should I buy?

Hello all, I'm looking to replace my Dodge Stratus with something else, and came across a nice 2000 Taurus SE today at the local Ford stealership. Its got 89K on the odometer and has the 24V DOHC motor. Spotless under the hood and inside the engine (from what I could see through the oil cap. Tranny fluid didnt smell burned and looked fresh, as well as the oil. Everything was clean, no strange noises even at temperature. Cold AC, plenty of power, and the tranny shifted beautifully.
The sales guy said the bigger motor got a beefier tranny than the vulcan 3.0L, not sure about this though. He said this car could go another 100K (though i'm sure all car salesmen are required to say this). Is this a good buy if I can get it for around $5k? I'm worried about the high mileage, but if the car is solid and reliable, and I can get another trouble free 30-40K miles out of her, I'm game. What do you think?

Have someone look at it with you, preferably a mechanic or pay to have it evaluated at another Ford or Mercury dealership. If it passes muster, then look up on the internet in www.kbb.com what the car would sell for private party and what you would get for it in trade. Offer somewhere in between. If it was well taken care of what they are telling you about it is likely.

yes, the duratec has a much better transmission than the vulcan and that sounds like a rather fair price.

Thanks for the info. Do the Tauruses with the duratech and X transmission have decent longevity beyond 100K miles before tranny or motor failure? And also, is this a timing belt engine, or is it a chain?

Transmission longevity on the Taurus, like any other car, depends upon how the car was cared for. Was the transmission abused? Were the mfr's suggested maint procedures followed? You can't tell on a car off a used car lot and please don't believe anything undocumented told you. No rubber timing belts on Ford V-6 engines.

also, the duratec isn't an interference engine, so if you do snap a timing chain, you just need to get it towed in and the chain replaced, no need to rebuild the top end.