My parents Dodge Caravan has held up fairly well even with my mom rear ending a truck. The electronics are a little wonky. They've had it since new 2010 2012ish. My dad recently accidentally hitting the fob the right way rolled all of the windows down. Still not sure how, I know it's a carry-over from Mercedes dna. Most things have been relatively easy to repair yourself.
Which van would you buy
- Thread starter wheelman
- Start date
Seems
We do eat in the van sometimes. Sometimes there is no choice we are just busy on the road. Our kids are pretty good but they're still kids. Kids are naturally harder on stuff by nature. Our 3 year old used to want to push the door button over and over... We finally broke that though.
Seems to me if one has to disable a function of the car entirely that it's a pretty poor design. Might be easy so you would live with it but its still a failure of engineering.
We do eat in the van sometimes. Sometimes there is no choice we are just busy on the road. Our kids are pretty good but they're still kids. Kids are naturally harder on stuff by nature. Our 3 year old used to want to push the door button over and over... We finally broke that though.
JHZR2
Staff member
I’d agree wrt vcm. That said, we also spend a lot of time in the van. With vcm we can hit 30mpg pretty easy on long road trips. With it disabled, which I do occasionally just to exercise the system, it’s much harder.
We also spend a lot of time in the van. Sports practices, vacations, lots of time at the beach. It adds up.
You have 90k miles on it and you haven't had to replace an A/C compressor or motor mounts yet? You will soon
My wife's CR-V only has 50k miles on it and it already needs motor mounts. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that her A/C compressor makes it a couple more years.
Oh yeah definitely. Our grand caravan hasn't ever really let us down but it's also not the most comfortable. The quality also just isn't great. I do believe the Honda is easier to work on overall. The 3.5 is a pretty well designed engine. I know a few folks who have gotten some ridiculous miles out of sienna's though 300k plus and still in great running shape. I feel like Toyotas aren't as easy to work on in general but rarely need much in my experience with them. Everyone I know who owns Toyota's loves them, mostly the same for Honda in all fairness.
Go by condition.
Every marque has its issues. None of them are flawless.
I've owned three minivans. Two of them have been Odysseys.
Bought both of them new. One was an Ex, the second was an Ex-l.
I found the Honda to be the best value proposition between the Honda and the Toyota,
We had decent luck with the first (a 2000.) We started having issues with several things, including the transmission around 80K.
In fairness to the vehicle, these issues were exacerbated by a major accident ($5600 worth in 2004$'s.)
Traded that off on the 2006. It was flawless in the 14 years and 80K we had it.
Minivans are heavy vehicles, generally run hard, with full loads.
That takes its toll in many ways, especially given the fact that they were not developed with truck underpinnings.
What ever you buy, do your homework on the vehicle. Know the weaknesses, and tailor your maintenance to minimize issues.
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Hybrid and just not generally impressed with the Odyssey in general. Thought the Sienna rode better and whatnot.
AutoMechanic
Site Donor 2024
Here is my opinion strictly based on what I know not from experience though so take it however but there is a reason that Chrysler and Dodge mini vans were top sellers for a long time they made great mini vans. And that’s coming from me who despises Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram etc. Those vans were top sellers in America for years. The Town and Country and the Grand Caravan they are the only ones I’d even consider owning. My sister had a Dodge Grand Caravan for awhile it was a 1997 they loved it. Ford never could make a mini van worth anything nor could Chevy and Honda and Toyota didn’t come till later in the game but they are still reliable just they never made it to the top till they discontinued the Chrysler and Dodge mini vans. However i would not consider a Pacifica but would definitely get a Grand Caravan or Town and Country. So my vote is for those vans. I personally don’t like the Sienna vans except the first generation of them. And same with the Honda’s.
It's not, About the same handling in my opinion.
Are we not counting the Astro/Safari & Aerostar?
AutoMechanic
Site Donor 2024
Those were counted. They win for looks. Not much else though in my opinion. I’d own any of them for the looks.
I really couldn’t tell much of a difference. Do people assume this strictly based on the independent rear suspension on the Odyssey?
Speaking of the independent rear suspension, a friend of mine with an Odyssey does lots of long trips fully loaded with his family and gear, and his rear tires would wear out unevenly. The inner part would wear out faster.
My grand caravan has no such issue and I do plenty of long trips with my rear having a 1-2 inch drop. I presume the Sienna would be similar since it has a similar suspension setup as the grand caravan.
So it’s something to keep in mind IMO.
wemay
Site Donor 2023
I'd get the Carnival and limit the types of snack options the children get. It's a simple powertrain setup and to me, looks the best.
The company I worked for used to buy Ford Windstars. A had 3 of those that were new to me and one had brake issues from the start and the last 2 had transmission failures at 9K and 26K miles. They then switched to Dodge/Chrysler minivans in 2005. All those problems were gone and much more comfortable to drive. All had the 3.3 motor and I was getting 26mpg at 69mph. I had no motor or transmission trouble. Had one fuel pump replacement and one water pump replaced at 160K on one that I bought from the company. My wife got that one and it was hard to get her to accept the Mazda 5 after it. The seats in the 2006 are just the most comfortable and the AC was great. Only issues it had in 186K was the drivers door window switch and the EGR valve was sticking and was replaced and one set of rear shocks. The Dodge /Chrysler is what I would buy as there are many sources for parts and maintenance is as easy as a car. Seats down in the stow and go allows a 4x8 sheet of plywood and we moved from one home to another with just that van and my 1990 Ford Ranger. Built a new deck and hauled 16 foot boards on the roof rack. It was a jack of all trades. Load up the family and go to Lambert for a great meal.
I was in this boat in January of 2020, when we took in 3 foster kids, and also have a 15 year old at home.
I test drove 2 Hondas and a Toyota before settling in on a 2014 Chrysler Town and Country.
The Hondas had double the mileage and less options, but drove great.
The Toyota I would have bought, but it was so scratched up I couldn’t bear looking at it, and it smelled of cultural food.
The T&C is a Limited-L that is fully loaded with an entertainment unit. It had 60k miles and cost a shade less than the Toyota or Hondas.
I put about $1000 in repairs to fix the airbag wiring issues and the blind spot sensors. I regularly wish I hadn’t bought the van, 2 years later, but can’t complain overall. It’s been a decent vehicle. I discovered later that summer after the purchase that the previous owner lived on gravel and seemed to beat the hell out of the van. It’s tough to find that type of stuff when it’s 4 degrees outside.
Our next van will probably be a newer Chrysler as well, because I always say I won’t, and then do it anyway due to price and options (though technically the 2012 I had was wearing a Volkswagen badge). This is my 4th Chrysler van since 1998.
I test drove 2 Hondas and a Toyota before settling in on a 2014 Chrysler Town and Country.
The Hondas had double the mileage and less options, but drove great.
The Toyota I would have bought, but it was so scratched up I couldn’t bear looking at it, and it smelled of cultural food.
The T&C is a Limited-L that is fully loaded with an entertainment unit. It had 60k miles and cost a shade less than the Toyota or Hondas.
I put about $1000 in repairs to fix the airbag wiring issues and the blind spot sensors. I regularly wish I hadn’t bought the van, 2 years later, but can’t complain overall. It’s been a decent vehicle. I discovered later that summer after the purchase that the previous owner lived on gravel and seemed to beat the hell out of the van. It’s tough to find that type of stuff when it’s 4 degrees outside.
Our next van will probably be a newer Chrysler as well, because I always say I won’t, and then do it anyway due to price and options (though technically the 2012 I had was wearing a Volkswagen badge). This is my 4th Chrysler van since 1998.
I should have clarified...it sounds about twice as good as any other minivan out there when you wring it out.
We are buying a 2018 Odyssey EX from caravana since we'll surprisingly enough their price is comparable to what I can find locally for similar vehicles and since I can't find a honda within a couple of hours from me.
Does the 18 have the vcm system to worry about? I read that it still has the system but that they've made it a lot better than it used to be. Would you still just disable it?
I feel pretty much the same way - it's hard to beat the Dodge vans for versatility. The price difference will buy me a lot of parts.
I may look for another one when our '07 is done.
