I'm looking at purchasing a Ford Festiva with 134,000km, timing belt done at 93,000. I currently own a 94 BMW 318i which is becoming very costly (and time consuming) to maintain. Since I live close to the CBD I don't drive all that much, really just to work and back 5 days out of the week.
The Festiva in question is owned by a friend, and I trust that what he says about the car is accurate. The best part is that he only wants $500. I know the Festiva isn't much to look at, but I just want a basic car that can get me from point A to point B without any hassles.
The BMW is great and I really like the older body style, but it's having problems with the coolant…I recently spent the better part of a week fiddling around with hoses (which were difficult to even find) and training my hands to contort into tight spaces in order to fix a leak. Also, the AC doesn't work and with summer right around the corner I don't know if I'll be able to bear it.
At $500 I feel silly even asking this question because it seems like a steal to me, but I figure I'd let you guys weigh in…what do you guys and gals think?
Thoughts on '98 Ford Festiva with 134,000km?
Poll Options
- 14Buy
- 7Avoid Like the Plague
Comments
For $500, even if you just do an annual oil change and keep it until something more costly breaks on it.. Just be aware that basically anything more than routine maintenance will be worth more than the car.
The old festiva can take a fair bit of abuse, there is nothing to them.
Buy buy buy
Theyre solid cars
I wouldn't expect much to go wrong
just ensure you follow the four basics every week- tyre pressures
- coolant and oil checks
- run the ac once a week to keep the system lubricated and from stopping seals drying out and then leaking
- wash once a week, reduces dirt and wind resistance, although not proven , I have seen a cleaner car get slightly better km per l
timing belt is about as major as they get on those cars
double check to see if the water pump was done at the same time as these two usually work together and you want to make sure it was done, not required but nice to have fresh water pump with a timing belt kit to ensure bearings and gaskets are goodthe usual issues will be oil leaks and minor things a car at that age gets but nothing huge
as long as you're doing your 3 checks a week you'll get miles of happy driving out of itStop start does put a lot of pressure on older cars so check the hoses are good and that the radiator system is working as it should before you brave peak hour
Being a friend I wouldnt assume hes going to rip you off but buyer beware and get a check done on it
Spending 20℅ of the price on an inspection seems ludicrous, but then I don't do any of the weekly stuff suggested more often than every few months so maybe I am living on the edge.
Thanks for all the input, just thought I'd share an update. Had a test drive today, everything is in working order. Had a peek under the hood, the owner's mechanic had written when things were replaced/serviced in black texta, so keeping an eye on maintenance shouldn't be difficult. The owner had it serviced during the week and it came away with a clean bill of health. The interior is a bit rough, worn seats, steering wheel is cracking, but it's nothing that some seat covers and a steering wheel cover won't fix.
I'm not a huge car guy, I can do some basic maintenance but I wouldn't go as far as to say that I enjoy it, but the Festiva seemed to be in pretty good shape, and during the brief time I drove it, it seemed to be fine. As @airzone mentioned, even if I drive it until it breaks down for $500 it seems worth it to me. Heck, the fact that the A/C is working is enough to sell me on it.
I won't be placing cash in the owner's hand until October 1, so I'm happy for others to weigh in with their opinions, but at this stage I'm 99% sure I'll take it.
Get it straight away. It could end up being a "snooze lose" scenario.
Keep that mechanic's contact details too, he sounds like a keeper! :)
Buying a $500 car is pretty low risk. You can probably get most of that back in rego refund and cash from the scrappies if it dies. Of course if you buy a $500 car from a complete stranger you may not get the full story, but its only $500. Buying a $500 car from a friend and knowing it's history is much less risky but still not a guarantee it won't blow up next week.
Any car that has been mechanically maintained should last well over 200,000km despite what it looks like on the outside.
Seat belts and ABS? Pass. Get something a little newer.
how much work for a RWC?