$500 For an early Ford Tempo decent?

Question

As a college student, I'm trying to buy a cheap first car, but have little experience with buying. My friend wants to sell me his Ford Tempo. It's one of the earliest years, has 124,000 miles, but has new tires and brakes. It seems to run okay, although it looses rpm/speed before accelerating if you press the gas too hard. Anyone think $500.00 is a good deal? Thanks!

Answer 1

I can remember working on the Tempo when it was a newer model to Ford Motor company. While not a very popular car they were a decent car. For $500, I would day it probably would be an okay car.

One of the advantages to the tempo is it gets reasonably good fuel economy. It is relatively easy to work on. And since the model changed very little throughout its production, parts can easily be found at local wrecking yards. New tires and Brakes are definitely a plus. There is about half the return on your $500 investment right there.

Now I will give you some of the problems inherent to the Tempo. They were prone to oil leaks. Usually from the engine oil pan. Not terrible leaks but enough to spot a nice driveway. The Tempo also used Ford's TFI ignition system which was prone to stall/no restart without warning. An extra TFI module kept in the glove box is a good idea. They are actually cheaper now than they were a few years ago. Depending on the model year, some Tempos had fuel pump issues which are located in the fuel tank. While they are easy to change, they are a little costly.

A big plus for the Tempo is it did use a push rod style engine which means there is no timing belt to fail.

I say get the car.