Taurus Wagon Purchase - Best Model Year?

Hello,

I drove my brother in laws when it was new in '86 Taurus Wagon and I thought it was a great car! Very Very "european" etc.

Well, the '96 Mustang GT I'm driving is now at 180,000 miles, and my needs have changed. I need a good wagon for tools, kids, projects, and better fuel economy (GT gets 20MPG in traffic, 25-26MPG on long trips @ 80MPH).

I want to get the youngest Taurus Wagon I can afford ($7K is my budget), but have been completely out of the loop on these cars, and their "problems". Which model years should I avoid? I want economy more than performance. What is a realistic mileage in bumper to bumper (25miles each direction in commute)? Long distance Mileage?

Thanks

Brian

San Dieogo, CA

Well, obviously, newer and lower mileage is better. But the 3rd generation (96-99) and 4th generation(00-07) Taurus and Sable are quite a bit more reliable than the previous generations. If you look around, you should be able to find an 00 or 01 for under 7k.

As far as engines go, I don't really think there is that much of a difference between vulcan and duratec engines.

Before you buy go to www.edmunds.com (http://www.edmunds.com) and www.kbb.com (http://www.kbb.com) and punch in the year, model, equipment, mileage and condition and they will give you a good idea of what it is worth. After you're sure it's a good good vehicle at a good price, make darn sure you run a CARFAX on it. www.carfax.com (http://www.carfax.com) Costs $20. and it can save you a whole lot of grief down the road, then you know it's history, where it lived and if it was a lemon buy-back, wrecks, flood victim, speedometer rolled back, etc.

you should be able to find an 00 or 01 for under 7k.
He should be able to do better than that if he's patient. We just bought a loaded '04 SEL for 7K :) I personally wouldn't buy anything other than a gen 4 Taurus. Regarding engines, the Duratec engine is much nicer than the vulcan. Once you drive one you won't want to drive the vulcan anymore. It also seems to get slightly better gas mileage. As mentioned make SURE you get a carfax. Most reputable dealerships will include one. Regarding mileage, more mileage does not necessarily mean that the car is worse, especially if the car has a Duratec engine. If the car was a fleet car and was used mostly on the freeway, that car will be in better shape (usually) than a city driven car with less miles, so it's all relative. It's always good to have a friendly neighborhood mechanic give the car the 'once over' before you buy it. Pay attention to the carpet on the drivers side. For some reason I've seen a ton of them with torn/worn carpets in that section. Anything after and including the '02 Taurus has received 4-5 stars from consumer reports car owners. The newer it is, the better the reports were. '04-'05's got almost perfect scores across the board.