Ok. I don’t have much to spend and I really need another car. I’m considering a 2005 Ford Freestyle for $3500. Carfax report is good. Great shape. Mileage is very high which doesn’t surprise me for its age. Anyone have experience with this car? Is this a reasonable price? I trust your input. Thanks. Marilyn
I wouldn’t put much faith in Carfax. How many actual miles and can you verify the maintenance on the vehicle? Have you taken the vehicle to a good independent mechanic for inspection? If not…it’s probably the first thing you should do. The price really hinges on what the mechanic says. It may be a great deal at $3500 or it might be a $3500 money pit.
As @missileman; said, carfax is only good if it finds faults with the vehicle in question, at accident, tranny replaced under warranty, etc… Had the vehicle been owned by a person that did all the routine maintenance when scheduled and took the best care of the car…none of this would show up on the carfax report if it was done by the owner or a shop that does not report to carfax… I’m not sure exactly where carfax gets their info, but no mechanic or body shop is required to report repairs to carfax or anyone else.
Please list the actual mileage, Mileage is very high which doesn’t surprise mecan mean one thing to you and another to someone else. Also what engine does it have.
We currently own a 2005 (I think that’s the year) Ford Freestar…basically the same van…just rebranded and have had pretty good luck with it.
Yosemite
05 with 200k is worth 3500. An 07 w/100k might go for 6k if it is loaded. Maybe your budget is 3500? Do you have 1000-1500 in reserve for any big repairs? A 100k car is worth it. Costs more but probably won’t break down as often and you might even feel better seeing 100k on odometer everyday vs seeing 200k.
Thank you guys! Very helpful!!
“We currently own a 2005 (I think that’s the year) Ford Freestar…basically the same van…just rebranded and have had pretty good luck with it”.
@Yosemite–the Freestar and the Freestyle were two different vehicles. The Freestar was a minivan and the Freestyle was an SUV. While both may have been based on the Ford 500 (Taurus rebadged) chassis, the Freestar had a 4 speed automatic transmission and the Freestyle had the CVT automatic transmission. Whether or not this makes any difference in the reliability, I have no idea.
Why would someone who “[doesn’t] have much to spend” buy a gas hog?
Sorry @Triedaq; I’m not one of those that can memorize every auto out there. Someone once mentioned that they were the same and I just presumed that they were right. I never worked on a Freestyle so …beats me!!!
Thanks for clearing that up. I wouldn’t want the OP to be looking for a Freestar SUV.
Yosemite
@Yosemite–The only reason I know about this is that I was shopping for a minivan in 2006. I had a Ford Windstar and found out that it had been rebadged in 2004 as a Freestar and was no longer being produced. The saleman thought I would be interested in the Freestyle, but it didn’t meet my needs at all. I bought the Chevrolet Uplander minivan.
The same thing occurred when I we sold the Uplander to my son. GM no longer made minivans and the salesperson tried to convince me that a Traverse would fit my needs. Well, same thing as with the Freestyle–I need the sliding doors of the minivan. At this point, I went with a Toyota Sienna.
To the OP: I would stay away. Those were problematic vehicles, not to mention very high mileage would put you at pretty high risk. You should continue shopping.
I agree with Fender1325. The Freestyle had a CVT transmission which Ford later abandoned. My guess is that the CVT transmission didn’t work out well in a heavier vehicle. The Freestyle model was dropped after a couple of model years, so essentially it is an “orphan” car. I would skip over this one.
Before making a final decision, be sure to look at what Consumer’s Reports says about this car in their used car guide. They’ve also recently published a reliability guide that lists all the common defects one can expect by make/model/year. Recalls, TSBs, Extended warranties, Manufacturer programs, etc.
Oddly, Consumer Reports New Car Preview for Nov 10, 2004 doesn’t rate the Freestyle.
However, a quick Google on the 2005 Ford Freestyle does not paint a pretty picture. Allow me to suggest that you google “2005 Ford Freestyle reviews” and look at some of the data. I don’t have any first-hand knowledge, but there are lots of legit websites such as Edmunds and Motor Trend that all portray it as being problem-plagued.
They weren’t very big sellers and developed a shaky reputation. With a bit of restyling and upgrading, the Freestyle became the Taurus X, just as the related Five Hundred became a Taurus. The Taurus X was redesigned yet again into the Flex, the best of the bunch. I can’t really recommemd an old Freestyle unless it is in great shape and the price is outstanding. They are handy for people with a lot of kids.
Thanks everyone. I appreciate the information. I can’t afford a new car and I really need a new one. Not to mention, I have 2 growing teenage sons, so I need the space. Any suggestions on a good value about the same size?
Missileman’s advise is very sound
If you find a very well maintained Freestyle with complete maintenance records it could be OK. They weren’t very popular so they may be hard to find, but the prices should be reasonable. It is a nice size for a family vehicle with room that’s halfway between crossover and minivan. For cars this age, you really have to emphasize condition above all else. The Explorer is a little more conventional, but there are a lot more of them around, increasing your chances of finding an excellent specimen.