I've got a 93 Mercury Villager (first year) that has never been in the shop for repair of anything at 98,000. Changed one muffler/tailpipe when a rear tire tread separation collapsed the exhaust system, one battery, oil every 2000 mi.
They tend to not have enough power to hurt themselves but are a good ride and should be cheap since they are a discontinued line after 2002.
Good luck.

 

Have you thought about a short wheelbase, short body Econoline 150? Not really that much more to drive than the mini. Quite a bit easier to work on, and it is still based on a truck. If you are looking for the car type ride with the utility of a van, an Explorer does a nice job also. I had an '93 Aerostar extended and loved it, but it was very difficult to work on. It required a hoist and the removal of the front tires to change 1 or 2 of the plugs. I wouldn't want to think about something serious going wrong.

 

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 01-Oct-02 AT 12:19 PM (EST)]I have to chime in here for the Dodge Caravan. My friend and his mom had a '92, that all three of us used to go back and forth between jobs (he and I worked at the same place), we stacked the mileage onto that thing in the last 3 years they had it and it had exactly two problems that weren't part of the maintenence schedule.

It had a flat tire once, and a very annoying squeaky belt that made the thing sound like it was on the verge of falling apart all the time.

we replaced the belt and all was good. Drove like new. I was amazed at the reliability of that Minivan.

Oh yes, it did not have the automatic transmission. 5 speed only.

 

5 speed in a minivan? You serious? The two don't fit well...lol

I don't like minivans. If I were to buy a van, I'd choose the full size. I always could ask my relative who's got a 87 E350. That thing is a betemoth.

 

Well, I'm not going to be the primary driver; my wife will be. So she needs something that is not too big. (She's not the greatest driver or parker.)I hope she doesn't read this post:P, or I'll be getting a If you do read it honey, just remember how much I love you!

Those are some good points about the front wheel drive versus rear wheel, and 4x4 options. I won't be towing anything with it, that's what my 78 F150 will be for.

 

>I've known a couple folks with the Mazda MPV, and both were
>fairly pleased with it. IMHO, it lacks torque (I'm probably
>biased, though) but it's pretty reliable, and you can get it
>in 4x4. Best of all, the engine's facing the right way.
>
>The Law
>1989 F-250 HD 4x4
>460, C6, BW 13-56, Sterling 10.25" (4.10:1), Dana 44 HD
>(4.09:1), twin K&N's, no muffler, stock lo-flo cat, Bosch
>Platinum Plugs (0.060") MSD 6A and TFI Blaster Coil


The MPV no longer offers 4X4. They redesigned in about 3 or 4 years ago. It's now strickly front drive. Starting in 02, they added the 3.0 Liter Duratec engine from the Taurus with a 5 speed automatic. Supposedly a big improvement. Before that, it had the 2.5 Liter Duratec from the Contour and a 4 speed automatic.

My sister's inlaws have an 01 Windstar and are happy with it. Her aunt and uncle on the inlaw side have a 99 Windstar which they also seem pleased with.

Good Luck

 

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 02-Oct-02 AT 06:50 PM (EST)]No more questions after this I promise, its someone else's thread. BUT, are you saying that fluid dissappearing from the coolant overflow is possibly a sign of going headgasket? I don't see a leak anywhere, but in the last week or week 1/2, my overflow has started loosing fluid, I thought hose but maybe not? Starts and runs strong, do head gaskets go slow or do they just give an' your leakin'? Uh-oh. Got a certified Ford mech that lives up the road, maybe have him take a look. Thanks Blair

 

Have a compression test run, and a radiator sniff-check (detects combustion gasses)

http://greywolf.clubfte.com/2cents.gif

 

A few of us drive mid 90's ford escorts (1.9) and they got major head gasket problems. They have one head bolt (front right hand one I think) that corrodes away and boom..problems...found this out from a Ford mechanic I know. He does LOTS.

and he's no stranger to Windstars.

My buddies escort started drinkin fluid from the overflow bottle..lasted a while and then boom..it went fast and stranded him (head bolt rusted and broke). Mine started the same way...coolant level light started comin on and sure enough, head gasket was gone..I got this one in time. Brother in Laws is next in line..just starting to go, can see the leak starting.

Good news was a complete head gasket kit and bolts was less than $30 from Ford!!..I couldn't believe the price! Aftermarket wanted over $125 for it. And it wasn't hard to install.

hmmmm.....why so cheap I wonder....

 

Why don't you get a small suv. Like a honda, Rav 4, Explorer.... I think those look better than a minivan !!!!!

 

Bacause of the fierce competition of the minivan market most options and inside space for minivans are very comparable. My wife has a caravan and we love it(more on this later.) If I were you I would drive all the minivans you can and see which handles and rides the best in your opinion. Also compare warranties of the different manufacturers because with all the electronic B.S. on vehicles today even the highest rated mvan may have a few minor glitches here and there.
And now about owning a dodge. I worked as a dodge dealer mechanic at the time(hey they gave me a job and working for chrysler at that time was job security, they couldn't keep anything on the road)and got a healthy discount because I bought it from them and worked for them. I guess they got tired of all the different fords I was driving to work.
And yes chrysler did have a couple years where we were changing the oil and replacing the tranny every three thousand miles or three months/whatever came first. But I still talk to some of the friends I made while working there and they tell me great strides have been made to remedy that problem and they are very reliable now. Those are mechanic friends and not salesman friends, sorry about not clarifying that earlier.
So buy what you like and have fun.
T. Roberts
UFD Local 1147

 

Would not buy a Windstar again.

We bought our 96 Windstar 3.8l it based on how great our 90 Taurus Wagon was. It had 3.0l , sold at 130,000 miles. Never let us down.

But Windstar, replaced tie rods twice, transmission problems, coolant leaks, struts replaced at 80,000, electrical problems, etc.

Presently 82,000 miles, going to chase Ford Dealer about head gasket leak.

 

Right now Chrysler has a 7 year 70,000 mile warranty and 0% financing on their line of vans. I think it is a good deal because if the tranny fails it will be well within the warranty peiod. Ford will soon be offering a 100,000 mile warranty and that should cover anything but the details are sketchy. They also have 0% financing. Chevrolet is having problems moving their vans and they just moved their plant. I expect to see a discontinuation of the entire model line because GM owns several other names that will be continued with their programs. Chevy does not have a new model to rplace the van after 2005. Good luck, we had a ply. G. voyager SE with teh 3.3 and the 3 speed auto and had ***** and would peel out so it had plenty of torque. We never had to replace the tranny but it was under recall so it could have failed but I don't know.

 

When considering mini-vans, consider this. A engineer rep. from Ford publically stated that in a study of rear end accidents someone in the 3rd row seat was found to die in 50% of the accidents. After seeing stuff on TV, the Internet, and with my own eyes what happens with Plymouth and Chrysler mini-vans in rear end accidents, I would avoid them like death, because they are for anyone in the rear.

One reason I picked an Aerostar extended AWD was it was the heaviest, biggest, well built mini-van. Even compared to the Astro which has a ladder frame. Also, it has the most space behind the 3rd row seat of any mini-van that I know of up to the year 2000. It has the heaviest seats, especially compared to the rollouts in the Plymouth.

That being said ... you should have seen the damage my 1971 inflicted on my 1995 Aerostar by rolling (forgot to chock the wheels) a mere <16 feet down a very slight inclining driveway. I would hate to think of a 40 mph impact.

That being said, go for safety if you are putting anyone in the 3rd rear seat and get a Club Wagon and if you want mileage get the diesel. If you get the 9 pass. (if you need 6) the fourth row seat removes fairly easily and makes a nice sofa :-) and gives you a lot of room.

Skip the unibody Dodge, they are junk. Do not know much about the newer Chevy gas vans except at Ryder they always seemed to go dead no matter what I did. The GMC diesels seemed reliable.

 

> Presently 82,000 miles, going to chase Ford Dealer about
> head gasket leak

I thought it was a no questions asked replacement for the 3.8 up to 100K miles. Oh yeah, the tech will get a whole 11 hours something to R&R it!