I am wanting to get a car to drive to work this summer. I was just wondering what some of you would recommend? I am looking at cars that are under $1000 that will be dependable. I found a Tempo and I was wondering what kind of luck people have had with these cars. It is a 93' with a v-6 and a 5 speed. I don't really care about looks but I need something with room(I am 6'3''). So make any recommendations.

 

If it wasn't abused and was well maintained then that's a good car. I had a white four door '93 with the four banger. I bought it in '95 with under 40k miles on it. I did all the recommended maintenance except the coolant changes and she did great. She got us around Maryland, DC, and Virginia and eventually out to Oklahoma. That's when the infrequent coolant maintenance bit us in the butt. The thermostat spring broke and caused a nice cracked head and blown radiator.

The parts prone to excessive wear or failure are the:

-EGR Valves(We went thru two.)
-Inner and outer left rear trailing arms(They're too close to the exhaust so they corroded thru and had to be replaced.)
-The gas tank in that same area will develop pin holes also due to the heat. We had to replace that too after the gas tank repair kit wouldn't take.
-The right front caliper had issues and froze shut ruining the rotor.
-The rubber CV boots are not very long lasting and a pain to replace!!!
-Power door locks didn't last long.


Other than that, she was a pretty good car. If you go with it and want to liven it up replace the intake assembly with a K&N filter and slap a turbo muffler on it. It'll respond a lot better on take offs and passing on the highway. BTW, I'm 6'-1" and it was roomy enough for me.

 

If you don't care what make the car is (I sure don't) get a Pontiac GrandAm. From what I've seen of them, they are good cars. I have a 92 SE with a 4 cyl/auto with 165,000 on it right now. I got the car when it had 110,000 on it and have had to do little to it to keep it going (knock on wood) It gets anywhere from 30-36 mpg and goes down the road great. The only things I've had to do to it since I've had it (besides routine maintenence: oil changes, trans fluid/filter, plugs, brakes and tires) are the ignition switch, power steering pump belt and muffler. Off course, now that I've said something, I'll probably have problems. I just hope the car will get me through the summer work season. BTW, I paid 2200 for the car. I'd say it was money well spent.

 

Why buy a car when you can buy a truck for that money? A Ranger with a 4 or 6 cylinder will probably have fewer problems and be more fun to drive.

They are out there, just takes a little looking.

 

I already looked at rangers. I can't afford a new one so I looked at some of the late 80's ones. Once I got in them I couldn't get my foot up to push in the clutch because my knee hit the dash.

 

Hey bud, I've got a 1990 toyota corolla with an inline 4 and an automatic. It's yours for 900 bucks. It doesn't have a lick of rust on it and it's got blue interior, radio isn't fuzzy, no rips, never smoked in. It needs an engine though. Bad rod knock, spun bearing. The trans is great though.... The whole car has less than 100k on it. The last owner forgot to put oil in it before he drove it down the road. The engine will still run , get oil pressure and will hold 70 mph lol.

I'm in Texas if you're interested.... cjsteak(No Email Addresses In Posts!)

 

Then look at the supercab ranger. I'm 6'3 and do not fit well in the regular cab. The supercab was very comfortable and I drove mine to 130,000 (and it's still going).

The point was that there are some good options out there and to limit yourself to a Tempo........ well it's your money. A Tempo will do a good job of getting you there and back but it's fun factor is pretty low on my scale of what I like to do.

 

Take a look at used Taurus wagons.

They are a great car for mileage, and the seats and wheel are adjustable. There are a ton of them out there for a thousand or less with clean interiors, just watch out for the 3.8 V-6...

It has a documented trend toward head gasket failure.

Mine is a 3.8 though, and it still runs like a champ....

And the cruise control and other goodies (plus the load space) are unbeatable!


~Wolf

PS: It's a "Buyers Market" too.

 

STAY AWAY FROM THE TEMPO!!!!! My wife and I had a 1987 or 89, my parents had a 94, grand parents had a 93 and some friends of ours had a 8?. They all had computer problems, and were always in the shop. We all sold ours when the warenty was up. I would not take one if you gave it to me. If I had to choose between a Tempo and a Pinto I'd have to take the Pinto.

dj