Fiero - Good first car? (Page 2/4)
liv4God SEP 29, 12:26 PM
Contrary to what many of the others are saying, based on my experience, a Fiero is a wonderful first car and a great daily driver! Let me share:

I got my first Fiero when I was 16. Didn't even have my license yet at the time. I knew I wanted a Fiero and wanted an 88 Formula with manual trans. So when a low mileage (57k) one showed up in the local craigslist for $1300 I couldn't let it pass by. Oh it wasn't perfect though. I was told it needed a clutch. Needless to say, I thought it was a great deal and convinced my Dad to let me get it even though I couldn't drive it yet.
At the time I knew nothing about cars, except that I liked them. I had never worked on one and didn't even know how to change oil, but I wanted to learn and was sure I would like it since I had built up a go cart before that and had a fun time working on that. Anyway, due to my inexperience my Dad insisted it go to a shop for the initial work until it could get on the road and then I could do everything after that. Probably was a good idea, being that I knew nothing at the time.
It ended up just needing a slave cylinder and not a clutch, which was a relief, but it also needed brakes, a new water pump and some other random stuff I don't remember. After getting it on the road and myself being able to drive it a few months later it became my daily driver of 30 miles a day. (Yes it was a pretty far drive for going to high school) Through high school I had to replace injectors, catalytic converter and a rear bearing aside from regular maintenance like oil, spark plugs, filters etc. Not bad for 2 years on a 30 year old car putting 10k miles a year. I learned how to do the repairs and maintenance as I went utilizing this forum and a Haynes repair manual.
After High school my Fiero took me 2000 miles to college and back every semester (Nor Cal to East Tx) and continued to be my daily throughout college. More needed repairs did come; a new alternator, starter wire, battery, water pump, shift cables, clutch and slave cylinder came through those times. Still, I would consider that quite reliable for a 30 year old car putting on a continued 10+k miles a year for the 5 years I was in college. After College she got to over 130k miles and I decided that I wanted a v8. The swap is still in the works, so my other Fiero has taken over the daily driver duties for now. Over the 8 years I've had the car now, I can't tell you how many great memories I've made because of it. People I've met, places I've gone and things I've learned. The Fiero makes an amazing first car!
Sure, sure a new car would have been just gas and go for the whole time with no repairs and minimal maintenance, but my Fiero took me everywhere I wanted to go, made it fun along the way, taught me as I went, and looked cool doing it all. So I would never in a thousand lifetimes pick another first car.


FieroMaster88 SEP 30, 07:13 AM
Been daily driving my IMSA 84 SE the last 3 weeks. Had been sitting the last 5 years or so before I got it. Only has 46,000 (47,000 now) miles on it. That being said I had to replace every part of the brakes. Engine mounts were bad because they were 35 years old. Replaced the shocks and struts. Tires are new. Changed all the fluids. The clutch slave and master went out after a couple hundred miles, so those are new now. Needed a fuel pump to get it running. When I opened up the tank it was rusted pretty bad from the modern gas that was 5+ years old. I just threw a new pump in, looking for a new tank with a good sending unit now. It needed a new battery and I did a tune up. I also replaced the belts. The headlight motors also went out and required rebuilding. It’s been pretty reliable after all that. It helps I’m a mechanic for a living and I have a newer car to fall back on it it brakes. I would not recommend it to anyone as a first car and being your only car. Maybe first project/weekend car.

Should have said it’s a stock 2.5L 4 cylinder with a 4speed manual transmission.
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88 Coupe: 2.0L Turbo 4 Cylinder, W2A, T25 Turbo, water/meth injection
84 Indy #64: Restoration Project
84 IMSA wide body SE: Restoration project
14 GMC Sierra: Daily Driver

[This message has been edited by FieroMaster88 (edited 09-30-2018).]

fierofrenzy SEP 30, 09:31 AM
livin4God.....Thank God for all that, huh ?
Spadesluck SEP 30, 12:17 PM
It's all in what you consider to much work. Generally as a first car I think of a low maintenance vehicle, not flashy, and something to go from point A to point B. You can find many other cars that fall into this category that are much newer. At the end of the day it's your choice and your money. What is it you are willing to spend your time and money on?
liv4God OCT 01, 05:20 AM

quote
Originally posted by fierofrenzy:

livin4God.....Thank God for all that, huh ?



Absolutely! Thus far He has definitely kept me safe when I did something unsafe in my ignorance and provided helpful people along the way to set me straight.
css9450 OCT 01, 08:58 AM

quote
Originally posted by arbakken:

Goodness it's a terrible first car, unless you've grown up fixing cars and your parents are going to help you fix it.



In my case, my parents were so dead set against me getting a first car, once I finally did get one anytime anything went wrong with it they wanted to take it away (or at least have me keep it parked) since after all, "they told me it was a bad idea". So if anything broke I had to hide it and just live with it. For awhile, my first car had no brake lights and no turn signals and I couldn't figure out how to fix them!

Ah the perils of being the oldest kid.

copperhens OCT 01, 10:18 AM
I got my Fiero as a first car last year. Take it to school and work and have taken it on vacations. It’s broken down on me three times though. But we were still working out the bugs. I drove mine in the snow for a while, it didn’t handle well. Didn’t have a choice. Then my aunt gave me her old car which I use in crappy weather instead of beating on the Fiero. It’s a very fun project car and could be a good daily, buy it’s ncke to have an extra car to fall back on.

I was very very close to not getting a Fiero for my first car because I was scared I would t like it and that it would be too much work. I’m very glad I ended up getting it because I’m not sure what I would do without it. PM me if you would like to chat about it!

V6s are preferred, but those 4cyls get great gas mileage.

[This message has been edited by copperhens (edited 10-01-2018).]

Dennis LaGrua OCT 01, 10:34 AM
For a first car daily driver; I don't believe that any 30+ year old vehicle is a good solution. If you do buy one be prepared to always be working on it. If the engine is high mileage then reliability becomes a question mark. IMO, the Fiero makes a great hobby car, fun to drive, with timeless styling, but unless you get very lucky they will prove not a great choice for a daily driver. If you buy one in a state that uses salt on the roads then hidden rust can also become an issue.
My view on the Fiero is that its a great low cost platform to build a performance vehicle with.

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" THE BLACK PARALYZER" -87GT 3800SC Series III engine, custom ZZP /Frozen Boost Intercooler setup, 3.4" Pulley, Northstar TB, LS1 MAF, 3" Spintech/Hedman Exhaust, P-log Manifold, Autolite 104's, MSD wires, Custom CAI, 4T65eHD w. custom axles, Champion Radiator, S10 Brake Booster, HP Tuners VCM Suite.
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JohnWPB OCT 01, 05:49 PM

quote
Originally posted by Dennis LaGrua:

Fiero - Good first car?




Simple answer, as you probably surmised from the posts above...... NO


Patrick OCT 01, 06:28 PM

quote
Originally posted by Wonders:

Fiero - Good first car?



It really depends on what your definition of "good" is in this context.

My girlfriend (at the time) thought it would be a great idea if her daughter could acquire one of my "extra" Fieros to use as her first car. I refused. I made it quite clear that I wasn't going to be responsible for maintaining a 30 year old car for use as a daily-driver by a teenage girl.