Faults:

My head gasket blew at 50,000 miles. Replaced the head.

Water pump died at 50,000 miles replaced.

Heater core popped at 50,000 miles. Bypassed/froze

A/C quit a long time ago.

Paint is in the process of disappearing. Turning silver.

Power windows quit at 50,400 miles.

Power locks quit and locked me out.

Now the Killer. The harmonic balancer. This is irreplaceable to the shade tree mechanic.

SHAME ON YOU FORD! For making CRAP LIKE THIS. I will never buy another Ford again. Hello? Can you say lemon???

Faults:

I've put on new brakes all around. Normal maintenance. A new started because the other new one stay extended when the car started. Idle was very high so I cleaned the throttle body of crud. Normal maintenance again. One day the car decided not to start. No spark or fuel pump. I replaced the coil and ignition module. Still no spark. Last thing I can think of is the Cam Sensor which I just bought. It ran OK for the two weeks it was running.

General Comments:

Money pit so far. I have to keep getting parts. I have a squeak front the front left that grates on my nerves.

Faults:

Power window motors gone out - easy repairs if pulled from another.

Power locks gone out.

Emergency break loosened.

Motor mounts broken.

Starter replaced about 100000?

Fuel pump died at about 140000

A/C, probably drier pressure switch, died at about 130000

Head gasket leaks a bit, has since I bought it.

General Comments:

This is a great little car. I've driven it hard, beings as I got it when I was 16, I've wrecked it repeatedly, into a car, a deer, and a guardrail. And through it all... it's been amazingly reliable. Twice have I had to leave it/have it towed, in 6 years. Once because the starter died on me in winter, which happens, and once when my fuel pump went out at about 140k. The fuel pump was worse timing, but both were not terribly hard to resolve.

I was the second owner, and as much as I've abused this car, it has stayed strong. I haven't been as good with the oil changes or most maintenance as I should have been, and STILL the engine and the transmission have not failed me. The core of this car is solid like you wouldn't believe. It's not the best handling car, or the best performing, but the pick up on the little 2.3L is not horrible, it has a nice tight turning radius, and I've never slid around a corner, unless I was on something wet. I have NEVER gotten stuck in snow, even living in Nebraska now, and Missouri before that.

I also have to point out, at least back when I was keeping track, I got about 33mpg mostly CITY with this car. And I know I didn't drive it all that nice.

All and all, a reliable, lasting car. If you need something to get around without a great performance, but with good reliability and gas mileage, this is your car.

Faults:

Paint has faded badly. Parts of the luggage rack on the truck have fallen off.

Had to have the transmission worked on a couple of years ago.

Needed a new radiator about 4 years ago.

Power door locks are going bad. The driver's side door is sticky and takes some muscle to open.

General Comments:

Considering this car is 15 years old, it's still in very good shape. I don't think I'd trust it for long trips now, but it's perfect for just running around town. I've had very little trouble out of it in the 15 years that I've owned it.

I have heard bad things about the 4 cylinder Tempo, but my 6 cylinder has been wonderful. It gets great gas mileage, but still has a lot of power.

I only have a couple of complaints about the car. The paint began to fade and look bad. I noticed that defect on several Ford cars made around that time. Also, it's extremely hard to work on. Every bit of space under the hood has been utilized which makes some places hard to reach.

All in all, I have to say I love this car. It's roomy, comfortable and fun to drive. I plan on driving this car until it falls apart, which may be another 15 years!