2000 Villiager Estate Model

[glock19c2004]

I am looking at purchasing a 2000 Villiager Esatate model van. I was wondering if (since it is my first expereince in the mini-van and Mercury business) anyone had any suggestions to look for when inspecting it.

A little back vehicle ground:
2 owners (1-Fleet Vehicle until 37K miles, 2-private individual)
Fully loaded with all the available options
84k miles
super clean cosmetically
Carfax came back excellent
Have not test driven yet

The thing that stood out when I inspected it visually was the engine was spotless. I know that this vehicle is 5 years old and high mileage so when I checked under the hood and the Valve covers were clean and no visible corrosion anywhere just sent up the red flag for me that perhaps there was an issue (maybe Oil leaking) that was thoroughly wiped clean by the dealer.

Does anyone no of any common problems to look into before preceding? I will of course test drive the heck out of it, and my mechanic said he will do a diagnostic on it before purchase to check for any obvious problems.

Any thoughts are appreciated!

Thanks.
AW

[TorinoGT69]

Be sure to inspect the vehicle from underneath thats were you will see the leaks.

[glock19c2004]

Be sure to inspect the vehicle from underneath thats were you will see the leaks.

Thanks, I will definately have a peek underneath when my mechanic hoists it up to check the underside.

Are there any known common issues with this model?

I know there were dozens of common problems with my 01 impala and I have had just about every one of them mentioned in that forum. I figured I would get a leg up over here and see if there were any common Mercury issues that all the 2000 Villiagers seem to have.

Anybody know of any major reoccurring issues/themes with these vans?

Thanks for your advice TorinoGT69, I will definately look closely underneath.

AW

[IH8SPM]

The reason the valve cover looks so clean is because of just that it is a cover the real valve cover is under that always clean silver one. The vans are great with very little problems unless the vehicle was abused or crashed and not reported to carfax. If the engine and tranny are ok then everything else should be too. I only buy high miliage vehicles. If you get the car you want for half the price and spend only one half of that on repairs/maintance then you saved yourself a one half of the money. It takes a fair maintance program to get a vehicle too 80k and above so keep this in mind.

[Bazetech]

I just bought a 1997 Villager with 147000 miles on it. We had to repair the rear seat heater fan by re-soldering a relay, but that was all. I also hear people saying to replace the timing belt around 80 or 90k, but other than that from what I've been told and with what little experience I have with these, they seen to be a bullit proof little rig. Just check the engine and tranny for noise or obvious leaks, like was mentioned above. We have been driving the wheels off of this since we got it and have had no problem. Good luck!

[roberte]

I bought mine with 98,000 miles on it and so far, am pleased with it.
Have just discovered some water in the headligh and will have to deal with it as soon as I can figure how to remove it and replace it. The plastic etainer that holds the bulb in had the retaining fins broken off. This could have let water past the o-ring. Just purchased new retainer and hope that solves the problem. Still have to grt the water out though.

[glock19c2004]

Well, pulled the trigger and bought the Villager and couldn't be happier. Kind of replaced our primary vehicle already.

Only one problem we have had/are having:

Strange intermittent squeaking (sounds like a rusty sofa spring) coming from the right front?
Not always present, doesn't always occur on rough pavement, absolutely no handling issues-no pulling while at speed or anything like that. Just an annoying *Squeak* occasionally.

Thought perhaps a strut or ball joint but since I cannot isolate any one particular event that causes it to consistently occur have been a bit baffled.

Anyone had this problem?

[chubbygoatboy]

Originally Posted by glock19c2004

Well, pulled the trigger and bought the Villager and couldn't be happier. Kind of replaced our primary vehicle already.

Only one problem we have had/are having:

Strange intermittent squeaking (sounds like a rusty sofa spring) coming from the right front?
Not always present, doesn't always occur on rough pavement, absolutely no handling issues-no pulling while at speed or anything like that. Just an annoying *Squeak* occasionally.

Thought perhaps a strut or ball joint but since I cannot isolate any one particular event that causes it to consistently occur have been a bit baffled.

Anyone had this problem?

We have a 2000 Estate with 104K on it. We have had, what I think is the same skwauk you are describing, for a long time. I have put in new struts and strut plate/bearings. Both lower ball joints, even decided it was the lower control arm bushings, of which you can only get a whole new arm from the dealer, put it in also. WE STILL HAVE THE SKWAUK!! I give up and told my wife to live with it.

[IH8SPM]

I would take a can of wd-40 spray or similar product and spray the front stabalizer bar bushings. I would then test the vehicle to see if there is a change. If there is then problem temp solved if not then spray other rubber bushings and test after each one to find the culprit. I have the same sound and I only hear it when the wheel is in full left or right turn. I ignore but I also know that those sounds get louder then you have a real problem that should be looked at. I also had this on a honda and it was very loud and eventually once I sold the car the next owner ended up losing the stabalizer in a turn and having to replace it. You may just have a squeaky bushing. I personally hate noises but this is a very minor inconvienance.

[Hollowcreek]

The only major problem I have had with my '02 (75,000miles) was with the wiring harness for the PCM. I doubt that it is very common since it took two dealers almost a month to figure it out. The only other repair to date was a CV joint / axle unit on the passenger side. This by the way ended the funny squeak noise up front that everyone complains about. Don't know if it was the joint or something that they touched or tightened when then replaced the axle.

Annoyances -
1)The windows on the sliding doors rattle unless you constantly fiddle with the adjustment of the latches. It is the poorest designed item on the vehicle.
2) The unremovable rear seat. Its always in the way when you have to carry something big. I usually keep the middle row of buckets out and keep the rear in the mid position.

Otherwise I love it. It is the best handling minivan I have ever driven and the mileage is pretty good too.

[emd2423]

It is a little late now that you have bought the van but I have a '99 Estate that had two fuel injectors go bad (@51k miles) so the mechanic replaced all six (not a cheap repair) at the time (2 yrs ago), I had read several internet forums that this was common for my vintage Estate. I hope that was remedied in the '00 models.

The other thing to check is your front ball joints. When worn, they can really chew through a tire in a rapid pace.