1995 Very Low miles Ford Taurus = Big Problems

[Greenleaf]

My grand dad passed and I now have his 1995 car with extream low miles on the clock. 26K



It has sat outside for years at a time. He kept very good care of it, visiting the dealership repeatedly as he had nothing else to do.



It has so many problems, I couldn't even begin to list them all.



Do old , low mileage vehicles, normally pose this big of a problem? It is literally worn out.

 

[B.G. Smith]

I would think the engine/drivetrain would be in good shape. Things like electric windows, door locks, seats, dash gauges, windshield wipers etc could get expensive though. It just depends on what problems are present. bg

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

It's pretty standard that vehicles left unused for extended periods of time suffer far more problems and failures than those used reasonably regularly...

 

[Greenleaf]

The rear brakes failed twice. One caliper locked up and another time the proportioning valve.



All brake lines turned to dust.



One of the plastic fuel lines ruptured.



Transmission return line rusted through.



One window motor.



Tie rod ends, trashed.



Strut bearings, dry.



Engine belt dry rotted.



Tires dry rotted



One (front) strut



Not bad for putting a vehicle back on the road w/26K on the clock... ... ... ... .

 

[BDaugherty]

A buddy of mine inherited a '95 Taurus much the same way. He put nearly 280K on it just using it to drive to work. It had around 320K when the trans starting acting up. I don't remember him ever putting any real hard part on it. It was mostly just normal maintenance. However, I can see where sitting is the worst on a car. Especially if it sat outside. Moisture is a killer if it doesn't get driven enough to keep it dried out.

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

A buddy of mine inherited a '95 Taurus much the same way. He put nearly 280K on it just using it to drive to work. It had around 320K when the trans starting acting up. I don't remember him ever putting any real hard part on it. It was mostly just normal maintenance. However, I can see where sitting is the worst on a car. Especially if it sat outside. Moisture is a killer if it doesn't get driven enough to keep it dried out.

Especially in rust belt/salted roads country - driving rarely, with LONG periods of idleness, allows the rusty moisture to settle in and do it's dirty work undisturbed, And yeah, suspension and lower body panels usually take the biggest hits...

 

[hwebster]

Owned one myself. . In fact I still do. . Parked in the pasture - 3 transmissions, head gasket, brakes, all in 3 years...

But hey. . Hunting Season is coming... Maybe I will stick a buck dummy on it!

 

[JLEONARD]

However, I can see where sitting is the worst on a car. Especially if it sat outside

And especially if it was parked on grass, dirt or gravel. The underside will always be wet.