potentially found a car

well it's taken time, but VW are buying back our car under the lemon law and
it goes back lunchtime on Monday.

Rather oddly, a friend has been unable to sell a car for no apparent reason,
we didn't even know for months, but it came up in conversation when she
didn't know we were returning ours and on finding more information, it looks
like it could be a good car for us, the price is right and it has features
I'm keen on, the one remaining thing is to see if I can find out anything
else about it, I've looked on all the review sites and it does reasonably,
so I thought you guys might be able to help, it's a 2001 Mercury Sable,
wagon, I think the version with more trim - it has 2 seats in the trunk,
which would appear to fit kids car seats as they have regular seatbelts and
our car seats are not LATCH (though the car has this on two seats, which is
useful as we need a new seat soonish).

It's high mileage, but the interior and exterior look excellent condition,
particularly when you consider the mileage, it's over 110,000. This is one
thing that concerns my husband, I'm less concerned, one car we had was lower
mileage than that, but not much, but in poor condition externally and served
us very well.

Any thoughts appreciated, we're not at all familiar with the Mercury brand.

Anne

Anne Rogers wrote:
well it's taken time, but VW are buying back our car under the lemon law and
it goes back lunchtime on Monday.

Rather oddly, a friend has been unable to sell a car for no apparent reason,
we didn't even know for months, but it came up in conversation when she
didn't know we were returning ours and on finding more information, it looks
like it could be a good car for us, the price is right and it has features
I'm keen on, the one remaining thing is to see if I can find out anything
else about it, I've looked on all the review sites and it does reasonably,
so I thought you guys might be able to help, it's a 2001 Mercury Sable,
wagon, I think the version with more trim - it has 2 seats in the trunk,
which would appear to fit kids car seats as they have regular seatbelts and
our car seats are not LATCH (though the car has this on two seats, which is
useful as we need a new seat soonish).


The Mercury Sable is the twin to the Ford Taurus (edmunds.com has info
on twinned vehicles at:

http://www.edmunds.com/advice/buying...9/article.html

I have the 2000 Taurus wagon with the 2 extra seats in the back (trunk)
- the owner's manual says not to put carseats there. You can put
children there, so I guess you could use a positioning booster. While
twin vehicles can have some differences, I doubt a Sable would differ
from a Taurus on safe use of the 3rd seat, so if you'd need it for a
carseat, check the owner's manual first.

I really like my Taurus, but I have a 10-year-old and a 5-year-old who
can probably move to a booster in about a year.

Clisby


It's high mileage, but the interior and exterior look excellent condition,
particularly when you consider the mileage, it's over 110,000. This is one
thing that concerns my husband, I'm less concerned, one car we had was lower
mileage than that, but not much, but in poor condition externally and served
us very well.

Any thoughts appreciated, we're not at all familiar with the Mercury brand.

Anne

"Anne Rogers" wrote in message
. ..
well it's taken time, but VW are buying back our car under the lemon law
and it goes back lunchtime on Monday.

Rather oddly, a friend has been unable to sell a car for no apparent
reason, we didn't even know for months, but it came up in conversation
when she didn't know we were returning ours and on finding more
information, it looks like it could be a good car for us, the price is
right and it has features I'm keen on, the one remaining thing is to see
if I can find out anything else about it, I've looked on all the review
sites and it does reasonably, so I thought you guys might be able to help,
it's a 2001 Mercury Sable, wagon, I think the version with more trim - it
has 2 seats in the trunk,

That's two seats in the back. A trunk doesn't have windows. And you don't
put kids in the trunk.

which would appear to fit kids car seats as they have regular seatbelts
and our car seats are not LATCH (though the car has this on two seats,
which is useful as we need a new seat soonish).

It's high mileage, but the interior and exterior look excellent condition,
particularly when you consider the mileage, it's over 110,000. This is one
thing that concerns my husband, I'm less concerned, one car we had was
lower mileage than that, but not much, but in poor condition externally
and served us very well.

My aunt had a few high mileage Tauri, which is the Ford brand of the Sable.
You may be able to get a lot of trouble free miles out of it.

Any thoughts appreciated, we're not at all familiar with the Mercury
brand.

It's the same as a Ford Taurus station wagon.

Jeff

Anne

"Anne Rogers" wrote in message
. ..
well it's taken time, but VW are buying back our car under the lemon law
and it goes back lunchtime on Monday.

Rather oddly, a friend has been unable to sell a car for no apparent
reason, we didn't even know for months, but it came up in conversation
when she didn't know we were returning ours and on finding more
information, it looks like it could be a good car for us, the price is
right and it has features I'm keen on, the one remaining thing is to see
if I can find out anything else about it, I've looked on all the review
sites and it does reasonably, so I thought you guys might be able to help,
it's a 2001 Mercury Sable, wagon, I think the version with more trim - it
has 2 seats in the trunk, which would appear to fit kids car seats as they
have regular seatbelts and our car seats are not LATCH (though the car has
this on two seats, which is useful as we need a new seat soonish).

It's high mileage, but the interior and exterior look excellent condition,
particularly when you consider the mileage, it's over 110,000. This is one
thing that concerns my husband, I'm less concerned, one car we had was
lower mileage than that, but not much, but in poor condition externally
and served us very well.

Any thoughts appreciated, we're not at all familiar with the Mercury
brand.

Anne


YOu should be able to pick up a copy of Consumer Reports issue on cars.

Anne Rogers wrote:

Rather oddly, a friend has been unable to sell a car for no apparent reason,
we didn't even know for months, but it came up in conversation when she
didn't know we were returning ours and on finding more information, it looks
like it could be a good car for us, the price is right and it has features
I'm keen on, the one remaining thing is to see if I can find out anything
else about it, I've looked on all the review sites and it does reasonably,
so I thought you guys might be able to help, it's a 2001 Mercury Sable,
wagon, I think the version with more trim - it has 2 seats in the trunk,
which would appear to fit kids car seats as they have regular seatbelts and
our car seats are not LATCH (though the car has this on two seats, which is
useful as we need a new seat soonish).

Do not assume that you can put any child restraint in
the rear-facing third row of seats. I'm not aware of any
wagons with rear-facing seats where it's safe to use a carseat
or booster. That's why they only have LATCH in the second
row. That's the only place you can use child restraints.

Best wishes,
Ericka

Clisby wrote:
I have the 2000 Taurus wagon with the 2 extra seats in the back (trunk)
- the owner's manual says not to put carseats there. You can put
children there, so I guess you could use a positioning booster.

Nope, the safety seat resources say no booster either.

Best wishes,
Ericka

I have the 2000 Taurus wagon with the 2 extra seats in the back (trunk) -
the owner's manual says not to put carseats there. You can put children
there, so I guess you could use a positioning booster.

Nope, the safety seat resources say no booster either.

odd, it seems to have full seat belts and rear facing is usually said to be
better, I know my friend definitely had used it this way and this was one of
the reasons why she got this particular car, as she looked after children, I
will double check where she got the information from.

Anne

Anne Rogers wrote:
I have the 2000 Taurus wagon with the 2 extra seats in the back (trunk) -
the owner's manual says not to put carseats there. You can put children
there, so I guess you could use a positioning booster.

Nope, the safety seat resources say no booster either.


odd, it seems to have full seat belts and rear facing is usually said to be
better, I know my friend definitely had used it this way and this was one of
the reasons why she got this particular car, as she looked after children, I
will double check where she got the information from.

Anne


I'm curious about this, too - I looked around the NHTSA site and didn't
see any recommendation against using booster seats in the fold-down
seats. I could certainly have missed it, though.

Clisby

Anne Rogers wrote:
I have the 2000 Taurus wagon with the 2 extra seats in the back (trunk) -
the owner's manual says not to put carseats there. You can put children
there, so I guess you could use a positioning booster.
Nope, the safety seat resources say no booster either.

odd, it seems to have full seat belts and rear facing is usually said to be
better, I know my friend definitely had used it this way and this was one of
the reasons why she got this particular car, as she looked after children, I
will double check where she got the information from.

Many people do not realize this. I frequently see
child restraints in rear-facing third row seats in cars that
I know for sure say in the operator's manual that you're
not supposed to do that. Even safety seat experts who
feel that it's safer for kids old enough to be out of
restraints to be sitting in the rear-facing seats say that
one should not use child restraints in those positions.
It is possible that some station wagons with rear
facing third row seating are designed to be safe with
child restraints, but unless there's a clear mention in
the operator's manuals for both the car and the restraint,
I wouldn't do it.

Best wishes,
Ericka

Clisby wrote:


Anne Rogers wrote:
I have the 2000 Taurus wagon with the 2 extra seats in the back
(trunk) - the owner's manual says not to put carseats there. You
can put children there, so I guess you could use a positioning booster.

Nope, the safety seat resources say no booster either.


odd, it seems to have full seat belts and rear facing is usually said
to be better, I know my friend definitely had used it this way and
this was one of the reasons why she got this particular car, as she
looked after children, I will double check where she got the
information from.

Anne

I'm curious about this, too - I looked around the NHTSA site and didn't
see any recommendation against using booster seats in the fold-down
seats. I could certainly have missed it, though.

Check the restraint manual or the car's operator's
manual. For example, the manual for our Britax Marathon is
absolutely clear that it must not be used in a rear-facing
seat.

From http://www.car-safety.org/faq.html#Q43

"Q43: Can I install a carseat in the side-facing jump seats in a pickup,
or a rear-facing seat in a wagon?

Carseats and boosters should NEVER be installed in side-facing jump
seats. Unfortunately, that means that children under 8 years old (about
80 pounds) should not ride in these types of seats. Children should
never ride in the cargo area of a pickup.

Rear-facing seats in wagons vary. Usually, you will not be able to
install a carseat, but children in seatbelts may be seated there in some
models. Please consult your owner's manual or vehicle manufacturer for
recommendations. Some newer wagon models may have weight limitations
for the rear-facing seat, and it may be best not to use rear-facing
bench seats in older models at all."

For instance, at least as of a couple years ago, the Volvo wagons
had an 88 pound limit for passengers in the 3rd row and you could
not install a child restraint back there. So, if you lived in a
state that required a booster up to 80 pounds, you'd have a darned
short useful life for that 3rd row seat.

Best wishes,
Ericka