instrument gauges out except tach, horn doe not work.

Suspect an old/corroded old battery that's older than seven years old, not only is the age a problem but the maintenance of your ground connection to the chassis must be cleaned to the metal (lug and frame) and going to the engine block too, clean connections and solid ground wire and a fresh new battery should put you right...after these things are done and you are still having problems, get back with us~

Have you checked both fuse boxes?

I suspected as much- thanks - its a great place/way to start. I'm not sure how old the battery is (maybe as old a the car -2005) but I noticed corrosion on its terminals. Just lazy at my old age (and I've wasted a lot of time and money not doing the best things first), so I wanted some back up! lol Thanks so much for your kind and quick response. I just bought the car from a father daughter team who bought it new , and did not do much to maintain but change the oil and do the brakes. The engine is smooth running and is agile and light footed. A broken vanity mirror on the passenger side visor and a crumpled quarter panel just in front of the passenger side door (where it was left open and rolled back into a bush and "opened"passed its max point ! lol) Other than this electrical mess its nearly new in mechanical and body) A great deal for way under a grand!! Thanks so much Judge_Roy! (and the rest of the crew at CarGurus- its nice to know you can come here and learn fun and interesting things about our toys !