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Ford Taurus/Mercury Sable Sedans Pre-2008

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

You are in the Ford Taurus/Mercury Sable Forum.

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

Messages Page 25 of 339

#239 of 3389 TAURUS QUALITY by daveho

Jul 08, 2000 (6:41 pm)

I'm so tired of hearing all those complaints about Ford quality vs. praises for Japanese cars. I personally own many Ford models over the years as well as Honda Accords, Toyota Camry, & Nissan Altima. First of all, none of these Japanes cars are more reliable, and they cost more to repair and maintain. Worse still, the Japanese dealers are all blatant cheaters who, inspite of recent improvement in attitudes. always feel that customers are suckers. I once had a Nissan dealer misrepresenting a problem covered by the warranty as a $600 repair that I had to pay. After getting nowhere with the service manager, I went to see the sales manager and asked him to tell me what the warranty was and then asked the service manager to talk to him. What a hassle!!!


My 1996 Taurus has 80K miles on it, and the total repair cost is a big round zero. I even skimmed on maintenance and so far I only have one 30K maintence done. Japanese cars all cost well over a thousand or two at comparable mileage. Even comparing with the most troublesome Ford vehicle I own in the past, it is still much much cheaper to repair and maintain than a Japanese car.


So, why do I keep on buying Japanese cars still? The reason is simple - unfounded bias of my wife and my kids (as well as many people I know personally), who keep on insisting that Japanese cars are better, more reliable, and all those craps inspite of clear evidence to the contrary.


Don't get me wrong. Japanese cars are well made and are just as reliable as a Taurus. You simply have to pay more (abeit for a smaller, less powerful car vs, Taurus), more to maintain, and more money to repair. That's all. Somehow, everybody that I know almost always try to hide problems with their Japanese cars or try to rationalize them.


Yes, there are well publicized Taurus engine problems on earlier model, but the offer (extended warranty, thousands of dollars of rebates, buy-back of vehicles) from Ford is so generous that I wish I own one of those "problem" cars. Whatever problems I have or will have on Japanese cars, you bet that I will have to pay for them myself - sometimes even when they are still under warranty and I'm not knowledgeable enough to know the truth.

#240 of 3389 Family Sedans Comparison by traction

Jul 08, 2000 (6:54 pm)

Edmunds review on family sedans is available online under '2000 Family Car Comparison'.


The winners were Passat, Accord and Taurus, each separated by a faction of 1%. They tested a total of 9 cars. There was a wide range of scores with the worst rated car in the group having a score of 54 compared to 72 for the Taurus/Accord/Passat.

#241 of 3389 reply to sticker problem by fordman33

Jul 08, 2000 (7:08 pm)

Did you get the six way power drivers seat by any chance? If so, that was in place of the five spoke aluminum wheels (there is some fine print in the brochure that states this). The SE comes with one or the other; for both, you have to pay extra. For example, my SE had the five spokes and the power drivers seat was an added option.

#242 of 3389 Re Sticker Problem by barjon

Jul 09, 2000 (12:00 am)

Jnorris, while the 5-spoke painted aluminum wheels are standard on the SE, it's true the bolt-on wheel covers are available as a no-cost option on that model. If those wheel covers are listed on the options side of your sticker, then that's the way the car was ordered and assembled at the plant. Your dealer didn't switch the wheels before you purchased the car.

#243 of 3389 speed limiter by fordman33

Jul 09, 2000 (10:03 pm)

Has anyone reached the speed limiter speed in their 3.0 Vulcan? I hit 105 m.p.h. w/ mine this morning (accelerated to 100 on an incline and effortlessly reached 105 on the decline before deciding it was probably a good idea to slow down). It didn't seem like it was straining...

#244 of 3389 . by sable93

Jul 10, 2000 (5:32 pm)

I think the speed limiter is set at 108 (at least on the older models pre-'96.) It is usually set at whatever the speed the tires are tested for.

#245 of 3389 tire speed rating for 2000 Taurus by fordman33

Jul 10, 2000 (5:49 pm)

The tires are speed rated at 118 mph on the 2000 Taurus; I'm just wondering if the speed limiter is set that high.

#246 of 3389 Cabin Air Cleaner - Which Models? by drmurdoc

Jul 11, 2000 (3:19 am)

In the owner's manual of my 2000 Taurus SES, it indicates that it "might" have an optional internal cabin air filter. I don't want to disassemble the assembly under the hood to check and see if mine has one.


Does anyone know which Taurus models (LX, SE, SES, SEL) have the cabin air cleaner???

#247 of 3389 99 Taurus Mileage & Electrical by 911dan

Jul 11, 2000 (3:53 am)

HELP!! I live in Los Angeles and have a 99 Taurus SE Duratec. I'm getting LESS THAN 15 mpg (test period was 2600 combined miles). Is anyone else getting poor mileage...or..what is YOUR mileage and where are you?


The manual says that I cannot have any electrical devices with higher than 5 watt output in the car (i.e. CB or garage door opener) as does the 00 Taurus manual. I want to put my ham radio in the car. FORD has said it would be OK, but (of course) won't put it in writing. Has anyone had any trouble w/their Duratec w/electrical devices? How do police vehicles do it, with the lights, radios, MDTs, etc....are the Crown Victorias different?

#248 of 3389 #1 Selling Car in USA by traction

Jul 11, 2000 (4:31 am)

The 2000 Taurus just became the best selling car in June...by a wide margin. The Taurus outsold the Camry (43,365 to Camry's 33,709) and outsold Accord's 34,298. It will be interesting to see if the Taurus reclaims it spot as #1 for the whole year.

Messages Page 25 of 339

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