Festiva lifespan?

[Froggyman]

I recently totaled my truck and was looking to replace it with something cheaper and a bit more expendable. There is a 1989 Festiva for sale near me that I have my eye on but I was just curious about the average number of miles you can get out of a festiva. It currently has just under 90k on it. Also are there any problems that festivas are prone to that I should be aware of?

[rickbz28]

I have a 1990 Festiva with 600k plus that I bought with 90k on it. Since I have owned it the motor and trans have never been out.Haven't even had to replace the clutch! Hasn't been driven much in the last couple years but as long as the battery is charged will start right up.

[nonamekid]

Festivas will run forever if properly maintained. 350k+ is not uncommon. The problem festivas are prone to is drivers who don't maintain them and abuse them. Outside of keeping up on normal maintenance and not abusing it, the car should give many trouble free miles. 90k miles is low miles for a festiva.

[bhazard]

You've been on this forum for over eight years and haven't picked up on half the reason most of us own these cars?

[rmoltis]

You've been on this forum for over eight years and haven't picked up on half the reason most of us own these cars?

Lol, yes they will run forever.
also look into the ford aspire.
There is one with 50k original miles close to pittsburgh for $2k on craigslist.
It is automatic so maybe you could talk em down.
But same thing will run forever.
It has the same engine as the festiva and will run over 300k+ miles as well.

[TorqueEffect]

Since it looks like you live in a rust belt state, be warned, the rear axle mount can rust through. Other than that, they should last you a while. If the engine DOES blow up, a replacement can be had for around $100, and some people that do swaps sometimes give their old B3 motors away.

The only thing that will kill these is salt, and abuse, and they can take allot of both but shortens their life span. I bought mine when it had around 300k miles on it, was no longer on the original engine, had a engine put in it at a unknown point in history of the car, but I put about 10-15k miles on it before swapping to a B6 from a 80s Tracer.

[festyxfi]

Rust and abuse. The two festy kills....totally agree.

[TominMO]

Froggy, also be aware that if it's an 89 EFI automatic, they had some intake parts unique to that year, and getting replacement parts will be harder.

[Advancedynamix]

The 90 and newer cars have some revisions that make them a better choice. The 89 Manual is Carbureted and that can be finicky, the 89 efi is a special breed. It shares more in common with the mazda bf 323 fuel injection than it does any other festiva. Automatic cars get drastically worse fuel mileage than the manual trans cars from my experience (I've owned 2 autos and both drank 25-28mph regularly). If I were you, I'd get a 90-93 5 speed car from the southwest (AZ, NM or southern CA). You'll have a car that will take care of you as long as you take care of it. They are very simple to maintain and repair. They don't make real good winter cars though, the heater is slightly more effective than a VW bug and it only comes out the defrost vents. They go pretty good in the snow, but (like has already been stated) salt will destroy the car quickly. Good luck!

[TominMO]

As for winter, if you cover the grill and bumper air intakes it will heat up quite nicely. Foot and defrost is good enough to keep you plenty warm. Make sure you have a 192 or 195-degree thermostat, not 180.

[jfd64]

I own a 93 with 365,000 miles that i bought from the original owner at 340,000 miles.Still running well with just regular maintenance to motor.