Anyone own a Ford Windstar?
#217536 - 10/05/05 07:10 AM
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BarbaraS
Reged: 02/12/03
Posts: 1939
Loc: Wisconsin
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sorry to be MIA, but after that last debate I haven't wanted to post, but I do lurk.
I may purchase a 2001 Ford Windstar in the next couple of days. It only has 34,000 miles on it and the van is at a private dealer. I refuse to deal with the large dealers anymore. 
This may be my first American car purchase - I've only own foreign vechicles. I own a 1993 Nissan Quest, which was purchased in 1996. The problem is it will cost me about $1,000 for repairs and it needs to be done fairly soon. My rear breaks need immediate attention. My van has close to 150,000 miles and more likely can not get $1,000 for it.
Need advice since this is the first time purchasing a car on my own.
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I actually do love it, frankly, in spite of itself - it has a lot of room and great pick-up, a must for me (ours is the model with more engine power, I don't remember the term exactly). But the transmission completely locked up when we'd only had it a month (we bought ours at Carmax with about 40k miles). We later learned that the transmissions tend to go after 40/50k miles. Thankfully it was under warranty and we got a new transmission free, so figure now we'll drive it till it dies. So, with that in mind, I guess bottom line is if I had it to do again I probably would go with a Toyota like my gut told me in the first place. 
Glad to see you post - don't be afraid to. I mostly lurk and steer well clear of debates or heaeted posts when at all possible! Because they always die down adn I think in the end most folks regret how they reacted in the heat of emotion. How are you and the boys making out? I think of you a lot and pray for all of you as you deal right now.
Hugs...
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Take care,
Michelle
...the greatest of these is LOVE. (I Cor 13)
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Oh, Barbara, be careful of this van. We owned one and my sister did too, and we both had a lot of mechanical problems, including one that cost us $1,800. (I will have to ask my husband what exactly it was. I can't remember the name of the part that was bad.) But Ford Motor Company knew it was defective (they had problems with all of the Windstars for several years) and they refused to pay for the repair. They were so rude to us that I have a bad taste in my mouth for Ford---and will never buy another vehicle from them.
We repaired ours and sold it soon after that---and the dealer didn't offer us much for it because they were aware of the mechanical problems the Windstars had had. Soon after that, I saw the Windstar listed in Consumer Report magazine as one of the worst vans to own because of the repair problems.
I'm trying to remember what year ours was---I think it was a 1996 maybe??? Hopefully Ford has corrected the problems by now, but I'm be sure and check with several mechanics and Consumer Reports Auto issue to make sure they're ok now before I purchased one.
Hope this helps. I know car-buying is stressful. There's nothing worse than having a car that is constantly in the shop. You have to have reliable transportation.
That's why we now own 3 Hondas!!!! Good luck!
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The problem is I can't afford one. 
The 2001 Windstar model has a differnt transmission and doesn't fail as easily as the older ones. I believe the salesman told me it is the gasket that fails after so many miles.
I read a number of reviews about the 2001 model and the reviews are mixed.
I think I'll contiue to look for an afforable foreign van, unless someone tells me the 2001 Windstart in much improved.
I hear you about owning Hondas. My Nissan is a 1993 and and still has the same transmission; although it is beginning to get funky and the engine still runs great.
I don't want to keep putting money into my van, because of the age and high milage. My husband disagrees with me and insist I dump more money into it, but he isn't offering to help me pay for it. He says he can do some of the work, but he can't do it all.
To big of a decision to make and I'm not sure what to do.
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We are doing okay - thanks for asking. Check your e-mail later.
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good to see you back, as michelle said.
How are things going with your husband?
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I always search it before making majjor purchases. Just a thought....
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Everything in life happens for a reason, patience will eventually tell us what that is......
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