Opinions on Dodge Caravan?

[NeverEnufWDW]

Our 2002 Grand Caravan was the perfect family vehicle - and I had initially vowed that I would NEVER drive a mini-van. Unfortunately, had to sell it because we moved overseas. DW says she'd get another one in a heartbeat

Sounds like a gunga deal to me....good luck

 

[jimmytammy]

We own a 01 Dodge Grand Caravan and love it. Never any major problems with it. I would seriously consider the Grand vs. the Caravan for the extra cargo space, especially if you make long trips. It really comes in handy. As for the ride, we recently drove from NC to WDW, roughly 11 hr trip and never got uncomfortable at all.

Little secret, Dodge seats come out of the same factory as the upscale Chrysler T&C seats. This gives it a leg up on Plymouth ride. I do a lot of homework before buying anything major. Personally dont thing you can go wrong with Dodge minivan.

Good luck in your decision.

 

[luvindisneyworld]

My cousin bought one about 3 years ago,It was brand new.They got rid of it last year because it was at the shop more than they had the vehicle.Finally some major problem happened and the had to get rid of it while they could.

 

[mickeyboat]

Had a 99 Plymouth Voyager. Bought it new. Had nothing but problem with it. Check engine light came on within a couple of months - O2 sensor. Had to have the serpentine belt replaced several times - squealed like a stuck pig. The grease bags in the seatbelt attachments in the way back broke and grease leaked all over the seat belts.

Every time we brought the car in for service, the garage gave us a hard time. I had to call Chrysler several times to get the garage to honor the warranty.

I would never buy a Chrysler product again. We have a Ford Windstar now which we bought two years ago. The only problem we have had is with the windshield wiper. It came out of adjustmetn because DH ran it over an icy windshield. The garage covered the repair under warranty.

Denae

 

[tkd lisa]

We have a 2003. It's a van. I won't say I love it, but it does it's job. I like the features, and it gets pretty good gas mileage (highway around 21/23, city nearing 18-20). We haven't had any real problems and have about 27k miles on it. We did have to spend about $200 because one of the systems in the engine had gotten carbon build up. The dealer said that that's one of those random things, and it's actually worse with premium gas than with the normal grade of gas.

If you have more than one child, I'd say it's a worthwhile vehicle. The ability to take the whole group to the movie is priceless, and that sounds like a pretty good price.

 

[always quiet]

We have a 1993 Plymouth Voyager SE. We bought it used and honestly, have never had any big mechanical problems with it. Honestly, aside from getting the AC fixed, I can not remember anything breaking down. We have it equipped for towing and have used it on our 2002 trip to Fort Wilderness.

It's funny. People who have either the Voyager or Caravan either have loved them or hated them.

 

[pumba]

one of the best around.......we gave it to our daughter and she runs it daily........also.....my sister in law 14 years ago....had an accident ....she was hit on the passenger side and the officiers said that this is what saved her kids.......the structure in that was fantastic ......look at the consumer reports..........they usually keep up on things like this

 

[snoopy]

We had an '96 Dodge Grand Caravan and it was the worst piece of junk we've ever owned. We found out after the fact that 96 models were notorious for transmission problems -- ours gave out about 2 months after our warranty ended.

 

[Shadeaux]

We bought a 2005 Grand Caravan over the weekend, so my opinion is based on 2 1/2 days of ownership. So far, I love it! Our last two minivans were Ford Windstars; the Grand Caravan is much quieter and has a smoother ride. One of the reasons we bought the 2005 model was for the new Stow 'N Go seats that fold flat into the floor. My neighbor sold her Caravan 6 months ago and replaced it with a Windstar. She said she's sorry she didn't buy another Caravan.

 

[Kermit]

We're in the market for our first minivan. We haven't bought yet, but we've researched it with Consumer Reports. They don't have very many good things to say about the Caravan, unfortunately. Apparently they're pretty prone to needing a lot of work. The ones that rate well with CR are the Toyota and Honda minivans. Of course, you won't find nearly that good of a deal on them. That's the main reason we aren't minivan owners yet.

 

[gallaj0]

You may want to do an internet search on caravans and transmission problems; starting back in 96 and running at least until 2002; the transmissions they were putting in were known to have major problems; total replacements were necessary, not just rebuilds or easy fixes. Chrysler has still not acknowledged they have a problem with that transmission, so if anything happens to it, it's all on your dime to fix.
I have a 99 Grand Caravan, that I bought knowing about the tranny problem, but a close relative had one and loved it. 2 weeks after buying mine, his tranny blew out the bottom of his van on the highway, it was a total loss, the new tranny/engine repair cost more than the car's blue book value, so he trashed it and bought a Venture.
My Caravan just started having tranny problems, sometimes you put it in reverse or drive, but she doesn't go anywhere; nothing "wrong" has been found with it yet; I just want it to hold together until it's paid off

 

[binny]

we love our Caravans! yes you read that right, we have 2 one for dhs work and one for our own personal vehicle. He wasnt as thrilled with the 03 that he has now ( hes had a 97, 99, and the 03 our personal van is a 96) the 03 is probably his least favourite but I think a lot of that has to do with the package this doesnt have lol.

Anywa, weve loved all of ours!
Good luck with your decisions thats a great price!

 

[Allie322]

I did a lot of research when we bought our van in 2001. A great resource is www.edmunds.com. I found their website to be the most helpful. (BTW we ended up with a Honda.)

 

[Toby'sFriend]

I really loved the features, but sorry to say, the thing was a mechanic's dream. It was back to the dealer literally almost weekly for some problem, most major. Any system that could break, did break, and most more than once.

That was pretty much our experience with our '96 Caravan. They rebuilt the engine for us at about 45k miles -- only charged us $250 after much fighting. Luckily DH had kept every oil change receipt since purchase and was able to prove to the regional manager we had taken care of the car. The transmission was also rebuilt. Every blasted belt on the thing broke at some point....often taking other things with them. Alternator, Fuel Pump, Water Pump......all frequently repaired and replaced. The Goodyear Service people sent us Christmas Cards AND Candy.

Even with all that, it barely lasted until 120k miles which was pitiful considering the new engine.

I refused to look at anything Chrysler when we finally purchased again. Hopefully the newer models are more dependable.

 

[MosMom]

I have a 98 Grand Caravan LE and I love it. It has about 65,000 miles on it and we've never had a mechanical problem. We have driven it 3400 miles to and from Canada twice, 1800 miles to and from Orlando twice, 1700 miles to and from New Orleans, and more. We had the tires replaced 1 1/2 years ago and that is it. It is a great van and I couldn't ask for better. We are looking at new ones right now because I love how the seats fold in. We've driven the heck out of ours and she just keeps a movin'. *knock on wood*

 

[Towncrier]

We're on our fourth Grand Caravan. Our first was a brand new 1988. We had the van for 10 years and made several trips from Ohio to Florida. I purchased a used 1988 Grand Voyager in 1994. I only kept that van for a year before I bought my Saturn SC2. I gave the Voyager to my brother and his wife. I think that they still have it. We leased a 1998 Dodge Grand Caravan for 5 years. I thought that it was time to retire our 1988 van which my wife started to referring to as "Old Blue". Sue never liked the 1998 van. The 1988 van had much more interior room than the 1998. If it weren't for the fact that the '88 van had over 130,000 miles on it and the original transmission, we would probably still be driving that van.

When the lease ran out on the 1998 van, we purchased a used 2002 van. My wife must like this one because she put over 16,000 miles on it the first year that we owned it. I guess she's gotten over "Old Blue".

We have had our share of problems with our vans. Some major, but thankfully all under warranty, and none out of the ordinary.

 

[NancyIL]

We had a 1990 Plymouth Grand Voyager. Liked it a lot, but it DID need a new transmission. We have a 2000 Honda Odyssey and we love it! Look into either the Odyssey or the Toyota Sienna...much more reliable.

 

[airhead]

'98 Caravan,74,000 miles. I took both benches out on the day I brought it home,nuthin' but crates in there now! I also have a basic model and next time I'll make sure to have tinted windows and AC vents in the back. I really don't mind the crank windows.

 

[Lanshark]

We had one 5 years ago and traded it in for a Toyota Sienna. The Grand Caravan was a wonderful driving/riding van. Lots of room. Even with all scheduled maintenance done it started having major mechanical problems at 77,000 miles. In 25 years we have always bought cars and run them until the wheels fall off. I don't like car payments. That said we traded it in on the Toyota which now has 100,000 miles on it and is still going strong.

Although I liked the van I would never purchase another Caravan or another Dodge. The trade in values on them is incredibly low also.

 

[piglet too]

I have not had one, but do know that either they have a ton of problems, or they are great.

If you can, I would wait and get one of the 2005, with the new "Stow 'n Go" seating. My husband was in the "Stand By Your Van" contest at the Chicago Auto Show, and that is what he would have won. (He finnished fourth BTW, the winner lasted another 7 hours) We found that it seems like they changed the front passenger seating style as well as the obvious changes in the back seats. The one I got to sit in at the auto show was so comfortable!!!! The "Stow 'n Go" is just awesome and it is worht the extra money.

Good luck with your decision.