Just my 2 cents...
I recently purchased a "new" van after the transmission in my 96 Dodge Grand Caravan went out. I did ALOT of research on all the vans out now, I did mostly 99 and newer, but the Villager didnt seem to have very many reoccurring complaints. I didnt get one because the back seats are a bit close together, I have a growing teenage son and he needs lots of room. Have your mechanic take a look at it before purchasing. IF you run a carfax take it with a grain of salt. It has been all over the news here that Carfax isnt as reliable as they want people to think it is. Milege issues, title issues etc... Evidently they take most of their information from police reports instead of insurance companies. They have salvage titled alot of cars that had minimal damage and the insurance company only fixed instead of totalling them out. Google "complaints with 1995(or whatever year) Mercury Villager" and you will get all kinds of forums like this one where people are discussing their problems or whatever about a certain car. HTH. I ended up purchasing a 2001 Pontiac Montana that had been local to me with the first owner and only had 52944 miles on it. Got a great deal and a great van.