1996 Ford Windstar GL review from North America
"A piece of junk"
What things have gone wrong with the car?
At 95,000 miles the transmission had to be replaced to the tune of $1800.
At 85,000 miles the "check engine" started to come on. In the following 6 months I've taken it to Ford at least 4 times, never able to determine the problem, until now...
The head gasket is bad. The van was built in the fall of 1995. The 1995's gaskets went bad, Ford replaced them, but not the 1996's.
After talking till I'm blue in the face to the 800 number lack-of-customer service, they said "save the receipts" if there is a recall they'll reimburse. I'm not holding my breath.
Because of the transmission and the head gasket, I now owe $4000 more on it than it's worth. Incidently, several dealers told me it's only worth about $5000... funny that a 5 year old $20000 van is now only worth $5000.
Advice? Buy a Toyota.
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| Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? | No |
| Year of manufacture | 1996 |
| First year of ownership | 1998 |
| Most recent year of ownership | 2001 |
| Engine and transmission | 3.8 Automatic |
| Performance marks | 0 / 10 |
| Reliability marks | 2 / 10 |
| Comfort marks | 8 / 10 |
| Dealer Service marks | 4 / 10 |
| Running Costs (higher is cheaper) | |
| Overall marks (average of all marks) | |
| Distance when acquired | 54000 miles |
| Most recent distance | 100000 miles |
| Previous car | Ford Taurus |
| Date of Entry | 23rd May, 2001 |