Long trip in new (to me) Festiva

[Onree]

I am flying to California this weekend to pick up a Festiva that I bought, and drive it home to Nebraska. I wonder where I should go for help if I have trouble. A Ford dealer? Mazda dealer? The Kia store? A general import specialty place. Any comments or suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks,Onree

[Kindred]

There used to be a Festiva Friends list. I don't know what happened to it, but I'm sure there are plenty of knowledgable people along your drive. If the list still exists, then that would be your best bet. Taing the car to a ford dealer will just get you cash raped.

[gdawgs]

If the car is in decent shape and has been reasonably well taken care of, you have about a 99.5% chance that that nothing will go wrong. These cars are simple to work on so if you do have problems, you could take it to any garage. No need to go to any specialty place(they would probably laugh at you).

[bbrown]

Do the obvious before leaving California. That is, fresh oil, antifreeze, filters(air and gas) check the tires, etc. In short, a good tuneup before you leave. I have driven mine from NY to Seattle by way of Phoenix and ten years later from Seattle to NY. Festivas love the highway. No problems on either trip but it doesn't hurt to carry 4 quarts of oil and some water/antifreeze, some basic tools and a set of jumper cables.

[Pgh5spd]

All excellent advice. Make sure you let us know the outcome.

I've made a couple 1000mi trips in my '93L in the past year with no problems.

[Onree]

Long trip (2200 miles) in my new Festiva...

Well, I got home last night. I flew to Los Angel es on Saturday and picked up the car from the seller. It had 146,892 miles. I filled the gas tank, checked the oil, coolant, battery, tires, etc. and all was good. Previous owner had good records of everything. I headed north Saturday afternoon, stayed overnight in Bakersfield and spent Sunday touring Sequoia National Park. The Festiva was great fun driving in the mountains, then up to I-80 and stayed in Reno. Monday morning I added a quart of oil and headed east toward home. The car seemed to cruise best at about 65mph, although I ran 75 part of the time. I checked the accuracy of the speedo/odometer against the interstate mile markers and at a steady indicated 60mph it took 58 to 60 seconds, pretty much right on. Stayed in the Salt Lake area Monday night. Tuesday drove to Cheyenne, Wyoming where I stayed Tuesday night, replaced a burnt out headlight bulb, and added another quart of oil. Wednesday I drove on home to Lincoln, Nebraska.
The trip was 2204 miles and I used 45.2 gallons of gas for an average of 48.6 mpg. Fantastic!! The car now has 149,096 indicated miles. Muffler is definitely a little louder now than it was when I started the trip, and I think I hear a little throw-out bearing squeal. I love the car. About the only thing I don't like is no cruise control, and I hate those damn "running mouse" shoulder belts. I've never had a car with those before. Thanks to everyone for all the helpful advice and encouragement.
Onree in Nebraska
Happy 1990 Festiva owner

[gdawgs]

Very Good! Another happy Festiva owner. The seat belts take a little getting used to, but once you do, you'll probably like them.
Do you think it's leaking the oil or burning it. If it's like the Festivas I've owned it's probably not burning it. Most likely a leaking main crankshaft seal and a valve cover gasket.

Pretty tough to beat that kind of gas mileage.

[getitqwik]

Sounds like a happy camper!!! Let me know if it dies.