There are low mile vehicles and then there are low mile vehicles – this fourth-generation 2003 Ford Taurus is the latter. This car can be found listed here as a Barn Finds Classified and it truly looks like it just rolled off of the showroom floor and is even still wearing its temporary tags. It’s located in Columbia Station, Ohio and the seller is asking $13,500.
This basically new sedan has 440.9 miles on it according to the seller and they show the odometer to prove at least the 440-mile part. This Taurus has an incredibly sad ownership history. The original owner bought it brand new and drove it for a few weeks and then became ill, parked the car in the garage, and sadly passed away a year later. I hate those stories of someone buying a vehicle and then never being able to enjoy it.
I’m assuming that the current owner, the seller, somehow received the car during the estate sale but they don’t go into those details. The car was sold in early-2020 when the original owner’s property was sold and a year later it’s for sale here on Barn Finds. Speaking of sales, Ford didn’t exactly have a dud on their hands with the Taurus. They were made for almost 35 years beginning in 1985 for the 1986 model year through 2019 here, and are still being made for the China market.
As expected, the interior looks absolutely perfect, front and rear, just like the exterior does. Ford took a lot of heat for somewhat neglecting the Taurus to the point that Honda’s Accord and Toyota’s Camry took over Ford’s top spot and the Taurus never regained it again. Sadly, a lot of them were relegated to fleet duty and rental car lots and they were still good basic sedans. They never made a two-door version, although, hmm… I wonder what it might have looked like…
According to the VIN, this engine is Ford’s 3.0L Vulcan V6 which had 155 horsepower on the SE trim level which this Taurus is. The seller says that this car has new tires, a new fuel pump and sender, a new battery, the fluids have been checked and changed, and the injectors have been serviced. They don’t say how it runs but I’m assuming that with all of that recent work, it runs as great as it looks. Have any of you owned a fourth-generation Taurus?
Incredible shape, but truly sad backstory. That “two door” looks awkward with that third small window. Reminds me of late 50’s-early 60’s Mopars where it was obvious to see that a four door greenhouse is sitting on a two door body!
Fix that and I could envision a “Taurus GT!” I wasn’t aware these were still being produced in China! GLWTS! :-)
You caught me, Moparman. I didn’t expect to be critiqued so heavily on the quick photoshop exercise there, but I revised it a bit now.
Didn’t see the un-revised 2-door Taurus, Scotty, but I kinda like this one! Has a nice NASCAR vibe to it…now, if you could Photoshop in a nice V8 and rear-wheel drive, it’d be good to go!
Drove numerous Tauruses (Taurii?) back in the day, from base models to SHOs, and thought they were pretty decent machines. My only regret was that they didn’t have to build a streetable two-door V8 version to go racin’ with.
You should have been a stylist!
Thanks, RayT! At the risk of totally threadjacking this great four-door Taurus, here’s a quick two-door SHO
Ah! MUCH better! The SHO looks good, too!
Thanks, Scotty! :-)
One could say Ford started to check out of the car market in the early 2000s with the Taurus’ neglect, and when the Fusion was introduced it should have been called a Taurus. There is something to be said for name recognition. and into the 2010’s, the Fusion hasn’t had a major update since 2013-so it also got the to be part of the Ford neglect program. It will be facinating to see how Ford and GM respond if people start buying cars again. Let’s hope they do soon.
Somebody did a 2-door Mercury Sable convertible.
https://www.motor1.com/news/184617/this-curious-mercury-sable-concept-convertible-seeks-new-owner/
That’s such a sad story. Car is basically a new 2003 Taurus! I would love to have that car big time. My late father had a silver 2000 Taurus. Someone needs to snatch that car or else I will buy it. It’s a shame it’s not here in Philadelphia Pennsylvania or I’d grab it right now!!
Nice car, but the seller has zero chance of getting the asking price. I had a 1996, the first year of the new body, same engine, and the exact same color combination, Toreador Red exterior with tan interior. The revisions they made to the front and rear styling, as shown on this model, improved the look greatly. By the way, I’m on my 3rd Fusion…2010 SE, 2016 SE, and now my 2019 SEL, so clearly I like this type and size of Ford :)
Not bad cars but this brings back a lot of bad memories from my body shop days. I did countless front clips on these and the core supports were a major pain. They had to be fully loaded with the condenser, radiator, power steering cooler, etc. And I recall several fasteners being a real pain to access since all the components needed to be installed prior to mounting.
I’m sure it made things slick on the production line, however.
Two words: head gaskets. Had three of these and got very tired of spending $1300 a year keeping them running
Depends on the engine, the 3.8 had the head gasket issues, 3.0 much less.
3.0s had transmission problems , the 3.8 head gaskets.
Nobody buys Taurus to enjoy it….This car is for cheap transportation. Why is this car listed here?
I enjoy my duratec alot, besides those are cheap good cars!
We bought our son a 2003 Ford Taurus in 2016 with 62K grandmother miles on it. Grandson inherited it but could not keep it at their condo so he sold it quickly to us for $3200. Kept it until 2019, but not before the Ford trans gave out ($1700). Sold it to a college student for $2800. Saw him a few months ago and its still going strong. Pretty maintenance free car with at least a dozen trips to Disney World from Ft Lauderdale.
Sad story. Not particularly a desirable car, just your typical people mover/ grocery getter from the 2000s. Still, a true time capsule and I hope it finds a good home.
It is a great reliable car with the 3.0 engine only. The 3.8 was junk. Would love to own it. Far more reliable than today’s junk.
Exactly what car is this better than today? These were junk 20 years ago.
Anything that doesn’t have an electric motor positioning the throttle! I’ve had to replace both on my 2016 and my wife’s 2014 Jeep Patriots with the 2.4 motor. The red lightning bolt on the display means call a tow truck!
I know a lot of people who owned them, a “Yugo” it wasnt, hardly “junk”
We had two Taurus’ with the 3.0. Never had a problem. The 3.8’s had head gasket issues, and transmission problems.
The 3.8 was gone after ’95, replaced by the 3.0, 200 hp, 4 cam Duratec. We had that engine in a Sable wagon. Quite the little hot rod. They said the transmissions were weak behind these engines, but again, no problems.
I think FORD used the 3.0 in the Contour too, those were pretty good smaller cars.
My V6 auto ’02 Taurus has 60k; looks,
runs like new. Many examples remain
on the road; a testament to its quality.
Rather plain looking, but functional.
Bought 2003 Taurus for my brother that had sat in a lady’s garage for over two years after she passed away. $1200 bought the car with 93k miles. Broken left strut that I replaced both in my shop and he has driven it with zero problems since. Nice dependable car that gets him where he wants to go.
We had a jinxed 2002 3.0. Pre-sale car wash scratched to hood all to pieces. Check engine light twice, both times the ECM had to be replaced. The coolant reservoir cracked and leaked, required ordering the updated one. It was noisier inside than our GMC 2500HD when traveling. Got a power train warning light while driving on a pass in Montana, in cruise on a nice day. The the exhaust system grew from the heat, contacted the body, quite the noise. Don’t have the coolant suystem flushed with the heater core connected, it gets plugged and the heater quits working. I can’t fathom that sale price.
I’ve had an ’89 and a ’99 Taurus, both wagons, and a 2004 Sable, also a wagon. For an every day driver, these were great cars as far as my experience goes. Never had a major repair and never left me stranded. I preferred the utility of the wagons and they all delivered decent performance along with good MPGs. I especially liked the ’04 Sable LS which had a leather interior, optional 17″ wheels, 200 hp V6 and was highly optioned. This gem looks like a good buy as it’s essentially new. Sure, it’s not terribly exciting but it’s a lot cheaper than any other car with 440 miles on it.
The weak part of the Taurus is the trans after about 120K you’re on borrowed time.
They tried to sell these in Australia to much oval stuff happening and not value for money, like the Probe didn’t go far
This, my friends, is yet another example of why it’s important to live and enjoy life while you can, because none of us know how much time we have left.
Especially in this uncertain time of pandemic. More than half a million Americans have died of COVID already. It doesn’t mean we should all totally ignore realities of finances, family, responsibilities, etc., but we need to enjoy ourselves while we can.
I’ve always been amused at people who buy fun cars they love, and then don’t drive them. They’re ‘saving’ them for something. What they’re really doing is saving them for the next owner. Why?
I used to be one of those people. Bought a Honda S2000 that I loved, but didn’t drive as much as I should have. Then, a combination of two trips to the hospital ER within a year, and a comment someone made at a Cars & Coffee when they saw how few miles were on the car and said, ‘Boy, the next owner is going to be really happy!’ made me realize how stupid I was being. I wanted to be that owner driving and enjoying the car, not the next guy (who might have been buying it from my wife/estate). So I did.
Whatever you might think of this particular car, let this humble Taurus be a reminder and lesson to us all, that we’re not here forever. Enjoy life while you can.
Just sold one for $3,300 with 52k on it.Way to easy to get another for a whole lot less than this one.
I thought my ’96 Taurus was s
crazy with 28k miles on it…hope it gets a good home.
Nice car with an interesting story and IMO a desirable color combo. I’d take it if the price was right but the asking seems a little steep, and apparently others agree. Judging by the green grass in the background it’s been for sale for a while. Ohio hasn’t had grass that green since last fall.
It was a 2.5 liter, 170 hp cousin of the Duratec, along with a 2.0, twin cam, 4 cylinder. We had a ’95 2.5, that had some strange issues, but we got it up to 120K, before selling. It had a 130 mph speedometer, and it could easily hit that mark.
Hmmm… not one comment on asking price. I think it is a bit too high. If it only has 440.9 miles on it, that means it wasn’t driven very much. I’ll check again. If it is still for sale, I’ll bid $9,500.00. No more. I’m not trying to low ball someone, it is just that I think, feel, believe the asking price is too high. Just me. I didn’t see any reference to any of the evaluaters. Maybe I missed. But, I’m going back.
13Gs for an 18 year old Taurus ??? low mileage or not, thats crazy
The problem no one mentions is that as soon as you start driving it, it will be worth $4000.