Yesterday we bought a new/used 2003 Ford Windstar. We have been looking for a van for months. It is in excellent shape inside, with the only thing that we found that didn't work was the electric lock on one of the passenger doors. The outside has just a touch of rust by the wheel wells, and the back door hatch, ding and a scratch here and there, but overall, still looks pretty sharp. It has 116K miles on it. It drives great, tires are really good. The only thing wrong that we knew of mechanically was that the ABS light was on, and dh says it is a sensor ($40). We asked if they would take $3500, and they said yes (private party). They had it up for $5000, then just recently marked it down to $4000. We did not want something more than $3500, since we wanted the payment and insurance together to be below $100/mo. We got it, and dss love it, bc it has cassette, cd, vcr/tv, and the air works (not that we need that in the U.P. of MI), dual electric sliders (that dss race to close:), remote start, etc. The second day we had it, the brake light came on. I originally thought one of dss played with the emergency brake, but they didn't. Dh thinks it will go out when we change the sensor for the ABS - here's hoping. So, today, the speedo stopped working - $200 part! Ugh! And now, I here a clunk in the back that we did not here at all when we drove it.

We thoroughly go over a vehicle before we get it. Dh is a state and ASE certified master mechanic with all the certifications from each of the used-to-be big three. So, he even went on the Ford website, and looked up all the vehicles warranty work history. We don't take buying a new vehicle lightly, that is why it took me five to six months to find one. Now I am just praying that nothing else happens. Dh says it is still a nice vehicle, and it is. I guess we are just having a reality check.

Ack!, the double edged sword.

It seems like every car I've ever owned starts falling apart at about 75,000 miles. So in my early twenties a neighbor taught me to always be paying for your next car. So I bought a cheapo Toyota Corolla (back when they were the cheapest car made) and then put an extra $100 a month in the bank every time I paid on my car note. The next car was also a cheapo car, but I managed to pay 1/2 of it in cash and then had such a low note I was able to start putting $200 a month in the bank. Ever since, I always pay cash for cars and never have to pay an interest rate. This way I can get a new car every time.

Now the other reason I was so motivated to do this was I know nothing about cars. I was totally dependent on some stranger auto mechanic telling me I needed a new whatcha-ma-gadget. So between interest and ridiculous repair bills, it was an easy pill to swallow.

At any rate, I hope you get to enjoy your new vehicle soon. One can't have a typical homeschool day in the auto repair shop.

I drive a 1999 Plymouth Grand Voyager, and my check engine light, then the brake light, then the speedometer stopped working, exactly like you are seeing. All my gauges died, and then the fan stopped working (the air/inside vents, etc).

It ended up being the sensor for the heater in the center console underneath the radio. (Of course, I didn't realize this until we'd spent about $500 on a new speedometer cluster, blah, blah, blah.

I took it to an expert in electrical situations in GM vehicles and he had it fixed in about 30 minutes after he got the part that was bad.

So don't fix just parts of it...figure out where the root of the problem is. (Ironic, that the guy who fixed it's last name was Root...)LOL!

Good luck with your rig! What a pain in the neck!

Dh is a state and ASE certified master mechanic. So, he already hooked it up to the scanner to figure out that, yes, it is a sensor. Thankfully, for us, it was only $50.