Considering buying a 94 Thunderbird

[EvilTriumph57]

Hello everyone. I am considering purchasing a 1994 Ford Thunderbird tomorrow. I don't know the specifics of the engine/tranny combo of the one I am going to look at. What I do know is this: My father's friend's mother cannot drive anymore and wants to sell her car. She is a little old lady who only drove it to church on Sunday and the car has only 17,000 miles!!!!! Plus she only wants $800 fo it!!! Granted, I haven't seen what condition it is in yet.

Despite the low milage and inherent coolness of the car I am concerned about reliability. After reading this forums and other places I am a bit concerned. I hear a lot about transmission woes and heater coil troubles, both of which can be big fixes required either a lot of time or a lot of cash or both. How reliable are these cars? Any clue as to the frequency with which these problems occur? I can change my own oil but overall am not too great with a wrench. I'm willing to learn, but I was thinking just as you don't start learning math with differential equations maybe I shouldn't start learning to wrench on a 94 Thunderbird? This car would be my daily driver. Any advice? Also, if I do buy the car, is there any preventative maintenance I should do right away?