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)
A guy I worked with in 1988 had a new Festiva and I drove it many times. Feather-light, go-cart handling, and a tiny motor that revved like hell and could scoot beyond it’s hp rating. It was as bare as a car could be, but an absolute hoot around town.
Of course, take away the Civic’s damage and it wins handily.
Yes, but also take away the Civic’s damage and the price jumps to probably $5k these days.
Still wins.
I’m just not willing to believe the damage on the Civic is only skin deep. And a non-operational/sealing trunk where I live is a no-no.
Honestly, I’d gladly rock the Festiva. I haven’t seen one that nice in at least a decade. Would at least take up minimal space in my garage, and wouldn’t be an awful thing to scoot around town with.
On reading the headline, I was thinking the Civic would be the easy win… but not THAT janky-assed, poorly repaired POS Civic from a seller who is clearly full of shit.
Also note, the asking price in the ad is now $2000… which I think is about $1500 too much for that heap.
So the unmolested and non-janky Festiva gets my vote.
I think the pricing history is the other way around – the seller probably didn’t update the ad copy when he cut the price after his parents made it Perfectly Clear For the Last Time that either the Civic goes by the end of the week or he does, and frankly they’re starting to lean toward the Civic because at least it doesn’t give them any shit or lie around smoking weed when the grass needs to be cut.
Even if the Civic didn’t have the body damage, I would probably take the Festiva, they’re basically all gone in the midwest anyway. I think it would be a really neat summer in town daily for a 3 mile commute like mine.
Skate by a mile – that damage looks to be more than skin deep.
Too bad about the hit, because that Civic is basically the car my wife drove in college, down to the color. Not it is good for parts. Meanwhile I have fond enough memories of bombing around Oahu in a very similar vintage Festiva in the early 90s that I would probably lean toward it anyway.
I can’t think of an 80s/90s box-flared car that I don’t like. I’ll take the Festiva! 😉
That Civic touches my heart! I want to buy it and give it the wholehearted flogging it’s yearning for. The Festiva just scares me, it’s “nice” enough to want to preserve but it’s still an ’88 Festiva.
Can’t say the body damage bothers me if the intent is fun – they just got the first hit out of the way for you!
I can’t believe I voted for a Festiva.
I wanted to vote for the Civic but that damage is just too bad to ignore. I can’t stand body damage on my car, it affects my general mood and outlook on life. I wouldn’t be able to look at the Civic every day and not get bummed out.
It could be worse. If you bought it, you’d have to DRIVE the Civic.
A cop would see it crab-tracking down the road and think “Yup, that’s an impaired driver!”
If that were my Civic, I’d also be too bummed out to keep it around.
We’ll take the Festiva and give it to Mercedes Streeter, provided she promises not to make it into a Gambler car.
Great candidates for Lemons Racing…….
Tie that smushed corner of the Civic to a tree and do a few hard pulls, it’ll be good as new.
Fastiva today!
The Honda got junked in the trunk. I’m already 36 with a sore back, I don’t need a car of the same vintage with it’s own spinal issues.
Plus, the 3-door is as close as we’re getting to wagon life today.
Festiva can be a hoot to drive, if you’re in the “More fun to drive a slow car fast than a fast car slow” club. Which I am. Cheap and Cheerful is the operative term, even though I’d be a little more cheerful if the seller cheaped out more on the price.
Since the Civic has the Kink of Doom in the rear, I’d part it out if someone gave it to me. It’s done.
I guess I’ll go with the Ford (Kia, Mazda) Festiva. That Civic with its droopy but can’t be fixed unless you wanna turn it into a pickup.
The Civic is very similar to the car I drove in college, same color and similar equipment, simply for nostalgia’s sake, I have to go with that one. I miss that car and how tossable it was. It was just a bit of a rust bucket (being from the midwest) and had some mechanical issues happening so I had to get rid of it.
As a former owner of an 88 CRX, that pic from the rear broke my heart. Festiva for me.
Rust free manual Festiva! Hell yeah!!
A guy that worked for me had a hobby of taking Festivas and putting the 1.9 Mazda turbo engine from XR2 Mercury Capris into them. I drove one of them once. It was an absolute fucking riot.
So yeah, this is pretty easy.
So the choices are a civic that was built to have the shit beat out of it, or a low mile, one owner Festiva that’s basically a Mazda? Yeah I’m going for the Korean built “American” car with a Japanese heart.
Yikes, I think both of these sellers need to remove that unnecessary first digit from the asking prices.
Between the frame damage and tinkering I wouldn’t go anywhere near that Civic. The Festiva takes the checkered flag today. I can see it off in the distance, heading towards the finish line. At least I think it’s still moving? Let’s save some time and move the finish line closer to the car.
Provided there’s a tow hook under that Honda rear bumper I’d really like to hook up a long chain to a tree, hit top speed, and see if I could straighten out that rear end some.
It would be fun, whether it worked or not. It worked for a stuck trailer hitch on my old truck
I think you underestimate how long it takes for these to get to top speed, but I feel like that would just result in the violent removal of the rear bumper, but I could be wrong.
Yeah top speed may be all of 10 mph but those tow hooks are connected to the frame/unibody so the bumper should be ok
Can I just walk instead?
No? Ok.
Sadly, the Civic is suitable only for parts now, that hit isn’t going to buff out and I wouldn’t trust it on the road like that. Its not a desirable enough model to be worth fixing so off to the scrapper it goes. That makes it the Fiesta by default I guess even though Penalty Boxes like this are one of the main reasons Americans are so sour on hatchbacks to this day.
I’ll take the Festiva for the rest of ya.
I’ll take the Honda. And you know what I’m gonna do with it?
Bustle back, baby!!!
Lol!
Looks like it’s already halfway there. One more good hit.