Thinking of buying a 1999 Taurus SE.

It has 110,000 miles, very good to excellent cond., and is located at a local dealership. They are asking $5000 but will take $3950. Is this a good deal and are there any common problems associated with this year and model? My father seems to think that the Taurus's auto trans. had problems in the 90's. Any info would be greatly appreciated.

I have a '99SE 24V (purchased used in 2001 with 21K). The only problem I had with it was a bad fuel pump around 24K and some fuel return valves on top of the fuel tank. Other than that it's been a fairly decent car- it has about 67K on it now. I do yearly trans fluid exchanges through the trans dipstick using a suction pump. The newer transmissions have been pretty good. You may want to check out the Taurus car club www.tauruscarclub.com

Taking on any vehicle with that many miles comes with a certain amount of risk. You need to thoroughly check the car, if you can't do it, pay someone to do it. You'll likely have no way to know if the transmission service intervals were performed so pay particular attention there. Look for missing or broken parts and worn spots. A good brake job and good set of tires can add another $1000 to your cost if they aren't up to par. Even in good shape, you can expect routine maintenance to be more than on a lower mileage car.
Don't fall in love with it before you know it is a sound machine.

Does it have the 24valve DOHC or the Vulcan pushrod engine?

From you user name you appear to be in Oklahoma and probably around Stillwater.

You should be able to get a 110K 99 loaded taurus in Oklahoma for around 2500 for a Vulcan and around 2800 for a Duratec.

The cars don't hold their value at all.

Yes I would be suspect of a Taurus tranny with a 110K on it if you have no idea of the cars history.

Mike
:smokin:

I think the biggest concern would be the transmission. But 5k is quite a bit even for one with less miles.

I bought a 99 with 65,000 miles and six months later the transmission went out. The guy at the transmission shop did say it was an unusual failure for this transmission. Something about a weld breaking on the sun gear, which then broke off and got crushed into pieces. I have had numerous other smaller problems with the car - leak in the A/C system, malfunctioning damper in the heating system, etc.

Ouch! I just purchased a 99 se, got it for 1500. but it looks like it may have been through a nasty divorce. Scary thing it's the nicest car i've ever had, transmission flush is on tap very soon! phil

I've got a 98 Taurus SE with 115K on it. I've not had any major problems, just the normal maintenance issues. I've had the tranny serviced at the normal intervals and the car continues to run well. But I agree, the seller is asking way too much for a Taurus with that many miles, even if it is clean. Good luck.