1992 Mercury Sable GS from North America - Comments

1. TRANSMISSION AXOD-E

2. Temperature gage

3. Rear stabilizers

4. Passenger side strut

5. Inner/outer tie rods front

6. Power steering makes loud noise.

7. Rear window defroster.

I bought this car used in November of 2004. Within the 1st month of ownership the above mentioned things went wrong.

I bought the car from a private dealer for $2,100 (I know, I paid too much), but the body is in *perfect* condition and everything else seems to work, even the air conditioner.

Within the first 1,000 miles I noticed that the transmission wouldn't immediately shift into 2nd gear from 3rd when I had to accelerate from a partial stop. The engine would rev as though it was in neutral before popping into gear.

I took it to AAMCO who confirmed the tranny was dying. I then called the dealer, who after some arguing agreed to pay for a re-built tranny.

An honest man that is making good on his mistake! The man has a spotless record for selling vehicles and stated that "even though I stated that there is no warranty on this vehicle, I will make good on the tranny." Suffice to say, the poor guy took a loss on this transaction.

I am NOT done yet. The temp gage needs replacement. The front inner/outer tie rods need replacement. God forbid I have to make an emergency maneuver, I'll be dead. I also need an alignment.

What a THIRSTY car! Goes through gas worse than a Ford Excursion.

I bought this car as a back up car for the winter, and as a beat around car. I also know that I would survive in an accident if hit. My previous back-up car was a 1989 Ford Taurus, and of course, just about everything was re-done including engine and tranny.

I made a mistake, thinking the 92 model was better. I am guilty of poor judgment.

It's a 12 year old car with what I would assume is a great deal of miles. Yes some things went wrong with it, but hey, all cars need work eventually! If it were a 2002 Mercury Sable, then I would have to agree with you.

Why would you spend the money to fix the temp gauge???

It's not a new car! You say it's a winter beater.

Fix the tie rods and drive the thing until it dies.

You're right!

You should have known better than to buy a Ford product with over 100k miles.

They're junk when they're new.

What do you expect now?

You bought a 12 year old car with 130K miles and expected a warranty?

Consider yourself lucky that the dealer agreed to pay for your rebuilt trans. Most dealers selling a 130K mile vehicle for $2100 would have told you T.S.

Your other complaints are only the sort of things you would expect on an old high mileage car.

You seem to have unrealistic expectations of what $2100 should get you.

There's a reason why a decent new car now costs over $5K!

I think you would be extremely fortunate to find a decent car for $5000. I think nowadays it's closer to $10,000.

I am the author of this Sable review.

Please understand that I knew what I was getting into, but didn't expect the transmission to go out within the first 2 weeks of ownership! I bought it from a dealer, which means by NY State Law the Dealer is obliged to make sure the car is in salable condition. He/She is bound legally to make sure that a car is not sold in poor condition. Thee is no such thing called "As Is" to a NYS Dealer.

I accept all the other problems.

Final analysis here is that if you are looking for a good USED car, avoid Sable/Taurus during the 90's.

If you are looking for a good older vehicle with plenty of cargo space, and decent winter traction, I suggest looking at an older Pathfinder. They are extremely reliable, but a bit thirsty. Expect 15-17 mpg.

You can't beat them for reliability.

I own a 92 Merc Sable GS sedan I bought last year with 132K on it, and have drivin it over 13K since I bought it. I paid 100 bucks for it, it's an R-title car. I bought it knowing it had the mileage and titled the way it was. I also couldnt resist the deal, being that I needed a car quite quickly and live near a junkyard (where they are as common as in a car lot, if not more, which is good.). I put in a windsheild from the junkyard, a bumper, and a lightbar centrepiece. The junkyard bill for these parts didn't even total 70$. I bought new chinabrand rotors and some raybestos brakelinings and calipers for the front (raybestos is the bestest! IMHO), and got it inspected. Since then, I have blown out steam trails for 10 miles and got home to find my water pump went, that was about 40 bucks and a 3 hour fix in the driveway. I then blew a coolant line elbow out on the way to work in the winter. Check engine light came on, turned down the stereo, and heard the motor tappin away so I pulled off and limped it to a friends garage after letting it cool a few times in the breakdown lane. That was a 40$ fix, not 200$ like the engine-to-heater line would cost normally, they can mend the line with a rubber elbow. It needs new rear struts, and the front ones clunk a lot and probly need replacing too. This doesn't bother me though. Heck, the thing had deployed, then cut, and hidden airbag remnants when I bought it hidden within the cracked dashboard. This car was run into 4 deer and a drainage ditch by it's first and only owner before me. I still say it's a great car and I love it. I have recently had a leak on the power steering fluid return hoze fixed (loose clamp) and now my TPS sensor once in a while acts up, causing the car to rev to 2grand in idle, but I leave it go, it makes the car real warm inside in winter that's very good. Oh - almost forgot, I ripped out the AC unit and replaced the belt with a non-ac belt because it caused the car to not start. Final word is, it's a ford, I love it to death do us part, it's better to me than any woman has ever treated me and doesn't complain or cost nearly as much. It just drive wonderfull and does the one thing it needs to - Get me from point A to point B!!! :)

Hey man I have a mercury sable.

The transmission started slipping at 127'346 miles.

I never got it fixed.

I now have almost 650'000 miles on the car.

And did you know that the 3.0 L engine can run on ethanol.

Yeah that's right if you ran ethanol in your car I can assure you that it will clean the engine out and it will be like brand new again. And also if you buy a car with a hundred thousand miles on it (if the previous owners ran gas in it) it is going to have problems.

"If you are looking for a good older vehicle with plenty of cargo space, and decent winter traction, I suggest looking at an older Pathfinder. They are extremely reliable, but a bit thirsty. Expect 15-17 mpg. You can't beat them for reliability."

If you want an extremely reliable older vehicle with plenty of cargo space and which gets BETTER than 20mpg with a v8, get a mid/late-80s Grand Marquis, Park Colony (for Fords), chrome-bumpered Bonneville, or a Caprice Classic wagon.

I am the original poster of this review. I ended up selling th car for $750. Way too many things were going wrong too fast. The last straw was the chassis breaking. I got it fixed, but sold it shortly thereafter.

I AM THROUGH WITH FORD FOREVER! Besides, this company is in major trouble!