Maybe my original comments about the car were a little too harsh. The car only cost $800 and it did serve me well. The only thing I have with the car is that in the year 2004 the car would have now been discontinued for 10 years. The car was probably very good when it was new, but now they are all about to reach the end of their life and anyone owning this car now should not be surprised to run into problems. Did I like the car? Yes. Did the car serve its purpose? Absolutely. All that I was trying to say is don't expect the car to go on for many more trouble free miles.
In three years I have had one Tempo and two Topazes. All were acquired at about the 180 000 km (112 000mi) mark. All three have cost me thousands of dollars to keep on the road. The 110 to 115k miles. mark seems to be in my opinion the time when all of the wear and tear items seem to need replacing.
Don't get me wrong. This is a great student's car, as long as the student is living in the same community that he/she is going to school. I was a student when I owned all three of these cars and I was living out of town. I needed a reliable car to commute from home to school. Since I could not fix the car myself I had to take the car to a garage to get it fixed every time there was a problem. I am also the type that has to have a car that has to run perfect in order for me to be satisfied. This car is not a bad choice in general, but just the wrong choice for me. You think I would have learned my lesson after the first and second time.
I did not mean for my original comment to be an attack on Ford. The Ford Tempo was a good car with simple mechanicals and are fairly cheap to maintain. They have made great cars in the past and I am certain will continue to make great cars it the future. I now own a brand new Honda Civic, which is maybe what I should have bought in the first place.
10th Oct 2004, 18:44
Maybe my original comments about the car were a little too harsh. The car only cost $800 and it did serve me well. The only thing I have with the car is that in the year 2004 the car would have now been discontinued for 10 years. The car was probably very good when it was new, but now they are all about to reach the end of their life and anyone owning this car now should not be surprised to run into problems. Did I like the car? Yes. Did the car serve its purpose? Absolutely. All that I was trying to say is don't expect the car to go on for many more trouble free miles.
In three years I have had one Tempo and two Topazes. All were acquired at about the 180 000 km (112 000mi) mark. All three have cost me thousands of dollars to keep on the road. The 110 to 115k miles. mark seems to be in my opinion the time when all of the wear and tear items seem to need replacing.
Don't get me wrong. This is a great student's car, as long as the student is living in the same community that he/she is going to school. I was a student when I owned all three of these cars and I was living out of town. I needed a reliable car to commute from home to school. Since I could not fix the car myself I had to take the car to a garage to get it fixed every time there was a problem. I am also the type that has to have a car that has to run perfect in order for me to be satisfied. This car is not a bad choice in general, but just the wrong choice for me. You think I would have learned my lesson after the first and second time.
I did not mean for my original comment to be an attack on Ford. The Ford Tempo was a good car with simple mechanicals and are fairly cheap to maintain. They have made great cars in the past and I am certain will continue to make great cars it the future. I now own a brand new Honda Civic, which is maybe what I should have bought in the first place.