Faults:

Recently replaced the radiator and alternator.

The electric locks also had to be replaced.

General wear over the years has led to more repair in recent days.

General Comments:

My father bought this car off the showroom floor in the fall of 1986, and has maintained it since. Most of the miles are from highway usage. He drove approximately 100k miles on the interstate at 70mph or more. It has been given to me to drive for school and work. The car has almost every amenity available for that year. 8-way power seats, power locks, power windows, digital a/c and instruments. It is a real joy to drive, and hope to one day restore it to its original glory.

Faults:

Aside from the expected wear and tear replacements (brakes, hoses, suspension, exhaust work and things of the like) nothing major has really happened to it. We did replace the heater core at around 125k. It does like to burn through tail lights rather quickly and currently it needs a tune up (expected at it's mileage) and the head gasket is seeping. Overall I don't think that's bad for it's age. The interior is still in pretty good shape.

General Comments:

This car has been beyond reliable in the 9 years I've had it.

My friends teased me and made fun of me when I got it while they bought new Nissan's. Guess what car is still on the road?

The only downfall is the gas mileage. It averages about 17mpg, which given it's age and size isn't so bad.

Faults:

Alternater caught on fire at 11000 miles.

Car runs hot in summer fan comes on late.

Gas line rusted out, car sets a lot.

Ride control stopped functioning.

Replaced throttle position sensor twice.

Replaced exhaust system twice.

General Comments:

This car is very fast and it can get away from you if you don't know how to handle it.

I have owned it since new and I hope to keep it for a long time.

It is as good looking as most cars today, but I would not buy one used unless I new the owner.

Faults:

Most recently, I have had to replace the spark plugs. For some unknown reason we have had a problem here lately with spark plugs. When we took it to the garage to be looked at, they said that the car was having some problems with blow-by. Because of this blow-by, it is fouling out the spark plug on the number six cylinder.

We have also had to replace the water pump after it began overheating approximately three months after I bought the car.

My electric seats stopped working about two months after owning the car.

I lost the digital speedometer and had to have a fuse replaced a few months ago.

We have put a new cap and rotor on it as well as new spark plug wires.

Approximately four months ago my dad and I replaced the front brakes too.

The same fuse that blew taking out the digital speedometer also took out the key-less entry.

I also had to replace a mapping censor and a fuel throttle positioning censor.

General Comments:

Despite all these problems my Thunderbird gets me around quite well. It is driven to school daily and is quite reliable.

This car is great on gas mileage when it has a new spark plug in it. It gets approximately 23-24 mpg on the average. With the cruise control set it gets about 25-26, which from what I have been told and from what the owners manual says is highly unlikely.

It is very comfortable to ride in and I feel very secure driving it. Even riding in the backseat of a two door car is comfortable for a larger person.

I also feel this car has quite a bit of get up and go for being a luxury car. I love the way it handles and accelerates.