can make it more difficult.

[thedirekter]

Sorry for the slow reply, I wasn't near a computer all weekend, and yes, I am in Colorado springs, and Charlie, that is exactly the one I was looking at. I'm hoping to talk to him today about it and possibly check it out in the next couple of days. I am in dire need of a vehicle and after looking at these little Festies non stop for the past few days, I've pretty much fallen in love haha. I figure if this one isn't worth the time, I'll end up getting one down the road regardless!

[thedirekter]

Also, in El Paso county, since 2007 they no longer have any kind of emissions testing except for diesels in only a few areas, so I'm pretty much in the clear there. I also did some research about the Rust/Salt belt and even though we freeze here in CO, I guess they try to use alternatives to salt like sand and some other synthetic stuff. It looks incredibly clean so I might just have to pick it up.

[Charlie1717]

Also, in El Paso county, since 2007 they no longer have any kind of emissions testing except for diesels in only a few areas, so I'm pretty much in the clear there. I also did some research about the Rust/Salt belt and even though we freeze here in CO, I guess they try to use alternatives to salt like sand and some other synthetic stuff. It looks incredibly clean so I might just have to pick it up.

Good to know! My buddy just moved out to Colorado Springs and I'm helping him look for a vehicle/job... He was going to look at that festy, but I think it's still a bit too soon for him to get a car.

Let us know!

[thedirekter]

Good to know! My buddy just moved out to Colorado Springs and I'm helping him look for a vehicle/job... He was going to look at that festy, but I think it's still a bit too soon for him to get a car.

Let us know!

Will do! I'll be contacting him here in about a half hour or so about it.

[iriegnome]

What color is the smoke? Black smoke means oil and blue/white smoke means anti-freeze (in general). If it smokes on startup only (generally black smoke) it is probably the valve seals. If it smokes while running down the road (bluish color) it may mean that the head gasket is leaking and you are running anti-freeze through the motor. On a Festie, I cannot imagine either would be a hard fix other than a little money and some time. That is if you can do the work yourself.

[thedirekter]

So I finally got a hold of the guy and he went ahead and changed the valves, seals and headgasket, so I'm looking at a price increase, but he also said his dad might be trying to drive it... Bummer. He said he might still put it back on the market and he'd let me know when he did, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed, it's got 50k less miles and is at least 600-800 less than the 97' Golf I was looking at! Plus Festies are just badass.

[TominMO]

That's a pretty clean looking Festy. If you have mechanical skills (or have friends who do!), for $800 I'd jump on it, esp. since he has done all the work to fix the issues (hopefully).

[thedirekter]

That's a pretty clean looking Festy. If you have mechanical skills (or have friends who do!), for $500 I'd jump on it.

I plan to! He said he'd be upping the price a bit since he already fixed the assumed problems, but yeah, hopefully if I'm able to get it I can try to find a b6 or b6t to drop in it later on down the line.

[TominMO]

I plan to! He said he'd be upping the price a bit since he already fixed the assumed problems, but yeah, hopefully if I'm able to get it I can try to find a b6 or b6t to drop in it later on down the line.

Yeah, saw that after I posted, and edited my post.