Hello all,
I was wondering if I could get some advice about the following: My Festiva, which I've had since '95 and has 130k miles, is basically at the end of its line and I do not want to put too much money into it because I could use it to buy another used car. First off, I'm not a car person and I don't know too much past car basics.
The car would not start at all, so I replaced the battery and Ta-dah!!! It worked, so I was going to take it to a shop to have the alternator tested as well. Never made it, the engine started to pudder along and my top speed was around 40mph and smoke started to come out of the engine, not a lot, just a little bit. The engine would try to start and turn over, but never start. I told the mechanic if it cost too much I'm not going to fix it, just save money for a new car. He said he would give it a quick look see. Well, he said getting new spark plugs would do the trick for a couple of months while I save for a car. It worked for one day. The car started fine and there was no engine trouble. Same problem, the engine will kick over, but not start. There is a little bit of smoke coming out from underneath my car, and I can smell gasoline when I try and start the car. I'm thinking the starter. Is it even worth it? What else could be wrong?
I want to mention that I've had the clutch fixed almost three years ago and had a transmission flush a couple of months ago. I don't think its the transmission, but it might be. Just trying squeeze and save money for this thing. I'm going to take it in Tuesday, but in the meantime, just wanted some opinions. Thanks
