1987 Ford Taurus GL 3.0 Litre from North America

Summary:

Popular Money Pit

Faults:

CV Joint failed at 123 000 kilometers, cheaper to replace full drive shaft.

Water pump, cheap fix at time of purchase.

Heater hoses blew out at 140 000 ks, expensive dealer repair.

AC stopped functioning shortly after purchase, too expensive to repair.

Rear struts seized at 145 000 ks, replaced both with mountings.

Heater Core rotted at at 150 000 ks. Difficult to service, removal of dash was necessary.

General Comments:

A comfortable riding, well appointed high maintenance vehicle.

Their popularity and comfortable ride hid the fact that serious design deficiencies leave you spending big bills when you have to make repeated visits to the mechanic.

Acceleration limited by the fact that the transmission was slow to downshift for extra power, especially alarming on an expressway on-ramp.

Body was prone to rust, extensive repair work and maintenance did not make up for poor drainage systems on the vehicle.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 1st May, 2004

2nd May 2004, 06:52

This review is very helpful.

5th Dec 2007, 14:46

I agree with it being a money pit. I had a 1987 Ford Taurus GL given to me by my late Grandmother. She had only put 14,800 miles on it when I received in 1999. I thought it would be a very nice car for me to drive in college, but it turned out to be extremely unreliable and expensive to maintain. I had most of the same problems you had plus I had to replace the alternator twice in the 4 years I owned it! Overall, I ended up spending over $7,000 in repairs in 4 years. I finally traded it in after the transmission went out at 53,000 miles! The car wasn't worth the money to fix it. Besides I was able to somehow get $1,000 trade-in for the junker. I will never own a Ford Taurus again!!! Bad car.

1987 Ford Taurus L 2.5L from North America

Summary:

A great, inexpensive, reliable car

Faults:

Transmission totally died at 152000ks.

Heater core died shortly thereafter, and defective heater core was installed to replace it. It was again replaced.

The speedometer is very noisy, I have to guess at my speed (eg am I going 50 or 75? It jumps around like a Chevy on a dirt road).

I hate the hubcaps.

General Comments:

This is a fantastic car. Everything else replaced was normal maintenance (eg tires, brakes, bumpers)

The paint lasted 17 years and still looked great when painted. Very cheap on gas if you hardly press the pedal, and the A/C is very durable. Great car, would recommend it to anyone.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 3rd October, 2003

25th Jul 2006, 16:38

How is a speedometer noisy?

1987 Ford Taurus V6 from North America

Summary:

I'd rather have one of these than a Dodge Viper!

Faults:

At about 200,000 miles the transmission went out.

The car didn't have air conditioning when we got it.

General Comments:

This was a good reliable family station wagon. We used it for almost everything.

Watch the transmission after 150,000 miles.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know

Review Date: 19th July, 2003

1987 Ford Taurus GL 2.5L I-4 from North America

Summary:

The car that saved the American auto industry

Faults:

The car first experienced problems at 14575 when the fuel pump went out. Absolutely nothing else happened till 67549 when the A/C compressor died. It never worked right after I had it replaced. Soon, after 95000 miles the car literally began to fall apart. Transmission once, water pump numerous times, and not to mention three alternators. However, I really liked this car and would definitely drive one again.

General Comments:

This car is very comfortable, affordable, and nice looking. In the ten years I owned the vehicle I never once got tired of driving it. I still miss it to this day. My only wish is that it had the 3.0L V6 instead of the four banger. However, it was the eighties and everything had a four cylinder.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 14th August, 2002

1987 Ford Taurus LX Wagon 3.0L from North America

Summary:

It won't die!

Faults:

The Engine:

The 3.0 is a great engine, which is why Ford is still offering it as the base engine in the Taurus today. The only major things that went wrong with mine are the alternator, water pump, and ignition module. All of the above went out at around 100K miles.

The Body:

The doors rusted to heck soon after we bought it. I guess this was before rust prevention was a big deal to Ford, as the fasteners that held the LX style trim on the sides allowed water into the doors, while the trim held it there.

My father was the one who bought the car, and after he was side-swiped by a garbage truck (crinkling up the passenger's side, with no damage to the functioning of the doors) he gave me the car. He had just bought a Focus. I didn't treat it too well. I got it stuck in a ditch twice, got hit by a GELOC crane in the rear driver's side corner, knocking out that window (covered the hole with a piece of shower curtain) and knocked out a fender by hitting the corner of a haywagon while doing backwards donuts in a wet lawn. I replaced the fender myself. It was fun.

The thing that really did the car in was sliding off the road and hitting a tree going backwards at about 30 MPH. That's what I get for driving in a blizzard on Michigan country roads. This accident demolished the tailgate, but since the lights all still worked, I drove the car for another 2,500 miles.

General Comments:

I got laughed at a lot for the horrific body damage. I did the laughing when I drag raced better-looking, but slower cars and won.

You can't kill this car. I still have it around, although since I have a '99 Mystique (I've written a review for it as well) I don't drive the Taurus (a.k.a. The BattleWagon) much.

Since I had the LX trim level, this car had all the goodies. I love the digital dash, and both the driver and the passenger are treated to power seats with lumbar support. Exceedingly comfortable, but so-so performance. It's a station wagon, after all.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 15th July, 2002

20th Jan 2003, 10:53

I drove my LX wagon to 317,000 plus miles, before parking her due to rust. She still looks great, but the welded body seams are blown apart underneath (Minnesota/Wisconsin wintertime salt).

Purchase cost was $5,000 (used with 69,000 miles) in 1991. I replaced two water pumps, two alternators, the front brake linings and rotors (once), and did one extensive tuneup (plugs, wires, distributor cap) in 250,000 miles. She only stranded me once, with a failed ignition module at about 150,000 miles.

This car handled like a dream, accelerated like a SHO, and was cheaper than dirt to drive and maintain. Not including expendables (gas & oil), she cost me about two cents a mile to drive. When I parked her she still didn't burn oil between changes, and the original engine and transmission were still installed and operating well.

Would I buy another one? You betcha... already have.