Buyer's/Shopper's guide? New buyer advice?

[jmg72]

Hi all.

I am not yet a Festiva owner. I am considering getting one, against the advise of... well... just about everyone I know. LOL Just to have a little fun with, perhaps modify a little bit, maybe rat it a little, work on it with my daughters. All that. And the discussions here are inspiring (like the little devil on your shoulder).

Anyhoo... Any buyer's guide on the forum? My search came up empty. If not, any advice you can provide as to...

Any less-obvious problem spots in the Body (rust, I am in the Great Lakes, afterall)?
Mechanical problem spots?
Electrical problem spots?
What are the parts most difficult to obtain if they fail?
Any model years to avoid?
Anything to watch out for beyond the above?

I am thinking a 90-93 fuel injected manual at this point.

Thanks!
Mike in MI

[TominMO]

Welcome to the forum!

1990 - 93 injected manual is the best platform. Avoid rust at all costs, especially where the rear beam bolts to the body. But avoid rust in general. Hold out for a good one rather than jump on the first car that comes along.

[Studebaker]

Stay away from the 89 autos.
If you find one discuss it with us before you buy it

[theastronaut]

I'll play devil's advocate... I prefer the 88/89 carbureted cars. If it's running good with the original carb then leave it alone until it starts acting up. If not, it's not hard to swap to an Escort carb ($150 for a NOS Motorcraft carb and adapter) and it'll run better than stock. Carb cars don't have the annoying automatic seat belts and the interior trim and upholstery seems to hold up better.


Look for rust around the front edge of the hood, rear fenderwell openings, frame rails under the front floor pans, pichweld along the bottom outside edges of the rockers, and especially the rear beam mounts.


The shifter bushings will most likely be worn out. It's best to modify the shift linkage to use shoulder bolts and nylon washers as described here, they won't wear out again. A $7 buck ebay Civic short shifter is a good upgrade while you're working on the shifter.

https://fordfestiva.com/forums/showthread.php?39051-Advanced-Shift-linkage-write-up

The front sway bar bushings are usually bad so plan to replace those. It's really cheap to go ahead and replace the lower control arms so you'll have new ball joints and control arm bushings while you're working on the suspension.

[Rick the Quick]

Take a vacation out west and drive back a nice rust free car. When I say rust free I am talking about a car that has never seen road salt. One that you can actually turn suspension bolts without breaking them off. Just my 2 cents worth.
Good luck:tm:

[jimdigs]

Whereabouts in Michigan are you? I'm in Jackson County. Did you see the one I have up for sale. I have things against mine though. Its carbed, 88 but she is in great shape for the year. Good luck in your search. I drove to Chicago to get one before. I have owned 5 so far.

[ryanprins13]

Here you go: https://youtu.be/c-1sdoQY0IE
I made that video of what to look for when buying. If you look at my channel youll see mire festy videos and where and how to rustproof them. They are great cars, ive had one 11yrs, some people here have been driving them since new in the early 90s. Best car you can buy in my opinion. This is the most recent photo of mine

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[ryanprins13]

Sorry for the late reply, im in the middle of a cross country trip with the family. 19k into it so far! Festivas are great, i still get 30mpg

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[jmg72]

thanks for the great replies! I will make a list of the things to watch out for you have given me.

jimdigs - thanks. Red one on CL, right? Looks like a nice body and interior, yes? I am hoping for a 'late model' EFI manual. But you never know...

I'm not in a rush. But given the right price, I might Frankenstein two into one. :-)

ryanprins13 - I will check out the youtube link on my home PC! Thanks! I did check out a few pages of your cross country posts here. Wow. You are a maniac. That is all I got. :-)

JMG

[lessersivad]

Welcome to THE Forum. There are so many helpful people on here compared to other forums I belong to. LOTS of knowledge and real world experience on here.