Faults:

So far, touch wood nothing major has gone wrong with my Festy! I generally do my own work and luckily there has been nothing to do aside from maintenance.

My steering racks need the grease boots replaced (about $200.00 at a shop or $10.00 yourself) and the cv shafts could use a change soon (about $225.00 at a shop or $125.00 yourself), but overall this is a tight little ride that is pretty easy to work on yourself. You can find many parts on line for it like I have! If you maintain this car like most any vehicle it will last a very long time! And my little blue Festy cost me only $400.00! Tires are cheap. Most smaller parts are cheap.

General Comments:

This 1993 Ford Festiva is a great little car. I have taken it on a 1000 mile roadtrip and it performed well and reliably. The gas mileage is awesome, about 38 mpg combined average! On the highway trucks and wind can be a bother it is a light little car, and in the rain without ABS you must drive smart. I think that if you are looking for cheap reliable transportation for the city and even road trips the I recommend the Ford Festiva. Look for a clean model and you can always take it a shop for a once over. This car is especially great for running errands and for being environmentally friendly. I mean half the time I ride alone so I do not need a big car. I have a Firebird and I keep it for "BIG TRIPS" - I love mt Festiva it is so much fun!

Faults:

My camshaft froze to the journals in the head at aprox. 25 degrees below zero one night shearing off the guide pin holding the timing gear to the camshaft itself, leaving me to replace the entire engine for less than half the cost of the new head. Other than that, absolutely nothing has been replaced since with the exception of tires, brakes and an alternator (after 200K miles. The seats are cracked, but no more than expected due to the extreme cold weather during the winters here.

General Comments:

This car has been across the country on more that a few occasions, through deep mud and snow on ten percent grade mountain passes on a daily basis and never let me down! As of now, it's sitting in my garage after getting rear-ended a couple of winters ago, waiting for a new R/R fender and hatchback. It's still running stronger than ever. Based on what I read previously in this thread, broken bolts, etc. are "pilot error", and obviously the person who worked on their car didn't know what they were doing. I have serviced mine myself, but I also work on aircraft for a living, so I know what I'm doing in the shop, although it doesn't take a rocket scientist to take care of your equipment. It was clearly designed as a "disposable vehicle" due to the simplicity of it's design, but mine continues to get an average of 35-40mpg back and forth to work, and no loss of power on a daily commute over a ten percent grade pass for over 8 years! I would attribute this to the lack of weight of the vehicle itself, meaning, it takes less power to pull a light weight car, thus less wear on the engine.

Faults:

The day after I bought the car, the rear bearing blew out while I was driving on the highway.

The day after I bought the car, the rear brake line seized up and had to be repaired. This happened again later as the parking brake is not often used.

The vinyl on the seats was cracked when I bought this car.

The exhaust system often makes a rattling noise. This has been attributed to the heat shield on the catalytic converter or the exhaust manifold.

I've had to replace several parts in the exhaust system due to rust and holes.

The brakes in the back often need servicing for reasons unknown.

After two years of owning this car, the heater coil had to be replaced. This problem caused condensation to build up and freeze on the inside of the car.

General Comments:

This car does very well for what I paid for it. It doesn't have all the bells and whistles, but it does the job.

The car does not like to go over bumps. You can feel everything, especially when going over railway tracks.

The car gets great gas mileage and has ample cargo room when the seats are folded down.

This car does not do well on the highway, or in a collision.

Used parts for this car are hard to come by.