2000 Mercury Sable LS Premium review from North America

Broken rear brake spring -- $81 to install a new hardware kit.

Water leak in headlamp -- $100 for an aftermarket part. The dealer wanted $250 for an OEM part.

Front brakes -- the pads still had 50% wear life left when I spent $250 on the brake job, but I couldn't stand the pulsation from the warped rotors.

Ball joints -- $210 (the dealer picked up half the cost). One of the replacement parts loosened up within 3000 miles and had to be changed again, thankfully not at my expense.

Leaky halfshaft seal -- $150.

Cabin water leak -- $247 and two trips to the shop to find and replace a broken cowl rain hat, dry out the carpet and replace the carpet pad. The dealer didn't charge me for the second visit and offered a loaner vehicle at no cost, which I declined because I had another car available.

Outer tie rod ends -- $257.

Rear struts and upper mounts -- $478. The original parts degraded seemingly overnight, changing the ride quality from smooth to bone-jarring.

A/C compressor -- $766.

I bought this car to replace a 1999 Sable that I turned over to my son. In retrospect, I would have done better to keep the older, higher-mileage car and give my son a check to cover the cost of whatever used car he could find.

When it's not in the shop consuming my discretionary income, the 2000 Sable runs well and is very pleasant to drive. The leather interior looks great and is very comfortable; the audiophile sound system and automatic climate control work well; the chassis strikes a very good balance between ride and handling; and the drivetrain is smooth, quiet, peppy and relatively easy on fuel. I get 24 mpg in mixed driving and 28 on the highway. If the reliability were better, I'd give this car high marks.