1987 Ford Taurus GL 3.0 Litre
Summary:
Popular Money Pit
Faults:
CV Joint failed at 123 000 kilometers, cheaper to replace full drive shaft.
Water pump, cheap fix at time of purchase.
Heater hoses blew out at 140 000 ks, expensive dealer repair.
AC stopped functioning shortly after purchase, too expensive to repair.
Rear struts seized at 145 000 ks, replaced both with mountings.
Heater Core rotted at at 150 000 ks. Difficult to service, removal of dash was necessary.
General Comments:
A comfortable riding, well appointed high maintenance vehicle.
Their popularity and comfortable ride hid the fact that serious design deficiencies leave you spending big bills when you have to make repeated visits to the mechanic.
Acceleration limited by the fact that the transmission was slow to downshift for extra power, especially alarming on an expressway on-ramp.
Body was prone to rust, extensive repair work and maintenance did not make up for poor drainage systems on the vehicle.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 1st May, 2004
5th Dec 2007, 14:46
I agree with it being a money pit. I had a 1987 Ford Taurus GL given to me by my late Grandmother. She had only put 14,800 miles on it when I received in 1999. I thought it would be a very nice car for me to drive in college, but it turned out to be extremely unreliable and expensive to maintain. I had most of the same problems you had plus I had to replace the alternator twice in the 4 years I owned it! Overall, I ended up spending over $7,000 in repairs in 4 years. I finally traded it in after the transmission went out at 53,000 miles! The car wasn't worth the money to fix it. Besides I was able to somehow get $1,000 trade-in for the junker. I will never own a Ford Taurus again!!! Bad car.
2nd May 2004, 06:52
This review is very helpful.