2004 Ford Taurus SE depreciates to fast, Reliable though

I traded in my Mercury Sable sedan for a 2004 Ford Taurus in November 2004. It has done its job, but I wish I had purchased a bigger vehicle. I was looking for something newer and leaned toward the Taurus due to the price. The price of Ford Tauruses was very reasonable at the time of this purchase.

Just less than a year after purchasing this we had another addition to the family (making it a total of three kids). Having the newer vehicle came in handy as far as not having to worry about car repair expenses however as far as roominess we have been a little squished.

Standard features in the 2004 Ford Taurus SE include: rear window defroster, 16 inch wheels, 3.0L V6 OHV 12V FI Engine, 4-Speed Automatic Transmission, clock, driver and passenger front airbags, cloth seats, front split bench seat, rear bench seat, cruise control, power steering, inside vehicle trunk release, tilt steering wheel, air conditioning, power door locks, power windows, power exterior mirrors, AM/FM/Cassette audio system, and digital features that tell you how many miles left to empty, and gas mpg (which is depressing to me).

The standard warranty is 3 year / 36,000 miles basic, drive train, roadside assistance and 5 year / unlimited miles on rust.

Downside: The fuel economy isn't what I would have expected from a Taurus, around town we average about 17-20 MPG, depending on if I stop and go a lot, or if we go out on the highway. The interior is not as comfortable as I like in the seating. Ford seems to make their seats harder, instead of soft. Unlocking the car from the outside is a royal pain as it only has a key lock on the driver side door. I have never seen a car before without locks on both the passenger and driver side doors.

Upside: The trunk is very spacious so it holds lots of luggage, or baby supplies, or groceries. The rear seats fold down as well, which provides more room for hauling things. The Ford Taurus is very reliable as far as mechanical problems. We have just done the normal maintenance that you would do to any vehicle you own: replace and rotate tires, alignment, oil changes, and fuel filter change. There is an automatic sensor on the passenger side airbag. This vehicle handles well on the road and we don't feel rough bumps in the road like we do in my husbands vehicle.

The biggest reason I am not sure that I will purchase another Ford vehicle again is the rate at which they depreciate. Recently we starting looking towards mini-vans due to our family needing more space as our kids get older. This Ford Taurus was about $14,000 new, however, only four years later, the trade in value is only about $6,000. We are now in the hole with negative equity, which is making it impossible to trade in. We can't get rid of it, and we really need more space.

So, overall, I wouldn't recommend anyone buy a new Ford Taurus because unless you are planning to keep it for a very long time the depreciation is not worth it. If you're dead set on buying one, buy a used one, and put a good down payment on it. We wish we would have spent a little more and bought the mini van in the first place, we'd likely be in a much better place with it, at least financially, as we would need to trade it in now.

Update: Since writing my review we have discovered how un-customer service oriented Ford really is. They are awful! apparently there was a recall on my Ford just one month after I got it, 2 years later and they have never even notified us of the recall. I have even called the dealership where I bought the vehicle and told them about fluid coming from under the dash on the carpet on the passengers side, and they told me it was just the cowl and the Ford would not do anything about it. Just over a week later my dad and brother took it all apart in my brothers body shop and found the entire a/c and heating system was full of mold. After researching online I found a website with recalls and found out about the recall and that Ford never notified owners.