1995 Ford Taurus

Sedan

3.0L V6 Cylinder High Output Gasoline Fuel

Manual

1FALP54Y4SA297461

Gasoline

Power Windows

1995 Taurus SHO MTX 56,980 original miles I am not a dealer or reseller. This SHO is my pride and joy, but I am retiring and moving next year, and don’t want to have to park it in the driveway at our new home. I am going out on a limb here, but I believe this may be the absolute best ORIGINAL 95 SHO manual transmission car anywhere. Maybe the best SHO MTX of any year anywhere! It is nearly flawless, under 57,000 miles, California garaged all its life, and in near showroom condition with NO modifications of any kind. I bought it in 2008 from a church charity auction, and the seller told me it had belonged to an older gentleman in San Francisco whose kids took away his keys and donated it. CARFAX bears out its history and shows no accidents or title issues. As far as I can tell it has all options except a sunroof (trust me, after owning 2 SHOs previously, the sunroof is not an option you want.) I have corresponded with the folks at Barrett Jackson, and they projected an auction sale price at $10,500 and are comfortable with a $9000 reserve. Hopefully a SHO enthusiast can buy this fabulous investment grade car for less on this ebay auction and save me the trouble of hauling it to Las Vegas. The last 59,000 mile 95 SHO MTX I saw on ebay sold for above my “Buy-it-now” price almost 2 years ago in the depths of the recession. Plus it was from the Michigan rust belt. The car is sapphire blue with gray leather. Sapphire blue was pretty rare in 1995, but seems to be a very popular color today, and there aren’t many of them around. It is similar to the current Toyota bright blue, but I doubt you could buy a semi worn out Nissan or Toyota for even close to this price. Everything works as it should, including ice cold A/C, all instruments, all accessories and all mechanicals. The interior is like new, with no sun damage and no wear showing anywhere except a tiny scuff on the drivers seal bolster. It has been kept inside with a near new $300 fitted California Car Cover (included in sale) and never left outside or driven in rain since I have owned it. It runs beautifully and gets surprisingly good gas mileage. Based on prior ownership of both a 1990 and 1995 SHO MTX, I will confirm that the gas mileage is exceptional, and the only problems I ever had with my two earlier SHOs were water pumps and resealing the A/C “O” rings a couple times. Both went over 150,000 miles with their original clutches. The engine on these cars is a jewel, and I never even had motor oil turn black between changes. A recent Car & Driver article on the “Cash for Clunkers” program said there was only one lone SHO traded in, and the dealer was unable to nuke the engine with calcium carbonate as required by law, and the car continued to run happily even after repeated death blows. The standard features are shown below. Here are the extra cost options: · Leather · AM-FM cassette with premium sound option · Power front seat with power lumbar and side bolsters both seats · Automatic climate control · Auto lamps · Keyless entry Included are the pristine owner manual, zipped portfolio cover, owner card and a complete (new) shop manual, plus the nearly new fitted California Car Cover which is designed for both indoor and outdoor application. This SHO was built and shipped on May 24, 1995, which would make it one of the last Yamaha 3.0 powered SHOs to be built, and the best if you read the SHO forums. The Taurus/Sable Encyclopedia shows 9560 SHOs built in the 1995 model year. No one seems to know how many were manuals, but the number batted around is about 10%-15%. The figure of 1200 keeps coming up. Most of these cars were driven hard, and given how many were trashed, rusted, or driven into the ground, that leaves very few good originals in circulation. Practically none. I spent 3 years searching for this one, and have not seen anything better for sale since. This is a 16 year old car. Are there flaws? Several minor ones: · The passenger electric lock is sluggish. It works but is slow, indicating maybe a binding linkage · The electric antenna works OK but is a bit noisy · The remote mirrors work up and down but not side to side (junkyard Taurus switches are $2) · The gas cap will release with the remote lever but won’t pop open all the way · There are 5 or 6 paint flaws on the hood and roof…looks like maybe bird droppings or chemical fallout, but not terribly obvious. The paint itself looks terrific. · There is a 1 inch nick on the driver door black window frame near the beltline · There are about 4 microscopic door dings, almost invisible · The keyless entry works because I can lock the doors with it, but I can’t find the factory code This is the official content of the 1995 SHO taken from the Taurus/Sable Encyclopedia: MSRP for the basic SHO was $25,140. With its options the MSRP for mine would be closer to $27,000….a lot of money for 1995! - 3.0L Yamaha V6 & MTX-IV 5-Spd OR - 3.2L Yamaha V6 & AXOD-E 4-Spd - 4-Wheel Disc plus Anti-Lock Brakes - Special Handling Suspension - Dual Exhaust - Power Front Sport Seats w/ Adjustable Front Lumbar Support - Dual Electric Remote Mirrors - Interval Wipers - Rear Defogger - Electronic-Tuning AM/FM Stereo w/ Cassette - Digital Clock - Coin and Cup Holders - Locking Glovebox - Ground Effect Body Panel w/ Wheel Spats - Front Air Dam w/ Foglights - Aluminum Alloy Wheels - Air Conditioning - Power Windows - Power Locks - Middle Console w/ Cupholder and Armrest - Leather Wrapped Steering Wheel - Tilt Steering - Remote Decklid and Fuel Door Release - Cruise Control - 140 MPH Speedometer - 8000 RPM Tachometer - Million Mile Odometer - Lighted Visor Vanity Mirrors - Cornering Lamps - Driver-Side Air Bag (in Steering Wheel) - Passenger-Side Air Bag - Illuminated Entry/Light Group - Decklid Spoiler w/ LED Brake Light - Electronic Climate Control w/ Air Conditioning - High Level Sound System - Keyless Entry - 18 Gallon Fuel Tank I will reserve the right to end the auction early if the car is sold locally. If you are not a buyer with ebay feedback, then I would rather you not bid. At least contact me first. For California buyers I will secure a smog certificate at my expense. $500 deposit is due 48 hours after the end of the auction, preferably through Paypal. The car can be picked up and driven home when full payment is received and any checks have had 10 days to clear. You would need to secure a car carrier if you are not local. The CA registration is current. Please feel free to e-mail me with questions.On Jul-06-11 at 17:16:41 PDT, seller added the following information: A couple things were brought to my attention by watchers and bidders: 1. The premium sound option apparently is not the same as the Bose option. The SHO does not say Bose anywhere 2. I found that I do have a new remote mirror switch that will be included in the sale, plus some extra parts I picked up along the way (dipstick & 2 grab handles) 3. The passenger seat is not power (this was correctly stated, but may not have been clear to every reader) 4. The automatic climate control is apparently standard and not an option as I stated. I recall an earlier SHO I bought in 1995 I had to actually delete the climate package and pay extra for the standard manual HVAC controls 5. A reader told me he had production records, and that 182 SAPHIRE BLUE SHO MTX cars were built in 1995. I think the official Ford color name was something besides Saphire, but I cannot verify either fact. He sounded pretty confident, though. 6. I just drove the car around town and I can't believe I actually want to sell it. On Jul-07-11 at 11:49:38 PDT, seller added the following information: Several SHO experts told me where to find the keyless entry code. I did and the system works just fine. Another expert told me there were a total of 861 Moonlight Blue (official Ford color name) SHOs built in 1995, the least of any color offered. 2036 MTX cars were built in 1995 (I had heard fewer than that, but I will report any data offered rather than use guesswork.) 182 MTX cars were Moonlight Blue. (from another reader) Another factoid is that when I bought a new 95 SHO MTX in April of 1995, there were a lot of MTXs built at the end of the model year. Ford wanted to use up their supply of manual transmissions, which would not be offered after the production wrap-up of the Gen 2 car. I remember newspaper sale flyers from some big dealers in the CA area offering discounts on the last of the MTX cars. I bought mine (green) from a Mercury dealer as a "used car" with 14 miles on the odometer and a song and dance about the car having an "acid rain" discount, whatever that was. Not much has changed in the car business. On Jul-09-11 at 08:58:00 PDT, seller added the following information: For those prospective bidders who ordered an inspection through www.InspectMyRide.com, the inspector arrived Friday about 2 PM. The inspection report # is 3995511 and he said it would be posted on line today. He would not discuss his findings with me, and the service provider will not allow me to access the report without paying the full price. I was a little annoyed that he drove the car without asking for my registration, insurance or permission (he did state early on that he wanted to do a test drive, but I also replied I wanted to accompany him.) When it was returned it would not start. I tested the battery (good) and looked at the starter. Right next to the starter was a fresh shiny scrape on the crossmember. Since I am the only driver of this car, and since I never hit anything since I owned it, I am wondering how the scrape got there (please note I am not blaming the inspector, just relating the details.) I replaced the starter yesterday afternoon, and I also noticed that the power antenna had been raised, but no longer wants to retract (it can be retracted manually.) He noted the remote mirror switch would not move the mirrors up and down, just side to side. I noted this on my original posting, and also noted that a new switch is included in the sale. If any of the bidders want to share the inspection findings with me (kept confidential, of course,) I would be appreciative. Thanks. rjc475