Why did you buy your Festiva?

[festymick]

I agree with most of the replies too. I bought the car as a daily driver, due to the cheap running costs. Things just seemed to progress from there....

[muffin_man]

Thanks for the welcome, I've been reading but I wasn't signed up to be auto-notified of new posts. To fulfill the topic thread, I will buy a Festiva because I own a Miata, and want to throw a BP in the Festiva too!

[Kofkof_00]

I had an early love affair with the mini. I really wanted to get another mini but they're so old now, so I went looking for something similar.

I needed a small, cheap on gas car to replace my trick lowered s-10 (v8 swap)

I looked at the justy, the micra, and the festy.

We settled on a pretty rough teal festy we found in vancouver for a g.

Then I saw ebony on the side of the road , being sold by hotroddin4me.

Bought it pretty much the next day. Eventually traded the teal one for the white one (ivory) & some $ for my gf.

I had found ff.com while trying to decide what small car to pick. Followed the links to the CWS's write-up, then remembered about the SHOgun.

That pretty much sealed the deal for me.

[funky technician]

I've had mine for 5 years now, and this little cars been through a lot :wink: It was left for dead from my fathers company (used it to haul photo-copiers :? ) and I was just finishing school and had absolutely no money...So the ol man gave me it and said "if you can get it running keep it" It needed a new engine........, well how about a seized engine that I had to beat the #3 piston out of to get running (ahh nothin a little honing won't clean up), not to mention the b6 head I used because the other head was shot. I now use it as my winter car, and it's soon getting a NEW engine ........I think it deserves it now

[SimonTuffGuy]

My dad got me into them... He had an 89 LX (in that amazing blue color) from the factory new... I remember riding it in as a kid... He'd take us to the back road that lead to my uncles place and he'd put us on his lap to steer up the road while he's work on the gas.

Sadly, that car was totaled when a BMW ran them off the road while he was trying to make it in the exit of the Pepboys. He found another one shortly after, but it was never the same...

He kept his eyes open on a certain 92 GL that was around town. He knew the owner from working at the post office and had always commented on wanting to buy their car. They vacation to Maine for several summer months and that left it sitting out. When they came back from vacationing, they saw that someone had backed into with (what they thought was anyways) a boat trailer. They lived right along the river in town and figured someone backed out and into it. It was 2 small dents in the door, a very easy fix... and they deicded to let my dad buy it for $500! A steal of a car (everything was mint except for those 2 small dents and it had less than 32k on the clock when I got it) and he set it out back for me! That got it started and it's been downhill since then!

[tricktiva]

my first one was a 88 l carbed four speed and it had about 190xxx on it an i got it in 2001 and drove it till it stopped on me in dec 02 i was headed to the hospital cause my wife was having a baby and it quit on me well i got another one about six months ago and had to change the clutch on it and done a head gasket found a capri for a swap and im getting another festy for 200 in about a month.but i bought it cause i love these cars i got hooked when one of my friends had one and he took me for a ride and i was hooked for life after that

[audioxpert09]

My uncle bought it BRAND NEW in 93. He said he bought it for under 4000 bucks. I rode in it when i was a kid and I loved it. It was the first manual transmission car I ever drove too. I still have it. I bought it off him for a buck! It has been by donor car and I have loved working on these little cars!

[Axlander9289]

My grandpa got me into them when I was very young. He had two new '88 L's when I was a kid. I used to love to ride in his red one. He used to just drive me around in it to be with me. When I was 17, he helped me find a clean '89 Escort Pony, that was in decent shape, but not much of a car to begin with. A couple of months later, the two of us picked up an aqua '92 L for $100 I spent the winter replacing the clutch and a few other repairs to get it running by spring. We both drove it until I sold my Escort and he let me take it it got me through my first year of college, then that summer grandpa pushed me to buy an '88 Lincoln Town Car just as gas was hitting $2.50 a gallon. It was a nice car, but expensive to run, and lacked the charisma of a Festiva. I knew I'd get another one sooner or later. A couple cars after the Lincoln, me and grandpa found a clean '89 L on a used car lot and promptly bought it. It has fewer miles, and is in better shape than an '89 Festiva has a right to be. The A/C even works. I'll be holding on to this one for a while, and maybe getting a couple more as I find the cash.

[Sleeper]

My first car was a 5spd 3cyl 91 pontiac firefly....only sold in canada ( geo metro )

So the whole "little car" thing really got ahold of me.....I looked into the whole suzuki thing and really wanted a sprint turbo or swift GT.....then came the SCC article that had the now famous Fastiva in it....I was totally hooked.......since that article I've owned I think 6 festiva's and have allways wanted to do the B6T swap......Now I just bought fred's old car and It will finally happen.....I have got so many "why do you like those cars" comments.....and soon I will have a really loud smokey answer for them :twisted:

Why would I not like these cars!!!!!!!!!

Did I mention most of my freinds said "you will never do that swap" Actually maby I love these cars for spite.....I can't wait!!!!!!

[tivatude]

My sister had a teal 92 l that she drove up in Philly. I was suprised the couple of times that I drove it that it had some pep and that I was not all cramped up at 6' and 275 lbs. After she upgraded to a corolla it sat outside her apartment for 2 years. When her landlord told her to move it or it would be towed, I got it in exchange for $400 that I "loaned" her. I went up to Philly, put gas in the tank,freed up the e-brake cable and towed it to my house.It sat at my house for almost 2 years while I worked on getting parts, and info, my daughters tuition money and workin on the old "honeydew" list., When I saw the $3/gallon gas prices coming back I got serious and put her on the road this May.I'm having a few small issues but it's coming along nicely.

[dcole]

My first and only vehicle up to a week ago was a 94 Ford F150. I loved that truck and put a loud exhaust system on it, because thats what all the people I grew up with did to their trucks. It sounded so sweet. But at $40 every 3 days for gas, and the fact that it isn't working properly, it started to get really expensive.

I need to get a new car for when my first baby comes in spring and we needed something to drive until then. My gf's step-dad had a buddy with a 89 Festiva that he traded a 93 F350 for. The guy paid $1000 for the truck and gave him the Festiva to make up the other $1000 he owed him, so her step-dad gave us the Festiva and we are paying him the $1000. I am very happy we did this. I love that little car. It has more room than her crappy tempo. The standard transmission is so easy and fun to drive as well. It costs me $36 to fill and goes for 8 days or more. Whats not to love.

I want to do the B6T swap and put a MegaSquirt on now that I found out I live 5 blocks from CWS Tuning here in Regina. I am also an Electronics Engineering Technologist, so the MegaSquirt seems like a fun challenge to get running.

[miami man]

my brother bought one for parents to use and we still have it but the auto trans went bad in it and i have a 93 gl that i still drive today.
in my oppinion they are easy to work on without a bunch of hoses and wires to confuse you but i found that out after we purchased the first one.

[BlueBooger]

I bought mine cause i didnt want to drive my Evo during the winter, needed a winter car. I had an old Escort that was AMAZING in the snow but it was an auto... i did want one of those but i came across this one for 900 bucks, 93000 miles, and in great condition. I knew i'd get either and escort or a Festiva.

Well come to find out i absolutly LOVE my festiva. I have just as much fun driving this car as my Evo... amazing little thing.

[Festiva_tunner]

I bought mine after moving up North . . . I was still driving my 81 custom 250 barely getting 10 mpg with the 351M and the one ton chassis . . . so I started searching. I came across it when someone donated it to our church to fix up (our church had a program where whe fixed up cars for familys that couldnt really afford a car . . . we would maintain them aswell) Anyway it came up from Tennessee and had gone through a tornado shortly after . . . drug through the field, Owner (little old lady) had the insurence replace the back glass and replace the CV's. it had no working radio and needed brakes . . . it got brakes and a radio and sat. no one really wanted a little hatch-back for toating kids around in, plus the fact it still needed a new windsheild. I said I would buy it and save the quoted price of 250 for a windsheild. Paid 150 bucks for it then and there. I had it for 6 mo in my garage getting things fixed on it to make it run right . . . and then I found a sheild removed and installed for 150 . . . I jumped the oppertunity and the festy was road worthy I started driving it shortly after the winter that year. soon I was only driving the truck on weekends and then once a saturday . . . and then the truck was sitting. I had the car for a year on the road and I had been tweaking on it and wanted to fix it up. I came across this site and soon after got ingaged . . . shortly after a beautiful little girl and very shortly after my "big plans" for the little car. I refused to get rid of it though and sold the truck instead. Now a few years and a seperation later my plans for the little car are back in swing . . . slowly right know as I'm getting back on my feet as I was drug through the wringer.

[gottafesty]

I was driving a 1985 f-250 with a 460. I got tired of measuring my fuel consumption as gpm (gallons per mile). So when I saw a 1990 Festiva for sale I bought it and haven't looked back. The body was pretty straight and no rust. Bought it from the original owner with 70,000 miles on it for $900. I've put over 70,000 on it myself since I bought it in 2003.