25th Mar 2009, 16:42
I have owned a 89 SHO 200k, a 93 GL 165k, a 98 LX 70k, a 98 SHO 115k, and just bought an 03 SEL with 75k. Before the 03 I have had no problems at all.
The 03 trans has slipped a couple of times on me in the past few days, that's why I'm reading this forum. I've only had this car for 3 weeks. My 01 Escort has given me 120k miles with only a $400 repair so far. My 05 Crapsler/Dodge Durango is a piece of crap.. Nothing major, just stupid stuff that shouldn't go wrong and RUST. Also had a 01 GM minivan that was junk.
The Taurus has been very reliable for me, hopefully the 03 is OK as well. But for the price I paid, even if I had to put a trans in it, I'm still doin' OK. Just my 2 cents.
5th Apr 2009, 23:48
We purchased a 1998 Taurus with the 24 valve OHC engine with 52,000 miles in 2004. Currently at 118,000 miles with no major problems. Love the performance of the 24 valve engine.
We also purchased a 2001 Taurus SES (42,000 miles) that same year. That car is now over 150,000 miles and still runs great. Am now considering buying a third Taurus and would recommend a used Taurus to anyone wanting an economical dependable car.
17th Apr 2009, 08:57
I purchased a 2003 Taurus SES in 2005 with 80,000 miles. Prior to that, it was my company car, purchased and given to me with 60 miles on it. Some of you people just like to complain, and think that Honda's are the best cars out there. I've owned Honda's. I had a '99 Accord that I bought new, and had the transmission fail completely at 5,000 miles on the dot. I take that as a limited issue, and don't bash Honda for it, but I can give first hand knowledge that Honda isn't the greatest product out there.
Take care of your car, that's the biggest thing. I'm not even a mechanic, I work for an insurance company, and I know very little about cars mechanically... I change my own oil, but that's about it. Following the manufacturer's guide, I purchased the car after my company got it to the end of its cycle, with about 82,000 miles for $500, not bad for a 2 year old car. since then, I've continued to follow the schedule, and I now have 167,000 miles, and its still on original transmission, with no problems.
21st Sep 2009, 18:23
To the guy wondering how to change his sparkplugs:
Well, you can access them from the back of the engine, if you go underneath the car and reach your arm up and squeeze it past the exhaust pipe, and then you will have nearly no room or strength to loosen the spark plugs. Or you can remove the engine mounts and jack up the engine. It's a really poor design either way you cut it.
15th Jan 2010, 15:09
I have a 2004 Taurus SES, which I purchased BRAND NEW from the dealer in 2006... 0 miles.
It now has 30,000 miles on it... I drive slowly, locally, and with caution always... I change the oil like clockwork.
I have had the car in for repairs several times... the left front drive axle had to be replaced in Sept, 2008, and again Jan, 2010.
Both ball joints had to be replaced in Oct 2009, front brake rotors had to be replaced, battery has died twice and had to be replaced, once in 2007, and again in 2009.
Windshield washer hose cracked and had to be replaced 2009, and left front electric window sticks like crazy, open and closes when it feels like it.
My last car was a 1992 Honda Accord, I drove it for 14 years without a single repair!!! FORD was a BAD choice this time around!!!
5th Jun 2010, 17:39
I bought a 2004 Taurus with 8000 miles on it in 2005. It has 123000 now and very few problems. At 18000 miles it shifted hard and the dealer had to replace a pump in the transmission, under warranty. The starter died at 75000 miles; easy replacement. The power steering pump started making weird whining noises. I flushed the fluid several times and it is doing fine now as that was a year ago. I've had to clean the throttle body as the gas pedal appeared to hang open, and with a bit of cleaner that was an easy fix. This is my 2nd Taurus and I think they are good cars.
15th Apr 2011, 05:30
Try Lucas Trans Fix. It coats clutches and helps restore seals. It's ten dollars. I bought a car that sat around a lot, had 50.000 miles on a 1987 car. Shifted hard. This helped, works great now.
Also had a 1993 Taurus; trans slipped once in a while. Had no more problems in two years from the trans. Worth a try, good luck.
2nd Aug 2011, 17:00
I owned a 2004 Ford Taurus, which I purchased new. It was an awesome car with no problems, but the transmission failed at 136,000 miles. I had a new Plymouth Voyager, and the transmission failed at 137,000 miles. We have a GM truck that has had lots of problems, and it was purchased new. So basically it's the luck of the draw.
1st Feb 2009, 14:46
It does sound like somebody trashed it before you got it. I think you wasted a lot of money replacing things that wouldn't have needed to be replaced. Did you check Carfax to see if the car had been in an accident? What is the tread wear like? Uneven, even after it has been aligned? You shouldn't have a CV joint go bad at such low miles, unless the previous owner ran into a curb and bent something. That might be why they unloaded such a new car.