Help of a different sort: Transmission failure out of town - would like to see her live on

[dhollow2]

The transmission in our 2000 Limited failed south of Nashville while driving from Atlanta to Michigan the weekend before last. We had it towed to a shop in Murfreesboro (where it sits today) and when they dropped the pan it was loaded with metal flakes. Anyways, we're empty-nesters now and the van no longer meets our needs so we've decided not to have it repaired and put the money toward a replacement vehicle. The van has been very well taken care of and is in outstanding condition inside and out. It has 183k miles on it with good compression on all cylinders and new front suspension and subframe installed 43K miles ago. New alternator, battery, A/C compressor, and struts in the last year.

I hate to see it scrapped when it could serve someone well for years for the $2,100 the shop quoted to rebuild the transmission. I'd like to donate it to a charity that will fix it and give it to someone that needs transportation to get back on their feet. So far the charities I've found online aren't equipped to do that. Does anyone on the forum know of a charity in the greater Nashville area that could accomplish this?

[Ed_Strong]

Have you checked with the Salvation Army?
Even donating to charity doesn't guaranty that it will be put back into service. If the money to fix it is more than the value of the vehicle (and I don't mean monetary but reliability cost) I mean they could fix the tranny today and the engine, emission or cooling system could go next week adding to the cost.
In that situation they'll part it out and/or sell to scrappers and get their charitable money that way, to then use that money to fix a more reliable vehicle.

[dhollow2]

I looked at The Salvation Army and, like most charities that accept vehicle donations, they use third party companies to sell the cars and get only a fraction of the proceeds. I'll sell it directly to a scrap yard before going that route. There is a charity near my home that helps people get back on their feet financially through temporary housing, employment assistance, financial counseling, etc. and a car is hugely important for the people they serve. The charity has a network of businesses and individuals that donate time to make repairs on donated cars at little or no cost to the charity or the end-user. I was hoping to find a local Nashville area charity that could do the same but haven't had any luck.

[Ed_Strong]

I hope you find the perfect place that fits your needs, but whatever you do make sure you read the fine print carefully. Some of this small companies (not all) are nothing more than scammers looking for a quick buck

[Ferno]

Being honest, my other 2000 is sitting in a parking lot waiting for a scrapper to come get it. The transmission went out, also at about 183K. The engine runs strong and the suspension is still awesome. But without first gear, it's done.

I could rebuild the transmission myself for about $300 but it's just not worth saving at almost 200K.

I wish I could give you a better answer but the truth is the truth. Windstars, of that era, have transmission issues. There's really no way to get past the fact that they die for 2 main reasons. Transmissions and wrecks. I'd bet transmissions are at the top of the list.

FWIW, the only reason I even put money into my current Windstar is because it has a rebuilt transmission with the better first gear servo. I have 165K on it and once I get past the error codes and pinging, I will drive it til it can't go no more.