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First off, LOVE this site! So, I recently was forced into this car when I decided to trade in my expedition because of gas prices. I went to a bunch of different dealers and they all kept pointing me towards the taurus because they are so cheap right now because of being discontinued. I finally agreed to do the trade. Before this car, whom I refer to as Grandma because that's all I see driving them, I drove a VW new beetle. So its quite a change for me! I love the beetle, but I will say after having 3 of them (98, 01, and an 04) they do have quite a few problems. Anyways aside from Grandmas uglyness the car isn't that bad. The V6 is pretty strong and is right there when you need it, it's a very smooth freeway ride, and is very roomy. I just wish the car wasnt so bland inside and out! Theres just not one thing special or remotely cool about this car! In about 6 months I will have saved up enough money to get out of it and will be back in something a lot more age appropriate, maybe the new toyota yaris or tc, or mazda3, or maybe the new jetta if I'm still a vw lover! I will be staying away from domestic from now on cause they just don't hold their value! Any suggestions on a new car would be much appreciated! ~E.
You were forced into the Taurus? That's laughable. If you didn't want the car, or felt it wasn't up to your "hipster" standards, then why on earth did you buy it? The Taurus, Camry, and Accord are all designed to offend the least amount of people as possible. They're nothing special. "Me too", in fact.
I recently rented a 2006 Taurus SEL and it has a remote control for the locks and trunk. Read your owners manual to see if it is mentioned in there.
To the guy needing two keys, feel lucky to have two keys now.
Right away go down and have a third key made before you loose a key. The reason being there is a computer chip in every key and the new key will cost around $35.00 to have made. Then you have to go through a transponder on board programming procedure to mate it with your car. The instructions can be found by doing a search on the Internet.
Basically stick in your good key and turn the switch to on and then back off.
Remove the key and within five seconds insert the second key and do the same. Then with in 10 seconds take the new key and turn to on for one second and back to off. You now should have a working new key.
However if you loose a key and haven't done this procedure then it will at the least cost you $35.00 for a new key and
over $95.00 for a lock smith to do a procedure.
So get a spare key made and keep two keys back in the lock
box. Kinda like pay me now or really pay me later.
Enjoy your ride.
To the person who wrote the review: While I cannot agree more that the Taurus is a boring granny-mobile, I think anyone who feels that they were "forced" into a car gets what they deserve. My future bro-in-law has a history of jumping at the nearest, cheapest car when looking and he's wound up with the most boring cars on the planet that he constantly complains about. I have no sympathy for people who do not shop around and get what they want the first time when they could afford to, and it seems that you could.
Seems like the reviewer changes vehicles a lot. Doesn't really have any valid complaints about the Taurus, probably has already traded it in on something else by now anyway.
I have to agree that the Taurus IS a boring grannymobile. My boring granny has one. I will say, however that they are incredibly well built and reliable cars, and cost thousands less than the less reliable Camry and dog ugly Accord. Now that they are no longer made they are the ABSOLUTE SOLID GOLD of used cars. They can be picked up at a VERY GOOD PRICE. I highly recommend shopping rental car agencies, as their cars are regularly serviced and well taken care of. My family has bought several former rental cars and saved from $4000 to $8000 on them. All have been absolutely mint with a lot of factory warranty still left. We currently have two former rental cars in the family, and one has over 270,000 miles on it, while the other is much newer and now has only 60,000 miles. Both have been absolutely FLAWLESS and never had a single problem. There are lots of used Tauruses coming up now on rental lots and the prices are UNBELIEVABLE!! I saw one with only 9,000 miles on it for $9995.
Regarding the previous rental agency Taurus, abused and poorly maintained by unqualified mechanics: I have one of those! A 2003 SES, bought it when it was only 2 1/2 years old with 40,000 miles on it, for a song. Strange thing though - I've had no problems with it! It's quiet, comfortable, highest safety rating you can get, good gas mileage, and handles great. Long live the Taurus!
Rental cars are some of the best deals around, and always better maintained than privately owned vehicles.
The Taurus is the best value out there. My nephew has one now that is approaching 200,000 miles with no problems at all.
My family has owned three former rental cars, including a Buick with 230,000 miles (and never a problem), a Toyota that was traded at 100,000+ miles and my current Pontiac which has 60,000 miles and has never had a single problem (not even a brake job yet).
It only takes ONE teen-age driver of a privately owned vehicle to do more damage in a WEEK than 1000 families on vacation or responsible business men can do to a rental car in 3 years.
"Orphaned" cars, such as the Taurus are absolutely the best buy in a used car on the planet. People fall for the myth that a discontinued car or a car that is popular with rental car companies is somehow "bad" or "unreliable". NOTHING could be further from the truth.
My family has bought several cars from rental car companies, and they have not only been some of the biggest bargains we ever found, but they have proven to be the best, most reliable cars we've ever owned.
I'm currently driving a 2001 Pontiac Grand Am that I bought as a "third car" from a rental car company over 4 years ago. The car is FLAWLESS and has never had one single problem. I enjoy it so much I generally prefer to drive it rather than my truck or luxury SUV.
Smart people look for good deals. Rental fleet Tauruses are some of the BEST on the planet.
If you were to buy a rental car from a company like, say, Hertz or Enterprise, you'd better believe that their fleets will usually be maintained; their fleets are what make them their money, so it's worth it to them to properly maintain their vehicles in order to ensure reliability. Otherwise, they'd have to make amends to the customer, and THAT is what costs them money.
Now, I won't say that ALL rental fleets are maintained because there will always be examples of rental agencies that don't. But, it's a safe bet that most, particularly those from large companies, such as Avis, do.
This is usually why buying from a rental fleet can be a safer bet. However, it is still advised that the seller does what they can to make sure their choice is good or not by getting the vehicle's condition verified before taking the plunge.
My family always makes it a point to get ALL our vehicles that are purchased used from any source offering a warranty (we refuse to buy from individuals, it's way too risky) checked out in the first week of use. We've bought three from major rental companies and ALL were given an "A-1" rating. Rental cars have been the most reliable cars we've ever bought used. The WORST used vehicle we ever bought was a foreign sports car bought used from a private seller (a prominent local doctor) who "took GREAT care of it". I guess that's why it fell apart in ONE YEAR?? That's why we NEVER buy from private sellers now!!
I shopped around for several months and was mainly looking at Toyotas. I happened by the Ford dealership and just wandered about and the Taurus caught my eye. I went home and did a lot of research on the internet and also asked people that owned them how they felt about the car. Not one bad thing did I find. The safety and reliability is what sold me. I ended up buying a 2006 Taurus SEL that was a rental with low mileage and plenty of warranty left on it. No problems and my kids are much more comfortable in it than the Toyota I was driving. I am now loyal Ford customer.
21:05 You researched? And you couldn't find one negative thing on a FORD car? And you bought a FORD CAR because of its reliability? WHAT!?! I have no idea what you read or where you found it; maybe at the Ford dealership, but OUTSIDE of the Ford dealership, pick up ANY other publication that you can find and see how they review Ford's overall. Not very good. Pick up any Consumer Reports magazine printed in the last 15 years, and read the "used cars to avoid" portion of it. It's littered with almost every Ford car that they ever made. Your car will end up on that list too. Ford didn't magically make one good car just for you all of the sudden.
I want some of whatever "27th May 2007, 18:30" was smoking. We have plenty of people coming here telling us about their Ford vehicles that are approaching 300,000 miles, without any problems, then here he comes - a person who has probably never so much stepped into a Ford vehicle - and he's telling us how reliable our cars are.
How much is Toyota paying you?
I'm sure a Ford owner would like to believe that Toyota is paying me for my comments. What I'm smoking is called 'reality'.
And yeah, I've owned a Ford before. ONLY ONE. My first and last Ford. I'm ashamed that I bought one when there was a Toyota dealership right down the street, but we all make mistakes.
I've seen thousands of Fords in my lifetime, and have known hundreds of people that owned them, and I have seen VERY few make it to 200,000, and have never seen one get anywhere close to 300,000. You know, and I know, that is about a one in a million prayer for a Ford owner. However, almost everyone that decides to keep a Toyota for that many years will get 300,000 on the original engine and drivetrain. It's pretty easy for a Ford owner to type '300,000' on the keyboard and pretend that their Ford actually would go half that far. We Toyota owners do this in reality.
Here's a TRUE story about Ford for you; a good friend of mine, a co-worker I've know for years, has a father in-law who works at a Ford dealership. A few years back, he sold my friend an Escape. It has been nothing but trouble since day ONE. He thought he got a good deal on it, now he knows better.
Last week, his father in law tried to tell him he must have just gotten a lemon, and talked him into leasing a Ford Sport-trac (I think that is what the piece of junk is called). It has a V-8 in it, and it tells you what kind of average gas mileage you are getting. After 2 days, he is getting TEN POINT TWO!! miles to the gallon, FAR below EPA estimates (which is typical of a Ford), and on the THIRD day of ownership, a Saturday, he tried to pull his very small camper behind it, and the transmission leaked fluid before he got to the end of his 50 foot long driveway! What a joke!
So now, his father in law is trying to tell him that it's just a glitch, and that after the piece of junk breaks in, he'll get better mileage (and maybe the transmission will just fix itself magically, I don't know).
I wouldn't trade my 10 year old Tacoma for anything that Ford makes, or has ever made. It'll still be running perfectly, just as it always has, LONG after this Ford is in the junkyard, where it belongs.