Do you think this is a good purchase?

Question

It's a 1999 Ford Windstar LX

73850 miles

Comes from a new car dealership that does a 156 point inspection

VIN 2FMZA5149XBB78058

I have not bought a carfax report, but it says it has 9 records in the database, which from what I understand is on the low end which is good-I think.

They will print out a report at the dealership if I want it.

If you need to know anything else let me know but tell me if this would be a good purchase.

Is it too many miles for a domestic?

Answer 1

honestly any use car purchase is a gamble and having a low amount of records in the database can be a bad thing = did not have scheduled maintenence performed at a credible shop. now not saying thats bad cause i have never let anyone else do work on any of my cars im just stating less is not always better.

Answer 2

Is it too many miles: no.  We use a Windstar at work with about 210,000 miles - it's doing fine.  At nine years old and only 74K miles though, I think maybe your example has either spent most of its time driving in the city, which can be tough on brakes and transmissions, or hasn't been used nearly as much as a typical car.

That 156-point inspection is just a sales gimmick.  An awful lot of those points are trivial.  Don't let the promise of some inspection convince you that the dealer is doing anything special.  They aren't in business to sell cars, they're in business to make MONEY, which they do by selling cars.  If bragging about some inspection convinces people that their cars are worth buying, then they'll brag about the inspection.

Get the Carfax report.  If it mentions a timing belt replacement, that's good - most manufacturers recommend TB replacement each 60K miles and this one is overdue if it hasn't been done.  Unfortunately a lot of service done at smaller shops simply doesn't get reported to the big databases that Carfax polls, so there may be work done on this car you don't know about.  In any case, the Carfax has information you should know about before making a decision to buy.

The Windstar isn't very thrifty at the pump.  If you don't need this much space, seriously consider something smaller.  If you only very rarely need this much space, seriously consider something smaller - and rent a small trailer when you need more room.

The biggest downside of the Windstar to me - besides its thirst for fuel - is the utter blandness of the interior.  I thought the Honda Odyssey was dull inside, but the Windstar, if this is even possible, has even less personality inside.

Answer 3

Good miles for a '99.  

Historically, ford really wasn't putting out good products in 1999 and the Windstar was always a very average minivan.

Don't trust the dealer with their 'inspections'.  They can say anything counts as a 'point'.  

I don't know how much it is, but it could be a good deal for you.

Just make sure to get that CarFax report (which a reputable dealer should provide for no charge) and get it inspected by an independent mechanic of your choice.

Answer 4

Did I miss something.......you want to know if this is a good purchase, but don't mention the price. My opinion is that $2,000 to $3,000. is a good deal, $4,000. to $5,000. is getting on the high side.