General Comments:
I bought this car used, and the previous owner had racked up heavy miles, had already gotten the car into an accident (made worse by a very bad repair job), and had smoked heavily in the car.
Despite the abuse the owner put on it, and the abuse I put on it, it has been a wonderful car.
The original air vents had been kicked out by the first owner (they're not very durable to begin with), so I had that replaced.
I live on a steep hill, and several clumsy mishaps where I accidentally would let it roll back without braking led to the reverse gear going.
The seats could use some more side support, but it's been comfortable on long trips across the country.
Dealers have been a mixed bag. Some have been very helpful, others were not. The original dealership I bought mine at moved too far away for me to get mine serviced there, and usually other dealerships treat you like second-rate people when they notice that you didn't buy from them.
I wish there were more cup holders. There's really only one useful one, since even coffee mugs are now shaped to fit into the "soda can" size holders.
The repair job (which was NOT done by a dealer) was bad. The doors didn't align, and they didn't put on UV protection on the black trim by the windows. The touch-up paint job they did was terrible, too. The rear door also takes a little more effort to close. I think this shoddy repair job was the result of the malfunction of the rear power window (It started working again).
The map lights are useful. They're located right where they should be (behind the driver), and are bright & right where they should be!
The sound system on the car is very nice for not having a CD player. I also like how it can remember 12 radio stations! Most cars can only remember 5! (Thanks to FM 1 and FM 2!)
While the car was under warranty, the dealer replaced the DRL circuits to stop them from flickering whenever it rained.
All things together, this is a dead reliable car, by almost anyone's standard!
2nd Jul 2001, 16:13
Purchased a new Taurus for my wife, same problems, but only 32 thousand miles andthe transmission clunked and died.
F.J.
Chicago.