Maybe it's a bad joke. Maybe a midlife crisis but the wife wants a fiero. Can somebody please help me out as to why we should not look for one?
What do we do about these things besides they burn up ?
If not how about finding one near me that's not over price for junk?
Buy a Mr2 instead of that slow ugly low quality trash that is a Fiero
The early ones ('84-'86ish) were pretty piss poor. Most had the Iron Duke, manuals were 4spd I believe, prone to fire, crappy suspension.
The later ones were actually halfway decent cars, but the price will reflect that.
Even though they weren't great cars, I have a soft spot for them, so I can only enable you. Do it!!!
Do MR2 instead.
Also, I wish my wife even knew what a Fiero was.
I think Curtis was looking at one with an engine transplant. He probably knows something about them. He seems to know a good bit about most everything. Quite the Renaissance Man, that Curtis.
Hold out for a later Fiero that is in great shape and it will probably go up in value. Putting money into fixing up a low-end one is probably a losing bet.
I have a affinity for MR2s, but the same logic applies and the buy-in for a quality example is more than a Fiero.
If you're willing to deal with the sorting out of it, i'd buy an already v8 swapped one for 5-10k with a nice body and interior. A creampuff stocker MIGHT be ok. Just don't buy a E36 M3ty stocker or you'll probably never have anything worth the time and effort unless you're the type of guy that likes to charitably restore stuff and lose money in the process.
clean 88 GT manual, or the more rare 88 Formula manual if you prefer the non-GT body (as i do). i'd rock one. your wife sounds cool.
I recommend getting a terrible one so she can see how terrible they really are and then not want one anymore. Don't misrepresent Fieros by buying a nice one.
FWIW I found nocone’s old early 2m4 to be a ton of fun. Not fast at all, but it’s a car you can flog, beat on, and toss around without breaking the law or having any guilt about value/collectability.
'88 is the year to get if you aren't looking to put a bunch of work into the suspension.
Buying a Fiero makes buying a MINI seem like a good idea.
I agree that finding a ratty terrible Fiero for a test drive would be a good way to throw her off the whole idea. Then find a nice MR2 to substitute.
There is a nice (looking) one near me for sale. Not sure if that helps, or the opposite.
Your Pontiac flambe is served.
Can you clarify whether you're asking for wife help or Fiero finding help.
*shrug* IMHO, what's better doesn't matter here. She wants a Fiero so just buy one. It looks like $5k gets a really nice Fiero and there appears to be a pretty good on-line community to help address common faults.
There's a young kid on youtube who dragged one out of a backyard and has slowly been redoing all the various systems to a pretty high standard. It's a nice break from zillion dollar 'builds' or total quick hack jobs. This guy: https://www.youtube.com/user/hackmandude12 .
Need help with figuring out what not to buy. Not with the wife, she's a keeper.
Luckily she works in town so her drive is less than 20 miles a day. Any reason not to look for a 87 vs a 88? How bad are the automatic ?
Someone posted this on a Miata forum the other day... NMNA
1984 Fiero GT 3.8 supercharged
I can commiserate by the way. My wife wants a Jeep Grand Wagoneer... and every one out there that's not a rusted hulk is $10k plus...
Not gonna lie, i actually WANT a cadi 4.9 Fiero. Auto would be fine. TAKE THAT!
I'm an MR2 fan boi, I've owned 4 of them. So I'd agree with looking at those too. Even still, like I said, I've always like the Fiero. I've only had one, and it had been converted into an SCCA car.
I believe the later autos were typical GM 4 speeds, which is to say they were OK. I also think the '88 had a new suspension design, though the change could have been '87...I'd check that. I know it was around that time.
High school friend had an '84 2M4 auto for years. I think it made it to 150k before dying, which is a lot for an '84. My first autox instructor had an '86 that was damn fast.
If you can find one with a really sketchy body kit on it, that's what I would go for. 
I have no personal experience with Fiero but I remember reading this logic on GRM...
The '88 suspension is superior compared to the 84-87 cars but parts have gotten difficult to find.
The 88 is a one year offering and was not used on any other GM products. Also, 88 was the lowest sales volume of any year Fieros were sold. The 84-87 suspension is just GM part-bin and was used on other models making available quantities significant.
So, 88 may be superior but if the parts are unavailable then it could be seen as inferior.
An 85-87 GT with the manual is the one to go for. The V6s weren't prone to fire in the same way the four-cylinder cars were, plus 140 horsepower in a light car is peppy enough for modern traffic. The pre-88s have better parts availability than the 88s and tend to be cheaper. Make sure the coolant pipes are in good shape before buying.
This one looks good, located in philly
https://philadelphia.craigslist.org/cto/d/philadelphia-1988-fiero-gt-top/7006991997.html
TL/DR: for daily driving, buy an '85-'87 V6 with either transmission. For autox, forget it...buy a Miata or MR2.
Long version:
Hey - a topic I know something about. I used Fieros as daily drivers from 1992-2001 (an '84 4-sp, an '86 SE V6/4-sp, and an '88 4-cyl/5-sp). My mother-in-law has an '86 SE/auto.
The automatics weren't bad. It was the THM125 3-sp with lockup torque converter. Very reliable and a good match for the V6. The 4-cyl/auto was postal-Jeep slow. If she wants a 4-cyl, you want the '85-'88 with the Isuzu 5-sp stick - a much less clumsy shift linkage than the Muncie 4-sp that came on the '84s.
The 4-cyl uses timing gears rather than a chain, and one of the gears is nylon and tends to strip around 150K miles.
Fire risk is vastly overstated. About 400 of the 1984 cars burned up. Later models didn't burn. Come to think of it, avoid the '84 altogether unless you find a smoking deal (joke intended). My '84 had electrical bugs that the '86 and '88 never had - kept blowing fusible links.
The '88 has better suspension and brakes than the '84-'87, but keep in mind they only made about 26K 1988 Fieros. Parts are still available...but for how long? By contrast, parts for the '84-'87 are plentiful and probably will be for a long time.
The stock '84-'87 brakes suck compared with any modern car. 9.7" non-vented rotors, front and rear.
Fieros are surprisingly easy to wrench on. It's standard FWD GM stuff in a fairly wide engine bay.
Fieros don't have power steering, so parallel parking requires a little upper-body strength. (My 105-lb M-I-L can do it, but she's a feisty Italian woman of "a certain age." YMMV.)
Fieros have more luggage space than a Miata or MR2 - a deep rear trunk, a small front trunk, and room behind each seat for small soft bags (unless you're tall). My wife and I took a Route 66 vacation in a Fiero. No way all her crap would have fit in my Miata.
Everyone wants a fastback ('86-'88 GT), but under the skin, they're the same as the SE ('85-87) or Formula ('88). An equivalent notchback is usually ~25% cheaper than a fastback.
Fieros are clumsy on an autox course, but better at speed. I did a track day at Mid-Ohio in the '84.
I have seen the following engines swapped into Fieros: 3.1 V6, 3400, 3400 Twin Cam, Northstar V8, Cadillac 4.9, SBC, LS.
(Bubba voice) That..that's about it.
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