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YACT: Your opinions on these cars?

Gooberlx2

Gooberlx2

Lifer
In the market for either used 2002 or new 2003 Focus or Taurus.

The Taurus I'm going to test today is a SES and the Focus probably a ZX5 or ZX3 hatchback. Unfortunately I know next to nothing about cars except that I've been driving a '94 Ford Taurus and it's served me very well (at just above 90,000 miles now). I've read that the focus handles very well though the acceleration is underpowered. I haven't seen much of anything about the taurus.

Of course I would also consider comparable cars in the same price range if anyone has recommendations.

2003 Focus ZX5 New @ $14,475 -- 5 yr/100,000 mi
2002 Taurus SES (i think) with ~27,000 miles @ $11,000 -- 6 yr/75,000 mi

anyway, yeah ~ $15,000 is the top of my price range. So any comments, suggestions or recommendations?
 
Better be prepared to take some heat when the ford/domestic haters come in...

Anywhoo...I really think of the best bargains out there car wise is buying a lightly used Taurus for right around $10k-$11k. Which is exactly what you've done. They aren't bad cars, but they just aren't as well equipped or put together as other makes. But they are safe, cheap to repair, and cheap to buy. That, and you've got another 100k+ miles that you could put on that car without too much drama. It might have to go into the shop a bit more than a camry, but then again a similar camry or accord will run you $3000-$5000 more.

I'd personally avoid a Focus, especially a new one as they depreciate heavily and have had quite a few issues with them in their relatively short production. I'd give a look at a Mazda Protege 5 if you want a 5 door hatch, or else a Toyota Matrix/Pontiac Vibe.
 
our 03 taurus has had sooo many problems, i wouldnt touch it ever again. Thank god the lease is up on the spring,
my mom will jsut get a mazda 6 (much better deal).

we've had the focus sedan before, not a bad deal for the money but theres better cars out there.

The only reason my family leases fords is because we get a huge discount (both my parents worked for ford), otherwise you're better off getting something else
 
our 03 taurus has had sooo many problems, i wouldnt touch it ever again. Thank god the lease is up on the spring,
my mom will jsut get a mazda 6 (much better deal).
Click to expand...

Engine problems? Cuz if it is, then do you realize that the 6 uses the same engine (albeit a bit tuned) that the Taurus does?
 
Originally posted by: vi_edit
our 03 taurus has had sooo many problems, i wouldnt touch it ever again. Thank god the lease is up on the spring,
my mom will jsut get a mazda 6 (much better deal).
Click to expand...

Engine problems? Cuz if it is, then do you realize that the 6 uses the same engine (albeit a bit tuned) that the Taurus does?
Click to expand...

Well, not entirely true... while based on the same basic block, it's not even close to the same Duratec used by Ford. Same deal with Jags as well. They all use the Duratec as a launch platform but they change the head, internals, etc so much that it really is a different engine.
 
well, after test driving the two cars here's what I found:

- The Focus was more familiar to me with handling (the last owner of my '94 taurus was a race car driver who lowered the suspension and put in better shocks), whereas the Taurus was more "floaty".
- The Taurus seemed to have better acceleration
- Taurus Driver's seat was more comfortable than the Focus and the center console wasn't worthless. Focus should have used a foot parking brake so the console wasn't such a joke.
- Taurus seemed to have more cargo room overall. Taurus also has pockets behind the driver and passenger seats, Focus did not.


They seem to be reasonably priced for what they are. I'm definitely looking at lightly used Tauruses that aren't previous rentals (as all the ones I've seen have been so far). I'll probably test drive a Pontiac Vibe tomorrow to see what I think about it. But the more I reflect on the experience, the more I think I'd be happier with a normal sedan than the smaller hatchback.

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention this earlier: Foreign cars are out of the question because my Dad is helping me pay and would take considerable flack from his work otherwise.

Thanks for the advice and keep it coming!
 
Your father works in the car industry? I can see how if he works with domestics it would seem somewhat bad if his family didn't drive domestics...

Anyways, I think the Taurus is the better deal.
 
Originally posted by: Bignate603
Your father works in the car industry? I can see how if he works with domestics it would seem somewhat bad if his family didn't drive domestics...

Anyways, I think the Taurus is the better deal.
Click to expand...

Not in the industry...but the domestic companies are big time customers.
 
Keep an eye out, I know where my dad works they frequently get things like super low mileage exec tauruses in for like 9k. A couple thousand miles and in great shape, maybe some dealerships in your area offer the same thing.
 
Originally posted by: Gooberlx2
Originally posted by: Bignate603
Your father works in the car industry? I can see how if he works with domestics it would seem somewhat bad if his family didn't drive domestics...

Anyways, I think the Taurus is the better deal.
Click to expand...
Not in the industry...but the domestic companies are big time customers.
Click to expand...
This I understand. I have a brother who works for a DaimlerChrysler company and you know the he ALWAYS owns a Dodge truck of some type and the wife drives a Chrysler. If I had waited a couple of months before buying my WRX, I could have gotten DaimlerChrysler's big family discount deal on a new SRT4 (you don't even want to know how good a deal that is).

Anyway, all things considered, the Taurus is the better deal if you're looking for room, power, and comfort. The Focus is the economy car.
 
While i do agree the focus is a better car, the late model taurus sounds like a great buy. And as far as reliabilty, all cars break to some degree. You will find far more people that know how to fix a taurus rather than some import, and the parts are more readily available. I recently drove a late model Chevy impala, and was very impressed with its drivetrain. It should compare with the Taurus in price and performance.

That said, I'd get a new honda civic, rather than a ford.
 
LOL, if nothing else, this thread makes me feel better about making such a decision. Taurus it is...atleast out of those two. I still have about a week to research this out and look around. It just seems that the Tauri (pl?) seem to be the best deals around right now.
 
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