Memorial day was the demise of our late great 2006 Taurus
It was a basic SE, with convenience package, light tundra metallic over grey cloth
Column shift, no ABS, rear drums
But spoiler, alloys, keyless entry
It started life as a Budget rental car, but after 6 months and 5k, it wound up at Scarsdale Ford, where my father traded his tired retired car service '96 Crown Vic for the $500 down payment
I remember riding home in the back of it (I was 9/10 years old) thinking how fancy (keyless entry) and comfortable it was (cloth not cold vinyl) coming from the former police Crown Vic
A matching green vehicle next to my mother's van (2001 Villager)
We had it for many years, me and my twin sister both learned to drive in it, I took and passed my road test in it, my mother begrudgingly drove it when the Villager was out of commission (later discovered by me to be a bad FPR)
Well one day fall of '19, it blew a brake line at the stop sign on the corner coming home while my dad was driving it, so it got laid up for the winter, we got by without it
2020 was quite a decade, so when me and my dad were home in lockdown, we got busy reinstating it
Got a Dorman stainless steel brake line kit, new rubber flex hoses all around and a new master cylinder+wheel cylinders, new battery, oil change, etc
Finally got the registration renewed, easily passed inspection, and it was on the road
Far from inspiring transportation, but inoffensive, reliable, cold A/C and hot heat, and with ~60k on it, a far better first car for my sister than her friends could wrangle up on their budgets
So she got turned loose in it, driving around the Island, and eventually becoming a very decent driver
Through the summer into the fall it got a full tune up, all the o rings on the manifold, both upstream oxygen sensors, coil/plugs/wires, miscellaneous filters and fluids
You all may remember threads about me needing a alternator (Bosch was A+), doing quick struts all around to fix the typical Taurus sag, and the 4 new Continental TrueContact Tours it got a few months back
She gets through the winter no problem, learning what it's like to have good tread, but no ABS/TC/ESP
She works a leisurely 10 minute drive up the boulevard from home, we thought that'd she'd do okay
Fast forward to the weekend of this Memorial day, and she's going on her first big out of state drive with her BF to their family's cabin in P.A
Checked the tires and topped off the washer fluid, made sure it was up to the trip
Took it for state inspection, it was due, on the way home from inspection, the flex pipe cracked and fell off, glad it happened locally, got that to the exhaust shop and all straightened out
You may remember a thread about intermittent starter issues, I put a new TYC starter in it, cabin filter, decent wash and vacuum, she was ready to go
I was fixing to put a dashcam in before she left, but she inadvertently left earlier in the morning than she said she was, to beat the traffic
I'm still kicking myself for not doing it before , I'd been working 7 days a week at the time, and was exhausted
She heads down, no worries, learning the joys of the cruise control and nice cold A/C, having a good time
They have a fun weekend, and start heading back up mid day to beat the traffic
They decide to stop at a favorite farm stand of ours for a smash pie or two to bring home
Two lane road, turning in, a new shape gold Pacifica (speeding) T bones the passenger side
They explained to me as if they got hit twice, and bounced off them
It was totalled, as was the Pacifica (airbags blew)
The elderly couple driving the Pacifica was cited for speeding and careless driving
Miraculously no one was hurt, just some seatbelt bruising
I'm impressed how well the Taurus did, considering I did not have the optional side airbags, and it being a roughly 20 year old design
I knew it was totaled when I saw the cracked glass
...her BF was sitting in that front passenger seat
This could've been a much different story
This is why we wear seatbelts people, they work
So I'm working away at home in the driveway on my Camrys HID kit, and I'm taking it for a spin up the expressway after I'm done, my dad calls me and tells me what happened
BF parents who were coming home in a different vehicle, doubled back to pick them up and bring them home
Cue multiple hours of hysterics (to be expected, I remember my first accident)
A night in the ER, some pretty nasty seatbelt bruising, but everyone's more or less uninjured
Tow people recovered it, called us somewhat rudely demanded we bring the title down to them, as they diagnosed it as a total loss
They weren't counting on it having full coverage, and our response being "wait for state farm to send someone", they're tune changed real quick after that
State Farm got it from them and took it to their own marshaling yard, and declared it a total loss
We're hashing out a value for it at this time, it's currently in an upcoming auction at Copart up in Newburgh
Mileage at death, 69,717
RIP 2006 Taurus, you served the family well
But, when life closes a door, a window opens, and a replacement vehicle has been procured, I'll break that down in the next post
It was a basic SE, with convenience package, light tundra metallic over grey cloth
Column shift, no ABS, rear drums
But spoiler, alloys, keyless entry
It started life as a Budget rental car, but after 6 months and 5k, it wound up at Scarsdale Ford, where my father traded his tired retired car service '96 Crown Vic for the $500 down payment
I remember riding home in the back of it (I was 9/10 years old) thinking how fancy (keyless entry) and comfortable it was (cloth not cold vinyl) coming from the former police Crown Vic
A matching green vehicle next to my mother's van (2001 Villager)
We had it for many years, me and my twin sister both learned to drive in it, I took and passed my road test in it, my mother begrudgingly drove it when the Villager was out of commission (later discovered by me to be a bad FPR)
Well one day fall of '19, it blew a brake line at the stop sign on the corner coming home while my dad was driving it, so it got laid up for the winter, we got by without it
2020 was quite a decade, so when me and my dad were home in lockdown, we got busy reinstating it
Got a Dorman stainless steel brake line kit, new rubber flex hoses all around and a new master cylinder+wheel cylinders, new battery, oil change, etc
Finally got the registration renewed, easily passed inspection, and it was on the road
Far from inspiring transportation, but inoffensive, reliable, cold A/C and hot heat, and with ~60k on it, a far better first car for my sister than her friends could wrangle up on their budgets
So she got turned loose in it, driving around the Island, and eventually becoming a very decent driver
Through the summer into the fall it got a full tune up, all the o rings on the manifold, both upstream oxygen sensors, coil/plugs/wires, miscellaneous filters and fluids
You all may remember threads about me needing a alternator (Bosch was A+), doing quick struts all around to fix the typical Taurus sag, and the 4 new Continental TrueContact Tours it got a few months back
She gets through the winter no problem, learning what it's like to have good tread, but no ABS/TC/ESP
She works a leisurely 10 minute drive up the boulevard from home, we thought that'd she'd do okay
Fast forward to the weekend of this Memorial day, and she's going on her first big out of state drive with her BF to their family's cabin in P.A
Checked the tires and topped off the washer fluid, made sure it was up to the trip
Took it for state inspection, it was due, on the way home from inspection, the flex pipe cracked and fell off, glad it happened locally, got that to the exhaust shop and all straightened out
You may remember a thread about intermittent starter issues, I put a new TYC starter in it, cabin filter, decent wash and vacuum, she was ready to go
I was fixing to put a dashcam in before she left, but she inadvertently left earlier in the morning than she said she was, to beat the traffic
I'm still kicking myself for not doing it before , I'd been working 7 days a week at the time, and was exhausted
She heads down, no worries, learning the joys of the cruise control and nice cold A/C, having a good time
They have a fun weekend, and start heading back up mid day to beat the traffic
They decide to stop at a favorite farm stand of ours for a smash pie or two to bring home
Two lane road, turning in, a new shape gold Pacifica (speeding) T bones the passenger side
They explained to me as if they got hit twice, and bounced off them
It was totalled, as was the Pacifica (airbags blew)
The elderly couple driving the Pacifica was cited for speeding and careless driving
Miraculously no one was hurt, just some seatbelt bruising
I'm impressed how well the Taurus did, considering I did not have the optional side airbags, and it being a roughly 20 year old design
I knew it was totaled when I saw the cracked glass
...her BF was sitting in that front passenger seat
This could've been a much different story
This is why we wear seatbelts people, they work
So I'm working away at home in the driveway on my Camrys HID kit, and I'm taking it for a spin up the expressway after I'm done, my dad calls me and tells me what happened
BF parents who were coming home in a different vehicle, doubled back to pick them up and bring them home
Cue multiple hours of hysterics (to be expected, I remember my first accident)
A night in the ER, some pretty nasty seatbelt bruising, but everyone's more or less uninjured
Tow people recovered it, called us somewhat rudely demanded we bring the title down to them, as they diagnosed it as a total loss
They weren't counting on it having full coverage, and our response being "wait for state farm to send someone", they're tune changed real quick after that
State Farm got it from them and took it to their own marshaling yard, and declared it a total loss
We're hashing out a value for it at this time, it's currently in an upcoming auction at Copart up in Newburgh
Mileage at death, 69,717
RIP 2006 Taurus, you served the family well
But, when life closes a door, a window opens, and a replacement vehicle has been procured, I'll break that down in the next post
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