I have been a great fan of the auto section and my knowledge of cars has increased beyond measures.
i drove in a friends Ford windstar and it was a sight to behold immediately i fell in love with it.
Please house can you please advise on the following
durability,fuel consumption,2nd hand value,availability of spares,strenght etc.
Your professional advise will be appreciated.

Ford Windstar have issues with the gear (at least for most of them). So i will vote for a sienna. Regardless of how much you love the Ford.

Good luck.

I THANK YOU BOT FOR YOUR COMMENTS,PHEMMY ITS NICE TO SEE YOU RESPOND TO MY POST AND KUNLE FROM CALLY.
WHY IS IT THAT AMERICANS LOVE THEIR FORD IF IT HAS PROBLEMS (DONT MIND MY ASKING).COULD GIVE REPORT ON THE MODEL THAT IS PROBLEM FREE LIKE WHEN THE HOUSE DISCUSSED ON THE GEAR PROBLEM OF BABY BOY THE MODEL WHICH IS PECULIAR TO THE PROBLEM WAS TOLD AND THERE WAS PEACE IN THE HOUSE.

kingboy:

I THANK YOU BOT FOR YOUR COMMENTS,PHEMMY ITS NICE TO SEE YOU RESPOND TO MY POST AND KUNLE FROM CALLY.
WHY IS IT THAT AMERICANS LOVE THEIR FORD IF IT HAS PROBLEMS (DONT MIND MY ASKING).COULD GIVE REPORT ON THE MODEL THAT IS PROBLEM FREE LIKE WHEN THE HOUSE DISCUSSED ON THE GEAR PROBLEM OF BABY BOY THE MODEL WHICH IS PECULIAR TO THE PROBLEM WAS TOLD AND THERE WAS PEACE IN THE HOUSE.

Parts are readily available and most people buy new under warranty. That is not your case. Some Americans are just brand loyal regardless of what you say. Parts are not that always accessible to you. Think twice.

Good luck.

Americans love their cars because of price, size, power, luxurious gizmos, cheap parts, insurance, and lastly brand loyalty.

The majority opinion is not always the right opinion, in 9ja the fixation with all things Japanese emanates from limited information and a reluctance to venture out of the box.

I have used in 9ja A 2001 Chevy Impala 3.8 v6 , for four years without one engine fault apart from servicing and general wear and tear items like brake pads.

The Ford Windstar parts are available in Nigeria sometimes at a higher cost, but it’s a CIT world now and you can go online EBAY.COM and other sites buy the parts have them shipped to you at fraction of the cost of some of the overpriced, mostly copied (Taiwan) and possibly used Toyota parts.

Servicing I use a guy in Omole phase 1 next door to the Governor’s lodge as 9JA mechanics go I would rate him a cut above the rest clearly, also he seems pretty straight forward a rare commodity in 9ja. dBut you know don’t take my word for it, check him out for yourself and go online you can download repair manuals for almost nothing if you want to operate in knowledge and not hearsay.

Take some time out do the research and make it comparative, post your findings.

Finally, driving a car that is not among the common popular makes (Japanese Toyota, Nissan, Honda etc, etc) reduces the possibility of armed robbery theft(car jacking) by a huge margin, also you wont find these petty thieves stealing your headlights and chrome, etc off your car.

Final word get the windstar be different.

I'll 4 no reason compare ford to toyota infact my pastor's windstar in Ibadan is presently in a mech village 4 months. Ford are expensive to maintain in naija n do not av 2nd value unlike toyota. Anyway I'll advise u take ur time but ma experiences with ford will rather make me run at the mention of d name.

I APPRCIATED THE CONTRIBUTIONOF EVERYONE IN THE HOUSE BUT I ADMIRER KOMEKN'S OPINION.PRESENTLY IN MY OFFICE 2 OF MY COLLEAGUES DRIVE A FORD MONDEO CAR(MIND MY SPELLING)THE 1ST GUY HAS BEEN USING HIS FOR THE PAST 3 YEARS WITHOUT A MAJOR PROBLEM ASIDES THAT HE WILL HAVE TO VISIT OJUELEGBA B/4 A PART CAN BE PURCHASED.ON THE OTHER HAND THE OTHER GUY ISN'T HAPPY WITH HIS BECAUSE OF A REPAIR MADE BY THE 1ST USER WHICH WAS NOT PROPERLY DONE.
FROM MY FINDINGS I THINK THE ABOVE COULD HAPPEN TO ANY BRAND OF CARS.WHAT DOES THE HOUSE THUNK COS I AM LEARNING, MY FIRST CAR IN 1999 WAS A FORD SCORPIO

Kingboy,

It always amazes me how educated and supposedly informed people can be led up the garden path by illiterate, misinformed and deceitful supposed auto mechanics.

It’s like going to see a lawyer without doing your own legal research of course he will bamboozle you with lies and manipulations.

The death of many a car in Nigeria has started with just one bad mechanic, who is probably using your car for trail and error to learn his trade, as a result they make a mess of everything and then tell you some waffle of a story.

Get a good mechanic or get the knowledge yourself and make an informed decision, I did say earlier repair manuals are available on-line for almost pennies. The other option bombard Sienna with requests, he is seriously thinking of setting up a branch of DELTA VAG in NIgeria that way all mechanical problems solved as you know he is the REAL DEAL.

2001 I bought a Ford Explorer for one of my friends he is still using it now as a run around, 9 years later no engine trouble whatsoever.

I do agree that the culture remains the same Toyota, Honda, Nissan so in terms of resale value those cars do clearly have the advantage. However, the flip side is ------ armed robber no deh find Ford and Chevy, na Honda,Toyota, BMW,Merc, etc, etc, so No shakin!!!! for your side and if you have Christ you are doubly insured, all said the choice is yours.

Like driving a black Pontiac G8 GXP, nowthat is a car worth it, or black Impala SS.

Ford windstar are good cars. the way you make your bed so you stay on it. if you maintain a car it wil serve you well. naija mechanics does trial and error in fixing your car. a sensor error will cause him to open where he is not suppose to do.

Ford makes nice and durable cars. If you love a windstar go for it. make sure you do good oil change, flush the transmisssion when due, when ever there is a check engine light, please dont let the mechanic touch that car untill you put a computer diagnostics machine on it. it could be a minor thing like changing the gas cap worn out.

totoeater you have spoken well.i made a survey yesterday with some users of ford windstar and to my amazement i spoke with two guys who says they have been using theres for the past 2.5 years and no major faults except for the usual wear and tear,youwont believe it these cars are a sight to behold.
i want to sum it all up by saying its not the brand but the maintenance culture of individuals that makes your car lovely and durable.

Fhemmmy:

Resale value is one of the biggest reason why i think Sienna beats Windstar, hands down.
I have a Windstar 1999 SE Model, that i will sell to whoever wants it for just 700K . . . if interested, and i will never sell a 99 Sienna for such, not even a[b] CE Model.[/b]Except you are sure you wanna drive the car into the ground, i will never advice to buy a ride with no resale value.

I am right now expecting an XLE 2000 model Sienna from Maryland USA. I was told that XLE means xtra luxury edition (fully loaded), LE is luxury edition. Can someone in the house tell me the meaning of CE and it's implications. Just care to know please.

Can someone help a lovely sister out?

Guy as someone who has used both cars in nigeria and both 2003 models , I will say the Fords way ahead on features and even though many may say its a more techno driven car its consumption and maintenance are well withing that of the Sienna with less features. I finally sold mine of on NL after about 2 years and 6k miles later and the lady still drives it about her biz. All these in PH ,so if you stay in Lag it should be more easy for you. Lest I forget my model actually came with a display for predictive maintenance and trouble shooting codes. Wao

essentialB:

Can someone help a lovely sister out?

Commoners Edition

essentialB:

I am right now expecting an XLE 2000 model Sienna from Maryland USA. I was told that XLE means xtra luxury edition (fully loaded), LE is luxury edition. Can someone in the house tell me the meaning of CE and it's implications. Just care to know please.

essentialB:

Can someone help a lovely sister out?

The CE is the entry level of Toyota line. CE stands for CLASSIC EDITION.

Happy Motoring.

Auto Semantics

I use to have this negative impression about Ford not until I gave it Try, you see, you cannot conclude with your judgment if you have not gotten a feel of it.

I use to drive a four runner jeep and its full tank takes me to Benin-Edo state, this I have repeatedly done for many years (3yrs) and I was thinking it was the best economically (Fuel consumption) not until I try a Ford explorer sport of the same capacity with four runner (6cylinder V-Engine).
The full tank took me to Warri and back to Sapele, it became done on me that ford was more economical fuel-wise.

The SUV itself is very rugged and also economical to maintain, I actually drove the Ford for about three years without changing any major parts apart from servicing which comprise Engine oil, Fuel, Air & Oil filters, Spark plugs, Brake pads & lining etc.

The most interesting thing was that, all the above mentioned parts were available in my domain (Abule Ado) because I leave in satellite town and they are also very cheap compare to my four runner’s parts i.e. I bought a set of brake pad for #2,500 and many other things.

Let’s not always be condemning things we do not know much about rather encourage people to venture and get fact (western world are growing today because they always venture/make research).

Joloms!

how best can someone still relate this with the current situation

muslak:
how best can someone still relate this with the current situation

And how do you mean by 'relating to the current situation'?

Review of Sienna 2013... Any details