Fiero's are good cars. They do NOT have over-heating issues if everything is working correctly. I have a V-8 in mine and the cooling system works fine even with the bigger engine. The most common issue with cooling is if you take the car to a service center where they are not familiar with the Fiero and put it up on a lift, They tend to accidently crush the coolant tubes under the car. This restricts flow and causes over-heating.
As for crashes, The Fiero has a five-star crash rating. The only car to have a better crash rating when they were made was the Volvo. It is a very safe car. People think it's a death trap because of the plastic panels. The thing is the plastic panels are for "looks". They are mounted onto a cage-like spaceframe. You can take all the plastic panels off and still have 100% integrity of all the safety features. I can show you news articles of Fiero owners surviving major crashes. In 2001 there was one hit head-on by a stolen suburban on the highway. The truck slammed into a group of cars. In front was a Saab and a Fiero. The Saab owner died and the Fiero owner lived. See the pics below, The first pic you can see the Saab in the middle without the front end. Second pic is of the Fiero and again yes the Fiero driver and passenger survived. You can see in the second pic that the passenger compartment is still intact. (Many Fiero clubs sent cards and gifts as well as helped the owner find a new Fiero!)
The Fiero has a very rumored past. Many of them are false or misinterpreted. You will always hear how "unsafe" they are or about the fires. The fires were due to ONLY the 1984/1985 4-cylinders which had a defect in the engine. The recalls corrected the problem so any you find today are fine. I plan on getting one for my son when he is old enough to drive because of the safety rating of the vehicle.
The 1986 GT has a 2.8L V-6. If it only has 50K miles on it, it was most likely a well maintained car. Parts for them are not hard to get since many parts were shared with other cars and there are quite a few places that still support Fiero's. There is a decent size aftermarket which allows you to customize your car or keep it running 100% stock.
They are not expensive to maintain, But you must remember that it is a +20 year-old car so there maybe some items that need to be addressed.
It is a "cult" car meaning that the it isn't a popular car, but those that actually have them and drive them, like them very much.
I bought my first one brand new (1986 SE) I bought my second one used with 70K miles (1986 SE) and drove it daily for a few years, then started to modify it as a custom streetrod. (you can see pictures and a list of what's been done in the "new member" section.) The original V-6 with 86K miles on it was a solid engine when I did the swap to the V-8. I sold it to someone who needed a good V-6 for his Fiero and he is still driving it today.
Fiero's are not "great" cars, But they are very decent cars and can be fun to drive and work on.
So to answer your question, Yes it is a good car.
