Crap!
Was an utter nightmare. Problem after problem. First it was the electrical system, then it was the steering, then it was the body, then it wouldn't drive straight, then the transmission just went out, then it wouldn't start, then I just let the tow truck man haul it away.
Junk, junk, junk!
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No
Review Date: 15th November, 2007
Good for the money
Tension bearing went bad at 45,000 miles.
Water pump broke at 95,000 miles.
Oxygen sensors, oil pan gasket, and transmission speed sensor had to be replaced at 100,000 miles.
Wires at brake switch broke loose at 90,000 miles.
Overall the car is great for the money. I get almost 30 miles to a gallon on a highway, driving 75 m/h with 2300RPM. City mileage is OK if you drive gently.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 28th October, 2007
Handled well, VERY roomy and comfortable, but brokedown more times than I care to talk about
EVERYTHING. Plain and simple.
GL on this car stands for "Good Luck" cause you're going to need it to drive this thing. I had to have it in the shop almost every other week. It was VERY comfortable and it did drive very well. But the repairs were just rediculous. I had a Tempo before the Taurus and I wish I would have just bought another one. You want a good car, get yourself a tempo! I will NEVER buy another Ford product and that is a promise. UNLESS of course it is a Ford Truck ;)
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No
Review Date: 16th September, 2007
A decent car with a serious case of planned obsolescence
Transmission had to be rebuilt.
Window regulator failures.
Oil leak.
Brakes failed in numerous ways - lines, pads going too early, etc.
Axle broke.
Dome light wouldn't stay off.
Door handle spring broke.
Catalytic converters went bad.
Passenger window shattered for no apparent reason while parked.
Tires went out of alignment far faster than they should (unknown problem).
Ignition became wonky, but workable, when the car was getting older.
Suspension had to be reworked several times.
Electric systems became wonky - sometimes they'd work OK, other times not. Radio would break when it was cold, work when it warmed up.
AC would lose its charge over a single year.
Key stopped working in trunk lock (jam of some kind)
Rear seat belt wouldn't pull out anymore.
Windshield cracked and had to be replaced for no apparent reason.
Many numerous other small repairs.
The list of things I had go wrong with this car was voluminous. However, the car wasn't entirely bad.
It handled pretty well, got OK gas mileage, had decent acceleration and enough power. Looked OK.
Trunk had a lot of space, and rear seats fold in for extra storage.
The layout of controls were generally well thought out.
The gas cap had the best design I have seen in a car to date.
Seats were comfortable and car was fairly quiet. Back seats had enough room.
One of the two cupholders was good.
The engine is obviously quite solid - despite my many other problems, no serious problems ever happened on the engine. I even rear ended someone around 130,000 miles at about 20 MPH, which forced several repairs (hood, radiator, couple other things), but it had no apparent effect on the engine.
Oh yeah, that's another complaint right there - the bumper is very low and slants up somewhat, meaning if you rear end someone odds are good their bumper will go straight into the hood of your car. It's also hard to tell where exactly the front bumper is, because it is so low and slopes down.
For the first 80,000 miles or so, this was my father's work car, but I had regular experience with it as well. In that time, it had relatively few problems. Almost the entire above list happened after that mile mark.
So yes, these were OK cars... But they quickly become money pits as they age, and over time I came to hate the car. Probably putting the entire value of the car in repairs over a year or so is what did it (like 5 separate repairs, every few months. Otherwise I'd have pitched it right away).
Towards the end I also was made a bit nervous about safety due to the car falling apart. My fear was apparently justified. While driving, BOTH brake lines managed to break on me, one of the last repairs before I got rid of the car. Even the mechanics were a bit amazed at that. Fortunately, they didn't fail instantly (still sort of worked for a while), and the emergency brake allowed me to park it and have it towed to the shop.
Eventually, I sold it for next to nothing, and I hope my current car will last a lot longer. DO NOT pick one of these up used, as they age horribly.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No
Review Date: 4th August, 2007
15th Nov 2007, 21:13
"First it was the electrical system": Okay, what was "it" that went wrong? Did the dome light stay on? Did your 10-year-old car need a new battery?
"Then it was the body": Yup, rust on a 10-year-old car can be a problem. Try a Delorean next time.
"Then it wouldn't drive straight": Oh, like when the steering was bad? Maybe the tires on your 10-year-old car were bald and needed to be replaced. I could also have needed a front end alignment.
"Then it wouldn't start": It's called a dead battery. Believe it or not, cars that are 10 years old commonly need a new battery.
"Then I just let the tow truck man haul it away": Somebody is probably still driving it, while you're making a $500/month car payment.