get a truck, geta plow. You now have a winter beater that makes money!!!

 

yeah like u mentioned, a remote start would be a great thing to have. start her up a couple mins before u get in, warm up the engine and interior and be ready to go soon after jumping in.

 

The previous owner of mycar installed an interior heater. It automatically turns on when the car's plugged in and it warms up the inside of the car, or keeps it from getting too cold. It's for when the car is plugged in all night, or all day in my work parking lot.

 

ya its a good idea.. tho my winter beater will be the 95civic manual....
but if the snow is to bad i got a fullsize 93chevy long bed pickup truck... and a quick load job with the tractor and the bed will be full of snow for weight
and if its to bad.... SCREW WORK.LOL

 

Exactly, screw work!! Seriously, I think that any car with decent tires can make it.. As long as your city is doing her part... WIch is plowing the streets!

 

here are some pics of my would be winter car, its burnin oil on startup pretty badly
http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u...w/DSC00198.jpg

http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u...DSC00199-1.jpg

http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u...w/DSC00200.jpg

 

With Ford Tempos you have to be careful of engine and tranny problems. they are quite common to burn oil or have excessively loud lifter and valvetrain noise. But a good working one shouldn't be too pricey anyway.

IMO I would go with the GM competition with the Cavalier. I had a POS 2L (and than 2.2L) 4 door that burned oil like there was no tomorrow, but it got me around very well in the winter. I remember my brother had studded winter tires meant for an early 80's S-10 truck on his Cavalier and he never got stuck. Don't forget i am in Labrador so i know all about the winter as well

 

Ya, you guy's get alot of snow and large amounts at a time down there, so I bet you know[8D] I actually have looked at a few decent cavaliers as well. I like how your brother put the studded truck tires on the car, that would make that thing a beast in the winter, lol. Thanks for tips

 

No problem. Just do a little shopping around, both cars are plentiful in any area. A few things to look for are engine noise (lifter knock) and cylinder blow-by. just take the oil cap off the car while it is running and put your hand over it. if you feel a little bit of air coming out it is normal for a high mileage engine. usually you shouldn't feel it with you hand more than a few inches away, if you can still feel it with your hand 6 or more inches away than it is not holding compression and should be avoided.

I use this when looking at buying a car or checking out the condition of others. it doesn't always point to bad rings, it could be bad valve seals or a blocked PCV valve, but when buying a used car, you don't want to buy it and than try to find out.