Not for me (thankfully we are out of our minivan stage in life), but for my daughter. What opinions are out there on the Ford Windstar? We had one back in the day and while my wife drove it a lot more than I did I don't remember any issues with it - but I've been out of the minivan-loop recently.
Any insight(s) on these??
Weren't those the ones that all got recalled for frame rust? Apparently my father-in-law had one back in the day; he'll never buy a Ford product again.
Would seem to me that similar vintage GM or Chrysler product would be better...
szeis4cookie wrote: Weren't those the ones that all got recalled for frame rust? Apparently my father-in-law had one back in the day; he'll never buy a Ford product again. Would seem to me that similar vintage GM or Chrysler product would be better...
This right here.
I'm pretty sure these are the ones that the rear axles fall out while you are cruising down the road. Run far, far away from these.
I had an Aerostar AWD once that sounded like it had 17 failed bearings when you drove it. Nothing was ever found to be broken however, and it ran until it literally fell apart.
You couldn't pick a worse minivan if you tried.
I remember Dateline or someone did a piece on Windstars. Under max load (I guess if you laid bricks or had 25 kids in the back? the solid rear beam would snap in half from the stress
Occasionally I see the Windstar or its rebadged replacement the Freestyle come through as used cars. I concur; run as far and as fast as you can. The Astrofari is a pretty solid rig with the usual GM fit and finish, the pre-2000 transmission is more prone to fail than the early ones. The Grand Caravan/T&C seem to stay together okay (at least the post-99's) but rattle like a box of junk car parts.
Axle Recall in Northern States
Front Lower Control Arm Recall Too
Buyback Offers, Not Worth Fixing
Be leery of units that have salvage titles but are back on the road. True, in theory you could inspect and or replace parts with southern parts but it is best to just avoid.
Run away!
So...Run Away!! from the Windstar like knights fleeing a killer bunny.
...and I don't want to face the possible manifold hassle of the GM clones...
That leaves me asking opinions of the Chrysler products and maybe a Quest/Villager.
??
Like I mentioned in the other minivan thread, take a look at the Kia Sedona. It's a fantastic value. We're very pleased with ours. No quality issues after 80k hard miles.
Try the following:
Curmudgeon wrote: Occasionally I see the Windstar or its rebadged replacement the Freestyle come through as used cars. I concur; run as far and as fast as you can. The Astrofari is a pretty solid rig with the usual GM fit and finish, the pre-2000 transmission is more prone to fail than the early ones. The Grand Caravan/T&C seem to stay together okay (at least the post-99's) but rattle like a box of junk car parts.
FreeSTAR
The FreeSTYLE is completely different.
In the minivan/crossover arena I sort of like the Buick Rendevous.
Yes, it does suffer from the typical GM 3500 Intake Manifold Gasket failure but if you can find proof it was done or budget for it, they are nice vehicles. The replacement gasket on these GMs is an improved design and they will not fail a second time so once done, you are good to go.
Thanks guys!
...and my wife wonders why I talk about this site so much...
keep in mind Chrysler products LOVE to use tiny ass 20-22 ga wiring for everything (like cooling fans and other high amp applications). This makes electrical issues prevalent. and in my experience, budget for an o2 sensor every 12000 miles, front brake pads every 15,000 miles and a transmission every 60,000 miles.
id LOVE to recommend the venture/montana/trans-sport/silhouette. i really would. but i cant. i just cant. the reason is i have one i just bought and it has given me NOTHING but problems since i got it. i still like it, and its the WB edition with the TV and leather, but ive spent over 1k on repairs in a week...
so id get anything but a ford, chrysler, or chevy. i can say i like the 2002 kia i drove but couldn't afford it. i only had 2k to spend.
-J0N
Im not sure why people are expressing preference for the 00-up dodge vans vs the pre-00 ones. I honestly dont think theres a significant difference in quality or reliability.
Also, if you get one with stow and go that has approximately 6x as many hinged, folding parts as a non- stow and go, you can probably expect more rattles. Personally, i dont have any big problem with the old heavy non folding benches, because most of the stuff youd want to take them out to load the van with weighs more than the benches anyway, so if you have a hard time getting them out you should probably acknowledge that you need help right then and there instead of bitching about the 80 lb benches and then killing yourself trying to put whatever equally huge object you're carrying in it's place.
Vigo wrote: Im not sure why people are expressing preference for the 00-up dodge vans vs the pre-00 ones. I honestly dont think theres a significant difference in quality or reliability.
Because we live where cars rust and jellybean vans tend to rust out the front strut towers.
In reply to stan:
In defense of Ford, my dad's 2006 Freestar has been totally reliable, no problems at all. Of course, it is low mileage, gets reasonable care and is in Florida.
Dan
We use mini vans to deliver parts at work. They're ridden hard, put away wet, and preventive maintenance is done when something prevents them from running. The 99 Chrysler consumed major components (engine and transmission) like a bulemic at a buffet. The 2 2002 Dodges have been relatively solid. The clean, low mileage Windstar lunched a transmission at less than 100k. Used transmissions of questionable quality were at least $1500 due to rarity. Choose carefully.
Because we live where cars rust and jellybean vans tend to rust out the front strut towers.
Fair enough. I always forget to consider the effects of things that should never happen. Silly me.
The 99 Chrysler consumed major components (engine and transmission) like a bulemic at a buffet. The 2 2002 Dodges have been relatively solid.
Any idea which engine and trans these were? The 96-00 vans had 4 engines and 2 transmissions and all were not created equal.
10 years ago my wife and i cross-shopped all the minivans. we didn't go with the chrysler because of their transmission reputation. we didn't go with the windstar/freestar because it drove like a steaming pile of ass. we were going to buy the Olds Silhouette with the Premiere package, but the dealer jacked us around, so in the end we got our #2 choice, the Honda Odyssey EX-L with DVD package.
@ 44k miles, we got a NHTSA card for transmission replacement. 44k for trans replacement is unacceptable to me, but it was free so i didn't sweat it.
Fast-forward to today and the Ody has 225k miles on it, so that replacement trans has 181k miles on it. I guess that makes up for the first one.
Other than routine maintenance, we've had one alternator failure (180k), one air conditioner compressor failure (150k), one EGR valve failure (70k, under warranty), both lower ball joints wore out and got clunky (first at 160k, second at 200k, don't ask why i didn't replace both at 160k), and we replaced all the powertrain mounts this week.
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