Well, traded in the 125,000+ mile 95 Windstar on a 2000 with only 18,500
miles. They paid off the old van, and the new payment is only $80 more a
month than the old one was. Coincidentally, that was almost exactly the
level of my recent raise.

I must say that the Windstar has been one tough workhorse over the years we
have owned it. We make at least 5 trips a year to Wisconsin, 400 + miles
one way, and drive it at least 50+ miles a day running kids to school and
mom & dad to work. Hope the new one holds up just as well.

This one is a lot more comfortable than the old one was. The seats in the
95 were shaped all wrong for my back, and I was forced to put a small pillow
behind me on long trips. The 00 has a power driver's seat, including
lumbar, so that should be much better.

It's also a lot more powerful. I think the Windstar gained 40 - 60
horsepower from the 95 to 00 model year. For a minivan, it's a rocket.

The best feature, though, is one of the smallest ones. In the overhead
console there is a convex mirror that lets you keep an eye on the kids in
the back. Very handy!

man oh man it seems this is what I will look forward to when a wife and kids come along...sounds like a good choice sandman! keep us up-dated with the wear and tear of everyday use and repair..

It's not that bad- Heck, the 3.8L V6 even has the same IMRC system that is on every V6 Contour. Almost kissing cousins, from a certain point of view. You can't really feel the IMRC on the Windstar kick in, though- probably because the 3.8L is only a 2V vs. the 2.5L 4V.

I think if I ever have kids and am rich (like that combo will ever happen, right?), my minivan of choice might be this: http://www.edmunds.com/reviews/roadtests/roadtest/44288/article.html

What a coincidence... I bought a new car today too! My 95 Tracer with 124k I kept and am going to sell privately (Tony, you PM'd me a while ago, let me know if you are still on the look out for a replacement beater). Got a new 02 Taurus SES Sport, fully loaded. Couple of lousy pics here ... the sport edition helps set it out a little with the different rims... I really like it, the 3.0L duratech hauls!!! (note to Sandman... I will drive 55 )

You're not the only one with a workhorse Windstar...

My dad has hauled so much stuff (namely construction materials, especially when he built our attached garage, and landscaping stuff for the house) in our 1998 Windstar that BOTH front springs have fallen at different times. While the springs were recalled, we're still surprised it happened twice! The second time it happened, it was Casual Friday and he was on his way to work. Dad shows up at Millbury Ford with a towed Windstar, in jeans and a "Garage Guy" T-shirt I got him. Needless to say his loaner car for the weekend was an F-150 Extended bed ... they must have thought he was in the construction business or something!

It's also on its way past 75K miles, as he used to have a 40+ mile, 1.5 hr commute to and from work each day.

Wow, nice van there Jess.

Oh, the dealership gave me $4000 for my 95. Kind of shocked that I got so much, considering the mileage. The "new" 00 cost me $17,999. Considering its options, I checked what it was worth online, and it came to $17,800 average retail, and this one is in excellent shape (previous owner was named Mildred, obviously elderly and not likely to abuse a minivan). I think I got an excellent deal.

Sounds like a good deal. Dealer would only offer me $700-$800 on my car so I passed... I get Z plan (same thing as A plan for retired folk like my dad), and they just raised the rebate, so I came out $5k less than sticker of 24K