Faults:

Went though 4 alternators.

The water pump seal went, and the car lost all its coolant once. But the car also had 288,000 miles on it by then.

The jump wires had rotted away for the charging system, and caused the car to stop running once.

General Comments:

The car was roomy for such a small car.

The car was faster than most people would expect it to be.

Took all of the abuse, and just kept going.

Faults:

Transmission broke - 3 times!

CV axle failed.

Windshield washer broken.

Battery died.

Rear brakes stick.

Driver's door doesn't open or close right.

Windows don't open properly.

Exhaust rusted out.

Light switch/turn signal arm messed up.

General Comments:

I bought this $700 piece of junk from a dealer in early 2006. I was told Festivas get 40 mpg and gas prices were going up at the time, so I forked over my hard earned cash and drove off in my very own Ford Festiva.

Within a week I had to spend as much as I paid for the stupid car to replace the muffler, which conveniently rusted out, the transmission, which conveniently seized up 400 miles from home, the battery, which conveniently died on the day I bought the car, and the window mechanism, which conveniently broke.

For the last year it ran OK, and I got the advertised gas mileage, but a lot of little things went wrong - the driver's side door developed issues with the handles, lock mechanism, and window crank, the back brakes started to drag, and the control arms by the steering wheel stopped working properly. It also made strange rattling noises at highway speeds, and the new transmission made a kind of whirring noise at speeds over 35.

Finally the new transmission blew and I replaced it, only to have a CV axle go bad and 4th gear stop working at the same time.

That was the last straw, so I dumped the car on my brother who is now the proud owner of a car worse than the Yugo I drove before.

Faults:

Got flooded. Interior smells bad from flooding. Not really a fault with the car though.

General Comments:

This car horrible.

When I bought this car, the wife said I just had to live with it until it died. It won't die.

I don't remember the last time I had the oil changed. I'm not sure this car takes oil actually. Maybe hamster kibble? I don't know because haven't had to open the hood in 6 years of ownership. Maybe there is some kind of miniature nuclear reactor under there, I'd never know.

I off-road it like it was a Hummer, I race around in it like it was a Ferrari, I carry building materials home in it like it was F350 Super Duty truck. It takes everything I can throw at it and sucks it up and smiles at me with that ugly little grin the whole time.

The gas mileage on this car is a crime against capitalism. If all cars got the 45mpg I get out of this thing, our economy would come to a screeching halt. I'm pretty sure Festivas are outlawed in Texas for this very reason.

And don't even get me started on the tires. 12 inch tires? Who puts 12" tires on a car? They cost about $12 at Wal-Mart and last three years. How is Goodyear supposed to stay in business when the auto manufacturers pull stuff like that.

They'll probably bury me in this car.