New Festiva Owner Introduction

[Spyros]

Hello!

I'm Spyros and I just purchased a 1990 Ford Festiva, automatic, with 200k miles, for $1,000. I made the decision to buy after reading some posts by neanderpaul on a Geo Metro forum while comparing Festivas to Metros. I've just driven it home and love it so far, it's got working AC and a fresh paint job. I'm pretty upset though, the seller advertised it as having a clean title, but the title is salvage. The car looks and runs perfect, but my father always told me to never touch a salvage title car. Any advice on this would be much appreciated. Also I'd love advice on keeping out road noise, it gets pretty loud. Finally, one of the wheels seems to be larger than the other three, but has a smaller tire to compensate. I drove it hard to 90 MPH and it was smooth.

Other than that, I can fall in love with this car! I am looking forward to becoming an active member of the forums. I'll share pictures soon.

[1990new]

Welcome... Personally speaking regarding the salvage title. My 1992 Aqua GL was involve in an accident a few years ago and was called totaled by the other parties insurance company. The responsible parties insurance company paid me $3500 for the car and I paid them $500 to get it back. I repaired it for about $300, had to get a salvage title because it had been called totaled. I then sold the car for $2500. The lady who bought it was later involved in two more minor accidents in it but it is still on the road with over 250,000 on it.
So a salvage title doesn't necessarily mean that the vehicle has damage that adversely affect the driving, and may not even affect the resale value.
As for keeping out road noise, you can easily add peel n stick sound deadening material in may places on the vehicle to lower that considerably.
Do a search for sound deadening on the forum and you should find several threads about.. some with pictures.
Would be best if all 4 wheels and tires match..especially when driving 90.
Can we see pictures of your 90 Automatic?

[sc72]

Spyros, about the title, if it were a fairly new car and worth quite a bit of money then ya I would steer clear but you are talking about a $1000 dollar car so I would not fret the title and you drove the car at highway speeds and then to 90, you came back alive so enjoy the car and make it your own. Good luck.

[Spyros]

Thanks for the reassurance about the salvage title. The car seems to be in beautiful condition for it's age. Is neanderpaul still around?

[neanderpaul]

I was summoned here by skeeters keeper. Welcome, spyros! I still say the Festiva is the best car ever. ��

[Skrapbob]

Grats on owning a festiva. My car has been totaled by insurance 3 times now. Once was for a dent in the door. I am in the process of rebuilding it for the third time.
Sound dampening in the doors, under the carpet, etc...
Get a resonator installed on your exhaust system will help tremendously.
Good luck with your car, and welcome to the fun!

[fitsbain]

i believe that there are companies that will make the salvage go away.

Involves multiple transfers through a couple different states.

Not exactly on the up and up but it can be done.

[ryanprins13]

Hey, in Canada the auto repair industry is very highly regulated, salvage cars have to pass an inspection that some new cars straight from the factory wouldnt pass (ford focus for example), there are very few inspection facilities and they are overseen fairly well. I would trust a salvage car here more than an average used car having fixed cars that needed to pass that inspection.
That being said i am told it is very different in the USA, standards are much lower. What we were told in auto repair college here about the USA standards was pretty shocking to me. But, that doesnt mean yours was repaired poorly. Just means it may have been a good job, but may not have been. Find out what the standards are in your state, what inspections it had to pass, a title search will tell you when it was written off (or should). Here it is illegal to not inform a buyer that the car your selling is a salvage. You get some pretty big fines if you do. Find out if thats the case in your state.
Anyhow, for road noise, some tires can cause massive amounts of road noise, what kind and size are they? Also wheel bearings can be quite noisy but if the car passed a decent inspection post salvage repair they should be fine. There is sound deadner, but its pricy and a bit of work to install. Get 4 of the same tires on it that are properly sized and take someone for a drive with you who can tell you if your hearing excessive tire noise, wheel bearings, wind noise from a poorly fitted door or missing gasket, excessive exhaust noise or anything else


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[ryanprins13]

I should mention too that most people dont insure a festiva for collision once its old. So if this salvage title is more recent and the whole car is painted its probably hail damage which is no big deal. Does the roof look smooth or a bit denty when you look across it?
It doesnt take much to write a car off. If someone jabbed a few holes in both bumpers with a screwdriver as vandalism that would write off a festiva.
See if you can talk to the guy you bought it from to get the contact info of the guy he bought it from. See if you can go back far enough to find someone who knows what happened to it.


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[Spyros]

I'm honored that neanderpaul returned just to welcome me! Thanks so much ryanprins13 for the advice on road noise. I've noticed that the door gaskets are very worn, and there is no gasket at all along the bottom of the doors. I bought some replacement gasket that will hopefully fit. I'm not sure about the bearings, but I noticed that something behind the front drivers side wheel is squeaking as the wheels roll, could that be an old bearing?

With some more time driving, I've noticed much of the annoying noise is low, grumbling, rattling kinds of noises. Any/all bumps in the road come through the tires into the cabin as loud thumping, accompanied by deep rattling. It's got me thinking that the noise might be something that's getting old. Shocks maybe? The thing does sink down about 6 inches when I sit in it. It's been about 5 years since I worked on any cars so my diagnostic ability is rusty.

As for the tires, I haven't checked the sizes but I know one of the wheels is larger. I've read on the forum that TominMO uses 155/80-13, should I consider switching to this?

Again thanks for the warm welcome. I just ran outside and took a couple pictures for you all! (Edit: And as you can see in the picture, there's the weird wheel, rear passenger larger than the other three.)

[Eaglefreek]

OEM parts are available through Fourgreen. I replaced my window seals and they made a big difference in road noise. I don't have the time right now, but maybe someone else can direct you to their site and how to navigate it it since it's a little difficult. Like others said, In wouldn't worry about the salvage title. You can always run a Carfax and see if there is any info as to why it was totaled.

[Advancedynamix]

Welcome to the community! That's a nice car you've bought. Yellow is a rare color for these cars.
For now, since that odd tire is on the rear you should be fine. Don't rotate it onto the front though.
There are a lot of great options to upgrade the look and handling of your car for very little money. Your also very lucky to live in the L.A. area as the odd sizes of tires that fit these cars can be purchased locally. Many of us have to mail order our tires, but there is a shop in a L.A. that will mount yours for you. I'll get you their information. A couple of the other southern California members buy tires from them.
The festiva becomes even more enjoyable to drive with some upgrades to the suspension and brakes, but good tires make a world of difference. Good quality tires will also quiet the ride and make the car more comfortable.

[bhearts]

I'm honored that neanderpaul returned just to welcome me! Thanks so much ryanprins13 for the advice on road noise. I've noticed that the door gaskets are very worn, and there is no gasket at all along the bottom of the doors. I bought some replacement gasket that will hopefully fit. I'm not sure about the bearings, but I noticed that something behind the front drivers side wheel is squeaking as the wheels roll, could that be an old bearing?

With some more time driving, I've noticed much of the annoying noise is low, grumbling, rattling kinds of noises. Any/all bumps in the road come through the tires into the cabin as loud thumping, accompanied by deep rattling. It's got me thinking that the noise might be something that's getting old. Shocks maybe? The thing does sink down about 6 inches when I sit in it. It's been about 5 years since I worked on any cars so my diagnostic ability is rusty.

As for the tires, I haven't checked the sizes but I know one of the wheels is larger. I've read on the forum that TominMO uses 155/80-13, should I consider switching to this?

Again thanks for the warm welcome. I just ran outside and took a couple pictures for you all! (Edit: And as you can see in the picture, there's the weird wheel, rear passenger larger than the other three.)

It's pretty. Congrats

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[firebush357]

I miss my Yellow Car "Sponge Bob" so hard to find yellow ones anymore.

[Spyros]

There are a lot of great options to upgrade the look and handling of your car for very little money. Your also very lucky to live in the L.A. area as the odd sizes of tires that fit these cars can be purchased locally. Many of us have to mail order our tires, but there is a shop in a L.A. that will mount yours for you. I'll get you their information. A couple of the other southern California members buy tires from them.
The festiva becomes even more enjoyable to drive with some upgrades to the suspension and brakes, but good tires make a world of difference. Good quality tires will also quiet the ride and make the car more comfortable.

Hello Advancedynamix!!

I would GREATLY appreciate any more info or details on that LA shop with tiny tires. Also any more info or leads on these low-cost upgrades, I've been searching around on the forums but still feel very ignorant to what I should be doing to make the ride more pleasant. I am struggling to find wheels also, I'd just like a cheap used set of steel rims to get all 4 matching, or if I could find a 12 inch rim that would be even better. Thanks so much for the advice!