Anyone have a Dodge Caravan?

[oogieboogie]

We had a caravan too, and all it gave us were headaches and more headaches. Cracked gasket, transmission problems, just everything that could go wrong went wrong.

We threw so much money in into that car, it wasn't even worth it anymore. We moved on to a Ford windstar and I have to say I'm much happier and less stressed out.

 

[PigletsPal]

I have a '00 Grand Caravan and LOVE,LOVE,LOVE it. We are a family of 5 that has 2 sons in scouting and we love to camp as a family ourselfs and it has worked out great for us. It will be paid off in Nov.
I have 2 friends and they both have the other 2 vans you menitioned and they love the both also, but I like the size of the Grand better.
We also bought the extended warr. because I heard about the air cond. problems that Dodge has with the van, but I bought it from Allstate which was cheaper and I didn't have to pay for it until just before the other warr. ran out.

Good luck on your decision.

 

[buzzlady]

Add one to the hate column. We had a '95 and had the head gasket go and got rid of it before the transmission went.

 

[DVC-Don]

We had a 92 that we bought new back then and drove it for 4 years (64,000) w/o any problems. Then again, we've had 2 Ford Windstars since then (1996: 88,000 & 2000: 70,000) that we drove 4 years each w/o any problems either. Moved on to a Cadillac SRX recently.

 

[buddy&wooz]

We have a '97. Yes, the tranny had to be replaced at about 35k miles, but I was under the impression that issue had been fixed.

What really made me love the car was the fact that when I'd only had it for 9 months I was broadsided on the rear right side by a pickup truck. Thankfully I was alone in the car, no kids, but had they been with me, they would've been ok, because the passenger area was left completely intact. Thanks to a great body shop it was fixed up good as new and it's been problem free (except the tranny) since then.

 

[jimmytammy]

We own one now and have owned 2 before this one. They are very comfortable, more so than the Honda. I cant say anything about the Toyota. What I will add is plan on driving the Dodge til about 60,000 then get another one. I dont get trading fever but my experience with repairs has led me to this conclusion. Good luck with your decision.

 

[RayJay]

Originally posted by lulugirl
I would love some feedback on any of these vehicles! I really love the idea of saving $$$ and going for the Dodge, but I need something that is going to be reliable and safe.
Thanks!
-Elisabeth

1999 Grand Caravan - White, 64,000 Miles

Last 2 months - 3 separate problems

Transmission Sensors went - $180 repair
Transmission Hose went - $160 repair
Brakes and Rotors shot - $250 repair

1 set of new tires since owning.

It sounds worse than it really is, Had no problems for 5 years.
And then bam 1,2,3.

Still keeping though.

RayJay

 

[tinatark]

We looked at these in our recent car search, when we were going back and forth between a mini van and SUV... the stow and go is nice, but you sacrifice quite a bit of seat comfort for it..... they really are a lot of vehicle for the money, these days. You'll see one of the biggest first year-value drops, if you buy new. Not an issue if you plan to keep it for a while. We also looked at the "new" Durango's - those are pretty nice, you can get a Limited (top of their line) 4x4 w/Hemi on ebay motors for about 30k. Pretty close to what you'd pay for a TOL Grand Caravan.

 

[PrincessDeb]

Add me to the hate column-we had a 97 Caravan. We fixed the transmission three times before it hit 90,000 miles. We were chagrined to see that now Chrysler covers the transmission for a longer period of time but they still can't offer me enough incentive to buy one. I loved the interior of it-and it offered such a comfy ride but we mostly rode back and forth the last year to the mechanic before getting rid of it in 2003 with only 99,000 miles on it and an air conditioner that was broken and needed $700 more to fix that.
Hubby and I have been burned 3x with Dodge-only Honda and Nissan for me now-no problems with those cars.
Deb

 

[6_Time_Momma]

99 grand caravan......hate it!!! Had more problems with this thing!

 

[tigercat]

Had a used Voyager that was great, but the person that had it used it as a business car (and really ran up the miles) and NEVER had an oil change. The one we have now is a 97 and has 230,000 km. on it. We have not had any trouble at all with it. We have done oil changes and check ups but that is it. I just had it in for them to look at the transmission and it seems fine. I would buy another one in a heart beat but again it would have had to be built on a Tues to Thurs. No Fri or Monday built cars are worth it. I would love a Town and Country but don't know if I'll ever be able to afford one.
tigercat

 

[lulugirl]

Thanks for all the great feedback, looks like we have a lot to think about!
-Elisabeth

 

[Kirby]

We have a 1999 Grand Caravan with 96,000 miles one it. It's been a great car to travel in, twice to WDW, once to Chicago and numorous trips to San Antonio. Love the room in it. Granted, the back seat is very heavy and hard for one person to remove. I can't do it but I have others here to help me if I need it done.

Another van we've had and really liked was the Chev Astro. I miss sitting up real high like in a truck. It was a good vehicle for us too.

Also, think about what kind of seating you want. We've had the captain's chairs in all our vans and prefer them over the bench in the middle.

 

[Shadeaux]

Originally posted by MosMom
Oooooooh the new caravans have that "Stow N' Go" seating where you don't have to take the seats out anymore and it gives a cubby hole space to put things when the seats are out. We recently paid our caravan off and want to go without payments for awhile but I can't wait to get a new one with those seats!

We bought an '05 Grand Caravan with the 'Stow N Go' seats a couple months ago. So far it's been great, especially on our trip to WDW. Having the space under the seats was wonderful. We also have the power sliding doors and power liftgate. Because I'm short I really love the power liftgate . So much easier than standing on tiptoes trying to close the darn thing! Our last two vehicles were Ford Windstars; I can't believe how much quieter and more comfortable the Grand Caravan is.

 

[Lanshark]

I had a Dodge Grand Caravan that drove beautifully. Problem is it started falling apart at 75,000 miles. Trade in value was terrible. I would not buy another. The one advantage it has is it is big.

I now have a Toyota Sienna that has 100,000 miles and still going strong. We experienced none of the problems we did with the Caravan. We probably paid a little more up front but we buy a car and keep it until the wheels fall off. We are very careful about oil changes also. I'd purchase another Toyota in a minute. Hopefully, mine will last another 50,000 miles or so.