l know many of you will probably say it is not worth it if it is a Ford.l just need a car and can not afford to be too picky.

the biggest problem with those cars is the transmission. the engines are good and most things are pretty easy to fix

Have a mechanic take a look before you plunk down the cash, if the tranny is shot, move on, it would cost 2K to fix

Read the reviews here:
http://edmunds.com/mercury/sable/1996/index.html

no matter the car it can be bad or good depending on how it was cared for. if affordable l would have it checked out at a reputable shop. if u cant afford to do that then l would check online the usual repairs this model seems to need & see if that might fit ur budget down the line. l have bought, driven, sold & worked on quite a few cars (sable being one of them). l do not personally like them because they tend to have transmission & head gasket problems, but if well cared for & as long as u maintain it u can drive trouble free i'm sure. not sure the cost of the one u have found but l am almost positive u could find a honda, toyota or other model for same money. & as a side note it is usually better buying private owner over a dealership.

l had a 94 taurus and its basicly the same and l had no problem with it and my nephew bought a 96 and had no problem pretty solid car if you ask me and check my source

there not bad cars they have shifting problems normally, just a suggestion look for a cavalier 88-94 those are good cheap cars

Another guy mentioned that how good a used car is really has to do with how well it is cared for, & that is exactly right. In my experience, the Vulcan engine (155 hp OHV) does not seem to suffer from oil leaks that plague a lot of the Duratec engines (200 hp DOHC), so check underneath the engine for signs of oil leaks. Also, remove the air intake tube from the throttle body, & open the butterfly valve & look for signs of oil build up immediately behind the valve: the dryer the better. Ideally, the inside should not be covered in any oil at all, & it is not necessarily a bad sign - u should just know what you're buying. Test drive the car in stop & go city driving for a minimum of 20, maybe 30 minutes. Highway driving is not as stressful on the engine.

l used to have an '89 Taurus GL with the 3.0 Vulcan engine (140hp) & it was excellent! l always averaged in the mid 20 is for fuel economy, & it rev'd up great. Around 160k mile there was a coolant leak from the timing chain cover gasket, & it was fairly easy to fix. The timing chain was really worn out at that point to, & replacing it made a noticeable improvement. When that car was wrecked in an accident, l bought another Taurus: an '89 LX. I've had a great experience with owning my Tauruses, & would definitely recommend them or the Sable, but u do need to be aware of what you're buying.