Crikey, I never thought someone would actually sit down and bring back into their mind the Tempra!
I'm going through therapy just to avoid the nervous twitch every time I go near the thing...
Well with 200,000 miles up, it's been reliable. It breaks down about once a month without fail.
The last catastrophe was snapping the camshaft. Yes really. The drive to the brake servo pump sheared into a thousand pieces of swarf, leaving me with no brakes to speak of and a £500 garage bill. Oh how the Fiat dealers laughed.
Electrics? It's got so many electrics you could rewire the national grid with it... Not to mention the fact that every time I flash the headlights to let someone out of a turning, the interior light comes on, the stereo goes off, the clock resets itself to 0.00, and the only way to get everything back to normal is to open the drivers door and slam it shut again. I could cry.
But at 50mpg and acceleration over 2000rpm that will leave a lot of cars behind (in the cloud of black smoke that ensues) it's ok transport. Nothing special, a bit of character perhaps, comfy and big enough to be useful for lugging sofas, trees, etc about the place.
And it's yellow, being an ex-AA inspections car. Says it all really. No-one else should really buy one unless you love rewiring the thing at the side of the road. Your typical Italian pile of junk, quite honestly. Next stop, an Audi A4 I think.
Stephen Onions <stephen-onions@msn.com asks
Q:The external temperature sensor on the dashboard display is showing -29 degrees continually which suggests a fault in the thermostat that reads the outside temperature. Can you tell me where the sensor is situated so I can check to see if any wires have come loose. Thanks
A: Being a FIAT wherever its supposed to be, is probably the last place to look, personally I would not even bother tracing 15 miles of wire to find out that YES it really is cold out , but if anyone can help Steven then please do tell us where the pesky sensor is.
Stephen G Bull<s.g.bull@talk21.com
Got a 1.9 TD SX S/wagon, bought with 102000 Miles on the clock, I thought
about the dodgy electrics and thought - "To hell with it"
30000 miles later and it's been to fiat for a front spring replacement on
recall, and that's it.
Nothing gone wrong, no electrics failed (alright the drivers electric window switches don't light up, but that's it), dash is great - you can read it all without looking at it, so no distraction from the road,
not quite as good on the twisty bits as a 405, but not bad! Still scare the
mothers on my way to work!
Eats front tyres, but maybe I'm to blame for that!
Don't want to replace it actually, but will probably go for a Marea weekend
in a couple of years (Need that little pull down flap on the tailgate and the
sitting in the Marea feels like sitting in the Tempra which is no bad thing -
now if only I could take the dashboard with me!)
Looking forward to the next 30000 miles!
Would I have another one? - Tomorrow isn't soon enough!
Love it!
(and mine's white)
Well - since I sent in my review.....
April 2001 - camshaft sheared - same as Andrew's problems above - watch
out
for that one then! Went into Fiat - nobody else would touch it... With the
new cam - vacuum pump, timing belt etc. and some other work replacing
brake
pipes, sump (oops - my fault I think), leaking water pump my bill was over
£800 - worth it? - Well at the time I didn't have much choice - it was
cheaper than a new car.
I look back now and it was worth every penny. The car is just too damn
useful. It's still quick - I left the police behind on their high speed
country lane training route (also my route to work - so I have an
advantage
in that I drive it every day - and I'm late every day) - okay they were in
a
Vectra so you can't expect them to have handling as good as the Tempra's
anyway. Other than that (and I think you can call it fair wear and tear
after 140000 miles) the car is still faultless - ok it's not as quiet as a
newer diesel, but the car is 6 years old so what do you expect. I still
like
to see others on the road - they're rare and that kind of makes it
special.
Still love the dash - yes it's huge, yes it's black plastic, yes it's
looking dated, but my god it's clear to read and tells you everything you
need to know very easily and that's what's most important.
Got to know somebody through this site, they bought a Tempra TD SX
S/Wagon.
Had probs with the electrics. Spent a couple of quid (a little more
perhaps)
and got it all sorted. Are they pleased with the car? - Yeah - it was
worth
the grief and getting it fixed... Not a bad motor - just service regularly
and thank god that when the cam shaft does go it's only at the vacuum pump
end - no valve damage!
I'd still have another one - and now I think it might be replaced by a
Stilo
Estate - if they keep the pull down flap on the tailgate.
Go on - try one - you might be surprised!
And if you are still not sure - have a look at
http://www.parkers.co.uk/choosing/car_reviews/772/
It's an underrated car, you could do far worse - and it won't (can't)
rust.....
See you all around
Steve
MATTHEW WOOLDRIDGE <matt.wooldridge@virgin.net
I own a poverty spec Tempra 1.4 in faded red, which
thankfully has the uncomplicated analogue instuments. Its not too slow and, since
adding the CD player, one may say adequately equipped. I looked at my
past receipts recently and scared myself: "I spent THAT
much?" It's a bugger to reverse park, no thanks to the unassisted steering
and the high bootline. The best bit about the driving the Tempra is that you are
driving something a bit more individual, unlike the masses of Cavaliers,
Sierras and Mundanos
Charles Beecham <charles@tmb-patterns.co.uk>