Faults:

Rattle from the muffler.

Loud belt under the hood.

General Comments:

This little car was the best $150 I have ever spent. Handles well and moves pretty quick, not a better car on the market for every day driving in my opinion. Very easy on the wallet too, great on gas mileage and not too many repairs. It is definitely one of the best cars I have ever owned and I really hope that it isn't the last I own. If you see one on the side of the road with a For Sale sign, take immediate interest, give it a chance, and then make a decision. This car won't let you down.

Faults:

The exhaust rusted off of it.

The C.V. boot ripped open.

The master cylinder started to leak.

The bright lights quit working.

The dome light Just came on and would not turn off.

Had to put a new battery in it.

General Comments:

I love this car.

This car can park in the tightest spot.

My festiva gets about 28-30 miles to the gallon in town.

It has enough power.

My first test was 10 hours on the interstate at 80 mph.

Faults:

I rolled the thing once and it is still good!

General Comments:

This car gets around 40 MPG and is as good as the hybrid cars for gas consumption.

There is tremendous room in the car surprisingly. I got a 6' step ladder in it! It is a BIG box on tiny wheels.

Faults:

Burned out license plate light.

Heat shielding around exhaust system rattled... had to take it off. Works great now.

Back hatch rattled over bumps. Added extra weatherstripping and now it's good as new.

General Comments:

This car is just amazing. I bought it back in May of 2004 with 201,000 miles on it, and it was all smogged and ready to go for $600. Since then I put in $1400 into the car, upgrading the interior, getting new tires, new stereo system, tinting the windows. It's basically a new car now, other than some very slight dents hardly noticeable.

Since I've owned it it's run perfect. No problems whatsoever. Not even the "check engine" light came on yet. It's still on its original clutch and transmission with now 204,000 miles plus on it.

I would highly recommend getting one of these if you can find one in decent shape! They're worth it in the gas mileage alone (38-41 MPG average).

Faults:

Brake Master Cylinder had to be replaced.

Serpentine belt squealed.

General Comments:

This is my second Festiva, and I really wish I hadn't given away the first one. I live in Hawaii, and with gas over $2 a gallon, this thing is a mileage champ! I get 38-40 mpg in combined city/highway driving. I know my Festy will always start and run.

The other one had AC, sure would be nice if this one did. Alas.

Faults:

Rear wheel bearings have been a constant problem with this car. They are very difficult to adjust correctly. The torque values and readings are very unconventional. If these bearings are adjusted incorrectly they go bad very quickly.

The emergency brakes have also been difficult. Unfortunately emergency brake problems are easily confused with rear bearing problems. It is impossible to adjust the brakes without removing the drum, which makes it very difficult to adjust shoe dragging.

The brake disks cannot be removed from the front steering knuckles without a great deal of trouble. Make sure you get disks turned on the car during a brake job or you are going to be charged a great deal.

General Comments:

Other than the rear axle problems the car is great and very economical. It seems to usually get over 40 miles per gallon. In spite of the fact I am now over 126000 miles I am still on the same original clutch.

It is very reliable.

With its 5 speed manual transmission it is fast enough to stay out of trouble.

It is really too bad that this car never caught on with the public and Ford/KIA/Mazda did away with it.