[johntaurus]

I recently inquired about a 1992 Ford Taurus at a local Honda dealer and I just learned it was sold.

Had 69K miles, 3.0 V6, power everything, etc. I was planning to trade in my Kia Sephia on it. I'm sick of not driving a Ford.

 

[Guest]

Sorry to hear it didn't work out.

I might suggest looking for a Gen I or II SHO, but I'm not sure how much you want to spend but that would be a fun car to add to your arsenal.

 

[Xee]

Eh, better off with something after '92; then you won't have the whole "two-tone" thing . . . unless of course, it's white and gray like mine.

 

[johntaurus]

I've had four Taurus, all 86-88 models (86 LX, 87 GL, 88 LX, 88 L). If I get another Taurus (to keep and not resell immidiatly), I'd like a 92-5 with the 3.0 V6. I'm in a bind because I'm in Georgia and have this blasted Kia to sell before I can move on to bigger and better cars. I just got the title in the mail though, so as soon as I get an offer worth taking, its as good as gone.

I wanted to fix up the 1988 L as a commuter car, but I would like to have a more comfortable car to travel accross country with before hand. My Zephyr, Tempo, or the Taurus L would all work but they are not here with me in GA.

Believe it or not, even the Zephyr being carborated, with a bench seat and a non-overdrive automatic is more comfortable on the highway than this tin can. The Sephia isnt a terrible car really, just too small for long-distance traveling. It rides choppy (dare I say worse than my 1990 Festiva, but I never drove it over 1,000 miles in one sitting), is loud, and its hard for a person like me with a terribly bad back to find a comfortable driving position.

I'm also looking at two Tempos, both 2-door, 5-speeds (one 1991 GLS the other a 1992 GL). I recently lost my 1987 GL 2-door 5-speed and I miss that car terrible (still have it but it needs to be parted out). Either would be preferable to the Sephia for long-distance driving.

 

[BMWevo600]

hey i have sable 98 duratec with just turn over 55k on it that i want to get rid of. i live in ga atl area if your intersted.

 

[johntaurus]

I'd love it but unfortunatly I'm currently unemployed and the Sephia is pretty much my only asset here with me, and I'd dont think it'd be much of an even trade (LOL). I'd love a Mercury like yours but my finances wont allow it right now. Thanks for the offer though. I'm about 75 miles north of you, BTW, off Hwy 75 a bit.

 

[CometGSR]

QUOTE

(dare I say worse than my 1990 Festiva[/b]

Ahh!! Leave the Festiva out of this! hehe

Kia has come a LONG way since it was bought out. The Sorento SUV and the Sedona are MUCH better cars then the Sephia. They still have a ways to go but the parent company did a good job fixing Kia. That warrenty (10yr/100,000 powertrain) is a nice. It really does cover a lot of things.

I hated my 1989 Tempo. It was a dog on the road with its 2.3L I-4 and was not a sexy car in any shape or form. I am glad someone has good luck with these cars.

 

[johntaurus]

I liked my Festiva (built by Kia). It was a very economical and reliable car. For only 63 hp, it was suprisingly peppy and easy to drive. I did not say anything about new Kia's because I dont have one. The newest Kia product I've delt with was my cousins 1999 Sephia LS. It was a compleate lemon.

I've had six Tempos and they've all been great to me. All but one had the 2.3 HSC 4, and if you think they are a dog, try driving a Taurus with just about the same engine (enlarged slightly to 2.5 Liters but still around the same HP). All the 4 cyl Tempos I've had were quicker off the line and had a higher top speed than my Sephia.

I dont buy Tempos because I think they're supposed to be sexy. That would be about #102 on my top 100 reasons to buy a particular car. If you think a Ford Aspire, Festiva, or any other Kia product is sexy, well, lets just agree to disagree.

 

[CometGSR]

QUOTE

1992 Ford Tempo LX 3.0 V6 (151K miles)[/b]

Now your 3.0 V6 Tempo would be a nice car. I had a buddy that had one when I had my 89, it was fast.

I must admit that my 89 Tempo was not in great conditon. Body and engine wise, it was great but the automatic tranny was awful. It never seemed to shift right.

QUOTE

If you think a Ford Aspire, Festiva, or any other Kia product is sexy, well, lets just agree to disagree.[/b]

No, not sexy. People always told me that my cars were "cute". Not exactly what I had in mind.

 

[johntaurus]

The V6 Tempo moves out very swiftly, easily topping 100 mph in the time it takes an I-4 model to hit about 85 mph. Its parked right now with a bad wheel bearing and a leaky 3-speed automatic. A manual transmission replacement is on the way, that should improve everything about the car (economy, performance, noise level at-speed, driving fun, reliability, etc).

I4 Tempos make good small cars, they do what they were designed to do. They are comfortable to me, easy to repair and maintain when they need it, and the parts are always cheap. The downfall is the 3-speed automatic. I personally hate this transmission and prefer a manual whenever possible. All but one of my Tempos were automatics though, so I've learned to deal with doing 4,000 RPM at 85 mph. I hate it but what can ya do? I'm parting out my 1987 5-speed model, so I'll have an extra 5-speed manual trans waiting around the next time I get stuck with an automatic 4cyl Tempo that I otherwise like.

It doesnt look like my car of choice, the 1991 Tempo GLS 5-speed 2-door, is going to come through. I have an offer on the car: $1400 and a 1995 Geo Prizm 5-speed. The Prizm was wrecked and its in Idaho. She hasnt totally agreed to it (she'd rather have a truck but for $1400 she isnt going to find any decent trucks) and I'd have to drive the Sephia to Idaho and pick up the Prizm. Hopefully it still drives and I can drive it back to WA and sell it or repair it and then sell it. I used to drive the car when it belonged to my freinds mom and its not my cup-of-tea. Its slow (even for a 5-speed), very uncomfortable, rides choppy and its quite loud. Only advantage it has over the Sephia is the manual transmission.

 

[CometGSR]

If I remember right, the Tempo I-4 had a cast iron block and head. That was one durable engine. They seem to last longer then similar cars of that era.

My Mom had a 1984 Tempo that wasn't great either but I guess it was good enough for my folks to buy the 89 GL (I bought it from them after wreaking my Festiva). As you said, they provide transportation and they were designed just for that. I hope you didn't think I was knocking your rides, I wasn't

$1400 for a 91 Tempo PLUS a Geo? That lady is getting a really good deal. Around here you see those go for $1400 without the other car. If I remember my trim levels right, the GLS was the top of the line.

Good luck on your manual tranny swap

 

[johntaurus]

No, no. I mistakenly tied in two subjects. The whole story is:

I was trying to sell my 1994 Kia Sephia here locally so I could buy a 1991 Tempo GLS.

BUT, instead, I'm working out a deal to sell it (the 1994 Kia Sephia LS) to her for $1400 and I'd get her 1995 Geo Prizm (she wrecked it though, but I know a lot of body guys). If I did this deal, its in Idaho and the GLS is in Penn. so it'd be quite a trip just to go get a $900 car (thats what I ment by not being able to get it). I'd have to deliver the Sephia to her and then pick up the Geo, make it drivable, and then I'd be able to drive back to Washington where I live. I'm sure I can find another GLS but the one in Penn. is incredibly clean and well maintained. The owner simply found a Mercury Topaz XR5 (3.0 V6, 2-door, 5-speed) and is taking advantage of that deal.

Actually the GLS was not the top of the line, the LX was. "GLS" stood for "GL Sport" and there for it was much sportier than the GL or LX but was not as luxurious as the LX or as cheap as the GL. I wanted my project Tempo to be the ultimate in luxury so I looked long and hard to find a Tempo LX with the V6. The base model was either L or GL (depending on the year), then came the GLS (also depending on the year, it was cut after 1992) and the LX was the top of the line.

I did take your comments a little personal at first, and I appologize if my comments were harsh in return. We can agree to disagree, lol. Everyone has a favorite, they cant all be the same or we'd all be really bored! I happen to like Festiva/Aspire but I have a very bad back and they arnt exactly known for comfortable seats and a smooth ride. After owning the Sephia, I think the smallest car I will own as a personal car will be a Tempo. I almost bought a 1995 Ford Aspire before I bought my 1990 Festiva, but it sold before I could.

 

[CometGSR]

Sorry about that. Your fleet of cars is cool. Whats nice is that you have others to drive in while you fix another one. I wish I had that luxary.

I get teased alot about my "korean wonders". My buddy has 2 80's Crown Vics and he said that there is more metal in his hood then in the whole Aspire car. haha.

I hope you find that perfect example. If you look hard, I am sure something will come up. I once saw a AWD Tempo for sale and thought it was the coolest thing.

Good Luck,

 

[johntaurus]

I was teased for just about any Ford product I drove/drive, but its ok. People said I'd never make money off my wore-out 1986 Taurus LX but I more than doubled my investment. I also got 6 months of wonderful service (once the fuel problem was fixed, LOL) out of it. Poor thing had more miles than the space shuttle.

My room mates called my Festiva the "shoe". I hated that nickname. I liked the car and I tried to buy another one recently (at a junkyard but the idiot wanted over a grand for it with a salvage title...um no thanks. I barely paid $1k for my 1990 and it had a good title).

I've got a few bites on the autotrader Sephia ad, I hope that car sells soon. I enjoy buying and selling cars. I've had somewhere in the neighborhood of 28 cars thus far and after the Sephia sells, I'll add number 29 to replace it.

 

[CometGSR]

haha. If I was not married, I would be the same way. I know for a fact that I would have bought a Merkur XR4TI (I love those cars) and whatever cool car I could find at the time. I go through a lot of cars but mostly becuase I haven't had 2 decent cars in a long time. I finally have that again.

I can't say what my friend called my Aspire and Festiva. Its not really nice to the folks who put them together. My wife called the Aspire "The Lawn Mower". She hated the car so much that she only rode in it twice. It was one of the big reasons I got rid of it.