Faults:

Had to replace 3 new tires, put back brakes on it, and fix the gas gauge, and inspect it. Other than that, no problems.

General Comments:

When our 2001 Kia Spectra was totalled in a car accident, we needed another vehicle. Our neighbor had told us that his father had a car for sale on his small used car lot, and it was the 2000 Taurus. It was an as is, had 123000 miles on it, and needed a few things, but we fell in love with the car. We paid $1800 for it.

For the $1800, we put the usual things into it that needed to be put into it. The silver paint looks really good.

The interior is huge!! We had a 1991 Taurus, and the interior was of a nice size. But this interior is even bigger! The seats are sofa like comfortable. Plenty of room for 4 people.

It rides really, really nicely for a Taurus. It rides even better than the 1991 that we had. Plus it has more power to it.

We really like this car. Even though gas prices keep going up, we will keep this car for a good long while. These are good family cars when they are properly maintained. We would recommend this car to anyone who is looking for a big family car. Many people dislike the Taurus, but put it the hands of the right person who will truly keep up on its proper maintenance, and the car will be good to you.

Faults:

Brake rotors keep going very often. Not sure why. When you hit the brakes, you'll feel a vibration or slight jerky motion and you know they're going. It does this ALL the time. We've replaced them 3 or 4 times in the past 2 years.

The check engine light is always on. Went and got it turned off, next day, it was back on. We don't worry about it anymore, and have been driving with it on for years, and have had no ill effects.

General Comments:

Very roomy, big, comfy car. Lots of room for kids or luggage, or anything you can imagine. Large trunk.

Reliable. It has never let us down, always gets us where we're going.

Strong body. Someone T-boned us in it, they only had to replace the sheet metal on the drivers side. Would never know it had been hit.

The only complaint would be the hump in the back window. They fixed this in newer versions, but there's a hump that makes it very difficult for short people to back up.

Faults:

There have been more issues with this car than most, but that's the way I bought it.

TPS, MAF, transmission solenoid, intake gasket, fuel filter, PCV hose, brake booster, etc etc.

Still though, all that only cost $200.

General Comments:

I can see why Ford's can be frustrating, because had I not been a tech, this car would for sale right away after the 3rd time the check engine light came on. It's not a maintenance free car, but with proper maintenance, I do venture to say it's one of the best cars for the money.

Doing some straight forward math, this car is worlds cheaper to own and maintain than a (forgive me), stupid Japanese car. I paid $800 for this, and spent $1000 on it, even including body damage from my wreck. It has leather, a 6 disc CD premium sound system, dual power seats, climate control, etc.

The Duratec 30 motor is great for everyday power, and very impressive for mpg. I get 27-33 (I keep track), and 20-24 if I am stepping on it a bit. I have managed several 0-60 times less than 8 sec. Durability for the drivetrain is good considering both the motorband trans have over 140K original equipment. But if you don't want to get your hands dirty, the Taurus is a little pickier than most cars for minor issues. I.e. 85 octane and fuel system cleaner sets off the check engine light.

I have had nothing but good luck with my Hondas AND Fords, but the Hondas were four times as expensive to fix. So, essentially, this car has twice as many sensor issues than a good import, but costs a quarter as much to fix.

It's very worth the money to keep this car going, rather than eating a $600 bill for a bad catalytic converter on an Accord and $250 for a mass air flow sensor. Just an opinion though.