used minivan shopping help

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tlmprnpg

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Sep 27, 2006
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TN
I plan to get used minivan this summer and look for suggestion.
My budget is around 10k-12k out of the door. My primary model would be grand caravan or town and country around 2006-2007. Toyota and honda vans are way overpriced. The Kia van does not have many inventories around here (TN).

My questions are:

1) the redesign grand caravan (2008) is around 2k more than old design. Is it worth to upgrade?

2) how much value for stow-n-go? I think the 8 seats (bench in middle seat) is more useful but I may be wrong.

3) what would be a good time to shop for used car, especially popular lease model? Late summer?

4) any particular problems I should look for these model?

5) are there other models I should look too? Ford and Chev minivans have similar price but I don't know they are quite popular than grand caravan/T&C.


Thank you,

Terry
 
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I got my 06 Town and Country last June - used with 46,000 miles. We looked at the 08's (gen V), but decided the Gen IV was quieter and just felt more solid, though the 08 had some nice features (windows in the sliding doors that open...)

Here's a forum dedicated to the Chrysler minivans that should help you with all your questions:

Chrysler Mini-Vans

I've been well pleased with mine. It now has 64,000 miles without a problem.

I really like the Stow and Go - it's quick, easy and the chairs are real comfortable. The underfloor bins make for nice storage when the seats are up, and when folded flat, there is more cargo area than you can imagine!
 
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Mom's 03 Grand Caravan has been very good for her. The 3.3 L engine is flawless and has good power.
Transmission is good as long as you use the proper ATF+4.
Hwy mpg seems to be 25 tops and 20 around town. At 80000mi its in real good shape and has only needed front pads & an alternator so far.
It does now need all 4 wheel brake service again. In cold weather the trans cooler gets a drop from the factory spring hose clamps & leaked a almost a pint over the season.
She had a Windstar before which was defiantly a better driver but fords have or had bad transmissions and a high number of failures occured.
The stow & go I think started in 06 and is a nice feature but removing the seats is easy although somewhat heavy & a hassle.
 
Originally Posted By: tlmprnpg
1) the redesign grand caravan (2008) is around 2k more than old design. Is it worth to upgrade?


I would say no:

http://blogs.insideline.com/roadtests/20...ow-quality.html

Edmunds had a lot of issues with theirs.

I did recently have a 2010 Town and Country rental, and it was far nicer. But at only 1700 miles, there was a very noticeable engine vibration at idle.

Originally Posted By: tlmprnpg
4) any particular problems I should look for these model?

Brakes seem to wear out very quickly on the newer ones. The guy at the Firestone told me he had one in with only 20k. I think Motor Trend had the same problem with their long-termer.
 
Originally Posted By: The Critic


I did recently have a 2010 Town and Country rental, and it was far nicer. But at only 1700 miles, there was a very noticeable engine vibration at idle.


Dodge in their nutty wisdom has 3 engines for a limiting selling van, terrible 3.3, okay 3.8 and great 4.0L. No idea why not just put one engine and perfect it.

I have a feeling yours had a 3.3L as the base engine(rental fare) is lacking. I have driven the 4.0L with 6 speed auto and its a nice vehicle. Not fit and finish issues with my sis in law's loaded to the hilt version. I test drove a 3.8L with my wife and it was okay.

GM/Ford minivans were plain awful. I think they represent all the bad views of domestic brands unfortunately.
 
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I have to chime in here.
If you can find a nice low-mileage one, the golden oldie Aerostar is hard to beat.
If you really want to use the vehicle, and you want something simple and reliable, the Aerostar is hard to beat.
We have 168K and nearly thirteen years on ours now, and it still runs well and delivers decent mileage.
Pay attention, and you should easily average over 20 mpg with the unbreakable 3.0 Vulcan.
The air still works great, with no service ever needed, it is on its fourth set of tires, and its third set of brakes.
I did have to replace the starter a few weeks ago, but that's about all it has needed since September 1997, when we bought it new.
I just changed its oil today, and I was surprised at how good and rust-free it looked underneath.
A dated vehicle, but one that would give you a long and trouble free life, if you can find a decent one.
Then there is always the spacious and fun to drive Vanagon, but you'll pay generously for a good one.
We had an '81, but that's another story.
 
How long do you intend to keep it? If you drive it until it's rusted junk, get one with the fewest luxury appointments. All those bells and whistles are the first things to go.

I can't wait for the current Fords with all the communications and video appointments get on the used market with extended usage. They'll be scrap in no time at all due to the costs of replacement obsolete proprietary hardware.
 
"Terrible" 3.3 he says?

I was unaware. All this time I thought it was doing great. Good mileage, more than adequate power and acceleration, smooth running, no oil usage.

It's good to know differently. Thanks for the heads-up.
 
I plan to drive at least 10+ years until children can drive by themselves. I'm not interested in luxury options. I just want dual manual slide doors, back seat air conditioning (manual), remote key door, power windows, and flat-fold 3 row seat. I think these things are available in all base model.

I'm still thinking about get the bench seat for second row, instead of captain chairs. So we can fit 8 people instead of 7. Anyone has experience with bench seat would be appreciate.

I read the dodge forum about the engine. It seem 3.3L is reliable similar to 3.8L. 3.3L tend to give better gas mileage for no-hill or lead foot. And it cheaper :).

Terry
 
Aerostar is probably not for us. We plan to use it to carry large stuff like furniture too. I don't think you can fold back seats in this model.
 
The back seat a/c also comes with a heater unit.

This means there are coolant pipes running under the van that can and will corrode if you live in an area where salt is used on the roads.

I've had this issue myself with the Chrysler vans... just something to be aware of.
 
My son ran into that with his grand. There's a cheaper work around for that.

I was so thankful I had a simple 2nd Gen. No power windows, no rear ac/heat, a basic shell from the fire wall back. AC, Cruise, AM-FM, tinted windows. The dual side doors are convenient, but I lived without it and didn't know any better. The benches were a pain to remove for cargo hauling, but I was a lot younger. As I slowed down a bit, the rear bench got moved forward and the 2nd row stored in the garage.
 
Originally Posted By: rudolphna
No rear ac/heat? Holy cow. Winter up north would be unbearable.


I had both versions... one with and one without the rear heater/ac.

On the one with the rear heater/ac I never used it; however, it did cause me some grief when the pipes started leaking coolant.

I fully agree with what Gary said, either in this thread or another, if one wants reliability don't get all the bells and whistles in a vehicle. I've experienced first hand the grief they can cause as a vehicle ages, both with my own vehicles and my father's luxoboat vehicles of days gone by.

These days I prefer the 4cyl engine and aside from a/c few other options.
 
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