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Ford Taurus/Mercury Sable Sedans Pre-2008

3389 messages,  Last post on Jan 21, 2011 at 11:46 AM

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What is this discussion about? Ford Taurus, Mercury Sable, Sedan

Messages Page 18 of 339

#171 of 3389 Time to trade? by andre1969

Jun 19, 2000 (3:07 pm)

Hi everyone,
My grandfather has a 1994 Taurus GL with only 26,000 miles on it. He was thinking about trading it in on a 2000 Taurus. We looked at some, but he just didn't get excited about them (although he's really conservative, and the last car he had that he REALLY liked the looks of was his '81 Granada).


Anyway, we talked him out of trading, convincing him that he didn't need a new car. It's just that he has been trading up every 3-4 years since 1950, and I guess it's hard to break old habits.


I'm a Chrysler man myself, so I don't know too much about Ford products. Are there any particular trouble spots from the '92-95 generation of Taurus? I know someone with a '93 wagon, who's tranny is about to go, but she's got about 100K miles on it now. At the rate my grandfather drives, he'll have 100K miles on his by the time it qualifies for historic plates.


I told him just to change the fluids fairly regularly, and check the tires, hoses, belts, etc for dry rot, and he should be fine.


Any other advice? Thanks! -Andre

#172 of 3389 FWD or RWD cars? by slunar

Jun 19, 2000 (3:12 pm)

robnis: What is the specific reason you want a FWD car? I had 16 Taurus's (Company cars) and bought 4 of them for my wife, she still has a 97 wagon. Before I bought my LS I test drove a lot of cars, Taurus, Sable, Intrigue, Maxima, ES-300, 300M, 3.2TL, S80, I-30, Aurora and several more. In the end I thought that the 3.2TL was the best of the FWD cars, very solid and refined and felt less like a FWD car than the others. The BMW 328i, 528i & LS felt different, to me more balanced anj just plain felt more satisfying to drive. Maybe 15 years of FWD Taurus driving has jaded me but I now no longer consider FWD that typically has 65% of its weight on the front wheels to be an advantage.

#173 of 3389 Warped rotors by andre1969

Jun 19, 2000 (3:14 pm)

#144,
Rotors can warp for a number of reasons. One of the most common nowadays is because they're too thin and lightweight and just damage easier. If you put on the lug nuts too tight, you'll warp the rotors. If you drive too "spiritedly" you can warp the rotors, too. This isn't just a Ford problem, though, it's a modern-car problem. I hear this problem come up on the Chrysler LH cars, too. On bigger, older cars, the rotors were bigger and heavier, and warping just wasn't as common.
-Andre

#174 of 3389 saw an SES by tomcat630

Jun 19, 2000 (6:14 pm)

I think Ford has now made "SEL" and "SES" lettering for each of those models. I saw an SES with the 3 letters on the back. It helps when shopping for a used model and it differentiates the cars.

#175 of 3389 '00 Taurus needs a torque injection by johnbono

Jun 19, 2000 (10:34 pm)

I drove my mom down to Queens for a graduation recently in her new Taurus SEL. The duratec engine is a very nice motor, and revs real easy, but it feels like it is the wrong engine for the car. Driving on the highway at 55-65 mph, getting the speed for passing invariably meant flooring the engine so you could build the revs necessary for passing power. Ford needs to either put in a 5 speed auto in the car, or bring 3rd and 4th closer together. At highway speeds, the car feels positively anemic until you get to about 3500 RPM, then it seems to take advantage of the high revs. While the old 3.8 was one of the most abysmal motors I've had the misfortune to drive, it did have a much better low end than the current duratec v6(though the duratec flat out smokes it at higher RPM). The engine feels very overburdened at lower RPM, and it just seemed like the engine would be better off in something smaller, like a contour.

#176 of 3389 To slunar by robnis

Jun 19, 2000 (11:21 pm)

I want FWD because of the snow. And I prefer to stay away from the gas hos SUV's. I live in PA and we usually have 3-4 snows each winter. I have to laugh at the BMW,s Mercedes, etc with RWD trying to get up a hill in the snow. They are fish tailing all over.

#177 of 3389 Just bought an SES by ryankc

Jun 20, 2000 (2:17 am)

I have to say, I am quite a Toyota man. However, because of the incentives, I was forced to test drive a 2000 Taurus. Wow! What a surprise. Incredible handling and a great engine, everything I thought Ford couldn't do. I was wrong. I compared it to the Accord and Camry, test driving all three within a few hours, trying to get the feel of them. There was absolutely no comparison. I can't believe I am saying this, but the Taurus beat them hands down. I am anxious, and nervous to see how reliability goes, but Ford has already surprised me a couple of times, so hopefully they just keep doing it. For those of you in the same boat, and comparing, please go test drive one of these, I think you will be pleasantly surprised.

#178 of 3389 Driving in the snow by slunar

Jun 21, 2000 (4:19 am)

robnis: IMHO FWD is no substitute for a little bit of driving skill and common sense. I live up in snowy New England and I'll agree that a FWD car is usually easier for an unskilled driver to get moving straight ahead in the snow. On the other hand I've made it through some incredible snowfalls in RWD cars. One that comes to memory was back in the 70's (when weather forcasting was a lot worse) I got caught on a long trip in a blizzard. I was comfortably plodding along at about 45 MPH on an interstate that had over 6" of unplowed snow on it in my 1972 Torino that not only didn't have snow tires but had the original wide oval bias belted tires that made it a horrible car in the snow (later when I put radials on the car it was as if I had bought a new car). Anyway back to the point. Some joker went blasting by me in a new Saab (FWD). About 3 miles up the road he was flipped over lying in the center divider gully. By the time I made it home there was over a foot of snow on the ground with almost none of the roads plowed as this was a fast arriving and unpredicted storm. I made it home by using a small amount of driving skill and a modest dose of common sense. Getting a car moving straight ahead in the snow is the easy part. Turning and stopping in the snow (and on ice) is the hard part and here I'll argue that FWD has little advantage. I'd guess that those swerving BMW and Mercedes drivers could use some good snow tires, some snow driving practice and touch of common sense.

#179 of 3389 Road Runnin with a Taurus by harleybill

Jun 21, 2000 (6:51 pm)

I have had 5 Ford Tauri (I think) as an over the road salesman. Fortunes changed and I now interstate in a Cadillac Concours. I was returning this past weekend from a vacation in Florida and linked up with a new Taurus interstating at 80mph. We flew through Ga for a couple of hours and this car kept up with my 4K pound 300hp caddy with ease. I always had the small l50hp engines in my day. A 3k Taurus with a 200hp engine will get you where you want to go as quickly as you want to get there!!!


Harleybill

#180 of 3389 refootball by impalass3

Jun 21, 2000 (7:38 pm)

GM, what exactly do you mean? I would buy a 2000 Impala over a Taurus any day. The Taurus is one of the most ugly cars on the road today. I recently was unlucky enough to rent a 2000 Taurus, what a piece of junk, besides being ugly it got very bad gas mileage, then it broke down leaving me stranded in unfamiliar ground. Thanks Ford for making such a good car. I will ask for a GM product next time I rent a car.

Messages Page 18 of 339

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