For 20 years, between 1986 and 2005, the Sable was Mercury’s counterpart to the popular Ford Taurus. During the third generation (1996-99), the Sable copied the “oval” design of about everything about the other car, also to the Taurus. A dealer in Portland, Oregon, is offering what appears to be a very nice 1996 Sable LS station wagon here on craigslist. And the asking price of $1,495 harks back to the good old days! An attaboy goes to “Curvette” for this tip!
The Sable was the front-wheel-drive successor to the Mercury Marquis, an old-school, rear-wheel-drive cruiser in the same vein as the Ford Crown Victoria. The Sable lived in the shadow of the Taurus, which was one of the best-selling cars of the 1980s and 1990s. The seller’s station wagon (they hadn’t been made obsolete yet by the SUV) is from the last year of the Sable’s third generation (there were four overall). It looks like a well-heeled example loaded with plenty of options and creature comforts.
We don’t know the history of this wagon or why it’s priced so cheaply. We assume the selling dealer believes no one will want it otherwise, so it’s been tagged to move at an amount you could easily cover on a credit card. It’s powered by a 3.0-liter, 24-valve V6 engine with 104,000 miles. That’s not an excessive amount of usage, so we assume this Merc could soldier on a while longer as a second or third vehicle in the family.
This wagon has some modern features, like ABS brakes and dual air bags, and some less-so-modern features like a cassette tape player. The body, paint, and interior all look more than adequate, with only a small dent in the left front fender and a bit of fading to bother anyone. Would you take a gamble on this ride for less than $1,500?
Nice write-up! Some college student somewhere will get a nice stocking stuffer!
Especially if they’re in a band.
This is a really great wagon for $1500. I always thought the Taurus and Sable were really good cars. Its very clean too. Someone is going to grab it.
These cars have the distinction of my lost interest in modern cars. Stout motorheads, like me, were horrified, THIS is what will replace dads trusty LTD? Engine, transmission, drive shaft, rear axle, like God intended. What’s this front drive baloney? Regardless, the Taurus and Sable were a remarkable success, millions being sold. I can’t figure out why someone would have spent an extra $1,200 for the Sable( $21,195) over the Taurus($19,995), but ain’t that America. Did Europe have “badge engineered” cars too? The wagon was a bit less popular, but many put a lot of miles on these cars before minivans, every soccer field parking lot had several. They were okay cars, again, as aging owners, um, age, these will pop up for years to come.
Hi Howard. I sold both. Depending on the year the base equipment was not the same. You could get a base Taurus with roll up windows. All Sables by whatever year had PW std. Of course the trim would be different too.
Yes, equipped with the same options they were almost the same price. I owned a taurus and then bought a sable to replace it. That’s a main reason for each division having a rebadged car – the upper level nameplates have buyers who expect more features so those models get them standard. Actually it is smart marketing and used on many products including food.
Nicely written…about aging!
Putting a car on a credit card, never thought of that. I guess it is do-able, as long as there was an agreement with the seller as to the card fees. In our society we put thousand-dollar purchases on a card all the time.
Car looks to be in reasonable shape and the mileage isn’t horrible. Like Fahrvergnugen says, if a college student got this, he or she would quickly be a popular person…. “say, could you haul my (____) to the (____).” A good way to make friends?
There used to be another site like BF called credit card classics that featured decent cars that were priced in the range of what you could reasonable put on a credit card.
It was very similar to BF that I thought it might be run by the same group of guys.
Related to that: dealership says they are CUDL certified – if you need to contact your credit union for a loan on this car, maybe you shouldn’t be buying a car. An $1800 car is an invitation for financial disaster.
If it made it around the block without the ‘check engine’ light coming on, it would be a miracle. Unless, of course, the bulb has been removed.
There used to be a used car lot in Phoenix called ‘Ray McBurnett’s Miracle Cars.’ Their sign said ‘If it’s a good car, it’s a miracle!’. Made for cars like this.
I had to buy a family member a car years ago. It turned out I bought a Dodge Lancer from a Buick dealership with my Ford Credit card. The dealer didn’t blink and eye.
I managed a fleet of 38 cars. Every year they would ask me what we needed. Then they would show up with Ford Taurus in multiple. The 3.0 V6 had some issues. But the transmissions were junk. The recalls were frequent. The duty paid 5% above my pay grade. A young guy wanted that. I retired. The last I heard one of the Taurus was 12,000 miles past due on oil change. The Supreme being never created an engineer for a Taurus.
As a young man, and now, people would give me a bad time because I drove a station wagon, until, of course, they needed to haul something. My large 1964 Dodge 880 four door hardtop wagon hauled quite a few antiques for friends over the years, not to mention my Studebaker wagon with the sliding roof. Ah, the good old days.
I don’t know how anybody needing a second car could pass this up. That’s chump change for sure. I didn’t know it was possible to buy a running car for that amount much less one that looks this good. If only it weren’t so far away from Texas. Hell, maybe fly in and drive back. Hmmmmm.
I’ve had two of these of this era. As good a handling car as the sedans. However… the most revealing photo is missing. Rust starts at the base of the B-pillar and there is no stopping it. Sometimes quickly. I’d inquire before offering if you want a nice looking cheap ride.
Being a Ford/Mercury service manager during the first/Original versions of these cars. I was well aware of the faults. A long time older customer of the dealership bought a Sable wagon that was fully loaded including the 3.8 engine and the heated windshield. After driving it for 1 month they brought it in for an oil change. (It already had 5,000 miles on the odo.) He had just retired and had traveled to go see 2 of his children (he had 6) and grand kids. He mentioned that he enjoyed driving the car so much that he and his wife decided to go visit the rest of the kids and their families. 10 months later he came in for another oil change and this time the odo read 65 000 miles. While wandering around the showroom waiting for his car to come out of the service department. He bought another Sable wagon and traded in the first one. Because of the miles and a little body damage on one corner on the right front fender. It was available cheap. I. Bought it, installed an SHO front sway bar, lowered it about 1″ and changed the transmission fluid and filter every year. The wife and I put another 135,000 miles on that car with only a power steering hose failure. When I was driving the car home for the first time, I was at the gas station filling it up. When an idiot decided not to wait at the corner stop light and cut across the station lot. He bit the left front fender if my car. His insurance paid enough to get both sides repaired. Over the coarse of the next 18 months it was hit on both rear corners. And the last straw was when I came home to see my son’s portable basketball hoop through the (then) $900 heated windshield. The car gave us great reliable economical service. But it was a magnet for insurance claims. (Luckily, my insurer only had the windshield to cover.)
Sadly, I don’t think this dealer is very forthcoming with the amount of body damage on this one, which would explain the low price.
Dent in the driverside fender
Hood has a crimp causing the gap between the hood and fender on the drivers side,
Also, they make sure not to show the gap between the rear bumper cover and the rear driver’s side quarter panel, and it has a dent as well.
Notice how the dealer only shows the passenger side and never the driver’s side?
So 3 panels have been “kissed,” and then you’ve got the front bumper with its clear coat failure.
For $1500 you expect perfect?
For $1500 these days, I would expect it to belong in a wrecking yard.
sounds too good to be true. phone call is in order here
An old Sable if in decent shape for this price is a great deal. A year ago I got a 2001 Sable sedan for 2400. Very trouble free and economical in a year brakes on all fours and window control. Compared to a 2016 VW I had that I put lots of miles for employment, when it had to have something done it would cost a fortune to keep on the road and almost anyone can and will work on the Sable. The only reason to dump would be a good deal on something bigger.
Most people who leave bad yelp reviews are career complainers, but this dealer has a 2 out of 5 rating with 80 reviews. Put your $1500 toward a nice Camry at a name brand dealer.
I had a 99 Taurus sedan from new. Yes the transmissions were not the best, but a rebuild kit with the upgrades would fix that. The only engine worth having was the DOHC 3.0 V6. It handled pretty good for a four door sedan, so I had my fun for 157000 miles and sold it on.
My 94 Taurus wagon seats were more comfortable than the coupe de ville we had at the same time