Faults:

There has been very little that has happened to this car. First of all, hit 2 deer within 6 months, one going 65 MPH and the other 45 MPH. With those came only new bumpers, hoods, radiators, and alternator. Didn't harm the motor itself. These happened around 100,000 miles.

At about 175,000 miles, the alternator died out and had replaced. Normal wear and tear though.

At 225,000 miles, the water pump went out. This is also just a maintenance thing. Surprised it even lasted this long.

At 250,000 miles, replaced radiator.

Then the unexpected thing happened. Some drunk kids decided to run a stop sign right in front of me and I creamed them. That ended the life at 252,000 miles. The motor itself was NEVER touched and the same with the tranny.

Almost forgot, there was a recall on the motor mounts. Had them replaced and they went out once more between then and the end.

General Comments:

I would have to say that this is without a doubt the best car that I have ever had. It was as reliable as can be. It went through my brother, who beat the snot out of it for 65,000 miles, then me, also being young at the time, beat the snot out of it for a while. It survived it all. I also did the stupid neutral drops a couple times and it survived it fine. Now I'm calling myself an idiot for doing such an act on a car. I have had a 1992 Dodge Shadow, a 1987 Mercury Cougar (another very good car that takes a beating and loves going through tires), and now my 1998 Pontiac Grand Prix GT. The Ford products have been outstanding for me. The Dodge and this Pontiac have been different stories. Read story for Pontiac titled "My bad luck or a lemon?" to find out about the list of problems in only 3000 miles of having the car.

The Taurus was an outstanding car that I am positive would have more than surpassed the 300,000 mile mark. It was still going strong. The 3.0 is a very strong and long lasting motor. I know of 3 other people who have almost hit the 400,000 mile mark with the same car without motor or tranny problems. I highly recommend this car too many others. I know that not all will last as this one did. We just made sure that the oil was changed every 3,000 miles and it took us where we wanted to go. Car also survived an 85 mile per hour trip in the ditch when my brother decided to see what it would be like going that fast on a gravel road. Very stupid. Do not try that, believe me! Thanks for reading.

Faults:

The thermostat needed replaced when I bought it.

The heater motor quit working at 99000 miles (can't fault it for that!)

There is way too much rust on this car, as with all Taurus models of this year that I see.

Ford uses the same yellowing-prone plastic headlight lenses as all other American car manufacturers, resulting in almost opaque headlight lenses.

General Comments:

I love the big American car feel that this car has. It's luxurious.

I love the smooth engine and quiet engine noise.

The transmission has gotten bad reviews, but I love the smooth shifting.

I have the 8-passenger model, and the third seat is really cool for kids.

I think the GL model should have lights on the vanity mirrors.

I love the brake feel. I think it is a very responsive feel.

The steering sucks-there is about 1-2" of play in the steering gearbox.