Used 2004 Ford Taurus Consumer Reviews
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Very good value
Great car at a great price. Minimal maintenance outside of scheduled.
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Still driving mine with 300,000 miles
I purchased this car 10 years ago with just over 100,000 miles on it. It was in great shape. I believe I only gave $3,800 for it at the time? It is hard to beat for driveability and comfort. I guess the reason I have driven the car so long is that I really like it! Really haven't found anything I'm interested in trading for. However driving the car this long was sort of a mistake. I would have been much better off letting it go at about 200,000 miles. Little by little I replaced everything major on the car with the exception of the engine (seems perfect still) First big items was the catalytic converters. (3 of them in the Duratec model) $2,400. at 224,000 miles. Then the transmission let go with only 282,000 miles. That was another $2,400. Then a week later the A/C goes. $1,600. A week after that the power steering pump along with a very hard to replace line. $600. Still, I figure I've driven the car 200,000 miles for and investment of about $11,000 total. Of course I've replaces brakes, shocks, tires, plugs, filters, coil packs and things like that numerous times like you would in any car. I've suffered little from depreciation and in our state, taxes and license are almost free. Insurance is downright cheap. So....at this point I've got a really good car again. I'll keep driving it. At this point and time would I recommend doing the same thing I did? Probably not? The car is still a great car but in 2018 it is getting beyond it's freshness date. Transmissions, airconditioners and cats are expensive. However, a nice Grandma's garage 75,000 mile Taurus might be hard to pass up?
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Pretty good
Bought the car off a Ford dealer in 2006 with 25K miles for $10K. It needed tires about 2 years ago and I put on the expensive Goodyear Assurance Triple Treads. This team of tires and vehicle has been the best traction I have ever had in a 2 WD car. I began using it as a courier vehicle part time in 2008, putting on average 40K miles a year. Just went past 125K with only one $150 repair, and oil changes. Feels like I will break 200K getting 25-26 mpg highway and 19-22 city. I gave a little up on mpg for superior traction in all weather with these great tires. It's great to pass a stuck 4 WD car in the snow. May be the best car so far.
Troubled Taurus
The week after my girlfriend bought this car with 43000mi on it, she took it on a trip from central MN to Colorado. They encountered problems the entire way! It stalled 3 times in the mountains, twice needing to be jumped, and once more when they got back in MN. 5 trips to the dealer and 3 batteries later, we thought it was fixed. Now whenever the temp gets above 65 it will sputter at idle and accelerate like tortuise for the first 150 feet. Also, we started learning why this car is called "disposable" when parts started falling off and breaking in the interior. Not to mention the annoying heat shield rattle and fuel cap sensor! At least it gets 28mpg avg. We'll get a Malibu next time.
Great for long drives
I bought this Taurus because it was a reliable used car. It is a good car so far. The longer I own it the more I like it. It is a big comfortable car with very good gas mileage. I get 29 mpg on the highway and have never got less than 22 mpg. Last winter I had a problem with water leaking into the passenger floor. It turned out to be shoddy workmanship from the factory. This is a good car but Ford needs to keep improving on reliability. They are catching up with the Japanese and I think they can surpass them if they choose to do so.