YACT: Ford Escort Vs. Ford Tempo , Which do I keep?

[CrackRabbit]

Short version of the story, bought the Escort in October on eBay, seller was less than honest and I got a title not worth the paper it was writen on. In desperation, I bought the Tempo in November at a local dealership. Fast forward to today, after 2 months of work i finaly got the paperwork to get a good title on the Escort, but now I have 2 cars and I only need one. Both need fairly large amounts of repair work (to be detailed below) I would sell one and use the money to fix the other. Now the contenders....

In this corner we have....
1994 Ford Escort LX 4-dr Hatchback
Auto Transmission, A/C, Cruise Control, 124,000 miles
What it needs...
New Headgasket, Windshield is cracked, Steering Rack, PS pump (and probably hoses also), blower motor, A/C compressor, 4 Tires, a lock on the trunk, and it has a small electrical drain that will kill the battery if not started for more than a week.

In the opposite corner...
1993 Ford Tempo GL Coupe
Manual Transmission, A/C, 156,000 miles
What it needs...
Clutch Replacement, Windshield is Cracked, New tie rods and ends, new lower controll arms, A/C compressor (it works, but i think its dying), 4 tires, Possibly the water pump.

I can do some of the work myself with just parts such as the steering rack and tie rods, but A/C work, the headgasket and Clutch Replacement are beyond my reach.
Have at it.


EDIT: Ok for those of you who think i should get something else, give a sugestion of something that would be in the pricerange of the sale price of both cars!

EDIT 2: Just as note i paid less than 1 grand for each of the cars.

CrackRabbit

 

[KarenMarie]

I have two ford escorts.

1991 Escort LX 2dr hatchback with 190,000 miles on it. Kewlest car. Great AC, reliable, and really zippy for what it is! I love it!
1996 Escort LX 4dr. with 70,000 miles on it. Cheap on gas and reliable!

Both are five speeds.



edit: you need a better car than both of them put together.

 

[CrackRabbit]

Unfortuneatly the escort I have was neglected and hasnt been driven regularly in 3 years.

 

[MercenaryForHire]

Sell 'em both as "mechanic specials" and use the scratch to buy another ride. Too much effort for not enough gain.

- M4H

 

[C'DaleRider]

I'd almost say keep the Escort..........just make sure you replace the rear springs ASAP. Ford, in their infinite widsom, put plastic boots covering the springs; the boots/coverings are closed on the bottom and open on the top.....sort of like a cup enclosing the spring. They were supposed to quiet the springs down, but in reality the boots/coverings just fill up with water and eventually cause the springs to rust out collapse. Have them looked at soon. If Ford had just put drain holes in the coverings, this would never have become an issue, but NNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

 

[Zenmervolt]

Originally posted by: MercenaryForHire
Sell 'em both as "mechanic specials" and use the scratch to buy another ride. Too much effort for not enough gain.

- M4H

I quite agree. Almost always ends up costing more to fix a car in the end.

ZV

 

[CrackRabbit]

The only Reason im thinking of keeping either is because its hard to find a car within the pricerange that isnt in the same shape as the 3 i already have (thats including my poor dead AMC)

 

[Thegonagle]

Sale of both cars = about $100.

Hmmmm.

Tempos are true turds, but that particular Escort is as good as junk. It's a tough call.

Maybe find another 91+ Escort (and as you know by now, never agree to buy any car if you haven't inspected and test driven it first). Stay away from the older Escorts, they're just a smaller version of the Tempo (or vise-versa, depending how you look at it).

 

[Francodman]

I loved my 92 ford tempo with the perma ski rack (couldn't find the ski rack key)

 

[CrackRabbit]

Actualy i did inspect and drive the Escort beforehand, and the headgasket was fine then. But today when i started it up it puffed out white smoke like the dickens and started trickling water out the tailpipe...:frown:

 

[Eli]

Neither.

Get rid of both POSes and get a Honda, Toyota, Nissan, Subaru or Volvo.

Make SURE you have the car looked over before you buy it. At the LEAST, give it a thorough test drive.

 

[Eli]

Originally posted by: CrackRabbit
Actualy i did inspect and drive the Escort beforehand, and the headgasket was fine then. But today when i started it up it puffed out white smoke like the dickens and started trickling water out the tailpipe...:frown:

Err...

White "smoke" is pretty normal on startup. It's steam.

Unless it's steam from eating coolant.... You should be able to tell if you examine it.

If it really is ingesting coolant, you will notice the level go down.. and it won't dissipate when the car is fully warmed up.

Headgaskets usually don't just go bad.

 

[CrackRabbit]

Originally posted by: Eli

Originally posted by: CrackRabbit
Actualy i did inspect and drive the Escort beforehand, and the headgasket was fine then. But today when i started it up it puffed out white smoke like the dickens and started trickling water out the tailpipe...:frown:

Err...

White "smoke" is pretty normal on startup. It's steam.

Unless it's steam from eating coolant.... You should be able to tell if you examine it.

If it really is ingesting coolant, you will notice the level go down.. and it won't dissipate when the car is fully warmed up.

Headgaskets usually don't just go bad.

Yeah it kept going, even after the car had been running for about 10 minutes. It hasnt been run often enough for me to notice a dramatic level in coolant drop.

 

[JC]

Sorry....it's kinda like asking, "Which would you rather have....a bleeding ulcer, or a ruptured appendix?"

 

[CrackRabbit]

oh come on its not that bad

 

[Quixfire]

I would personally choose the Escort over the Tempo Both are decent cars but the Escort can and will out live the Tempo.

As for the headgasket diagnosis on the Escort, it is very rare for the post 91 Escorts to have bad headgaskets unless the engine has been overheated.

 

[SaintGRW]

Personally I say sell both and buy a non-ford product.

as for my recommendation. early 90's honda or toyota.

 

[CraigRT]

Escort... less mileage, plain and simple

 

[AMCRambler]

Screw that man! Sell those pos's and fix up that AMC! What kind is it? If you can't afford another car, and you've got an AMC use it. If it's got the good old straight 6 engine in it, it'll be running long after those two Ford's you mentioned have died and gone to the big junkyard in the sky. My 66 Rambler Classic 770 had a straight six up until this summer when I swapped it out for a 287 V8. It was still running fine when I drove it into the garage to pull the motor. They don't build them like that anymore.

 

[CrackRabbit]

Originally posted by: Quixfire
I would personally choose the Escort over the Tempo Both are decent cars but the Escort can and will out live the Tempo.

As for the headgasket diagnosis on the Escort, it is very rare for the post 91 Escorts to have bad headgaskets unless the engine has been overheated.

There is a slight possibility the Escort could of overheated, the temprature gauge works sporadicaly, i think its the temp sensor, it never showed it overheating though.

Screw that man! Sell those pos's and fix up that AMC! What kind is it? If you can't afford another car, and you've got an AMC use it. If it's got the good old straight 6 engine in it, it'll be running long after those two Ford's you mentioned have died and gone to the big junkyard in the sky. My 66 Rambler Classic 770 had a straight six up until this summer when I swapped it out for a 287 V8. It was still running fine when I drove it into the garage to pull the motor. They don't build them like that anymore.

Its a 77 Hornet Sportabout, Straight 6, Runs great but the tranny is shot and needs a rebuild. It will live again someday, i just need a depenable daily driver first.

 

[Quixfire]

I have some spare parts for an Escort if you are interested.