So quick back story - I am shortly (2-3 months) going to be starting my own little janitorial service that will require a dedicate vehicle with a large cargo space that can accommodate a rolling trash cart, janitorial cart, a 8-10' ladder, on occasion a commercial grade pressure washer, etc. I don't want to blow the bank on a car for the fact a new business is always risky and there is the very real possibility the business could fail.
So my budget is 10k MAX which and 100k miles which puts me in something like the below - any real experiences with the below vans would be super helpful in my decision making process. To start I am thinking it will be hitting ~25k miles per year, guessing ~80-85% highway driving based on the contracts I know I will be able to get from the start. This is one worker and one van doing 5 days per week so any expansion plans in the future would require another van - but that is further down the road.
1) Chrysler Quadruplets (Grand Caravan, Town & Country, VW Routan and RAM C/V)
I am heavily leaning towards the Chryco vans as they seem to be the best value for miles on the clock. Within my budget I can get facelifted versions (2011+) with the Pentastar that gets 17/25 MPG that all have anywhere from 85-105k miles on the clock. Doing some limited research it appears the service intervals are flexible but appears typical experience is ~10k between oil changes. I have previously been seriously burned by Chrysler and Fiat products (1999 Plymouth Neon and 2012 Fiat 500) and the Atlanta dealers service departments are the absolute worst which is my only concern. I have had plenty of Grand Caravans for rental cars for work and they are actually a really comfortable long distance cruiser and have very confident driving and handling properties so I am not worried on that end.
Any experiences with the Chrysler vans, mainly anything after the Pentastar was dropped in (2011+)?
2) 2nd generation Toyota Sienna (2004-2010)
The Siennas I have found will typically have a good 25-35k more miles on them for the same price as the Chrysler vans and will be quite a few years older but have that legendary Toyota reliability. Service intervals appear to be every 5k miles so maintenance costs will be 2x what they are on the Chryco vans. Also mileage is worse at 18/23 so fueling expenses will be higher than Chryco. I have never driven one so would definitely need to do a test drive to see if it would be something livable as my first employee will be behind the wheel for 3-4 hours per day.
3) 1st generation Ford Transit Connect
This popped up in my search results on Autotrader. Looks to be a pretty reliable workhorse but I have always thought these things were ugly as sin until the 2nd generation came out which is a huge improvement. Fuel economy vs the V6 vans is not much better on the hwy but much better in the city at 21/27 MPG - but then you are penalized with that 2.0 Focus engine trying to push that box through the air. Honestly I have not done much research on the Transit Connect as it seems such a penalty box versus the above minivans and the fuel economy improvements do not justify that penalty, sure if I had a fleet of 100 vans it would make sense but we are talking 1 van to start.
Non-contenders
Honda Odyssey - questionable reliability (VCM system and previous horrific transmission issues).
RAM Pro-Master City - nothing in my price range.
Nissan NV200 - nothing in my price range.
So just looking for some real world experiences with any of the above vans.
Thanks in advance!
So my budget is 10k MAX which and 100k miles which puts me in something like the below - any real experiences with the below vans would be super helpful in my decision making process. To start I am thinking it will be hitting ~25k miles per year, guessing ~80-85% highway driving based on the contracts I know I will be able to get from the start. This is one worker and one van doing 5 days per week so any expansion plans in the future would require another van - but that is further down the road.
1) Chrysler Quadruplets (Grand Caravan, Town & Country, VW Routan and RAM C/V)
I am heavily leaning towards the Chryco vans as they seem to be the best value for miles on the clock. Within my budget I can get facelifted versions (2011+) with the Pentastar that gets 17/25 MPG that all have anywhere from 85-105k miles on the clock. Doing some limited research it appears the service intervals are flexible but appears typical experience is ~10k between oil changes. I have previously been seriously burned by Chrysler and Fiat products (1999 Plymouth Neon and 2012 Fiat 500) and the Atlanta dealers service departments are the absolute worst which is my only concern. I have had plenty of Grand Caravans for rental cars for work and they are actually a really comfortable long distance cruiser and have very confident driving and handling properties so I am not worried on that end.
Any experiences with the Chrysler vans, mainly anything after the Pentastar was dropped in (2011+)?
2) 2nd generation Toyota Sienna (2004-2010)
The Siennas I have found will typically have a good 25-35k more miles on them for the same price as the Chrysler vans and will be quite a few years older but have that legendary Toyota reliability. Service intervals appear to be every 5k miles so maintenance costs will be 2x what they are on the Chryco vans. Also mileage is worse at 18/23 so fueling expenses will be higher than Chryco. I have never driven one so would definitely need to do a test drive to see if it would be something livable as my first employee will be behind the wheel for 3-4 hours per day.
3) 1st generation Ford Transit Connect
This popped up in my search results on Autotrader. Looks to be a pretty reliable workhorse but I have always thought these things were ugly as sin until the 2nd generation came out which is a huge improvement. Fuel economy vs the V6 vans is not much better on the hwy but much better in the city at 21/27 MPG - but then you are penalized with that 2.0 Focus engine trying to push that box through the air. Honestly I have not done much research on the Transit Connect as it seems such a penalty box versus the above minivans and the fuel economy improvements do not justify that penalty, sure if I had a fleet of 100 vans it would make sense but we are talking 1 van to start.
Non-contenders
Honda Odyssey - questionable reliability (VCM system and previous horrific transmission issues).
RAM Pro-Master City - nothing in my price range.
Nissan NV200 - nothing in my price range.
So just looking for some real world experiences with any of the above vans.
Thanks in advance!
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