The Taurus is on life support

[Mike Franklin]

It never fails. We are expecting twins in July and we just signed the papers on a new house in wilds of southern Pa (finally leaving the nightmare that is Baltimore) when the wife's 01 Taurus decicdes to wet it pants in the driveway. Mechanic says their is a coolant leak behind the timing chain cover and that when compared to the cost of the repair and the age and condition of the vehicle we should think about "upgrading". (The wife is really hard on a cars)

So I pumped it full of Bars Snake Oil, oops, I mean stop leak which slowed the leak down but it still puffs some steam here and there as the fluid hits the exhaust manifold at the bottom of the engine.



So here is the challange:

I'm trying to come to terms on car that I can steer the wife towards that is reasonable cheap new or used, that can accomodate a family of 4 with one person who is 6'3", gets good gas mileage, (2 hour commute daily), thats not riddled with from the factory problems, can handle itself in the snow, and will be appealing to a woman.



Where would you start looking?



Is Hyundai any good? Maybe I'm old skool but my impression of Hyundai is getting better though I have nothing to base that off of except advertising and longevity of the company.

 

[Todd Z]

Hyundai stepped up their game big time, My family and friends have 4 of them trouble free...



How about a rebuilt engine for the Taurus ???



Todd Z

 

[Mark Grumpy]

My Wife drives an 04 Hyundai Sonata and loves it. Has been reliable and economy is good. However, at 6'2" I do not like to drive it. I find it uncomfortable and even with power seats lowered my head rubs the roof. It's actually my hair, but it is annoying enough to keep my head cocked off to the side and make my neck ache.



The new design (05 or 06? and up) may be better - I don't know.



grump

 

[Wes Davis]

I did own before the Sport Trac the Hyundai Santa Fe. Loved it. I have heard only positive things about all current Hyundai's. They now have another small SUV but I don't recall the name. I am not an internal engine kind of guy. What is it behind the timing chain cover that maybe leaking? Is this something you could have a backyard mechanic dig into on the cheap?

 

[Gavin Allan]

Get another Taurus.



Lots of low-mileage lease vehicles out there for very cheap.



Parts are cheap. Everyone knows how to work on them.



Reasonalby reliable until they get worn out.

 

[Chase Straw]

ive never look under the hood of a taurus but my guess would be water pump they are supposed to leak when they go bad

 

[Bill V]

yukaputz, take it from someone with a one year old and a five year old, and a third kid on the way--if you don't already have a larger vehicle, you need to forget about the car, and get an SUV or a minivan. Especially if you ever plan to do any overnight travel with the kids (be it down the street to grandma's or across the country).



With two kids (especially with two infants), you're not just needing room for the two adults and two carseats. You're also needing room for a double-stroller, a pack-and-play (or two), an oversized diaper bag, luggage for four, a bag of toys, a breast pump, a cooler for the pumped milk, a bag of food (both for on the trip, and for your destination, as restaurant food is crap for kids, and anyone you may visit won't have baby-appropriate food in the house unless they have kids that age themselves), coats/boots/hats/mittens, and on and on and on.



Hyundai has nothing in their line that would meet your needs. With two infants, even the Santa Fe will be too short on space. You need to think bigger--at least in the Explorer class, if not the Expedition or Suburban. As I mentioned, a minivan would work well too--if you can overcome the minivan stigma. (We couldn't--which is why, when we just did a space upgrade from my wife's Explorer, we got a Suburban, instead of a minivan.)

 

[Mark Grumpy]

Hyundai makes a larger SUV now - the Veracruz. have not driven one so cannot comment on it, but may be worth aq look if you can swing a new vehicle payment.



grump

 

[Bill V]

Didn't know about that one, grump. Thanks for the info.



Although I suspect that if he wanted "reasonable cheap new or used", a new larger SUV by any manufacturer is likely to be out of the price range, meaning he'll need to go with a used one--and I don't imagine there are many used Veracruzes out there yet...

 

[Nelson Atwell]

Mazda has the CX-9.



[Broken External Image]:

 

[Thomas Rogers]

CX-9...way to overpriced for what it is, IMHO.



CX-7 is a better deal and not much smaller.



Pacifica anyone?



TJR

 

[TracN Jack]

I was just windows shopping the CX-9 and the veracruz at a local Mazda/Hyundi dealer



The were both about the same size the price of the veracruz was much cheaper than the Cx9 i looked at but it could have been feature too.. the overall Finish on the Mazda looked better side by side... ie no orange peel in the paint job at all... the veracruz all over......



but the next car may be a Veracruz....

 

[Mike Franklin]

Oh lord. Suh suh suh suburban sized? Are you serious? Oh man, here I come Ahkmed the oil man!



***thump***

 

[Nelson Atwell]

The phrase, "Beauty is only skin deep" does not apply to vehicles. If they don't bother to get the paint right, then odds are there are other defects throughout the rest of the vehicle.

 

[Ryan Schaecher]

Sorry to say my 1996 Taurus is still going strong.... not to brag

 

[Bill V]

I don't know if you need to go to Suburban size. The 4-door Explorer that my wife and I had worked great with two kids. With a car seat mounted on each side in the 2nd row, we had about the right amount of luggage space in the back for travel. We only had to take the jump to Suburban now that the third kid is on the way, as there is no practical way to get two infants and one other child in a two row vehicle (if one baby seat is in the center, you can't reach it easily to strap the kid in; and if the baby seats are in the outside positions, you can't get the older kid past them to the center). And most vehicles we saw with third row seats added that row at the expense of luggage space.



So no, you don't need to look all the way up to Suburban/Excursion size. But you will want to be looking at larger than a sedan to have room for all the child 'extras' you'll have.

 

[TomT]

Speaking as a parent of two, whom are both grown up now, we had a minivan when they were young and later graduated to an Expedition as they got into scouts and camping and such. They both fit our needs perfectly. Of course gas was only $1 a gallon when we bought the Expedition in 96. We finally got rid of it last year and got something much more fun and economical (RAV4) that fits our lifestyle now. I think a minivan is your best option. Anyone that buys a big ass SUV these days is just a gluten for punishment. Unless your pulling an RV, which we did.