Car Shopping- Need advice

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Not sure what I'd do. I'd probably just fix and drive, or fix and sell and get a Caravan. The alternatives suck gas worse IMO and I'm not sure are actually better at moving people & stuff (unless we are talking full sized vans).

[My thinking of ditching the Ody for a Caravan is the cheaper parts. And no timing belt. The older 4AT's are a tossup, but at least cheap and understood. Not sure if a used GC with 6AT would be in the op's price range. But those are my thoughts anyhow.]
 
Look at full size 02-05 Chevy/GMC vans - relatively cheap to be had, solid engine/trans. Mines a 02 full conversion with the 5.8 liter, gets 18 on the hwy and seats 7 and can easily haul 5K.
 
3rd Generation Odyssey's will last if you drain and fill transmission fluid every year or so with DW1 or Maxlife. Your 2001 is 2nd gen which had a known issue with bearings, it's only a matter of time until they spill their guts.
 
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Yes, it's really sad that transmissions, a very expensive part of the vehicle, are the problem area in a vehicle today. I mean, it's not like an CV joint or an IMG or HG that plagued so many vehicle in the past, now it's the really expensive & crucial part of the vehicle; the transmission. Shame!
 
Originally Posted by Spktyr
Originally Posted by DeafBrad
Hi Everyone,

My van is junking its transmission, so I am looking for a new vehicle. This is my second van... the first one (2006 Grand Caravan 17X,XXX miles) junked it's transmission, and my current vehicle (2001 Honda Odyssey 179,XXX miles) is now doing it too.

Before these vans I never owned a vehicle that had a transmission go bad. I am looking for something that has better transmissions. I am also open to other kinds of vehicles but they must seat 7. My budget is limited and not interested in financing so nothing new or expensive. Also looking for something that gets better gas mileage than the Caravan and Odyssey. Any ideas or suggestions for me?

Thanks for your time,

Brad



To be fair to the vans you've had, they both have known troublesome boxes. The GC has the Ultradrive (aka the UltraFail) trans in it and the Honda has the 5 speed auto that was almost as bad. You were very lucky to get that far on either of those.


You are letting your bias show. 170K miles on a transmission is a pretty decent life span not knowing its maintenance history. By 2006 the transmissions in these Mopar minivans had the bugs worked out and earlier issues had gone away. A warrantied rebuilt transmission for this vehicle is about $1500 cash and carry and less than a day to R&R for a typical home garage mechanic, a well equipped shadetree mechanic could do the replacement in a few hours. Toyota and Honda transmission of this vintage and mileage have a similar failure rate as the Mopar transmissions. For the original poster, if the vehicle isn't worthy of a new transmission and you are looking for something to haul that many people around and get better fuel mileage at a reasonable price? I don't think it exists unless you move up to a modern minivan which would get mid 20's MPG. You are going to have to spend the money to get what you want. Don't buy some taxi or fleet vehicle that is already used up and has mileage equivalent to what you already own, they sell them to avoid the issues you are having.
 
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To the OP, how much towing do you do per year with the Vans?

I'm not sure if the Sedona would be good for towing. What about a newer Caravan with a heavy duty Transmission cooler installed?
 
The best vehicle for the purpose especially people moving is another used minivan. I think you got two examples when transmissions were weaker but you also were driving an 18yr old vehicle and anything can go wrong.

Caravan, Ody and Sienna are all great best choices for balance of capability, price, and MPG.

All the suggestions of SUV and full-size vans mean terrible MPG at best in the price point.
 
Originally Posted by Mr Nice
Lots of leftover 2019 Caravans that you can get a great deal on.


Brand new over in Idaho. Holds 7 in style with stow and go seats and more. Probably not going to find a Honda/Toyota for close to this price. A stripped Kia is $29k but it does have that long warranty standard.


https://www.davesmith.com/new/Dodge/2019-Dodge-Grand+Caravan-f44c307e0a0e0ae70e84dc5c6477a096.htm

You can get an AWD Tiguan S with 6 adult and one baby seat and mid-upper 20's mpg for about the same price of the above minivan. Tow rating would be severely limited. Even minivans are pretty limited for towing duty.

https://www.auburnvw.com/inventory/...n-awd-4d-sport-utility-3vv0b7ax5lm003333
 
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Originally Posted by Mr Nice
Lots of leftover 2019 Caravans that you can get a great deal on.


+1, we absolutely love ours. My wife mostly short trips it to church or the store (10 minutes max) and it gets 20+mpg.
 
Originally Posted by JC1
To the OP, how much towing do you do per year with the Vans?

I'm not sure if the Sedona would be good for towing. What about a newer Caravan with a heavy duty Transmission cooler installed?


The towing I do is pretty insignificant. I haul the trash to the dump... not a lot of weight and maybe 20 miles 1 time every 1.5 months.
 
Journeys seat seven do they not?

IDK about Japanese vans, they seem to have the same durability as a Caravan at a much higher price.

Stop buying clapped out vans, minivans seem to beat the [censored] out of their transmissions. Save up, wait for a good deal and get something with some life left in it.

The Caravan is one of the few vehicles I would buy new because I would want that trans maintained obsessively.
 
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Originally Posted by maxdustington
Journeys seat seven do they not?

IDK about Japanese vans, they seem to have the same durability as a Caravan at a much higher price.

Stop buying clapped out vans, minivans seem to beat the [censored] out of their transmissions. Save up, wait for a good deal and get something with some life left in it.

The Caravan is one of the few vehicles I would buy new because I would want that trans maintained obsessively.


If you do look at a Journey, do NOT get the 4 cylinder version. My father in law had nothing but problems with his (oil consumption, various sensor issues) and got the dealer to return it and give him a v6 version. He said the v6 is so so so much better.
 
Originally Posted by DeafBrad
Originally Posted by JC1
To the OP, how much towing do you do per year with the Vans?

I'm not sure if the Sedona would be good for towing. What about a newer Caravan with a heavy duty Transmission cooler installed?


The towing I do is pretty insignificant. I haul the trash to the dump... not a lot of weight and maybe 20 miles 1 time every 1.5 months.


May I suggest buying a box of donuts and some coffees and go one morning and chat a transmission shop in your area???
Like that you will get experience related to your local driving conditions...

Hope it helps
 
Originally Posted by Skippy722
Originally Posted by Mr Nice
Lots of leftover 2019 Caravans that you can get a great deal on.


+1, we absolutely love ours. My wife mostly short trips it to church or the store (10 minutes max) and it gets 20+mpg.


I know you value your sleep, But can i respectfully recommend a once every 2 month early morning Sunday driving to Indiana and back???

And wear thin soled shoes...

Just tell the kids and wife you want them to see a sunrise...
 
The biggest killers of auto transmissions are heat and dirty fluid, if you go the van route again consider running quality synthetic ATF and maybe even an aftermarket cooler if you are doing a lot of mountain passes with the vehicle fully loaded.
 
Originally Posted by pandus13
Originally Posted by Skippy722
Originally Posted by Mr Nice
Lots of leftover 2019 Caravans that you can get a great deal on.


+1, we absolutely love ours. My wife mostly short trips it to church or the store (10 minutes max) and it gets 20+mpg.


I know you value your sleep, But can i respectfully recommend a once every 2 month early morning Sunday driving to Indiana and back???

And wear thin soled shoes...

Just tell the kids and wife you want them to see a sunrise...


The front and back of our new house out in the country faces East and West, my little one loves to sit and watch it if he's up
smile.gif
 
The Odyssey switched to the "Ridgeline" 4-shaft transmission in 2007, and they are pretty solid. Plenty of other issues with Odysseys, though, IME...
 
The Caravan got to 170K miles buy another. For some reason a few members here feel entitled to a transmission which lasts 250-300K miles or more. The truth is transmissions fail and the engineered lifetime is not near that mileage. All the ATF changes don't guarantee anything they may help you as the owner kick the can but transmissions fail.
 
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