The car goes through brakes fairly quickly. Rotors warp quickly and many mechanics will not turn them as they are composite rotors. However, they are a cheap replacement.
Transmission is beginning to fail - slips or completely disengages at times. It also has started to hesitate when switching gears.
I drive the Taurus pretty hard and have been happy that it has taken the stress without much complaint.
After 178000 miles, I expect a few things to start going bad - transmission, engine seals, etc.
It has served me well and I am considering a newer Taurus as a replacement for when this one finally dies.
The newer Tauruses are much less reliable.. when I say "newer" I mean '96 and on.. You should keep the one you have.. Trust me when I say it is worth fixing. That 3.0 is a great engine.
Note: A Comments RSS Feed 
is available. New comments appear in the Members Area before the main site