1989 Ford Tempo GL review from North America
"Would rather take the garden tractor to work"
What things have gone wrong with the car?
Rear wheel wells rotted badly.
Engine leaked oil from 20,000 +.
CV joints needed to be replaced.
Radio died, first the display, then the tape player, then the speakers.
Overheats after about an hour of driving.
Transmission sometimes won't move in drive, just revs the engine.
Paint sun bleached away.
Stalls all the time, even more if you don't put that expensive Premium gas in it.
Transmission doesn't like to shift.
Car will "Red line" at about 70mph on the highway; and vibrates horribly.
Floors all rotted out.
Generally the whole car rotted.
Suspension sags.
Pulls to the right really bad, did this from about 50k on, alignment didn't fix it.
I could go on and on...
General comments?
The car was so slow to accelerate.
Gas mileage was horrible for a little car with a little engine.
Don't expect to live in an accident.
Ask most Tempo owners, these things suck!
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| 1988 - Tempo GL 4 cylinder. 2.3 Liter alright if you do your own work on it |
| Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? | No |
| First year of ownership | 1989 |
| Most recent year of ownership | 2001 |
| Engine and transmission | 2.3L 4 cylinder Automatic |
| Performance marks | 4/10 |
| Reliability marks | 3/10 |
| Comfort marks | 5/10 |
| Dealer Service marks | |
| Running Costs (higher is cheaper) | 3/10 |
| Distance when acquired | 19 miles |
| Most recent distance | 136000 miles |
| Previous car | Chevrolet Camaro |
| Date of Entry | 16th September, 2001 |