Faults:

Sometimes I will have a problem getting it to start, because of the starter having the ring gear worn. I keep turning the key and it will eventually start.

I bought the car with pretty worn out old tires.

Anything else is just maintenance; no major repairs or problems reported here.

General Comments:

I bought this car a few months ago for 300$, and it has been excellent.

Very few problems with the car, and minor ones at that.

I get great gas mileage; 40-42 around town and almost 50 on the highway.

These little cars are fun to drive, as they have no power steering, manual transmission, and around 70 horsepower.

These are very reliable little cars that save you money on fuel and other costs, Regular maintenance will easily keep one running for a long time.

This car has a fairly comfortable interior, and isn't too cramped or noisy as one would except.

The Swift has plenty of room in the hatch area, especially when the rear seats are folded down.

Great cars. I plan on getting a Geo Metro next, as it has a 3 cylinder, and those get 45-50 MPG all day long.

Faults:

Slow oil leak - probably bought that way - nothing serious.

On a very few occasions, I had a minor starting problem that went away.

This car has been very reliable with very low operating costs.

General Comments:

1.3 16 valve 100 horse 5-speed motor moves this lightweight along quite well. It did not feel underpowered. 5-speed shifted nicely most of the time.

It had good handling feel, and it was a joy to drive on curvy mountain roads.

I often averaged mid 30's mpg combined.

It wasn't very refined. There were some rattles, nevertheless, I feel very positive about the car, and I wish I had it now.

Faults:

The only thing I ever had done other than new tires and maintenance, was a new clutch at about 80,000 miles.

General Comments:

I wish I never traded this car in for a Durango in 2004. It was pushing 100,000 miles and I traded it in for $500. Biggest mistake of my life.

I got this car while in the US Navy. They had a red, white, and blue sell - the only colors it came in. I bought it for a low $5800 for the base model. No air and manual. The listed gas mileage was 38 in city and 45 on highway. I got about 60 on the highway in the beginning!

Yes it was small, but it handled well and was fun to drive. The hatch back was great, and the car was a great reliable car. I only wish I never sold it.

Oh, it handled great in bad weather like snow because it was front wheel drive, low to the ground, and stick shift. I would put a bag of books in the trunk area to weigh it down.

Faults:

NOTE: All of these issues were relatively small and easy fixes and did not take much away from the performance or overall enjoyment of the vehicle.

Starter started acting up (not starting at times) - just rebuilt it.

Driver's side window dislodged - just clipped it back in and was done with it. note- apparently the arms of the window regulator have a knack for bending, probably due to too much force exerted on the window lever when the window has already reached the end of its travel.

Some rust - no biggy, some simple body work. note- could've been avoided with some simple preventative measures by previous owners (yeah, yeah, I know, just blame the other guys)

CV boot tore - not a sign of poor workmanship, just an expected wear and tear item for a car with over 150K on it.

Deteriorating gas mileage - shouldn't be a bid deal, just have to find the problem. Probably just need to tune up the carbs or something. Maybe alignment too. This will happen with any car if not taken care of.

General Comments:

Generally speaking this is an awesome car. Sure it may not look the 'coolest' but with some simple changes (e.g. taking the springs down a few coils to give it a more aggressive stance), the car can be made to look quite respectable and even may garner a few admiring stares depending on the surrounding landscape (e.g. parking lot full of soccer-mom mini-vans). The car handles really well due to its extreme lightness of weight and also as a result really flies off the line. I haven't driven aggressively in a while (I'm soon to hit a ripe old age of 30 years), but this car begs to be launched at every red light. It will easily eat for breakfast many cars with twice the horsepower merely due to it's super light weight. Although this may be bad for accident protection, it's great for driveability and fuel economy when everything's properly tuned. That being said, I am currently in the process of reclaiming some mileage, but feel that I am close to the problem.

All in all, a great little car that you can, with some patience, find at a super low price. Sure the car doesn't feel as solid as a Toyota or Honda, but the price is reflected in that aspect.

Let me finish off by saying this. I beat the crap out of this car on a daily basis and see no sign of it letting up. Just stay on top of the routine maintenance such as oil changes, coolant inspections and typical wear/tear items and I firmly believe that this vehicle will take you to the ends of the Earth!!!