97 Ford Taurus any good?

[SnipesXxX]

I seen a sharp 97 Taurus with 107,000 miles on it for $1950. Has a 3.0 v6 in it. Wondering are these pretty reliable cars even with high mileage?

[keroo_c]

I"ve found mine to have a lot of minor electrical problems, but not too many major problems. In about 100k miles, I've probably sunk around $3000 in repairs outside of reasonable maintenance.

[TomV]

I just gave my niece the same car you are looking at. What a nice uncle! I only replaced the water pump, rear wheel cylinders, power brake booster, windshield washer switch on steering wheel stalk, front rotors and camshaft sensor/synchronizer. As indicated in the earlier post, the other stuff was regular maintenance (brake pads, plugs & wires, various filters, fluids, etc).

I felt very comfortable giving her the car for her local college commute. We drove the car 600 miles on rte 95 to get it to her. Being here in Maryland, there was no rust on the car, so that was quite a bonus over any local car she could find in Maine. Never had a problem with keeping it aligned or starting up. Rides very smoothly even with 105,000 miles.

[Millermagic]

The weak point in the transmission - that's kinda a popular thing. Keep the fluid fresh (ever 10 or 20k miles) and it should last for quite a while.

[Willyum]

You're looking at a 10 year old car, it mostly depends upon the condition and how it's been kept. Is a good idea to have an independent evaluation of the vehicle, Ford dealers do this for a fee that recently was under $100. If they find anything, good or bad, the report is invaluable.

[Taurusgal112]

I have a 97 Ford Taurus with 131,125 miles on it and its still going strong.I have had some problemes with it but other wise its a reliable car and runs great.I love mine.

[Colt Hero]

I've got a '97 3.0 GL also. Bought it new. 142k miles now. No major bills, only $150 for a CamShaft sensor and Synchronizer and $35 for a new VSS sensor, but that's misleading because I've done all work myself. Had a professional serviced this car, the bill would almost surely be AT LEAST $3000 at this point due to the issues that arose with the tranny and cooling system.

These cars are basically good vehicles but they have some very well-known issues. My father bought a '97 Taurus GL on my recommendation and had the very same problems with his used vehicle that I had with my new one (except slightly more severe). Watch out for bad sensors (CMP, VSS), gunked up cooling systems, and soft trannys. Change the tranny fluid every other year. Flush the coolant every year. Backflush the heater core, as the gunk in the system will block it up every winter. Of course, change the oil every 3k miles. The engines on these cars are actually pretty good (reliability-wise), but that gets lost amidst the other complaints. If your Taurus has the 3.0 Vulcan engine, don't expect great pickup. Mine is anemic and pings a lot. But as long as I make it to 200k, I'll consider it a good purchase.

[Scrapper]

i didn't see power sterring but there bad on them going out...