Faults:

Replaced brake pads at 62,000 miles.

Replaced muffler at 69,00 miles.

Had thermostat replaced at 74,000 miles.

General Comments:

If they still made these cars, I'd buy another one in a heartbeat. For a car this small, it was surprisingly comfortable. While not a hot rod, it had pretty good zip for such a tiny engine. I bought the car from a friend who had rescued it from a junkyard following a wreck. The car was tough, I drove it nine years with almost no problems. It got terrific gas mileage and could handle almost any amount of snow. I'd still have it today, but an encounter one morning with a deer was its sad end. It took being totaled a second time to finally do it in.

Faults:

The exhaust blew a hole in itself at 190K.

Alternator and the Battery both died, I'm sure the alternator killed the battery first.

Changed the bearings and the brakes.

The heat stopped working after my girlfriend drove the car for a couple of kilometers with the "engine overheating" light on. Changed the belts and the water pump after that...

Rust in the front of the hood, rust under the Ford insignia at the rear. Rust all over, actually.

The seats are pretty much destroyed, hidden by ugly seat-covers.

Wiper fluid only comes out of one side now.

Hole in the gas tank at the half mark.

General Comments:

What a great car!

I can't say that I've ever owned a car that I've enjoyed more than this one. I drive it every day back and forth to work. I've been telling myself that I'm going to drive it until it dies, but the engine won't stop working! It's definitely the most reliable car I've ever owned. It's a great car to drive, whether you're going back and forth to work, or whether you're doing a 17 hour drive to Thunder Bay. Nothing will stop this car. I only wish that these were still made. I'd buy one new in an instant. Of course if I got it new, I'd have it rust-checked before I drove it off the lot... :) A great bargain, and a great car to drive. No blind spots, turns on a dime.

Faults:

Left front brake line blew at 130000km (replaced for very little cost)

Heater return pipe sprung a leak. (replaced with a rubber hose) at about 190000km.

Valve cover gasket leaked at about 120000km (routine problem with most older cars)

Exhaust system rusted out around 117000km (common problem with small engine cars)

Handbrake cable broke (again) around 125000 (probably a faulty cable to begin with)

General Comments:

I purchased this car from a kind old lady for $100. She had only driven it about 3000km since 1997-2003. So a lot of the problems listed above are probably due to inactivity and lack of use.

In either case the Festiva is a great choice for a first car, even if the insurance is astronomical.

They run on very little gas for quite a long time.

The ride is actually surprisingly supple and comfortable, even with the annoyingly high amount of road/wind/engine noise.

Although this is not a sports car by any means, the little Mazda-built 1.3 easily gets up to 140KM/H.