(OT) Say goodbye to Windstar (Non-SHO content)

[3d914]

After 15 years and 180K miles of toting kids . . .

• family
• camper trailer
• lumber
• hay/feed for horses
• towing stalled vehicles
• towed my second 914 home from CA
• etc . . .

I'm retiring it and donating it to my brother to use. Hope he gets as much enjoyment out of it as we have.

 

[SHOnUup4]

High quality move passing the vehicle on. We had a Windstar for about 9 years and it was a great vehicle. Just was falling apart from the horrible MI roads. That van carried so many tools and material for years. Kids still miss it they say...lol

Being towed to the scrap yard

Rich

 

[sperold]

We leased a red 98 (I think) Windstar. Was a 3-door but the drivers door was extra long, and the drivers seat slid forward extra easy to make entry from that side better.
Absolutely trouble-free, reliability was unreal. I was coaching hockey and baseball, so it got a real workout.
The one lasting memory I had was, I looked up the EPA mileage numbers, and the van got far worse numbers than the Mustang with the largest V8 of the time.

 

[itwonder]

We loved our Windstar; drove competently on the highway with plenty of zip (for a van), and hauled everything. Sorry we didn't buy it out of a company lease. Ours was special ordered in Pacific Clearcoat Metallic, extended range fuel tank, aluminum wheels, and built-in child seat. The vehicle just plain worked.

 

[sperold]

I think Ford did something odd with the Windstar, I may be wrong, but I don't think there were any 1997 Windstars (or was it no 1996s). We got our 1998 model in early 1997 and had a 'new car" for 2 years, I think it was a marketing gimmick. I don't remember all the details, but there was a model year manipulation in play.
I do know the next van we leased was a 1999 and we had the red Windstar for longer than 1 year.
Like itwonder, I consider it a mistake to have not bought out that lease as well, but if I remember correctly, the buy-back was high, and was manipulated to make the monthly payments more competitive.

 

[3d914]

Great stories guys. Don't fret not buying through the lease. Ours and every other 90's Windstar I've seen has the paint coming off. I don't mean just fading - literally coming off. In places even the primer was just flaking off as though it never adhered to the metal. Weirdest thing I've ever seen.

Performance wise the 3.8l Windstar had the most torque of any van in it's class. Has similar dual intake system as SHO - with secondaries. My daughter used to think I put a turbo on it when I would punch it and the secondaries would kick in. Too fun!