1st Mar 2008, 22:58
Oh my I seemed to have the same exact problem as the original comment! I bought it for 3,500 and on 2 separate occasions I have put $600 in one trip to the mechanic. My heater core blew so I had to get it by passed, then I moved to Michigan and had to get a new heater core. I have easily put an additional $3,500 into the thing between motor mounts, struts, radiators, heater pipes, hoses, starters, belts, axles, alternators... For the $ I was putting in it each month, I was better off financing a new car.
2nd Mar 2008, 10:54
Folks, when you buy a 10-year-old car, you have to make sure that you're caught up on maintenance. Immediately change the oil, the spark plugs, the transmission fluid and filter, flush the cooling system, change the air and fuel filter, check the brakes. Yeah, a car with 100,000 miles is most likely going to need a brake job. The brakes didn't just go bad in the 1 week since you owned it.
The transmission fluid and filter are suppose to be changed at least every 60,000 miles, but you can bet the original owner never bothered. Nor did they bother to flush the sludge and scale out of the cooling system for the last hundred thousand miles. Gotta take care of stuff.
2nd May 2010, 23:34
I had a 1995 Taurus GL Wagon, which had the same problems as yours! It warped the brake rotors at an alarming rate, the cruise control suddenly engaged and opened the throttle all the way while I was trying to park it, and the motor mounts failed, as did the head gaskets and transmission.
During this car's lifetime of 150,000 miles, it went through three engines and two transmissions -- and I'm a very gentle and responsible driver.
After my experiences, I can't recommend that version of the Taurus to anyone looking for reliability. If you want genuine rickety Soviet-era motoring thrills, I'd direct you to one of the many fine products from such distinguished Communist automakers like Lada or Moskvitch -- they offer comparable quality with a much smaller price tag.
24th Aug 2006, 19:47
The radiators leak in the Taurus because they are made of plastic and metal which expand/contract differently. When cold, there is a small gap allowing coolant to ooze out. This gap seals shut once the rad has heated up. I had this problem with an 1990 Plymouth minivan which I eventually solved by replacing with an all metal radiator.Unfortunately, I haven't been able to get an all metal rad for my 1995 Taurus. I just replaced it with the same OEM rad which I expect to leak again after a couple of years.