Luckily For These Two, Looks Aren’t Everything: 1988 Honda Civic vs 1988 Ford Festiva

Hey everyone, it’s time for more crappy old cars! Today’s contestants have lived hard lives, and have the scars to prove it. Still, they both run fine, and should continue to do so for quite a while. And you’ll be happy to know that they both have manual transmissions, for a change.

I figured there was no way I could get you all to go for a K-car derivative over a Corolla yesterday, even a Corolla slathered in reflective striping. And in the long run, whoever buys it will probably have better luck than the future owner of that Sundance. But I just can’t bring myself to do it. I tried for two years to have any feelings at all towards my old Corolla, positive or negative, and I just didn’t. I’ll take the Sundance, and the associations of happy memories in many other FWD Chrysler products over the years.

And as far as those stripes on the Corolla go, take it from an old sign guy: you’re not getting them off easily, even with one of those vinyl-remover dealies. Type I, or “engineer grade,” reflective sheeting, which is what I would imagine those stripes are, is three or four times as thick as regular vinyl, is very abrasive on tools (due to the glass beads that give it its reflectivity), and worse yet, it goes brittle after it’s been on for a couple of years. You might get it off with a heat gun and a scraper – one fragment at a time – but you’ll hate life while you’re doing it.

So far this week, we’ve had two pairs of cars that were both automatics, and I know a lot of you prefer manuals, especially when it comes to cheap used cars. But cheap, good-running manual cars are actually getting harder to find for sale. These two both run fine, but they have led rough lives. They are, however,  both known to be pretty robust little cars. Let’s take a look.

1988 Honda Civic LX – $1,000

Engine/drivetrain: 1.5 liter overhead cam inline 4, five-speed manual, FWD

Location: Mountain View, CA

Odometer reading: 180,000 miles

Operational status: Runs and drives great, lots of work done

The seller of this Honda Civic says they planned to use it as a track toy. Those who don’t know cars will take one look at it and think, “Track toy? That?” Yes, that. The fourth-generation Honda Civic is no ordinary subcompact. Its four-wheel independent suspension system makes it handle better than any econobox has any right to, and its tinkerer-friendly design made it a darling of the tuner crowd. And while it’s usually the CRX or three-door hatchback versions that get all the attention, this four-door LX sedan is exactly the same underneath.

To prepare this little sedan for roadcourse glory, the seller has rebuilt the engine, installed a high-performance clutch, and gone through the rest of the mechanicals. It runs like a top, and has an all-new exhaust including the catalytic converter, so it passes Calfornia’s smog test without issue.

There’s always a catch, though, and in the case of this little Honda, it’s a pretty serious rear-end hit. It sounds like this happened just after the seller did all the work, and it soured them on the car. They say it still drives fine, but that’s a hell of a hit. As long as the suspension mounts aren’t affected, it should be fine – but it isn’t “easy to pull out” as the seller claims. And obviously, forget about keeping anything in the trunk dry.

It’s a shame, because apart from that, it’s pretty clean, and all the mechanical work makes it a good deal. Running and driving cars for $1,000 just aren’t around much any more, especially ones that are actually kinda fun to drive like this.

1988 Ford Festiva L – $1,700

Engine/drivetrain: 1.3 liter overhead cam inline 4, four-speed manual, FWD

Location: Las Vegas, NV

Odometer reading: 76,000 miles

Operational status: Runs and drives great

Not very many of the tiny economy cars that find their way to American shores are actually designed for us. And more often than we realize, these little economy cars have a much longer lifespan in other parts of the world. The Fiat 128, one of my favorite small cars, disappeared from American showrooms in 1980, but it was produced by Zastava in Serbia until 2008, and by Nasr in Egypt until 2009. Believe it or not, the Ford Festiva is another such car; it is still in production in Tunisia, as the Wallyscar 619.

Our Festiva lasted from 1988 to 1993, built in Korea by Kia and sold there as the Kia Pride. It has a 1.3 liter Mazda engine, carbureted for the first couple of years, and backed by a simple four-speed manual in this entry-level L model. This is a one-owner car, with only 76,000 miles to its name. It runs and drives well, the seller says, but that’s all the information we get.

If I’m reading the rather cryptic ad right, the seller is saying that the interior needs fixing up, and I do think I see some sun damage, but we only get the one interior photo. I can’t imagine anyone trying to restore a Festiva, though. I think it pretty much is what it is at this point.

Street-parking a car in Las Vegas doesn’t sound like the best way to keep it pristine. This car has weathered the years better than it could have, but it still has dings and scrapes and oxidized paint, not to mention a big ol’ crack in the windshield. The gray plastic bumpers are several shades lighter than they used to be, and they definitely look battle-scarred. But hey, at least it isn’t rusty.

There’s always a compromise to be made when you’re shopping for cheap cars. Today, the compromise is cosmetic condition. One has had an unfortunate rear-ending, and the other has been left out in the desert sun too long. But they both run great, get awesome gas mileage, and have manual gearboxes to keep things interesting. Which one will it be?

(Image credits: Craigslist sellers)