I might be buying a 2000 Taurus this weekend. But I need to know if anyone can tell me if they know the problem.

The kid tells me there is a stutter when driving about 50-55 mph then smoothens out around 63 or so. He says the mechanic told him the ball joints are causing the noise and would cost about $600 to replace...(lol, doubt this). He also said there were bubbles in the tires that were causing some road noise.

Going to look at it Saturday and hope I can drive it...can usually tell what the problem is when I drive it.

Any info would be awesome!

2000 Ford Taurus V-6

 

Drive it, but don't trust that kid's opinion. Have it looked at by a mechanic if you are not confident.
Look for subframe rust. I believe these Taurus have the same subframe as the Windstar. And Iowa is a state that uses road salt liberally. I know, I live there.
Look for corrosion at the springs, bottom edge of the doors, rear fender above the wheels, rocker panels and bottom edge of the trunk lid. It will give you some fire power when you negotiate the price.
Ball joints don't cost $600 to replace. Maybe a complete front end rebuild costs that much. That's why I think it is worth to pay a mechanic for an inspection.
Go to "carsurvey.org" and read up on that model of that year. Keep in mind that this site attracts people who feel they must let off some steam.

 

Lol, I asked my boss about his taurus and he told me to stay away from them if anyway possible. He has a 07, and has already replaced most of the parts that shouldnt go bad.

But my problem is, I have to buy cheap as I cannot get a loan, and nobody will buy my cavalier. A lot of the people in the town I live in know who owned the car last, and know it was beat on. Ofcourse it was me who put all the money into it to get it drivable agian.

Some rust doesnt bother me. The actual frame on my car now is rusted thru.

 

Is that Taurus your only option in Estherville and the Great Lakes of Iowa region?

So the only problem your Cavalier makes is that rust but otherwise it is running reliably? Are you talking about the subframe? The Cavalier is a unibody construction.
If your car is good, except the subframe then ask a junk yard how much it would cost to replace it with a good subframe. Or ask a body shop if they are willing to weld it.
The thinking is that you already paid to get the car running reliably and keeping the Cavalier alive would strech the dollars you already spent.

The Taurus (or another old used car) could get you into the same situation you had with the beat up Cavalier.

Is your boss an auto expert? Or did he take his Taurus to the dealer, saying: "Fix it!"

 

The oil pump on the cavalier is headed out the door and I really dont feel like putting more money into it as it still needs tires, struts, rear shocks, and the interior is basically shot...no head liner, sunroof cant be opened, trunk leaks when it rains, window seals dry rotted...I could go on and on....but to make long story short

I got the car free....and already put about $700 into it, and its worth about that much via www.kbb.com private sell.

Its also just recently hit 210k miles on it.

 

We have some Taurus vehicles in our fleet that we have been running since 2000. They have not really caused any more or less problems than any other vehicles we have. If the vehicle is fundamentally sound in the body and subframe, it should not be too bad. We have had a few issues with transaxles, but not that many.