Buy? or bomb?

While looking on the website of a local used car wholesaler, I found a car that MAY be interesting....a 2000 Taurus SE wagon.

Pros: It has the DOHC engine it has VERY low mileage for the year.....55,000 it has four wheel disc brakes with ABS it has a tilt, telescoping steering wheel....with cruise it has a leather interior in very good condition

Cons: Doesn't the automatic tranny in these things start going out at about 80-100 thousand miles? at best, it gets about 2/3s the gas mileage my current car gets even though it's a "mid-sized" car, it's still kind of big.

Please add any opinions. BTW, it will be used for a year or two for trips back and forth between Fl. and either Tn or Pa. (works out to 700 miles one way or 1050 miles one way). Probably 6 or 7 trips a year, at least, all types of weather.

I had a similiar sable, non wagon, had the DOHC engine, ran forever, enjoy...

I have a friend who swears by Tauri wagons, hes had one since the early 90's, well actually hes had probably over a dozen, always "one" in his driveway, until he wrecks it, then he get another "one" ... Yes, he has wrecked every one of them, and a few Tauri sedans as well. he is now having a hard time finding early 90's models, and is gravely concerned about what will happen when he destroys his current "one" ...

I wont let him drive, ever, if i have to be in a car with him, im driving... but, his logic is sound, if hes wrecked so many of them and never been seriously injured, they must be excellent cars...

My wife has had Taurus and Sable wagons. Weloved them both. I got 33 MPG (Imperial gallon) on a long trip one time. A buddy even did a 1:36 lap at Waterford Hills in the Taurus with 4 people on board ! By comparison , my ITB GTI would do 1:21. Get it. You'll like it.

924guy wrote: I have a friend who swears by Tauri wagons, hes had one since the early 90's, well actually hes had probably over a dozen, always "one" in his driveway, until he wrecks it, then he get another "one" ... Yes, he has wrecked every one of them, and a few Tauri sedans as well. he is now having a hard time finding early 90's models, and is gravely concerned about what will happen when he destroys his current "one" ...

To give the guy some credit, a broken mirror is probably a total loss as far as the insurance company is concerned.

My folks are in their 80s and drive a 2007 Taurus wagon. They've owned a few Sables and Tauri and they prefer the ride and convenience of the wagon. They had a few issues with the earlier cars but this one and their previous one have been flawless. I've driven it a bunch of times and I have to say that it's a nice riding car for what it is.

I know nothing about Taurus wagons but it seems to be unanimous with the other posters that it is good. That is in itself unusual.

Conclusion: You have chosen wisely Grasshopper.

MitchellC wrote:

924guy wrote: I have a friend who swears by Tauri wagons, hes had one since the early 90's, well actually hes had probably over a dozen, always "one" in his driveway, until he wrecks it, then he get another "one" ... Yes, he has wrecked every one of them, and a few Tauri sedans as well. he is now having a hard time finding early 90's models, and is gravely concerned about what will happen when he destroys his current "one" ...

To give the guy some credit, a broken mirror is probably a total loss as far as the insurance company is concerned.

A friend of mine has a 99 sedan. It's great... until the muffler falls off, and the Costco-sized nose-job gets majorly bashed-in. It's a pain to replace

integraguy wrote: While looking on the website of a local used car wholesaler, I found a car that MAY be interesting....a 2000 Taurus SE wagon.

I have two seemingly random questions for you..

What part of the country is it in and what color is it?

I ask because a large wholesaler in my area has a green one, also a 2000, also fifty-something thousand miles, but with a 165K mile drivetrain (!) Seems the green one I'm thinking of, in CT, sat for five years with a blown motor before said wholesaler installed the engine from a 165K mile trade-in to make it run and drive (and therefore sale-able).

Suppository looks, autotragic slushdrive with a bovine name.

Whats not to love?

My dad had* a 96 Taurus wagon as a daily driver/family hauler when I was in middle school and freshman year of high school. IIRC, it had the 3.0L V-6. It looked like a big green jellybean and had wicked uncomfortable tail-gunner third-row seats. The front and middle rows were comfy, though, and it was as reliable as the day is long. Unfortunately, my uncle borrowed it and promptly drove it though a flooded intersection. Then the shop berkeleyed up the wiring and forgot to install a rear main seal when they replaced the engine. It leaked oil like a sieve and as an added bonus, it drained the battery when parked unless Dad pulled a fuse every night. It was a shame, since Dad liked that car a lot and said it never gave him any problems until the original engine got hydro-locked.

*We still have it. It's sat in our driveway for 7 years. I almost got it as my first car, but it would have cost me $2000 in money I didn't have to replace the main seal and I didn't have a fraction of the tools or mechanical knowledge I have now to fix it myself. It's a great place to store my RX-7's and MS3's extra rims, though.

We have come close to buying a few. We don't like them, particularly, but they just seem to make sense. I'd say buy.

I'm surprised no one mentioned that the Taurus automatic tranny is known to be a grenade with the pin pulled. My neighbor had one and it left them stranded on a long trip - tranny died.

Or am I thinking of a different car?

No, you are thinking of the right car. The Orignal poster even mentions this in his 3rd sentance.

kb58 wrote: I'm surprised no one mentioned that the Taurus automatic tranny is known to be a grenade with the pin pulled. My neighbor had one and it left them stranded on a long trip - tranny died. Or am I thinking of a different car?

Easily remedied by replacing the transmission with a manual from a Contour BUT you need to cobble pedals from a ~1996 Taurus SHO, and get creative with axle shafts.

Thanks for all the info, so far. This car is in Memphis, and is that gold color with a slightly lighter leather interior....for he who asked.

My father has/had 3 different Tauruses(?). All had the Vulcan-OHV engines. 2 were mid-late '90s and his current car is a 2003. The last two developed transmission problems as they approached 90K miles....the '97/'98 started hesitating at odd intervals and would "hang up" between 1st and 2nd. The 2003 I never heard what happened just that it needed the transmission replaced prematurely (like at 60K miles).

I'm looking for a 4WD truck, actually, but a low mileage FWD wagon would work a bit better, in some situations (like at the gas pump).

I had one. Great car and tough as nails.