Checking out a festiva to buy tomorrow

[InjunDon]

Any things in particular I should look for,like any known troubles that can be costly to fix?.. Any spots that tend to rust/rot that are hidden under carpet?

[YpsiBob]

the most common problems i have seen are exhaust leaks, and bad brakes. the floors usually don't rust on festivas for some reason, but the front of the hood, bottom of doors, front and rear of rear wheel openings, bottom of hatch, and around hatch emblem are all common rust areas.

[packrat427]

What year is it ??
Rust.. look for signs under the lip of the hood , under the rear hatch, you can visually look under the car and see if anything had started on the floorboard .

Look at the engine comp. look for major oil leaks , see if the motor is wet .
Look at the ignition components condition , like a recent tune up or needs one .
See how it stops , condition of brakes .
auto/stick .. how does the clutch feel .
does it smoke out the exhaust ??

How long has it been sitting , or has it been a recent driver .

[InjunDon]

It's a 1991 5 speed with 60k miles(100k kms) looks clean from pictures.

It's selling for $750cad, I figure it's not bad if it's pretty much rust free and runs

[htchbck]

don't forget to take off the radiator cap and check not only the fluid level but the color of the fluid. If its brown then the radiator definitely needs to be flushed, but its probably ok after that. Black or milky white often means that oil is getting in the coolant somehow, often a head gasket leak. Another thing I always check is the vavletrain. If you have a 10mm and 12mm socket with an extension and the seller will let you, just take off the valve cover and look at the valves. The color inside will tell you a lot about how well the engine has been taken care of over the years. Black= probably hasn't had an oil in a loooong time. Brown= may have missed an oil change here and there. Golden brown= well taken care of. Gold or silver=not common at all for a festiva motor, its in great shape and a rare find!

[Deathshead]

oil leaks? ha! what festiva DOSENT have a big black sludge patch underneath the hood from the leaky crank seal?

the major concerns i have ever really seen with festivas is major rot around the rear wheel openings and big dents, and or a car that wasnt talken care of at all..

everything else is a breeze to fix on these cars,

[geezerstiva]

what htchbck said. we've got one with oil in the radiator, and we can't figure out where its coming from. we changed the head gasket and it still gets in there. very irritating. weird thing is it is never low of oil! :? oh well. but, yeah, dont get one like that. unless your replacing the engine.