I hate shopping for new cars. No, really. I do. I hate the song and dance that you get from salesmen when you stop and shop. I would rather visit the dentist.

In our case, it should have been easy. We knew what we wanted. We wanted the 2002 Ford Taurus SES. Period. We both agreed on this one car, which was amazing since we couldn't agree on any other vehicle we looked at. Either I didn't like it or he didn't. We both liked what this car had to offer so we went to a Ford dealership that my mother had been doing business with for about 20 years now.

When we showed up they had a gorgeous, black 2002 Ford Taurus SES on the lot. It was just what we wanted. It had power locks, mirrors, and windows. It had the keyless entry that we wanted as well, and 4 doors, which was important to me, as well as the cloth interior. It also had power moon roof, AM/FM CD player, AC, cruise control, tilt steering, power driver's seat and adjustable pedals for short people like me so I can be farther away from the steering wheel.

The car had a 3.0 litre V-6 engine with 155 horsepower. It was a 4 speed automatic and shifted on the column. It also had rear defrost, and traction control that you could turn off and on. The gas mileage was pretty good for a car this size. It is 20 in the city and 28 on the highway. Not bad seeing as our Escort wasn't much better and was a smaller car with a smaller engine.

We found the car but then began the song and dance with the salespeople. After a couple of hours of listening to their static we told them we would think about it and call them the next day. We went to the dealership a little closer to home to see what they would do.

We showed up and told them what we wanted. They had the exact same car only in a color called "Spruce". It was a pretty shade of gray and green mixed. Another beautiful car. We began talking to them about the static we got at the other dealership and we were assured that wouldn't happen here. Bull. We got the run around. We spent about 7 hours total dealing with the two car lots, and we already had our own financing. This was dancing around with the salespeople, which I hate.

So, we ended up calling Larry Bird Ford about 25 miles away and asked how much their 2002 Ford Taurus SES was. The MSRP on the car, once again exactly the same except it had leather seats and was silver, was $22,965. So we said ok, straight up, what is the lowest you will sell this car for. We have the financing already. We just need the car. We told them we had been jacked around enough and just wanted the car. Either they could make an easy sale or we would go elsewhere. Steve, from the finance department who happened to answer the phone, came back with $21,215, which was invoice. We left dealership #2, we had used our cell phone to call Larry Bird Ford from the parking lot, and went right up. In less than 2 hours we drove off in our new car.

The only thing I don't care for is the gas gauge. You have to shut the car off and turn it back on to reset it when you get gas. Sometimes I turn the motor itself off, but not completely so my son can listen to the radio while I pump. If you don't turn the key completely off it won't reset and it will still show empty. It is more of a pet peeve than anything else.

My husband doesn't care for the fact that is has rear disc brakes. He prefers the 4 wheel disc brakes. He feels that disc brakes are easier to maintain and they have better stopping power. I didn't notice that they were sluggish or anything. They work very well in my opinion. They are quick to stop the car even when slight pressure is applied.

As for the car, we love it. The drive is nice and smooth and extremely quiet. You have to listen hard to hear it running. It glides around curves and you almost feel like you are floating. My husband managed to get pulled over the first full day we had it for going 76MPH in a 50MPH zone because he didn't think we were going that fast, and neither did I. If I wouldn't have looked over at the speedometer when the officer hit his lights I wouldn't have believed him. We got off with a warning, thank goodness!

There is a large amount of room in the car. We had two adults in the front seat and two adults and a car seat in it in the back. Two of the adults, including myself, aren't exactly little people. The car seat is for a toddler, so it isn't small, either. While we weren't completely comfortable, we had a fair amount of room to move. There could maybe be a little more leg room in the back, but head room is great.

The gas mileage is much better than I figured it would be for the larger size car that it is. It is about the same as we were getting with the '99 Escort we traded in. We were getting about 22 miles in the city and 28-30 in our Escort, and we're getting 20 in the city and 28 on the highway in the Taurus, so not much difference.

There are other features you can get such as the optional dual overhead cam, which puts the shifter on the floor and how you can tell at a glance the difference between the two, besides the price tag. There are other options such as cassette player, CD changer, and a wing, that you can get. Some of these depend on the model of Taurus that you choose. We looked at the SE, SES and, SEL models before choosing the SES.

As a recap, the car we bought has many features. While it isn't all of the features offered, it has the ones that we felt were the most important to us. It has power windows, locks, driver's seat, mirrors, moon roof, and pedals. It also has AC, cruise control, on the steering wheel, and AM/FM CD player. It has the keyless entry, 4 doors, tilt steering, rear defrost, traction control and leather interior. The car has a 3.0 litre V-6 engine with 155 horsepower and is a 4 speed automatic and that shifts on the column.

It is a nice sized car for the money. The power is there if you choose to use it. The smooth and quiet ride is wonderful. If you are looking for a mid-sized car with power and decent gas mileage, the 2002 Ford Taurus SES could be the way for you to go. At least give it a test drive. I think you'll find it is a wonderful car.

Side note

I must say I was impressed with the way Steve and Clay, the guys that worked with us to buy the new car we had been trying so hard to get, helped us out. No bull, just in an out the way buying a new car SHOULD be. If anyone is in Martinsville, Indiana and looking for a new Ford, check them out at Larry Bird Ford. If not for them we might not have bought this car. We had about had it with Fords and was thinking of looking at another brand.



Amount Paid (US$): 21,215
Condition: New
Model Year: 2002
Model and Options: Model - SES, AC, Cruise, Tilt, power moonroof, windows, locks and more