Faults:

Took it to Firestone to have the A/C checked, and the compressor was going bad, so I'm having a new system put in.

Was told I need a new water pump, so having that done too. Total cost $700.

Mechanic said my tie rods have some play in them, and the CV joints are leaking grease, but that will have to wait, or I may attempt to replace the tie rods myself. Bought a repair manual that shows me how.

General Comments:

Bought this car for $1500 after totaling my PT Cruiser in an accident. Exterior (minus the back bumper) and interior are in excellent shape. The car has been very well maintained to be 23 years old.

Since I am laid off from my job right now, I'm hoping nothing else major happens to the car until I can get back to work, and maybe trade it in for something newer.

Love all the power features, and the seats are more comfortable than my PT Cruiser. I always drove Ford/Mercury cars (Comet, Lynx, Escort, Focus) before ending up with my PT Cruiser.

What time I have driven my Ford Taurus so far, it drives great, and the V6 has good power and rides smooth. Keeping my fingers crossed!!

Faults:

Radiator went at about 160,000 miles. Still ran fine with a minor repair.

Needed ball joints at about 150,000.

Large rust hole about the size of 2 footballs was found when bringing the car to the donation lot.

Clear coat came off at about 110,000 miles.

General Comments:

My dad bought this car due to an expanding family. It had the third seat, and front bench seat so it could hold 7. He buys cars used from family friends that were maintained well. He maintained it until about 1999.

After that oil changes stopped, and so did all other normal maintenance. The radiator began leaking so we put in some additive that stopped the leak. The car still ran fine, but every time we went somewhere we'd top off the car with water from the hose. Also, because no oil changes were being done, we'd add a quart of oil every month (it burned about that).

Other than minor things that didn't stop us from making the car usable, it was great. It was one of the most comfortable cars we owned, and by far the most reliable. When he decided he was getting rid of it, we tried to kill it. We sat in the drive way for 5 minutes redlining it. After no success, we drove it away. We never had the typical tranny problems, or anything else.

I now own a 98 Taurus SHO with the 3.4L V8. I absolutely love it and also have had no problems, but once again knew where it was coming from.

So if you're thinking about buying a Taurus, I would recommend it, but only if you're buying from an honest friend, or reputable dealer.

Faults:

When I got the car, the battery terminals that hold the battery had to be replaced.

At 89000 miles, the oxygen sensor went.

At 95000 miles, replaced the front brakes.

At 96000 miles, replaced the starter.

At 100000 miles, replaced the tailight bezels and also the alternator.

At 110000 miles, replaced all the brakes.

And there were many other things that needed to be replaced on this car.

General Comments:

I had bought this car off an elderly lady who really did not take such good care of it at all. The paint was fading from age (it's red). She never had the car in the garage. It sat under a tree a good percentage of the time. She never was a smoker, so the interior looked really good.

Speaking of the interior, it had an aftermarket Blaupunkt removal face stereo in it. The car has no power windows (rare for a Taurus), no power door locks, nor a power seat. It does have the tilt wheel. The interior is also red.

The trunk is big. It still has the original spare tire and jack parts. The trunk looks in great shape.

As far as the way it runs, that is another story. Over the almost 4 years that I have owned it, it has given me numerous problems. There have been times when I have wanted to get rid of it. But it has not fully died yet!!

Yes this is a very problematic car. There are tons of these still on the road. Parts for this car are getting pretty hard to find. I have known a few other people who have owned this version of the Taurus, and they hated theirs.

Do I like this car? Not really. It runs good for now. Would I buy another one? Definitely no!! Would I recommend anyone to buy one of these? Definitely no!! If you can tolerate it's problems, buy one. Otherwise, please stay away from these cars.