2001 ford taurus $999 cad (127,000 miles) good deal or nah

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hello a friend of mine is looking for a car to last him a few years until he sells it and upgrades.
he found a local 2001 ford taurus which seems to be a quick sell, the price seems low to me. with i assume the most basic engine, main thing it has 203,000 km which is about 127,000 miles and the owner said no problems
price is $1000 cad and he is firm. seems like a decent price especially since my friend is from a small city.

so what i wanted to ask is
1. any known problems with this vehcile or somehting that goes wrong with the engine or tranny? what do u think of the mileage?
2. buy or find a car with less km? for example if he goes to a bigger city a car with 140,000 km can be found for $2000 ish but its probably a saturn ion or something else from 2000-2005 ish

my original advice for him was try to find a car in the range of 160,000 km which seems about right for his budget. however this one seems like a good deal and is local so..

basically if he can skip the trip to a big city and it seems like this stock engine or tranny and other parts are good for about 1-2 years of mostly city and some highway driving he would be fine with driving it.


lmk thanks so much
 
Honestly for something that cheap I’d want to make sure the car is safe drive. The 2001 Taurus had its fair share of issues but if the whole car is rusted out or has some other major problem then those problems become mute.
 
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The 2001 Taurus and the Saturn ion are both decently reliable. Expect suspension issues with either one. The Taurus was know for leaky heater cores and front springs that would break. I’d avoid any Ion if it has a CVT trans. The Taurus trans is known for being weak but I believe Ford improved in them somewhat by 2001.
 
it's got a four speed auto trans & a rather large 3.0L engine.
prob. good for another 127k. Although the starter/alternator/waterpump will be going before 200k.
Cost of a cheap ride. Check the antifreeze(appearance/strength). And the engine core plugs for weeping.
 
If it's not too rusty, it's a good deal. Used car prices are high now, so any decent running car is worth $1000

Not a fan of the Taurus and Ion, but if there's nothing else wrong with it, why not? Like you said, it's cheap and local. The worst that could happen is you don't buy it. You aren't going a long distance out of your way

Get the newest least-rusty car you can afford. If you're lucky, you can find an Echo hatchback in your budget.
 
Had one for 12 years and got over 200k miles out of it. There were two engines, both 3.0L, one was the Duratec which had 200hp, the Vulcan was 155hp so the Duratec was the nicer engine. Both engine were good in terms of reliablity though. Transmission was also decent, got worse after 2003. Mine did kinda fail after around 200k, the torque converter went, was around $100 for it, but removing the transmission, fluid, labor etc was going to be around $1000 so I didn't bother and got rid of it. Starter lasted me the whole 200k+ but went through 3 alternators, thank goodness for lifetime warranties, much more difficult to change on the Duratec than on the Vulcan. Water pump was also original although I think I got lucky. All the hoses tend to eventually leak, the one behind the engine goes, and other ones that are only factory ones as they have weird fittings on them. The rear wheel wells tend to rust but maybe you can find them without it, depends how well maintained they were. Mine didn't have any as I kept it clean after a storm to keep the salt off it. Went through several sets of Monroe quick struts for front and rears, again lifetime warranty was handy. Original springs will sag in the rear, even has a name, SAS, sagging *ss syndrome. The quick struts would fix that though. If it's not an SEL model with the climate control, you can get that on eBay, haven't looked in a while but it was around $50 for it. Gets you the cassette player and then you can get an adapter and plug your phone in for audio. They made lots of them so parts are cheap and plentiful.
 
sounds good thanks so much!
the car looks in very good shape outside my main concerns for him are drivetrain and powertrain etc what do u guys think of the 127k miles
 
If you can find a mechanic that is willing to put it up on a lift and check underneath and make sure it will pass your inspection requirements, look at the fluids for thickeners and leaks and the test drive goes ok then its worth 1k, but I would bet it will need things like brakes, shocks, filters, tires. Nobody now sells a good running car that passes inspection for 1k.
 
I think we’re all in unison that if the car is clean $999 is a good price. They are fairly reliable transportation, just expect the usual items that might need replacing.
 
Well 127k is nothing, should be good for 200k no matter which engine you have. The Duratec came with the AX4N transmission but the Vulcan came with the AX4S although some of them came with the AX4N also. The AX4N was considered the better transmission although they're both decent. Engine failure of either was not common although if you blow the head gasket the cost of fixing them isn't worth it. At one point I had to replace the intake manifold gaskets as they developed a leak and the engine ran rough. Oil leaks on the Duratec were common, oil pan gasket needed to be replaced, but I never did it on mine, you had to disconnect the exhaust in order to drop the pan and it was a small enough leak that I didn't bother. If you have it up on a lift, check the flex pipe in the exhaust. I think I replaced the muffler a few times, but the cats were original the whole time. I replaced the upstream O2 sensors once at around 120k, never touched the downstream ones. It'd be a long list if I try to remember what I replaced over 12 years.
 
Have mostly had these. 1997-2013 MY. Have almost 300k original miles on my 2013. 220k on my 04 DOHC, never had issues at all. Rust killed it. If you're in the rust belt, the plastic covers (if they're on) for the rockers will probably reveal....nothing at all. Rear fenders rust so easily than I've seen on most others. Subframe control arm mounting area may be rotted away, super dangerous obviously. Factory rear springs sag. Can't think of anything really that is an issue, outside of rust. The OHV has a nice grunt noise but not much oomph. Never bothered me. The Duratec sounds more modern but a litter tighter to access some things. Check atf color, easy to change it with the filter but messy.
 
If the body, frame and tires are good, it would be worth a gamble to me. Common issues were transmission, sagging/ broken springs and front cover leaks with the front cover on the 3.0 Vulcan engine (SE MODEL). For that money expect to possibly have to renew brakes, battery, front end parts and maybe a leaky heater core at that age if it wasn't already done. Even if your friend gets a year out of it, they got their money's worth out of it. The SE model will have the older design "Vulcan" engine and the SES model will have the Duratec engine. Both are 3.0 L but the Durotec is a more advanced and powerful engine and an upgrade to the Vulcan engine. Both however will serve your friend well.
 
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Do not buy the car if it has the original struts and springs. Check the Taurus forums. The springs often break once they are at 150,000 miles and when they do, they rip open the tire, resulting in a possible fatal accident.

Also, the frame underneath the plastic trim panels are prone to rust. I replaced a speed sensor on my transmission when the shifts became erratic. The motor made it to 150,000 miles without problems.

In my opinion, it has too many miles, unless the struts and springs have been replaced. Here are some shots of what can happen to the strut spring, especially in the rust prone areas. The piece of spring broke off and the spring dug into the tire, luckily it happened on the driveway and not on the highway. This I found is not a isolated occurrence, judging from the Taurus forums. Good luck.

19828926-BC89-41C3-BF9A-C829E9A9CB17.jpeg3AA6D8D5-8253-462E-993E-86364CD71E6E.jpeg64FA80A2-5C60-4E7D-9CCF-DA0C07934B78.jpeg16BC2E4B-82A8-47D4-8134-150EC05912B5.jpeg52B60435-03D0-43C4-B90F-17AEB9F93412.jpeg
 
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We have had 3 or 4 of these in the extended family, shortest lived one (an 06) died of not worth fixing transmission woes at 160+k. The others, older like you are looking at, have marched along till well beyond that. At 1000 bucks I'd say it's easily a buy if it looks to be in decent shape.
 
thanks so all the replies! my friend went to go look at it but the seller was very sketchy and too pushy and said he could only drive around the block with him.. my friend backed out and also it seemed like all the front end parts were worn and factory. needed new brakes and struts for sure.

he is still looking for diff cars but he decided to up his budget a little just so he doesnt have to start changing parts right when he picks up the car
 
thanks so all the replies! my friend went to go look at it but the seller was very sketchy and too pushy and said he could only drive around the block with him.. my friend backed out and also it seemed like all the front end parts were worn and factory. needed new brakes and struts for sure.

he is still looking for diff cars but he decided to up his budget a little just so he doesnt have to start changing parts right when he picks up the car

Good call!
 
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