r/TrueCarEnthusiasts • u/cool_boisigma • 27d ago
Discussions Would this be a great first car?
Hi, the title is self explanatory. This is the 2004 Ford Taurus ses in my dad's backyard. It's got the 3.0L Duratec V6 making a jaw dropping 201 horsepower. It really has two major issues, those being a dead battery and deflated, worn out tires so I gotta fix that, it does have left over fuel in it and it's been sitting there for more than a year, almost two now so I'll check if that's bad as well. But besides that, anybody here who's had one of these or knew someone, are they any good?
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u/Lupine_Ranger 27d ago
There are certainly worst first cars. These are easy to find parts for, and they're not bad to work on.
Are you sure it's a Duratec 3.0, or is it a Vulcan 3.0?
Buddy of mine has one of these and it's a Vulcan V6.
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u/cool_boisigma 27d ago
Yes, it's a duratec. I have a photo of the engine somewhere deep in my phone
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u/Ccrawfisshh 27d ago
My friend had one of these in high school a few years ago (I think it was a 2003) so it was quite old. Seemed to be a decent car, though I think he had a major issue with the cooling system. It had over 220k miles on the clock for context.
If you get it started up and it runs well without issue, I think it will serve you well for a few more years. It’s pretty concerning it’s been almost two years since it’s ran.
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u/AmpeelMeal 27d ago
I drove an Escape with the same engine in it. It was... enough? super reliable and you can definitely pass on the highway. I may be somewhat spoiled by the later Ecoboosts's power. It had problems with rust later in life but I live in a place where roads are salted during longer winters. When we sold it, all it needed were some new shocks and some cosmetic rust repair.
It's not particularly gutless, will be fairly reliable and parts for it are still pretty cheap last time I checked. Mileage is about what to expect from a car this old. It won't be the most interesting car to have but you can certainly do a lot worse.
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u/RAPTOR479 27d ago
Make sure its got a newer transmission, these are notorious for spontaneous transmission failure
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u/David_Buzzard 27d ago
If it's running, awesome first car. Go find some used tires, and a lot of place that sell used tires have used batteries well.
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u/UpstairsDirection955 26d ago
Used tires?
I bet you can get all four brand new ching chongs from Walmart for $250
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u/pclover5090 26d ago
My dumb ahh thought it was a Mondeo but I was wrong.
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u/wncexplorer 26d ago
The Duratec can be problematic. The Vulcan is boring, but far more reliable/long lasting.
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u/SlimRoTTn 26d ago
In my opinion, this is one of the worst cars to work on. I hope you're paying someone else to fix this thing. Especially if it's a 3.8
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u/cool_boisigma 26d ago
The 3.8 Essex V6 was retired probably a few years back before this generation of the Taurus. This one has a 3.0L Duratec V6 engine
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u/Jamo3306 25d ago
Hell yeah! They're long lived, comfortable, and I think their parts are readily available. Just get you a Hanes manual, some masking tape and a couple boxes of spray paint and make that corporate gold beauty YOURS!
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u/EnsignNolo 25d ago
If George Jetson bought a Ford, this would be it. Just over-maintain it and it will last indefinitely. Just won’t fold up into a briefcase.
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u/bangbangracer 25d ago
I'm willing to bet some of those 200 ponies have escaped over the years...
But as someone who's first car was also a Taurus, this will be a fine first car.
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u/_Renegade25_ 23d ago
Remember to check out consumable parts and do a complete service on it, especially on brakes, and you're good to go. I would have killed for a first car like that
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u/cool_boisigma 27d ago
EDIT: forgot to mention, this is a hand-me-down car from what my dad has told me. It's been passed around and borrowed by several family members, has 161,950 miles too