Advice on buying a 2002

[edward301]

I went to a birthday party tonight, and heard the Temptations play, they were loud, and still had one
original member in the band. At my table was a friend, who is the son of the owner of the Ford dealer
where I bought my white 2002 T Bird back in 2002. I told him I still had that 2002, and had in fact
bought another 2002 in Red to go with it. He said wait a minute, I have someone you need to visit with.
We went out in the lobby, and he introduced me to a gentlemen who drove him tonight, and he is a long
time employee of their dealership. This gentlemen who is now retired, was their master mechanic for
T Birds, went to school, etc., me and this guy visited for about 20 minutes about T Birds, what issues to
look for, and so on. He gave me his phone number, and told me he would be happy to come over one day
and look at both Birds, and go through all the do's and don'ts, and what to expect. Well believe me I am
going to call him, and learn all I can from him. He retired in 2011, but said I dream of T Birds in my sleep.

Hope to learn plenty from this man. I will pass on what I learn from him.

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[Mach5]

I went to a birthday party tonight, and heard the Temptations play, they were loud, and still had one
original member in the band. At my table was a friend, who is the son of the owner of the Ford dealer
where I bought my white 2002 T Bird back in 2002. I told him I still had that 2002, and had in fact
bought another 2002 in Red to go with it. He said wait a minute, I have someone you need to visit with.
We went out in the lobby, and he introduced me to a gentlemen who drove him tonight, and he is a long
time employee of their dealership. This gentlemen who is now retired, was their master mechanic for
T Birds, went to school, etc., me and this guy visited for about 20 minutes about T Birds, what issues to
look for, and so on. He gave me his phone number, and told me he would be happy to come over one day
and look at both Birds, and go through all the do's and don'ts, and what to expect. Well believe me I am
going to call him, and learn all I can from him. He retired in 2011, but said I dream of T Birds in my sleep.

Hope to learn plenty from this man. I will pass on what I learn from him.

Yes! I look forward to reading your post!

 

[Elaineinwa]

Having just done a lot of research before purchasing my 2005, I would suggest anyone go with an 03-05 (sorry 02 owners). The advantages are just to significant in my mind. Almost 30 hp extra, variable valve timing, select shiftable transmission, heated seats and even a padded, perfectly fitting boot cover. What I'd be interested in hearing are thoughts on the right mileage level. In my mind, I considered 50-70k to be the sweet spot for a 14 year old car. I wonder how much the low mileage cars (6-15k) suffer from sitting so much. Would love to hear from purchasers. In the end, I picked a 05 with 73k in the exact color combination I was looking for.

Goody! More 02 for me! Love my car "Velvet" 2002 Black on Black premium with only 51,000 miles. Completely cherry and Mama's little darling! Bought the complete service manual suite so I can cater to her whims! Drove from Camano Island to Portland and bCk in one day and I think she enjoyed the romp... good for the charging system which keeps the computer happy and charged with happy thoughts and juju, good for the fuel system lots of premium to slurp, good for the coolant system to keep things circulated and good times at regular operating temps so everything is functioning at optimal parameter! Rescued a kitty who got to ride in style to my house!

 

[Threebird]

I looked for about a year all up and down the east coast. After learning a lot on this website I settled on an '04 or '05 to get the better VVT engine, wanted a Merlot with sand interior package. Heated seats and hardtop were a must for me. I wanted a daily driver quality car since that was how I would use it and to help keep the price down. In the end I found an '04 just the way I wanted it with ~59k and a few chips and nicks - perfect for me - just 20 miles from my home! Everyone comments on the car and it always turns heads around town. The only work needed was to replace all the rubber boots on the suspension - the joints themselves were all fine, just the boots. Later I replaced the battery.
I love driving it everyday! (Life is too short to drive boring cars!)

I bought a 2002 last year 76000 miles I had to replace the whole front suspension and the valve cover gaskets...it was a little bit of work but it rides like new and I can't take it anywhere without getting stares n comments. The 03_05 may have 30 more hp but how fast are you going to drive it anyway. I've never had one but I don't think I'll be trading my 02 for a newer one anytime soon. Also I found out my bird was one of the first 203 retro birds built...Show me a 03-05 owner that can say that.

 

[Threebird]

I looked for about a year all up and down the east coast. After learning a lot on this website I settled on an '04 or '05 to get the better VVT engine, wanted a Merlot with sand interior package. Heated seats and hardtop were a must for me. I wanted a daily driver quality car since that was how I would use it and to help keep the price down. In the end I found an '04 just the way I wanted it with ~59k and a few chips and nicks - perfect for me - just 20 miles from my home! Everyone comments on the car and it always turns heads around town. The only work needed was to replace all the rubber boots on the suspension - the joints themselves were all fine, just the boots. Later I replaced the battery.
I love driving it everyday! (Life is too short to drive boring cars!)

I meant Quick draw...not slingshot. WTF was I thinking. Sorry Quick draw. Threebird

 

[Mark 02 Thunderbird]

We bought our 02 yellow bird about a year ago. It had about 80,000 miles on it, and we bought it from the second owner. It was a garage kept, nice car. We rebuilt the whole front end last month, and now the cooling system pump is leaking. I'm also plagued with the phantom wipers. But, just tonight, I bought a new combination switch (just $117), and while I'm not 100% sure if that will fix the problem, it's a cheap place to start. It has had problems others on here have mentioned/complained about, but so far, nothing really crazy cost wise. The car is for my wife, and she absolutely loves the yellow color! We live in south Florida, so the top is down just about every day. The performance is more than enough for us. Just because of some of the quirky problems with the 02 only models, unless you want the yellow, or what ever the other one year only color is, I'd say look for 03 and up. But, if you are like us, the beautiful yellow is our favorite color, and worth the extra hassle and cost of ownership!

 

[lboiman]

I looked for about a year all up and down the east coast. After learning a lot on this website I settled on an '04 or '05 to get the better VVT engine, wanted a Merlot with sand interior package. Heated seats and hardtop were a must for me. I wanted a daily driver quality car since that was how I would use it and to help keep the price down. In the end I found an '04 just the way I wanted it with ~59k and a few chips and nicks - perfect for me - just 20 miles from my home! Everyone comments on the car and it always turns heads around town. The only work needed was to replace all the rubber boots on the suspension - the joints themselves were all fine, just the boots. Later I replaced the battery.
I love driving it everyday! (Life is too short to drive boring cars!)

Where did you find someone with the ability to just replace the boots in the suspension. Everybody I have talked to has to replace the suspension parts not just the bushings or boots. Source please.

 

[ohrings]

I am looking to buy a Thunderbird. I found a 2002 that's in mint condition with only 14000 miles on it but from what I have read so far it might be better to buy a different year due to various problems, especially with the ignition modules. Any advice greatly appreciated before I spend my hard earned money.

I have had my 2002 Bird since 2003 with no problems whatsoever. I has 24,900 miles on it.

 

[Bark624]

I am the proud owner of an '02 that I bought 3 years ago as the third owner. It was driven hard for 113,000 miles when I bought her. I have all records of the recommended maintenance performed. I've put new tires on, had the FEM refurbished, and recharged the AC. Less than $1,000 total. Runs like a tiger. In my personal opinion, most problems crop up with garage babies that haven't had routine maintenance done and more importantly actually driven. These cars were meant to be driven hard. Also, in my opinion, the '02 model seems to have less engine problems than the later models when modifications were made to the engine.

 

[edward301]

One thing the Ford mechanic told me about the FEM, which he said was his
personal observation, was if the car sits for long periods of time the FEM
will last longer.

He said when the car sits, power is off to most of the electrical componets
and the capacitors are at rest, uncharged.

 

[Mach5]

Where did you find someone with the ability to just replace the boots in the suspension. Everybody I have talked to has to replace the suspension par ts not just the bushings or boots. Source please.

Advanced Performance Automotive in Beltsville, MD (301) 595-9540, ask for Dan, he'll know who sent you.
https://forums.fordthunderbirdforum.com/threads/2005-suspension-issues.7820/page-2 see post 27 -29