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Ford WindstarIntroduced in the mid-1990s, the front-wheel-drive Ford Windstar minivan campaigned with an emphasis on, and reputation for, safety. And in the hotly contested family minivan market of the time, that was an especially solid piece of ground to be on. As long as buyers didn't need to haul adults in back on a regular basis, the Windstar served a family's needs just fine.
I have the chance to buy a 2003 windstar se with 35000 miles in great shape as far as I can tell. It belongs to a family member who owned since it was new and has never had any problems with it
Is this a good van or should I stay away from it????
They want 9500 for it has keyless entry and back up alarms multi cd player and probably never had anybody in the back seat.
Go with your instinct. You won't find much positive in this forum or many like it, simply because as a rule, you will always hear from the dissatisfied and hardly ever from the happy ones (Trust me 15 years in customer service management).
I use such forums for info on major issues which may effect my decisions to prioritize certain service work to my vehicles and nothing more. There is not one positive overall review out there for a domestic minivan. Reality is you and I have to make a decison based on our budgets and then our needs in the vehicle itself.
For me, I have had my 02 Windstar for about a month and quite like it overall despite the reviews. My last 3 vehicles have been off lease purchases (Dodge, Chev and now Ford) and all good experiences. Basically, I don't expect to rely on any of my cars as the primary vehicle for more then 5 or 6 years just because of the reliabilty issues thereafter.
I live by 3 rules with any car I own:
1) Buy used not new - Smells and runs like new without the debt burden of new.
2) Have an good honest mechanic. They are out there. Do the maintenance he suggests when its recommended not after it fails.
3) Be realistic - Its a 2 ton mechanical, electrical, computerized machine assembled in part by HUMANS. It's gonna break once in a while.
Good luck with your purchase whatever you decide. Hope you don't get hit by a lemon!
I agree with uflip06 for the most part, 9500 is a pretty good price for a well equiped '03.
my advice, if it is still under factory waranty you can get the ford extended warranty. I would get at least the drivetrain warranty. I just shelled out $2100 to repair the transmission in my '03 with only 38,000 miles I called Ford & they basicly told me "tough luck you could have purchaced an extended warranty."
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2003 windstar 
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