Aspire

[sohowcome]

Yep! going going gone........

[focalBlur]

yes I do drive a nicer car then my father he does see any reasion to replace his car and that is why he keeps it however he is finally thinking about gettting a new one he has it down to 2 cars
Mini Cooper w/1.6liter 115hp motor
or
the new E-Class comming out w/a diesel motor(what ever one they happen to offer in the USA)


the Aspire(1995 3door 66,000miles) is terrible, but then again what do you expect out of a car that cost under $5000 new
the car handles so badly in the rain that I wont even drive it when it's wet out(no traction, slides all the time)
handling in the dry is not much better(thanx to a crappy suspension setup)
however pickup is not too bad for a car with 63hp and a 5speed but the car is not very good on the highway
top speed is about 75mph and the car starts shaking like mad above 50mph, plus a mild cross wind will throw you off the road
parts are very overpriced and stuff has been breaking alot lately
$600 to fix odo and speedo
$600 for a new CAT
now the brake lights don't work and need to be rewired
but the car is only worth $1200
also gas milage has dropped off, used to get 41mph all the time now only about 31mpg

[Kennedy200]

Sounds like your car has some issues.....

I found that I have to put decent tires on my Aspire. If the tires are worn down too much it will hydroplane real easy. Remember, the car only weighs 1700 lbs.

Have you tried a basic tune up??? Distrubutor cap and rotor, plug wires, plugs, air cleaner, fuel filter??? It made a night and day difference on my Aspire. I also found the any drop in the air pressure in the tires makes a world of difference. For what its worth, I can run at 75 mph no problem, and it tops out at just under 100.

I think I waslucky with my speedo. It made it 115,000 miles before it broke. Well, actualy it didn't really break, the needle fell off. (You gotta love Ford quality.) I have been using my GPS for a speedo. its a pain in the arse sometimes. But, I always remember that I paid $3000 for this car. I don't expect a lot of quality for $3000. I have definately got my money's worth out of it.

[focalBlur]

I just had to drive this car for a week, my dad drove from MD to MA and does not really trust the Aspire on long trips so he took my car

the car is really not that bad but the Shifter is HORRIBLE
it sticks like crazy so you think you are in gear but you are only halfway in so when you let out on the clutch you grind the gears
1st-2nd I never have problems but it sometiems takes me 5 trys to get the car into 4th and R is just as bad

worst Stick shift I have ever driven

[Kennedy200]

Have you tried lubing up the shift linkage. Just crawl onder the car and unbolt the bar that links the shifter and tranny. Slap some grease in the holes the bolts go through and put it back together. 15 minute job. It made a world of difference to my car. I include this in my regular maintence.

Have you changed the gear box oil? My car was shifting like a POS at about 80K miles. Greasing the linkage didn't help, so I decided to change the gear box oil. Its pretty simple, its as easy as changing the engine oil. If you want instructions, I can post them.

[POS carb]

enginerd: there are cheap cars, and then there are CHEAP cars. An aspire is nothing but a Kia with a Ford badge, it's the modern version of the Festiva I guess.
I like cheap cars (I drive a freaking 87 Accord) but I do get a cheap car it better look halfway decent and have at least 3-digit power figures!!

[nytetyme]

I here a bunch of people out here bashing the Ford Aspire. Well, let me tell you a little something. I own a 1994 Impala SS (Yes a Chevrolet). My wife owns a Ford aspire. My Impala is a "Collectors Car" and an everday driver. It has cost me over 4500.00 in repairs in the last 2 years. It has HALF the mileage that my wifes car has on it. The Aspire cost use NEW and stripped down from the dealership 6300.00. My Impala cost me 28,300. I have had to put NO money in the Aspire in the last 7 years! Nothing! Not one cent!, other than oil. Not even a battery until this year! I am just now starting to have things start to go wrong with it.

As for you that say "why would you even buy an Aspire?" Simple. Cost, Gas Mileage, Dependability. My wife was in college when she bought hers. It was a simple decision. . . Stay on compus while attending school, or buy a cheap car and drive it everyday. Lets see. . . If you stay on campus you pay 450-800 per month or you can buy a car and drive an hour a day and pay 63.00 per month and have a used car when you graduate. For her the question was simple. Buy a car you can afford and drive to school.

She has now graduated and is a CPA. She STILL drives the car as a work car. . . with a little over 200,000 on the clock. And it runs everyday!

[boingo82]

FYI, the Aspire was built by KIA and Ford bought and badged it because they had to lower their fleet avg. mpg. in order to stay legal. There aren't mpg standards for individual cars, however an automaker's entire fleet for a year has to average below a certain mpg. And without the Aspire, Ford would not have made it.

And here is some educated criticism on the car (not mindless bashing):
I test-drove a 1997 Ford Aspire in 2000. It had 60,000 mi on the clock, and they wanted $3750 for it. After driving the car, I decided I would NEVER EVER own one. The first problem I noticed when I got in the car was that the seatbelts seemed to be mounted about 1 foot behind the front seats. I had to contort myself just to reach the darned thing! When I started trying to drive the car, I was even more disappointed. Though it was a stick-shift, there was no tachometer, which meant I had to guess when to shift by the engine sound. Impossible. The thing sounded like it was powered by a bucked of bees. The amount (and pitch) of engine noise generated by the Aspire at about 1,000 rpm (estimate) was equivalent to the noise my 1.6 Sentra produced at 7,000. As soon as I started driving the Aspire, it sounded like it was redlining (at 10 mph!!) so I shifted, and the engine promptly died. It's not like me to kill engines like this, I'd been driving stick for a full 6 months at the time. Once I figured out the shift points, I drove around a bit, but didn't dare attempt to get the car up to freeway speed. As other users have posted, the steering is indeed satisfactory, though that seems to be the only attribute. After bringing the car back to the dealership, I inquired about its ownership/repair history and learned that the transmission (not the clutch, but the entire transmission) had been replaced only 5,000 miles ago. !!! Since when does a manny-tranny kick the bucket at 55,000 miles???? Since it's driven VERY VERY poorly, that's when!! That was a huge warning sign, and though I already disliked the car, it instanty became a strong no go. (I was considering everything previously as I was severly restricted by price.)

Ultimately I bought a 1991 Sentra, one of the best cars ever made when balancing price, reliability, performance, etc. Though the Sentra WAS powered by Hamsters, I suppose that's better than a swarm of bees.

[nytetyme]

Well, I must agree with you that the seatbelts and the seats are a rather poor. But I disagree with the engine sound. Mine is quiet as can be at ALL rpm's. Even flooring it on the onramp (you have to do that often) to get up to highway speed it does not sound very loud to me. The car does have a shift light if you have trouble shifting.

Now, the transmission. I must also agree with you on that too. I also stay away from that. Ours has over 200,000 and is a manual shift and has never had any trouble. . .yet. I think that the person who had the car first DID NOT take very good care of it, and that is what was wrong with it.

[boingo82]

Originally posted by nytetyme
Well, I must agree with you that the seatbelts and the seats are a rather poor. But I disagree with the engine sound. Mine is quiet as can be at ALL rpm's. Even flooring it on the onramp (you have to do that often) to get up to highway speed it does not sound very loud to me. The car does have a shift light if you have trouble shifting.

Now, the transmission. I must also agree with you on that too. I also stay away from that. Ours has over 200,000 and is a manual shift and has never had any trouble. . .yet. I think that the person who had the car first DID NOT take very good care of it, and that is what was wrong with it.

Yes, I do believe I was looking at a rather poor example of the car, however it was a few design flaws that bothered me ( and yes, the engine was REALLY REALLY LOUD ) that kept me from ever considering the model again. In addition I'm concerned about the crashworthiness of the vehicle. Seems it would be the vulnerable car in any wreck, let alone a wreck with an SUV.

All the more power to you for having found a reliable Aspire. I have heard of many people who've been satisfied with theirs (like my boss's wife, whose Aspire is lt. purple) but I have also heard many stories from dissatisfied folks who ended up with a bad one.

My sympathies on your Chevy. GM seems to have an uncanny ability to produce some really good cars, and many really poor cars. You never know which you'll get, so I stay away from the whole bunch.

[nytetyme]

I do REALLY have to agree with you on crash worthiness. It worries me every day! It WILL NOT stand up to a SUV, No way!

[hoytsboi]

Hey there...

I'm actually from Australia where the Aspire is known as the Festiva (They stuck with the name.. )... Crashworthiness is not all that bad. Although it does have a 'poor' rating by the controlled test, ours has been in 2 accidents. 1st was a rear ender... Rear ended by a B-double (those huge 2 trailer semi's we have along our major freeways)... Suprizingly it survived and was returned in perfect condition... Next was a head on at 60km/h (38mph) when a car turned right infront of me as I was going through a red light. Guess what? Only body damage! Even the radiator survived. I think it might be something to do with standards though, as many American made cars aren't allowed to be imported without major safety and suspension upgrades (aparently cars sold in the US generally have softer suspension and lower grade tyres to keep noise down).

BTW, I love my Aspire... 100,000 Miles (160,000kms) never broken down (and they don't if you service them regularly and treat them well...) Performance? Not earth shattering, but it loves to be revved and loves mountain drives (Great steering with proper tyres). Also what's the deal with people beeing afraid to get up to highway speeds?!?! Australia = Long distance city - city highway drives for 8hrs +... The Festiva/Aspire was one of the most popular small cars when it was being sold (stopped in 2000). Oh dont get that confused with CARS in general, remember... Small cars, you can't compare an Aspire to a Viper.

Head still in your arse?
-Josh

[Tireburner]

Funny thing!

Long after this thread started, I bought a 94 Aspire for $750.00 running. It had 158,000 miles when I bought it. I have just turned 171,000 miles and I haven't done anything to it except change the oil.

39 mpg.

Best $750 I've ever spent.

[MaximusGTR]

slap a turbo in that BIA and see what happens:flamer: :eshooter:

[bk2kmax]

I'll take one, make mine blue.