New Van!

Well, not really a 'new' van, but we added a different van to our motor-vehicle collection over the weekend. Our 1999 Plymouth Voyager is still in pretty good shape, however, the A/C died about 3 years ago. At that time, the average estimate was $1200 to repair the A/C. The cost was so steep because whatever component was broke could only be repaired by removing the dashboard and attacking it from that route. We got this story from both the dealer and independent repair shops. Most of that $1200 would go towards labor.

So, we just put up with the lack of A/C for the past few years trying to drive it until it died. Plus, with 140,000 miles on it, we just didn't want to spend that kind of money towards fixing it. Summers sucked at times, but we managed. One of the big problems was driving in the winter - the A/C wasn't there to help get rid of the extra moisture, so we had some issues with fogging.

A non-mechanical issue of not having a van in the Iowa summers without A/C was that all five of my family were forced into riding in the Buick Century or Nissan Sentra if we wanted A/C. With 3 boys, it was mere seconds before it turned into a blood-bath in the back-seat. Rides of any duration sucked as they constanstly fought, argued, poked, prodded, tattled, smacked, pinched and annoyed eachother in every way possible. Did I mention it really sucked?

A couple of weeks ago we ran into a friend who announced they were seeling their 1999 Ford Windstar. My wife started talking with the friend who filled us in on the details. We were pretty psyched. Even though it was the same year as the Voyager, it only had 70,000 miles on it. Plus, the A/C (front and rear) work. We did a test-drive and were pleased with the way it handled, but weren't necessarily in love with the van.

We told our friends that we wanted to think about it, but if they had a chance to sell it to someone else to go for it. As the past few weeks passed, we realized that we really missed the space of a van with the comfort of A/C. I checked a few websites for reviews on the 99 Windstars and spoke with 3 other friends who own Windstars. The reviews were mixed, but the friends we spoke with love theirs.

A routine phone call between my wife and a friend of hers from college on Friday night led to a road-trip for Sunday to Omaha. The realization of 2 hours of constant fighting dampened our enthusiasm. Additionally, the realization that a planned trip to Washington State in October would be so much better in a van. We made the decision to go ahead and purchase the Ford.

A phone-call on Saturday to 'haggle' over the price (coming in $500 under what they originally wanted) and we were set to sign papers and pick it up that evening. We'd be set for our day-long road trip to Omaha on Sunday. We did the paperwork, signed the check and it was a done-deal. The process to transfer a car title pretty much sucks. It's twisted and if you've never done it before, really makes no sense. I'm sure there's logic and wisdom in there somewhere. Anyways, it was really nice to be able to have the money available to buy basically what we wanted and when we wanted to. No need to borrow money from the bank or finance it. Woo-hoo!

After we did the paperwork, I hung around and helped hang some sheetrock for about an hour and then drove the van home.

So, how do we like it? We love it! I've never owned a Ford, never dreamed of owning one, never really particularly thought of owning one so this'll be kind of an interesting experience.

Some thoughts about the van (having owned a Voyager and Caravan in the past)

1. The Ford seems HUGE and just seems 'heavy' to drive. It's not a bad thing, just different. The Voyager/Caravans seemed so much more nimble on the road. I wonder what the weight difference is?
2. The cruise-control is touchy. By that I mean that the slightest incline, the engine revs way up to keep the van at the preset speed. It's noticeable. I don't know if it's indicitave of the Windstars or just symptomatic of its age.
3. For whatever reason, it seems like I'm going 90 when I'm only going 60. Maybe it's just the size of the Windstar.
4. It's cold! That's great....for us. It was so nice to hear the kids complain about it being too cold and could we turn it down. With the rear air, each kid has a vent they can monkey with to adjust or turn off. We can control the rear air from the front or give that capability to those in back. I only wish they had right/left front passenger temp controls. We missed that.
5. We love the extra power-outlets. With a portable DVD and cell-phone chargers, having two outlets near the front rocks! One in the cargo area is great too!
6. It's got a 26 gallon fuel tank! Geez that's huge! I think our Voyager had a 17 gallon gas tank. It may be more, but I don't remember.
7. Mileage was so-so. While most of it was highway, we did about 50 miles in the city. We hate Omaha because it seems they have entirely too many stop-lights and they're always red when we show up. Mileage was roughly 20mpg. I think our Voyager got 24mpg on similar trips.
8. The ride was smooth. It felt more like driving in a big Caddilac than in a van. The bumps were really nothing at highway speeds; you just kind of slowly oscilated up and down until it stopped.
9. Controls always take some getting used to - slightly different locations, etc. No complaints though. the one funky thing was the parking brake which was located on the right-side of the driver seat on the floor - kind of like those you find on a stick-shift vehicle.
10. The radio was okay; the sound is what you'd expect - nothing 'premium' coming from those speakers. It did do great locking onto a station as we got out-of-range as we drove further away from Des Moines. Our Voyager is missing the antenna, so some radio stations just don't come in at all regardless of where you are.
11. No captains chairs in the middle. Would've been nice, but not a deal-breaker. With the flexibility of moving the rear seat to the middle position as well as moving the middle seat to either the left or right as needed, I think we gained some flexibility.
12. It's NOT green! This van is a light-metallic blue and is in great shape. Plus, it's not green! Our last 3 vehicles have turned out to be green (not intentionally). Wow, I really, really don't like green vehicles.
13. It's sounds like an M1 Abrams Tank while starting up. It kind of growls. Again, I don't know if it's a 'Ford' thing. It just sounds big. And manly. I know it's got a larger engine (3.8 liter instead of 3.3), but doubt that's the reason.

Things That Need Attention

We bought the van knowing it has some things wrong with it. We're okay with that. The previous owners were very up-front with that and we took that into consideration when we bought it.

• Will need new front brakes soon. We're cool with that. The previous owner is going to help me with that project so I can learn. I saw/assisted my brother-in-law once before, but a refesher would be great. I don't want to take any chances with brakes; it's just not worth the risk!
• Driver's window does not work. We knew that too. I like monkeying around with electrical stuff, so I'm looking forward to getting that fixed. Local repair shops quote about $150 to fix that. I think I can do it for a lot less.

Our local library has online access to an automotive repair database for FREE! It's awesome. I can login and get repair information (including wiring diagrams) so I can track down the issue/problem with the window. I've got a number of salvage yards in the area that I can go get parts should the need arise.

We're thrilled we bought it. No regrets whatsoever. Hopefully, it'll last us 4 more years - long enough to make it until my oldest graduates from high school. Hopefully.