Keep or buy used

Joined
Mar 9, 2012
Messages
461
We have a 13 dodge Grand caravan. Anyone who knows much about these knows they have their fair share of flaws.
Ours has 123,000 miles on it. The transmission is starting to act up I imagine it'll likely need to replaced in the next 6 month or so. Seems pretty typical for the 62TE. A new trans from dodge is about $3800 plus labor. It would cost me about $5,000 to have the transmission replaced. Would you throw this kind of money at it? Has hail damage and needs front struts soon. Other than that the driver seat is broken down which is annoying and the power seat fuse blows a lot. We haven't had the all to common oil filter / cooler housing fail yet but seems like they all do eventually. Other than that it runs ok. I'm considering selling it as is and maybe spending $10k cash on a used van or do I put the 5k in this one and keep it? I'm not a huge fan of this van but want to make the best decision over all. My wife and I both drive cars to work and we split taking the kids to school and babysitter. We have five kids total. So we only use the van on weekends most of the time when we're all going somewhere together. This is why I don't want to buy a new van and have to finance something. They're a lot of money I'd rather buy a decent used van that's capable of doing weekends and family trip and things of that nature. Maybe a Kia Sedona or Honda Odyssey? Sienna would be great but they seem to very expensive even used. What do you guys think?
 
I wouldn't put that kind of money in it.
I might consider a boneyard transmission, and a new set of struts.
I might look into a better used seat for it.
In other words, put as little as possible in it, and run it out.
 
Maybe start with looking into local trans shops and see if there are other price options out there.
Good luck. Maybe you can find a used Oddy or something for a decent price.
 
Sorry, not sure where "USA us" is, so I can't take a guess as to what kind of rusty shape it is in. No offense--if it was in the rust belt, it'd sound like it was time to stick a fork in it. If it was from outside of the rust belt, and a non-emissions county, I'd probably err on the side of keeping: if you want to avoid a loan, and avoid getting a less used vehicle that might be its own bag of new issues... keeping what you have is often better.

Struts should be dirt simple to change, worst part is an alignment afterwards. A driver's seat, that might be more work and cost, but only if it has an airbag in it (?). That transmission gives me pause, certainly at that price--but what would you buy that won't have a similar cost to replace a transmission? Have you gotten a second diagnosis from a trans stop?

Seems like too much to spend but IMO you might spend more to avoid spending less. Sometimes the devil you know is better than the devil you don't.
 
I would drop the pan in the trans and see if it's looking good. Then run it until the trans goes, maybe drive around it's weakness. Sometimes they last longer than you'd think. I had a slipping trans last another 200,000 miles in a Honda.
 
Rust isn't much of an issue where I am. Midwest isn't to terrible for rust.
The transmissions in these vans are notoriously garbage. I actually co own a repair shop which is how I know the cost of the transmission and labor. I've replaced 3 of these transmissions in 4 months. They're hard to find in a junk yard with low miles. Most have at least 90k on them and since they were junk it's hard to spend $1500 on a used transmission and another 1,000 in labor knowing they don't last that long and a used one is likely to be a ticking time bomb. If I was going to replace it a new one is the only option I feel like that makes good long term sense and the cost makes that a hard choice as well.
Fluid is clean I changed it a 105,000 miles.
As far as the seat goes they all seem to wear out on the side the fabric is fine it's the actual foam that's broken down, not the end of the world but annoying. Knowing the transmission is iffy is the big issue. Throwing money at a very disposably built vehicle is hard. 🤷
 
Drain and fill, drive a tankful

Drain and fill, drive a tankful

If it gets better at this point, drive another thousand and do one more drain and fill.

Or you can sell it to Givemethevin, Vroom, Carmax, Carvana, or a local dealer.
 
Mentioning struts, a few hundred dollar repair, seems to me like you're looking for an excuse to dump it, and for validation online.

All FWD minivans are hobbled in some way-- it's the packaging. If I had to have a van, Dodge would be at the top of my list.

I'm in the "fix it" camp, but only because you won't find anything better, and won't buy new. Since it's a spare car you could save some cash or inconvenience by having someone get to it when they get to it.
 
What kind of life can you expect from the new / rebuilt transmission? This should be the deciding factor. Maybe a trans shop could do better quality / more competitive price than the dealer? Might as well have them do the struts while they have the vehicle on the lift.
 
Rust isn't much of an issue where I am. Midwest isn't to terrible for rust.
The transmissions in these vans are notoriously garbage. I actually co own a repair shop which is how I know the cost of the transmission and labor. I've replaced 3 of these transmissions in 4 months. They're hard to find in a junk yard with low miles. Most have at least 90k on them and since they were junk it's hard to spend $1500 on a used transmission and another 1,000 in labor knowing they don't last that long and a used one is likely to be a ticking time bomb. If I was going to replace it a new one is the only option I feel like that makes good long term sense and the cost makes that a hard choice as well.
Fluid is clean I changed it a 105,000 miles.
As far as the seat goes they all seem to wear out on the side the fabric is fine it's the actual foam that's broken down, not the end of the world but annoying. Knowing the transmission is iffy is the big issue. Throwing money at a very disposably built vehicle is hard. 🤷

This all sounds way overly dramatic. These are pretty solid vans, it sounds like you're looking for an excuse to get something different...you have a long history of these types of posts.
 
Get the impression, like @dishdude, that you're tired of it and want something fresher. Sometimes it's best to go for what you want rather than what seems most practical. Car needs lots of money to keep something you don't like.
Related experience: I had an older Blazer that was a tank in the snow, but needed a new trans. Wife didn't like the truckiness of it and $3k for a trans replacement wasn't going to make her happy. Sold it and got an X3 and she's happy which makes me not unhappy. Go for the Honda!
 
Anything you’re going to buy for $10k is going to need a transmission or some other work. Trading the devil you know for the one you don’t. Some things have broken. That’s disappointing at the mileage you have, but they are repairable.

Your personal dislike of the van is probably the biggest determinant. It’s a big cost for something you’re not thrilled about. Unfortunately the perception that the grass is greener on the other side usually doesn’t work out.

Id look into options for a lower cost transmission job. Can a reputable shop get an OEM rebuild and install it for less?
 
This all sounds way overly dramatic. These are pretty solid vans, it sounds like you're looking for an excuse to get something different...you have a long history of these types of posts.
If you don't think the 62te is a garbage transmission then you sir are poorly informed. This generation of van is pretty disappointing honestly. The older dodge cans with the 3.3/3.8 were way better in my opinion. Nothing was over dramatic it was completely honest .
Our local transmission shop said these transmissions usually start eating the torque converter between 80-100k miles and it contaminates the internal sensors and filter and eventually it self destructs.
 
Anything you’re going to buy for $10k is going to need a transmission or some other work. Trading the devil you know for the one you don’t. Some things have broken. That’s disappointing at the mileage you have, but they are repairable.

Your personal dislike of the van is probably the biggest determinant. It’s a big cost for something you’re not thrilled about. Unfortunately the perception that the grass is greener on the other side usually doesn’t work out.

Id look into options for a lower cost transmission job. Can a reputable shop get an OEM rebuild and install it for less?
No. I can get the transmission at cost through our shop it's going to be cheaper that way than anywhere else. I could get a used one but knowing these transmissions aren't great makes me feel foolish to buy a used transmission for it. I do dislike the van overall and that definitely is a factor. They just feel cheap overall. I will admit the peppyness it has is nice but other than that I'm not a huge fan. I see way to many of them in the shop with transmission issues and oil coolers. The oil coolers aren't a huge deal to fix neither are the struts. I brought up the other items besides the transmission to make the argument that it needs regular repairs on top of a pretty expensive transmission repair in the near future. That was my way of trying to see the whole picture.
I have seen a few kia Sedonas for sale around 10k that have about 80-120k miles they all looked decent enough on the add. To be fair I don't know a whole lot about them not many of them in the shop ever but also not as many on the road as the dodge vans. I do know my wife's aunt had one with 300,000miles on it before the transmission went out and she didn't take care of it very well at all.
Seens you can find an acceptable Honda Van for my price point to the Kia is a better "value" but the Honda seems fair as well. The sienna is out of the budget unless I want a lot of miles.
I guess I was looking at it like maybe if I bought a van of better quality even if it was similar to mine mileage and age it would be a better vehicle long term.
I'm not an anti dodge person but I do feel like these vans were pretty poor. I've already had to do a couple rocker arms for wearing out prematurely.
That was fun!!
I definitely get the perspective of keeping what I have instead of assuming the grass is greener on the other side. I guess that's the ultimate question if I found a Kia Sedona or a odyssey with less than 130,000 miles 2008-2014 age range would with maintenance record and in decent shape would I be far enough ahead to justify making that change.
 
I definitely get the perspective of keeping what I have instead of assuming the grass is greener on the other side. I guess that's the ultimate question if I found a Kia Sedona or a odyssey with less than 130,000 miles 2008-2014 age range would with maintenance record and in decent shape would I be far enough ahead to justify making that change.

Both are hot garbage and no better than what you have, probably worse.
 
+1
Until your in a position to afford something in better shape for more than your current budget, I'd keep saving and find alternatives.
How much would you spend? The car market around here has come back closer to reality. Still not what it used to be but miles better than how it was 6-12 months ago.
 
Back
Top