Why did you buy your Festiva?

[stevewl1164]

I had a '79 Fiesta that I had basically wore out after 200K miles and was looking for another Fiesta. By that time, the Fiestas were all but extinct. I saw an add in the local paper for a '91 Festiva loaded with A/C, cruise, power mirrors, spoiler, etc. for $2150. When I got there, it had been sold a week prior, but they had another one, a base '93L with only 23K miles that looked like brand new for $2600.00. I negotiated them down to the $2150 since they been using the add for the optioned-out Festiva. I liked the fact that it was a light weight "cracker box" design like the Fiesta, with little electronics or added features to add weight or give problems. The fuel injection and 5 speed was a big plus over my old Fiesta.

To be honest, although I really liked the car, I was a little disappointed because I thought it was just a KIA knock-off and not a "real Ford" like the Fiesta. The more I drove it, the more I liked it. A few weeks later I was talking to a friend who told me that it was basically a Mazda drive train and was only assembled by KIA with a KIA body. I immediately felt better, and after looking on the internet, I found www.festivamotorsport.com and www.fordfestiva.com. The rest is history!

My biggest fear now is - What will I do when my Festiva wears out? What will the next step be? Maybe a Focus...or the "new" Fiesta? They're both nice cars, but they're loaded with emissions, electronics, safety and comfort crap. Maybe I'll have to drag my rust free '71 Pinto Runabout out of the weeds and install a Miata BP with a turbo.

Gee...you stole it...you didn't buy it! I need you to get me one!

[David88]

I'd wanted one in High School. 1988. I had been driving a 1969 Ford LTD. It developed problems so I sold it to a mechanic friend. Instead my parents bought me a brand new car from the dealer for $3990. A Yugo. I am 6'6" so despite the ribbing I got I really tried to appreciate the car. I took care of it, but it a was a POS. It was a few months old when it first left me stranded in the cold 30 miles from home. I hated it. It kept breaking and at just over 30k miles it was toast. I remember being at the dealer lot looking at them picking it out. There were the Festivas right beside them. I clearly remember one deep blue/silver stripe and a sun roof on it. Must been dealer add on. I wanted it so bad but they didn't have the money for one and it was a NO! Wasn't to be at that time.
In 1998 I had just met my girlfriend (now wife) and she was still driving a '89 Festiva she had got a new in high school. I loved it. We both did. I was then driving a '91 Beretta V6. I was on it last leg and then a few months later I saw a Festy for sale for $800. It was a 1988 L, Charcoal/red stripe, cold A/C with 98K and was a Texas car. Bought it on the spot. Drove it another 102k in 9 years and retired it. Had many since then. Love it.

[Team Lightning]

May 16,1990 I walked into the local Ford Dealer looking at Rangers. Couldn't afford the price of the Ranger but.... Asked how much the Festy was. Salesman asked if I would consider a manual trans, I replied "won't consider anything else", 2 hrs, and $6600.00, later I drove PeeWee home. 19+ years and 270, 000 miles later, it's lasted longer than any of my relationships (and much easier to get along with). Looking forward to paint and a couple of special additions this year!!

[kirby1977]

My first experience of driving a Ford was back in '98 when my mum bought a '97 Laser hatch. It was a great little car. Later I began an obsession with larger sedans acquiring a Ford Falcon EF, and then the Ford Falcon AU1. But, as the kids came along and the family grew I needed my own runabout. I bought a newly registered Nissan Vector N13, a sweet little ride, and my love for smaller cars was renewed. After moving to Sydney, and with my Vector being reassigned to the wreckers, I needed another runabout so off to Ebay I headed and there I found Randirfain.. and my love for compact cars has grown all the more. Finding this site has given me more reason to love my Festi more. Can't wait to start adding to her!

[stevewl1164]

Bebandit...how often did you wax it through the years? How often did you change the oil? Since you are an original owner you could tell so much!

[MJD]

May 16,1990 I walked into the local Ford Dealer looking at Rangers. Couldn't afford the price of the Ranger but.... Asked how much the Festy was. Salesman asked if I would consider a manual trans, I replied "won't consider anything else", 2 hrs, and $6600.00, later I drove PeeWee home. 19+ years and 270, 000 miles later, it's lasted longer than any of my relationships (and much easier to get along with). Looking forward to paint and a couple of special additions this year!!

That is a cool story, shows what a lot of care can do, congrats on still having it !

[Team Lightning]

Used to keep it looking like new till the paint started to fade. Waxed several times per year. Changed the oil every 3-4000 miles. Factory clutch lasted 155k, Disc was still good but the pressure plate springs were giving up. No major work except usual maint till last Jan when trans quit shifting on the trip home from work. Lost 5th then by the time I got home only had 2,4 reverse. Car sat until Aug when I replaced the motor and trans with a unit I bought from a previous Festy owner. Motor has approx 100K. Original motor was sold and is in a local car. I averaged over 43 mpg with the original motor through 200k miles Clear coat started to fail some years ago so I quit waxing it. Just wash it now. Hoping to paint it after the weather warms up. All exterior paint is original except the grill which is black and the bumpers which were repainted before Madness 3 as was the interior panels.

PS: I live in the North Georgia mountains and used to give Mustangs a rough time in the curves going over those mountains. More power does NOT mean faster if you don't know how to use it.

[gorgonheimer]

I bought my car to do a bp swap. I had seen one in a junkyard and thought "I could really make a cool little race car out of that. Ill just put a Honda motor in it." Then some Google time and a few months later I had the motor before the car.

[mikeycar500]

my frist festiva was my frist car got it for 200 rolled over. i would go to my dads on the weekend open some boozes ans start working on the car till we broke somthing lol.
it took all winter but finally got to take it home and i drove that car everywhere bent roof and all i would drag off road and mud it and it never let me down but got a call from the ex grilfriend saying the car was broke she let the car over heat itll it messed up the head as mad as i was i said bye to my car then almost 5 years later i have a nother festiva on the road could not b happer.

[sasquatch]

after seeing this vid on youtube i had to have one... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogHfsnnt2cc then i found this site and saw how much you could do to them and how cheap they where to mod and i was hooked

[BP-Festiva]

complicated story, I was looking for a winter car to keep miles off of my LTD crown vic, and I found a 1992 escort gt for $400 in dayton ohio, I bought it and drove it for a month before i hit a patch of black ice and rolled it into a pole. since i had liability I took the car and stored it at my friends house while I figured out what I wanted to do with it. I could remember always liking festivas, and i knew that the bp was a great swap for these cars from reading the swap guide, so looked on craigslist and found a running festiva in bellville for $300. I went up there to buy it only to find out two of the four tires were trash, so i paid the guy his money got the title and drove back home. the next day i skipped school and went to the junkyard and got some rims with good tires for $30. I drove back up that day and put the tires on and drove it home.
escort before:


escort after:


festiva the day i brought it home, the first thing i did was get rid of the nasty shift knob that was on it and add the shift knob from the escort I also cleaned and vacuumed the interior, I took the back seat out and found about 2 pounds of kitty litter underneath the seat.












most recent assembled picdown for a front aspire swap, and capri xr2 g5mr trans swap)

[IdealSociety]

i had a buddy with a geo who got great milage but complained about power. so when my first vehicle was ready to kick the bucket (an old carb'd 2.8 v6 ranger) i decided to get something that had good milage but all 4 pistons like any respectable car has. A local small dealership had a festiva for sale for 500$ in almost perfect shape. of course i later rear ended a taurus in it but it got me hooked either way

Before:

After:


not as nasty as the guy above me's escort but this was also after i put a chain around a tree and pulled the front end back out enough to relatch the hood and unwrap the radiator from around the transmission and put on a spare steel bumper bit

[stevewl1164]

Small, cheap, good on gas, had a long commute. And after all, they are the state car of WV.

Is that the one you drove to the meet or the one you had at home to fix up?

[schaefz28]

I bought mine to drive to school (70+ miles per day) to save money on gas and keep miles off the camaro.. I got a fairly good deal on a car that needed a transmission.. I bought that and put in a trans and drove it for over a month. Now that car is down for some minor repairs (for sale soon!), and I've got festiva number 2 to work on as well. It's been sitting in TX for the last 10 years.. but I've got it running, and so far its cleaning up very nicely!

[jtugfestiva]

I bought my 90 ford festiva LX back in 98 with 40000miles from a korean lady which she needed to get rid of because it was too small. It had AC, auto and had the nice white guages with tach. It ran with no problems. Now it has 170000 hawaii miles and now it has no AC but everything is still running great. Changed pretty much everything except engine and trans but it is pretty bullet proof. I love my festy and ill drive it till i die!!!! Ford fan all the way Ford fairmont ford mustang ford festiva ford fusion ford taurus........