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We have had 2 dodge minivans with the 3.3l motor.the 1999 had 140k when we sold it, everything worked but at the he edit did need a tierod end. I put front brakes and a muffler on it. The 2004 we still have, I take it to work on occasion. It only has 89k, I've put brakes, a muffler, a radiator on y self. The only premature wear item was the flywheel was starting to lose teeth, I had a shop repair that. All in all they have been very good vehicles. The Honda Odyssey has transmission issues, even after Honda says they fixed them. And they AINT cheap!
I'd buy a Chevy Uplander before I bought a Chrysler/Dodge, at least the 3.9 V6 is a durable engine.
The GM U-body isn't the safest van around. The safety was improved with the new Uplander/Terraza/Relay/Montana, but still not great.
Quote:
Originally Posted by robrobrob
We have an 07 Odyssey. Runs pretty good still. Needs the power steering fixed. And we have been putting off the timing belt. We have 115,000 on it.
I already replaced my PS resevoir (by myself!!!), but I need to replace the pump now too. It whines for a few minutes on startup. Up to 130k on mine and on its 2nd timing belt, replaced at 100k.
I would go with a Toyota Sienna. They are popular for a reason. My parents have one now with almost 200k miles. No issues besides normal maintenance. They used to have Dodge Caravan, that was a POS. My sister had a Honda Odyssey. It has around 170k and started having transmission problems. But she recently just bought another Odyssey. Its a nice van but I told her to get Sienna. But hey...it's their money, their choice. If I was in the market for minivan, I would definitely go with a Sienna. good luck
Looking to buy a home and don't want to add a car payment into the mix. I have $7k in cash I could use to buy a mini van outright.
I am finding older Toyota Sienna and Honda Odyssey in the price range but tend to be nearing 200k miles and 10 years old.
Another option is a dodge or Chrysler that's only 7 or 8 years old. Less miles too
Concerns are:
1) what does that say about dodge or Chrysler if they're only worth $7k after 7 years... but I see the newer year and less miles and instinctually think it's better because older cars have more problems and neither my wife or I are mechanically inclined
2) if I should opt for an older Toyota or Honda (some in my prince range are 11 years old) would I be investing in a money pit? Do those years/models have known issues?
3) would the reliability of Honda or Toyota outweigh the newer age of other brands?
4) safety features. Looks like older Hondas and toyotas didn't have all the air bag capacity that they have now. One reason I am considering brands like dodge is the safety measures taken in newer vans vs older vans
Would we be better off looking at a more reliable make/model in SUV? We have wanted a mini van for quite some time. Our Nissan Altima is too small as a family of 4. We need more room and trunk space.
Well, you can buy a used van for $2K, dump in another 2K in repairs and have $3K left for maybe doing a customizing job on the interior....
I'm actually looking at getting a Chev Express van (Extended) but that's to live in....I'll probably have to spend $4-$5K on it though.....
We bought a 2011 VW Routan (essentially a Chrysler Town & Country/Dodge Caravan) when it was two years old, and while I like the van itself, it has had endless problems:
Drivers side door handle broke twice within a month (of course I was 9 months pregnant)
Drivers side window broke twice (wouldn't roll up)
Sliding door belt wore out
Door came off the car twice (luckily my husband was able to get it back on)
We had one major problem where the car would randomly not start. Luckily it was under warranty still, but it was in the shop for 2 weeks two separate times while they tried to figure that one out--they had to bring in one of their engineers
A/C compressor went out
The brakes wear out like crazy
And a couple of other smaller things--all within 3 years. It is NOT holding up well.
Nissan Quest - cheap and reliable because they aren't desirable
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), but I need to replace the pump now too. It whines for a few minutes on startup. Up to 130k on mine and on its 2nd timing belt, replaced at 100k.
