Faults:
The same week I purchased the car from a Ford dealership, the water pump went out (about 67,000 miles).
Shortly thereafter, I had to replace the starter and the radiator (both before 75,000 miles).
I constantly had expensive repairs to replace the brakes. Every time I took the car to get the brake pads replaced, something was damaged with the break system and the repairs were always $300 or $400.
The rear brake lights also went out several times - there was some sort of wiring problem that could never seem to get fixed. I got tired of spending the money trying to fix it, so I just adjusted to driving with no rear brake lights.
The heater core went out at around 150,000 miles, but I never fixed this as it would have been several hundred dollars (I am from Arizona - not that cold anyway!).
And there were several other items that went out such as the cruise control, the windshield wipers, etc. (all of these started to fail at around 100,000 miles - some I fixed, some I didn't).
Service records before I purchased the car indicated that the transmission had been replaced at about 60,000 miles. The other repairs listed were mostly routine maintenance.
General Comments:
It's a mixed review for me. I loved this car when I bought it. I had just got married and was planning to start a family and this car's styling was a nice mix of a family sedan, yet still with a sporty look. I was impressed with the car's power, it would definitely get up and move for a sedan. A lot of strong acceleration for passing too. And the ride was very comfortable. So high points for styling and comfort. Plus despite all the problems I had with the car, it did last up to 190,000 miles and was still running albeit not as well as before, when I traded it in on a Nissan Altima.
On the negative side, there were problems that seemed to not get fixed (i.e. the brake lights, break system) these things were constant annoyances and quite expensive in terms of the break system. However, the car was reliable in that it started up every time. And durable, lasting 190,000 miles plus. And I did drive the car hard, putting 130,000 miles on it in less than 6 years including vacations from Arizona to California and from Arizona to Texas.
25th Jul 2006, 15:15
We had 175,000 miles on our '92 before being totalled in a rear-end collision, and it still ran and drove without a hitch, even after 175k and being declared a total loss! So plan on yours being around for awhile and know that you got yourself a damn good car. (The 3.0 is a reliable engine, but stay away from the 3.8 Taurus, nothing, but trouble..)