Is A Ford Taurus A Good Used Car?

Question

I saw a 2004 Taurus SES fully loaded with some warranty left and around 30K miles for just under $10 grand ($9900).
I looked up the new price and 3 years ago it was about $25,000.
Why do they depreciate so fast? Is there something wrong with them?
It looks like a nice car and drives really nice. It is exactly what I am looking for in size, options and price.
I looked at a 2003 Chevy Impala almost the same size and it was $12,000.
I told the salesman about the Taurus being 2,000 less and he basically said you get what you pay for.
What car would be best for me. BTW only diff is the Impala is out of warranty.

Answer 1

The Taurus is a better deal in this case.
The reason why Tauruses depreciate so fast is because so many of them were dumped into rental fleets. Fast forward a few years later, and the rental fleets in turn dumped these clean, two to three year old Tauruses into the used car market. Since nobody wants a Taurus, classic supply and demand comes into play.

The Taurus is a decent car, and while the list price is $25K, whoever was the previous owner paid nowhere near that amount.

While the Taurus is outclassed by the Camry and Accord, it's still safe, cheap to maintain, and pretty reliable.

Plus it still has a little bit of warranty left.

Answer 2

First thing you should do is take it to a qualified mechanic for a FULL INSPECTION. Let them know that you are thinking of purchasing it and would like to know their opinion on the price, condition of the car, etc.

Personally, I won't buy a Taurus because of a poor experience I had with an older model Taurus. Having said that, if you like the car and the mechanic says that it's in good condition it's not a bad deal for that model/year/milage.

GOOD LUCK, and remember the best answer thingy.

Answer 3

The basic difference between the Impala and the Taurus, is that the Impala is the top of the Chevrolet line, while the Taurus is the bottom of the Ford line. The Taurus is a good car, but it is a starter car, for people that are getting a first car. It is inexpensive, and for what you describe would probably suit your needs.

Answer 4

I have a 98 Taurus that was a company car for Coca Cola before I got it. It was well taken care of in their own shop while in use. I've had it for two years, it has 135000.00 miles on it and it is a good running, comfortable,dependable, and ideal sized car. I wish I could find another one just like it. Look into buying a fleet car like that with a good maintenance history.

Answer 5

The late model Ford Taurus is a HORRIBLE car. One of the worst ones ever marketed in the US. I'd sooner drive a Yugo.

Answer 6

Hi
You can get really good used cheap cars from auctions , you will find thousands of different auction and repo cars of all kinds of models really cheap at http://www.carauctiondeals.com
Hope this helps

Answer 7

the undertaking with Taurus' is their transmissions tend to have issues. it incredibly is, bypass out. and that they are very, very costly to rebuild or replace. I owned one I drove for a year devoid of difficulty. I owned yet another for about 4 days in the previous the transmission went out.

Answer 8

I would think unless you cart around a lot of things and or people that with gas hoovering around three dollars per gallon you would look for something more economical. Either one are good autos ....