how much is it worth?

Looking @ 2000 Taurus w/suspected head gasket blown. Car starts & idles fine. Coolant looks rusty. Owner says it gets hot. Says he saw green coolant in the oil. I think I can do the headgasket, but was wondering how much I should offer him. Car is in decent shape in & out--not great. He's asking $2k, which I think is way too much. Tranny fluid is dark, but not burned. Don't know if motor is worth saving, or best to get a used one & drop in there. Thanks.

2000 the average mileage would be around 100K to 125K and if it was in good condition with good tires, brakes, AC blows cold, everything works and no problems it should bring $3,500. to $4,000. Another thing I would definitely like to see are maintenance records, oil changes and was the tranny fluid changed. How about the belts and water pump? A/C compressors are expensive so was it ever replaced? I say $2K is way to much because if you buy it you're hanging out all over the place.

What if the head gaskekt(s) are blown and the block is cracked? Badda-bing! New, (or rebuilt), engine and what if the tranny goes shortly after you buy it? You could easy sink another three or four grand in it and fact of the matter is you are buying pig in a poke until you get into the engine and determine exactly what is wrong with it. IMHO, there isn't a used car dealer anywhere that would give him over $300. for it. I think I'd keep looking for a good $4,000. car and have done with it. Now, if you're a good mechanic and can do the work yourself, . . . that's a different story.

Here you go, punch in some numbers and see what it's worth.
http://www.edmunds.com/tmv/used/2000/ford/taurus/index.html

I'd tell him what Edmonds says it's worth and if he gets it fixed then you give him private party price, but buying any car with multiple problems for two grand is asking for trouble.

I agree, you could get into it and find serious issues. Unless you really are looking for a project that will just get you an average, common car when you are done, then you may end up okay. However, there is a good chance, just like Huney1 said, this will turn into a thorn in your side. Or, you will get part way in to it, decide it is not what you hoped it would be, then try to sell it disassembled and take a severe hit in what you can sell it for, not running. Still a thorn in your side.

Huney1's suggestion of using the money you'd otherwise plan to invest in this car an picking up a running Taurus, or other car, is a good one in this case, I'm afraid. Any indication that the transmission has not been well maintained, such as dark fluid, should be incentive enough to leave this one alone.

-Rod

I also agree with the others. I have a 2002 Taurus and have had "SEVERAL" issues with the head gaskets. Blown head gasket twice and cracked one head later, then both heads. Machine shop told me the 3.0 vulcan is NOTORIOUS for cracking heads. My advice would be to buy something like a Honda, Toyota, which will last forever. Have a Honda accord (2000 model) with 390,000 miles. Burns no oil and in good shape.

I also agree with the others. I have a 2002 Taurus and have had "SEVERAL" issues with the head gaskets. Blown head gasket twice and cracked one head later, then both heads. Machine shop told me the 3.0 vulcan is NOTORIOUS for cracking heads. My advice would be to buy something like a Honda, Toyota, which will last forever. Have a Honda accord (2000 model) with 390,000 miles. Burns no oil and in good shape.
*I have never heard of the Vulcan engine being notorious for head gaskets. this is the 3rd Taurus I have onwed with the vulcan. Never had a problem with head gaskets, never known anyone to have problems with head gaskets neither.
*As far as buying a Honda or Toyota over a Ford because they "last forever" is nothing more than one's own opinion or experience. I personally owned a Honda with only 40,000 miles on it and it was nothing but problems. A Ford, Chevy, Dodge, or any other make can be just as good as a Honda or Toyota. One thing to keep in mind is if you are buying a higher mileaged car is parts for domestic are generally a lot cheaper than for foreign cars. In my experience I have find the same about service. Myself, it is my preference to owning nothing other than a Ford. They are fairly easy to work on myself and parts are usually reasonable. And besides, a 2000 Taurus has a lot for power and a lot more room than 2000 Accord or Camry.
Just my :2cents:

"Machine shop told me the 3.0 vulcan is NOTORIOUS for cracking heads."
I've been hangin' out here for a'while now and very seldom I see a thread about cracked heads. I do see a lot of blown headgaskets, HOWEVER, overheating is the number one cause of blown head gaskets, and that applies to all makes and models, foreign and domestic.

Please allow me to profess a senario all to often repeated to the vehicle owners chagrin. John Q is driving down the road and notices the heat gauge in the Hot zone. OK, no big deal, it's only a couple miles to my house or the next gas station so driving it couple more miles won't hurt so I'll drive it on home or wherever. At this point please allow me to get your thinking in line. Normally most modern engines run just below the boiling point of water, 212F, and the only reason they don't boil over is because of anti-freeze and a pressurized cooling system. Your reservior cap goes bad and the grommet hardens and won't hold pressure the coolant leaks out and you overheat. I know a guy that drove his until the bearing siezed up, was on I-95 and it was only five miles to the next exit. DUH?

I flew aircraft and one thing they drum into your head is SCAN YOUR ENGINE GAUGES at least twice a minute. Tell the truth now, when you're driving how often do you look at the temp and oil pressure gauges? Anyway, take this as Gospel truth; If you see any of your gauges out of range immediately pull over to a safe palce and shut down your engine immediately. I don't care how close a gas station is, find a safe place and shut down the engine. WHY? Well, the gauges are telling you the engine is unhappy and it wants you to stop it NOW. OK, you do that and now what?

Replacing head gaskets can cost $1500. and even if you DIY it's a real big project and a royal pain in the behind. It's hot so what now? This might come as a big surprise but the first thing is LET IT COOL OFF BY ITSELF! Get it towed or go have a cup of coffee and let it cool down. If it's hot you're going to wait at least two or three hours before you think about putting water in it. Someone comes along wanting to take the cap off the reservoir to let the steam out that is the worst thing you can do. If you can put your finger tips on the valve cover and leave them there for THIRTY seconds then it should be cool enough.

It's cooled down, so now what. Fill the resevoir with water and crank the engine and make sure the reservoir stays full until the t'stat opens and forces the air out of the cooling system, and be sure to turn the heater on wide open so's the heater core gets filled to. Race the engine a few times and keep checking the coolant level in the reservior. (Water = coolant or water and anti-freeze.) Now here comes the hard part. Fill a five gallon can with clean water and bring a funnel and go take a test drive and don't go far from the house. WATCH THE TEMP GAUGE CLOSE and the first hint it's overheating stop immediately. Let it cool down and you have plenty of water to refill the reservior.

Well, what about the cracked head? Take a Pyrex (glass) dish and you can heat it up to 400F degrees and it's good to go, however, it's hot and you put cold water in it ONE TIME, . . . CCRRAACCKK! Now relalte that senario to a hot engine and our hero manages to get the reservior cap off without making cooked lobster of his hand and immediately puts the water hose in to fill it with COLD WATER. He just messed up big time because he may or may not have had a blown head gasket and let it cool off by itself then fill it he may have been on the road again. But now he cracked the block and/or head(s). So, who's fault is that? Fords? Hondas? BMW's? Dodge? Chevy? No Sir, it's not because the engine manufacturers used 'sorry' material in their engines. It is 100% attributable to the ignorance of someone who did not know how to deal with a overheated engine IN THE PROPER MANNER.

I hope this has some impact on our forum participants because metal is a wonderful thing, but like ALL things in physics, it does have it's limitations as to what it can and can not tolerate. One of the saddest days in our history, the World Trade Centers 9-11 attack. The steel beams and girders were strong enough to withstand the impact of a big jet airliner, and they stood firm and didn't fall UNTIL the burning jet fuel took the beams to a very intense heat so hot they began to bend and sag as if the metal was being melted and thus compromised the structrual integrity of the building design. In other words, the supports were asked to do something they were NOT designed to do and as such they failed and my heart goes out to those associated with the disaster.

All this and if you absorb only one piece of information, let it be this; Hot metal and cold water do not make for happy bunk mates. If it overheats let it cool off and it's own pace by itself and the engine will lick it's wounds and recover the best it can. Make no mistake, todays engines are marvelous pieces of engineering and vehicle companys spent hundereds of thousands of dollars on research to make them better. No engine is maintenance free and when you fail to follow a regimented maintenance schedule outlined in your owners manual you are looking for trouble. Remember the song I think by Aerosmith, "She'll play Ruissian Roulette but she loads all six . ."

well said Huney1

well said Huney1
Thanks old Buddy. Yeah, I rally needed to vent because I don't think the motoring public has yet accepted or come to the realization that WITH PROPER CARE AND CIVILIZED DRIVING HABITS TODAYS VEHICLES WILL RUN 200,000 MILES. Not saying they don't make a lemon or some engines not as good as others, but as a general rule, . .. "it's ALL good." I mean, like, my goodness, they all have three years or 36K miles warranty and now a lot have 60,000 and 100,000 miles limited warranty. Yes Sir, that's strong and it tells me somebody has a great deal of confidence in their product.

Monkey time weather here in the deep South so a'fore it gets so hot let me get started on my Honey Do's 'cause when I gits done Ma'ma said she has a surprise for me. <Grin> :naughty:

"Save water - Don't bathe." ;-{

Thanks old Buddy. Yeah, I rally needed to vent because I don't think the motoring public has yet accepted or come to the realization that WITH PROPER CARE AND CIVILIZED DRIVING HABITS TODAYS VEHICLES WILL RUN 200,000 MILES. Not saying they don't make a lemon or some engines not as good as others, but as a general rule, . .. "it's ALL good." I mean, like, my goodness, they all have three years or 36K miles warranty and now a lot have 60,000 and 100,000 miles limited warranty. Yes Sir, that's strong and it tells me somebody has a great deal of confidence in their product.

Monkey time weather here in the deep South so a'fore it gets so hot let me get started on my Honey Do's 'cause when I gits done Ma'ma said she has a surprise for me. <Grin> :naughty:

"Save water - Don't bathe." ;-{
I agree people don't seem realize its all about preventive maintence. With cars the old saying "if its not broke, dont fix it" doesnt really apply to cars. I much rather replace something in my driveway before its broke rather than replacing on the side of the road when it is broke.

Its a little chilly today up here in northen NY, working on the Honey Do list indoors today.