Anyone own a Ford Windstar minivan??

[SeaSpray]

We are considering buying one. It's not used though, it's brand new, off the dealer's lot.

I'd been researching used minivans and found out the going rate for them in my area. So I called the Ford dealer where we bought DH's truck from a year ago and asked if they had any used minivans. He said they didn't. I then asked him if he knew of anyplace in the area that sold newer used minivans, and he asked me what year I was interested in. I told him 2002, 2003, or 2004. He then told me that they still had 2 brand new 2003 Windstars. They originally listed for about $29,000. but they'd sell them now for under $17,000. I almost fell off the chair because that's the price that USED ones, with anywhere between 25,000 - 40,000 miles are going for!

We ran over to the dealer and test drove one of them and we like it. A brand new minivan (including full new-car warranty) with NO mileage for the same price as a used one... Seems like an obvious decision, right?

Just wondering, those of you who own one of these, how do you like them??
This is the Windstar LX Deluxe model. Thanks!

 

[teachingmyown]

I love my '96 Windstar. It has well over 100K miles and is still dependable and comfortable. If I were looking and found the deal you describe, I wouldn't be looking anymore. In fact, for that kind of deal, I may look up your dealer myself! (Just kidding...next one we buy, we're hoping to pay cash for and we aren't quite there yet)

 

[dizneenut]

I have a 2001 Windstar LX and I love it.

That is a wonderful deal!!

 

[wfloyd]

We had a '96 Windstar. After it visited the mechanic once a month for 18 months straight (we didn't have to pay for all the repairs) it started having transmission problems. We dumped it as fast as we could and got another car that wasn't associated with Ford in any way.

 

[dg39]

Another one with transmission problems. After having it for 1 yr. The transmission went.

 

[Cindy B]

I had a 1995 Windstar and HATED IT! First two head gaskets blew (one while driving!), then seven of the fourteen engine sensors went, and then the transmission was bad!

The car was in the shop more than on the road.

I will never buy another one again.

 

[Southern4sure]

I have a hard time understanding the dealership has 2 brand new mini vans left. 05's have been selling for awhile now. The only thing going for these is he warranty. I would check out that warranty really good, is it a bumper to bumper warranty, what would not be covered. Ask them to do a report online by giving the vehicle ID number. If this report comes back clean and the warranty is what you expect, then I would go with it.

Personally, when I test drove the winstar, I wasnt crazy about it. When I test drove the Dodge Grand Caravan, there was no comparison...I bought the Dodge and I love it and wouldnt think twice about trading it in. Mine is an 01 model with 70,500 miles and drives like a dream.

Southern

 

[redbirdgrad]

I have a Windstar 2003 LX - and had a 98 Windstar before that. Mine has been great. I got a great deal on it in late 2003 because it was the last year for the "Windstar" model, now Ford sells a "Freestar" I believe.

 

[MagicalMom]

I have a 2003 Windstar. I love it. I haven't had a bit of a problem yet. It's great for taking to Disney World.

 

[HollyJoy]

Okay, well I'll be a downer here and advise you NOT to buy a Ford Windstar. We have a 1999 Windstar, and it's a love/hate relationship. I love the inside of my van, I love the looks, I love how comfortable the seats are, basically, I love the cosmetic side of the van. HOwever, as far as RELIABILITY, it STINKS! This van has been in the shop so many times, it's RIDICULOUS. I can honestly say, that I will NEVER buy a Ford again. I have been greatly disappointed with it. My next van will be either a Honda Odyessy or a Toyota Sienna. My neighbor's Son and DIL bought a used Windstar and got rid of it w/in a year due to problem after problem, then finally the engine went! Another friend of mine has one of the Limited Edition Windstars (don't know the year) and hers has been in the shop time after time again.

On the other side, I know a couple of other people who have a Windstar and have never had any problems.

So if you do go w/the Windstar, make sure you get an AWESOME Warranty!

 

[momof2inPA]

That sounds like a good price. And it would be under 17,000, so maybe 16,000 or 15,700. They probably want them off the lot. I think it sounds like a pretty good deal. My sister has one with about 100,000 miles that has had no problems.

 

[RitaZ.]

That's a great price, I'd go for it!

I have a 2001 LX model (paid $26K) and so far it has been very reliable. I'll be totally honest with you, the only problem that I have is that one of the rear windows doesn't open anymore. My neighbor bought a Honday Odyssey a few months after I bought the Windstar. She has an engine problem with hers, which was fixed under a recall, but she says that the van still isn't running right.

 

[dianeschlicht]

We have a 1999 Windstar, and it has been EXTREMELY reliable. The only thing we have ever had to do was at about 150,000 miles we had to rebuild the transmission. The only other problem we have is that the check engine light stays on all the time, but there is not detectable problem with the computers.

 

[Jennifer S]

I have three friends who all had Windstars and all three HATED them. One had transmission trouble. Needed a new one after a year. Swore they would never get another Ford. The other family was a Ford employee and got a discount but still hated it (went to an Escape)and the third family will only buy Fords (because it's American)and hated it too. They went to an Explorer.

I never owned one but I do have a Honda Odyssey and absolutly love it. It's 5 years old and never had one single problem.

 

[elgerber]

I had a 96 and a 98 Windstar. The first one was a 2 year lease with no problems. We purchased the second one and I drove it for 6 years. I had fuel pump go out under warranty and that's it. There has been a history of head gasket and transmission problems with the Windstar. The head gasket issues were back in 95, the engine they shared with the Taurus. I also know a few other people with Windstars, and they have never had a problem with them either. When it was time for a new one we went Mazda, but only because the Freestar we drove wasn't nearly as nice as my Windstar.

 

[pkasbohm]

Well i am another that would discourage you from buying a ford! We bought a 2002 brand new off the lot--had 500 miles on it and was a total lemon! We fought with the dealer and shop for a year to get it fixed and they never could quite figure out what was wrong with it--so after the dealer screwed around to long to get the Lemon law we traded it in and got a chevy venture! I don't love the looks of the venture like i did my windstar but atleast we have had no problems with it! Except for paying a huge chunck of negitive equity becasue of our ford! We will never buy ford again!!!

eta: ours was a ford windstar lx!!

 

[SeaShelley]

We have a 1999 Windstar, and it has been EXTREMELY reliable. The only thing we have ever had to do was at about 150,000 miles we had to rebuild the transmission. The only other problem we have is that the check engine light stays on all the time, but there is not detectable problem with the computers.

I currently drive a 2000 Windstar, it's our second and we love it. It will probably be our last just because I'm minivan'd out!!!

The only problem we've had is with our check engine light too. Had it to the Ford dealership in Augusta 3 times and they failed to fix it, always saying that it was another sensor that needed replacing. Guess what...in my book, 3 strikes and you're out. I did write them 3 times requesting all labor charges be refunded as they failed 3 times to fix the problem. They have refused and now the State's Attorney General will be involved. The more I think about it, the more angry I get. For pete's sake, the first time they had the van and I picked it up...to the tune of $283, the check engine light came back on before I even left the lot! After the other two visits, the light came back on within a day!

All in all it's been a great van...it will be even better next month when we make our final payment on it!!!!!

 

[goofy4tink]

SeaShelley...my son is having this same problem with his Escort. It's old and he's had the engine replaced and the check engine light still comes on!!! It failed inspection here in Ma because of it. A new law in July says it has to be fixed.

But, as to the Windstars...we've had 3 of them. I loved them. My first had a very clunky transmission but they remedied that problem in the following models. We did lease them so never had them longer than 2-3 years. I never had any problems with mine. I did down size to an Escape and love that.

 

[SeaSpray]

Thanks for all the comments, the good as well as the bad!

I've been doing a lot of online research this morning and from what I've read, they apparently fixed a lot of the "bugs" of the older models by the time the 2003 (the last model year for the Windstar) was made, so I feel optimistic that I won't have the problems that some of the others did. Of course, there's never a guarantee that a car won't have problems.

Regarding the "Check Engine Soon" light, it kind of is making me chuckle because I currently have a 1997 Mercury Sable that has had the SAME light on, for NO reason, for the last couple of years. I live in MA too and that light did not cause my car to fail inspection. It has passed every single year.

We heard from our bank, we got approved for the car loan. So now it's just a matter of seeing how much they'll give us for my car as a trade-in, and making that final decision as to whether or not we really do want to buy this minivan. DH and I are leaning heavily to buying it, mainly because of all the research I've done on both this particular model, AND the prices for all used minivans in our area.

Someone had mentioned the warranty. The salesman told us that this car WILL have the same exact full-coverage warranty as any other brand new car. I will make sure that THAT is written somewhere! I learned a long time ago to get everything in writing, especially things said by a car salesman. (No offense to any car salesmen. lol)

 

[mrsv98]

We have a 98 SL and LOVE it! We have driven to WDW and back twice, no problems. We did have the fuel pump problem but it was covered and easy to fix. We have the configuration with 4 captains chairs and have removed one so the dogs have plenty of room. I also like driving it because it is built on the chassis of a Taurus and not a truck so it drives more like a car.