Ford Tempo Fixes

The first car that I ever bought off a lot by and for myself was a 1989 Ford Tempo. I liked my car and I took 'granny' care of it. I got the fluids checked and changed on schedule, babied it, pampered it. One of the first things I looked at when I bought it was that cheap spare doughnut tire. I didn't even like the idea of that, so I bought a full size spare and threw out the doughnut. When I had to replace a tire, I put two new ones on the front since it was front wheel drive, put the best of the remainder on the rear and compared what was left to my spare.

I was driving down the road one day when the car just died. I had it towed home to be looked at. On start, it took right off. A week or so later, going down the road, it died again. This time I had it towed to a repair shop. They had it for a day and couldn't find a thing wrong with it. A week or so later, it died going down the road and once again I had it towed to the shop. They called me next day saying they could find nothing wrong.

"I don't want it back until it's fixed! Something is wrong! The stupid thing keeps shutting off while I am driving down the road! I don't care what you do with the thing! Give it to one of your mechanics so that he can drive it back and forth home. But I don't want it back to break down on me again!" I said emphatically.

Two days later, the shop called me. The car was fixed. The mechanic had taken it home and on his way back to work, it shut down on him just as he was turning into the shop so they were able to get the diagnostic equipment on it immediately. The fuel pump, which is located in the fuel tank, was going out and acting up intermittently so it had not showed up on earlier tests.

Another time it needed a wheel job and my son did the left rear and then decided I should take it to the shop. I took it in and explained to the mechanic that all the wheels needed done except the left rear. It was already done and I didn't want to be charged twice, but I'd like to have the work done so that I could get to work that evening.

It wasn't ready so the shop gave me a ride to work. The mechanic brought the car to work for me late that evening and told me that I needed to bring it back because it was making a noise he hadn't had time to check out.

I got off work at one in the morning, got in my car and started out of the parking lot, but noise caught my attention and I stopped, then started slowly again. I stopped, got out and walked all around checking tires, but in the dark could spot nothing out of order. Out on the highway, the howling increased, so I pulled over to the side of the road and walked around again and again found nothing. I got in and once again started down the road, but the howling was grating. I slowed down, speeded up, but the howling remained constant. I rolled the window down, moving slowly to see if I could tell where the sound was coming from. I couldn't isolate it. It was an unnerving 15 miles home and then thinking of the sound kept me awake.

Next morning, I got up early to go into town and back to the shop. Before leaving home, I walked all around the car and still could see nothing amiss. The howling started as soon as the car moved. I couldn't figure it out, it didn't make any sense to me. It hadn't made that sound before it went into the shop, so it had to be something they had done. I was determined that they were going to fix it.

I drove slowly because I didn't understand the sound and its cause. Eleven miles into town and at the first red light, a pick up pulled up on my right side, the horn going incessantly. I looked over and the driver made a wavey motion with his hand and pointed down to my right rear wheel. I nodded and when the light turned green, I made a left turn and pulled immediately over to the side of the road. This time when I walked around and checked, I noted instantly that all of the lug nuts on the left rear wheel were nearly off. I shook as I first hand tightened them and then got out my tire tools to tighten as best I could. I stopped at the first service station to have them lock the lugs harder and I kept shaking until the moment I reached out to open the door of the repair shop. The door opened as I placed my hand on the knob and the mechanic who had worked on my car the day before stood startled in front of me.

I raised my hand, pointing my finger at him and began telling him exactly what I thought of him and his mechanical ability. He kept looking down at me and backing up as I kept advancing. When I finished, I turned, still shaking and left vowing never to return to that shop again. I don't recall ever having been so publically angry, nor had I ever told anyone off before, but his negligence could have resulted in an accident. He had put safety and lives at risk and I was furious at his slipshod work.

At noon, the owner called me and asked what had transpired that morning. I told him and he replied. "That explains it."

"What?" I asked.

"He cleaned out the till and walked out and no one knows where he is."

When I bought my truck, I gave the car to my son, but he is tall and lanky and it didn't work for him, so I gave it to my daughter. She drove it for a year before calling to ask me if she could sell it. "How much are you asking?" I asked.

"Well, I checked Blue Book and and the paper and came up with a price." She replied.

"Is that what you want for it?" I asked.

"I think that is all I can get, Mom."

"Fine, but if that is your top figure, advertise it for more and let them take you down to that price."

She sold it to the first caller who looked at it for the price she was asking in the ad. It was still clean, no body damage and well taken care of and the man wanted it for his son's first car.