I need 7/8 seats and am tossing around which vehicle to get.

Freestar: 2006 base model (nicely equipped) for 25k sticker minus rebates, etc....true price?? 18k give or take??

Used Freestar/Windstar: 12 - 15k??

Expedition: I saw this 2002 Eddie Bauer, 4x4, Expedition with 29k miles for $17k asking price. True price 15k??

I like the gas mileage of the Freestar/Windstar compared to the Expedition, but the leather seats, tow capacity, 4x4 of the Expedition is pretty tempting.

Main use: Trips, limited towing, family hauling duties (8 people)

What do you all recommend??

Thanks for any input.

Tony in WA state

 

u wont get 8 people in a expy..only 7. but can u get 8 in a freestar? i would guess not. overall the expy has more room but more importantlly...MORE POWER..the expy will be alot more versitile. but thats just my biased opinion,i own a eddie b expy.. i love it

 

oh, by the way my expy gets about 16-17 mpg stock..its a 2000

 

u can fit 8 persons in an expy

 

Excursion time. Room for 8 and all the gear that comes with them.

 

you can fit 8 people in in excursion and tow what ever you want!

 

Well, I can speak from experience because I own both. My '03 Expy will seat eight people, but won't leave much room for luggage if you load it up with people. We use it for camping in the summer and towing a 4000lb trailer, and we use it for skiing in the winter. Between those seasons it sit's in the garage and is used for minimal family trips mainly due to the price of gas. About $3.50 a gallon and $5.00 a gallon when the oil company's feel the need for artificial inflation. The van is used daily going to work, hauling renovation supplies, funiture.....The van seats seven, having four captains chairs. The van is easier to load things in and out of since it is lower to the ground. It gets 6 - 7mpg more than the Expy even on a bad day.The van is easier to park and the sliding doors make it easier for the kids to get in and out, plus I don't have to worry about them dinging the guy next to me in a parking lot with their doors. Both vehicles have a purpose for us, and I wouldn't be without the Expy for it's safety, towing capacity, seat folding ability, power, and 4x4 capability. But I couldn't afford to drive it daily.

 

Tony, seems your budget is around 18K? Is that correct?

Do you have 7 or 8 people on your family?

What are their age ranges?

What are you towing on a limited basis?

 

Diesel does great on mpg if you can stand the noise.

 

Ken,

Currently it is me, wife, 17 and 13 yo. My sister in law and 3 small children should be coming to live with us in the next few months, and as an extra bonus, my other sister in law (single) may be coming as well. One big happy family I suppose.

As to towing, I have rental houses and am toying with purchasing a dump trailer 9900 gvwr to take stuff to the dump, do remodeling etc.

Tony

 

You really need an Excursion. 3 kids in third seat, teenagers and SIL in second row. Find one with the 40/20/40 front seat like mine and the other SIL can go.

Sure you can do that in an Expedition but you just cannot take anything else with you.

You see, an Expedition has seating for 8/9 but luggage space for 1. Great truck though! I used to own one!

Vans are great family tools, no doubt! I got one of those, too. But it cannot tow anything (well...about 3500#) and you'll have to shell out close to 30 grand for an Odyssey or Seinna to get 8 passenger seating. Or you could buy a Pontiac Montana.

A V10 Excursion will be cheaper to buy and will handle all of your needs just fine. Just bear in mind that you'll only post around 13mpg average. Which is not bad at all for a truck its size.

 

If you are going to be towing that kind of weight you only option is an excurson. The towing capacity for an expy is 7-8k I believe. If that makes you rule out towing a trailer I would go with the van for sure. I have a navigator. This last summer I took a 600 mile trip to tenn. We borrowed a friends toyota minivan for the trip. We had 5 adults, a keg of beer, portable keg cooler(would never leave home without it) and all of our gear for 5 days. There is no way I could have done this in the navi. The person in the back row would have had to sit next to a keg, and even then we would not have had the room for gear. The ride was far more comfortable as well.

I have heard nothing but good things about road tests with the excursions. Seating for an army and plenty of room for all their gear. I would suggest looking at a slightly higher milage older one. Dont forget, those things go forever. Your kids will be graduating college before the motor gives out.

Edit: I am refering to diesel of course

 

You can get very high mileage on the V10, too. ...........Yeah...I'm kinda biased.

 

Thanks fellas for the input,

I did a search for Excursion with less than 60k miles, the cheapest was 25k dollars. I have two EB Expy's to choose from one with 29k miles and the other with 41k miles for 16k and 17.8k respectively. I'm trying not to bust the bank as I've done that too many tiimes in the past.

As to towing, The dump trailer would only be for short distances, in town mostly. Working on my properties, taking a run to the dump, etc. With that in mind, seems like the Expy with it's better manuverability would be best. I have plenty of experience driving a long bed crew cab F250, and it's really not the most nimble thing in tight turn situations.

Lastly, and I know you guys will holler at me, but......I like consumer reports, and it list the Expy with a good tranny and good engine, but bad electrical. Meanwhile it lists the Excursion with bad engines, bad electrical and at least one year of bad tranny........not too comforting.

Anyway, I'll let you know what I get.....I should just wait til the sister in laws get here, but I have an extra 500.00 off coupon from Ford that expires this month, and the 29k mile Expy that I saw seems like a pretty good deal.

Thanks

Signed,

Confused
(Tony)

 

Good luck in your choice. Just to confuse you some more, look for an 03 - a lot of improvements. Stop by Sears and pick up a roof top cargo carrier on your way home.