Worth it?

[Basement_Modder]

1994 Ford Tempo, 4 door, new starter, good engine, 168,000 miles, 5-speed manual trans. in good shape, tan color, almost no dents, a tad bit of rust below rear bumper, not visible except beneath the car, aftermarket radio, and good A/C.

It's $750.

My only gripe is that it's been smoked in, but the windows were always down, and the nonsmoker in the family says its barely noticeable.

Has monster sticker on rear window.

Worth it?

[argelfraster]

Not the best looking car, but since its probably your first/pretty cheap I say go for it.

[bicostp]

Check different places on the unibody for obvious structural repairs or rot.
Has it obviously been repainted? If it has it might have been in an accident.
Does everything work?
Take it for a test drive. Does it need new bearings, ball joints, or struts?
Does it pass emissions tests if they're required in your area?
How are the floors? (If there's been a leak in the floor, water has been getting in, soaking the insulation, and rusting the hell out of it.)
Do the tires have decent tread left? (No wear bars should show, and all four should pass the penny test. Wear should look even, too.)
Does it have noticeable rod knock when it runs?


If you do buy it:
Get a big bottle of Febreeze and the Haynes Manual.
Plan on changing all the fluids and filters, including coolant, transmission oil, and power steering fluid.
Restore is great stuff. It's an oil additive that helps with compression and oil burn-off.

[Basement_Modder]

Yeah, I asked about ball joints, struts, etc. They're good.

I'm going to put in new fluids, just to be safe. The car was never repainted.

[vskid]

Yeah, I asked about ball joints, struts, etc. They're good.

They'll say whatever they need to to get you to buy it. Well, maybe not, but you have to assume that everyone is a scumball to avoid getting screwed. Independent parties are best. My friend bought a 1990 Pontiac Trans Am GTA about a month ago for ~$900. Seller said it needed a new timing chain. My friend isn't really a car guy, and he didn't have anyone else look at it before buying it (it is kinda trashed, I probably wouldn't have bought it even if it ran). Well, the radiator was about a third full, there was writing on the back window like highway patrol would put on a broken down car, and the crankshaft won't even budge. If he had had someone else look at it, he probably wouldn't have a 3500lb boat anchor in his driveway. I don't know if the seller knew it was seized or if they really thought it was a simple fix. Just an example of what can happen.

Take it for a drive with someone who knows what to look for (maybe even let them drive). Check for smoke smell yourself, they could be lying or used to the smell. The sticker should come off with a razor blade if you want to get rid of it.
Are you really set on a Tempo? I would check for Escorts. You can get them newer, and they get better gas mileage. If there is something that really draws you to the Tempo, by all means get it, I'm just saying you should keep your options open.

EDIT: Just saw that you said on MR that it has an automatic. After 100-150k miles, it's anyone's guess how long an auto will last, and getting it rebuilt is super expensive. If it drives good now and you don't plan on keeping it forever, it should be ok.
Miles aren't the greatest indicator of the kind of life a car has had, or how much life it has left. Our Civic has over 200k on it and it is probably in as good of shape as some cars with half the mileage. Highway miles are usually the kindest to cars.
What did you mean about insuring it in case something happens to it? I wouldn't even think of putting full coverage on a car like that, liability would be it.
And I don't know about your state, but here you need to register a car in your name after you buy it, even if the previous owner just barely registered it.

[Basement_Modder]

Yup. It would register to me.

I like the tempo, simply because they're small, cheap, get like 40mpg highway, and got good crash test results back in the day.

[vskid]

get like 40mpg highway

According to? The manual 4cyl is rated 30 hwy with the new method, 33 with the old. The auto 4cyl is rated 25 new method, 27 old (using http://www.fueleconomy.gov). The manual could probably get 40 if you keep the speed down. The auto would be lucky to hit 30. Beating the EPA ratings is usually easier in a manual. So if MPG is one of your main reasons, at least find a manual.

[marshallh]

Yes, it's worth it. Have at least $200-300 more saved for repairs you'll need to do .

You can't be picky for that price -- it's irritating as a seller when you're selling a car for cheap and someone comes and asks you a bunch of questions.

[Rekarp]

Since its an Auto check the fluid levels on the tranny. If the fluid is another color other then Red then its a no buy. Auto tranny oil is Red in color and any other color means the oil has been burnt due to overheating and could possibly have seal damage. If it looks clean then the transmission is probably ok. My jeeps Auto transmission has 150k on it. After replacing some housing seals (front seal that connects up to the engine so a manual tranny would have the same issue) it acts like its new.

Problem with Auto transmissions is that they run hot so the ATF gets cooked and looses its viscosity. People never worry about it cause they think just changing the engine oil is enough. When the ATF loses viscosity the torque converter has to work harder thus making more heat and blah blah blah blown seal blah shredded gears.

Remember stick to your regular maintenance schedule and use Synthetic Oils.