Mini van advice please
 

Hi
We have a rather tall dog that will be undergoing hip surgery in the near future. Our current vehicle has too tall a deck for him to crawl in and out.
Sliding side doors on mini vans are a good choice for us. We plan on buying a used one as hopefully the dog will fully recover in 5-6 months.

My concern is that the lower the price, the higher the mileage, older the van. VW Routan, Honda Odyssey, Dodge Grand Caravan (Chrysler too) , Kia Sedona are on the short list.

Can you share with me the expected problems/ approx miles on a 2004-2009 year range, of these ?

Thanks!
Dave

Hey Dave!

We have a 2007 Honda Odyssey with just over 140,000 miles. It has been trouble free for us with the exception of the TPMS system which required replacement of the tire sensors and reprogramming of the computer. The dealer has to do this.

I replaced the waterpump,timing belt,and t-stat myself for about $300. The dealer wanted over $1000.

My neighbor is 87 years old and has a Ford Winstar he bought new; and still looks new.....Low miles like 60,000......About a 2005 I think? Sez he'd let it go for $4,500 or so....

Dave, we have a 07 Toyota with 160k trouble free miles. We have the Limited with the dual automatic sliding doors that's we love. Kids made us go auto doors.:rolleyes: The power rear fold down seat's motor went south. Other then that, it still ride like new. Oh, I had a new set of shock install when it hit 100k.

Jeff

When the dealer replaced the DPF on my MK6, I was given a ride home in the dealer shuttle. (VW Routan)... At the first stop light the transmission shudder was as bad a warped rotor... I asked the driver if it was a warped rotor, and he conveyed it was the transmission... I looked over at the speedo and noticed 101k mi... Took a mental note to stay away from those, and continued on with small talk.

looks like the japanese makes so far get the nod. Ideally looking for a so cal location seller. Hundreds of thousands of these have been built, so no need for the extra expense of a X country delivery

Any more experiences out there?

Thanks to posters that replied so far :)

We used 04-10 Caravans to pick people up at the airport. This included 18mi of washboard road. Not many issues besides serp belt coming off in deep snow. One tranny pan hole due to driver error. (Hangs a little low.) Ran them past 100k miles.

We have a 2002 Odyssey with close to 300k. Just regular oil changes but no issues except the tranny went south at just over 110k. Was a problem with the 2002 5 speeds. Dealer pocked up the cost of tyranny but we had to pay 800 for the installation

One of my life's missions is to warn people against Chrysler minivans. They seem comfortable when you drive them, but they are so unreliable over the long term that they are worse than not buying a minivan in the first place.

Minivans are wonderful, purpose-built vehicles that are as legitimate as any race car. They are more comfortable, economical and practical than any SUV. In a truly relational society minivans would be kings and SUVs would be a minor market segment.

But do buy a minivan that will last a while. I second the vote for a Toyota or Honda. We had a Honda for many years and miss it fondly but we really coveted the nicer interior and cushier ride of a Toyota. Either one is almost perfect. Please do not buy a Chrysler or VW minivan. We loved our Chrysler for the first 3 years and 36,000 miles, but it fell apart day by day after that. Buy something nice that will last a while. You won't want to give it up after you've gotten used to it.

2002 Toyota Sienna XLE, Everything works except:

Both electronic side doors are now manual. Not that big of a deal, just annoying.
Heater went out last year, but in the subtropics it isn't an issue. We still have heated leather seats.

Recently, replaced brake master cylinder at 140K
abs/trac control are out, also not a big deal were I live.

I'd buy the Previa supercharged version if I was really looking.

Interesting about Caravan unreliability. Mostly little stuff on ours. And these were hammered daily by college age workers. Perhaps the 04-06 were better than earlier or later models.

MRM - Great advice. This has been my life-long sermon about any Chrysler product and it has served me well......(I used to have to drive their junk products at work back in the 70's/80's).......

Dave - My experience is with earlier model year vans, but based on my time with them I'd recommend you get a Honda. We had our best luck with a 2000 Ody that we got as a certified used car when we traded in our Pontiac Transport when the warranty ran out.
On the subject of electric doors, I found they really took the stress out of the closing door. Our '96 Chevy Astro was our first van and I'd cringe every time the door closed, fearing some kid might have their hand in there. With the electric doors, no slamming, no kids closing the door, that was the driver's job. I know this may not apply to your case, but I found it really made a difference in my experience with driving one.

Do you need a full size minivan? I had two Mazda5s and loved them. 2015 was the last year for the 5. If they'd updated it one more time, I'd probably have bought another one.

The VW Routan is a Dodge/Chrysler with a different grille, dash...

Chrysler made them for VW.

Generally, they are fairly reliable.

I drive a 2006 Honda Odyssey with 324,000 (company car) miles
had timimg belt done three times, tranny went out at about 225,000
just had power steering pump replaced a month ago. Our company has three Odyssey's
mine is the oldest. All have held up well !

I know, right! Mom and dad have had several Chrysler and Dodge minivans and two had to have transmissions replaced. One at 85k miles and the other at 168k miles. No other problems other that the one that had the replacement at 168k miles now needs a new computer because they cant get the key programmed properly and won't start unless you use the remote start. Oh, one of the 1st gen had a radiator leak at 185k miles.

Honda transmissions aren't much better than the Chryco ones.

We have an 05 Odyssey with 155,000 and it's been pretty much trouble free. At 100k miles Honda covered a new torque converter and we did the timing belt at 108,000. Had an O2 sensor good bad, but that was easy to change. I flush the trans fluid every 15-20,000 because it's a weak spot.

Van is up for sale next weekend but it's in Iowa.

I have an 06 dodge caravan STX. the stow and go seats are a HUGE plus. I have had 6 dodge mini vans. I buy them with 100K miles on them and drive them until they drop. Gear box has been the only problem I have had with any of them. My 06 has 136K on it and all I have done in 4 years is change oil, tires and brakes. Been a rock solid platform. I have Airedale terriers and if you stow all the seats they have a playground.

I also have a 2006 Grand Caravan. 160K and has been trouble free. It is great for skiing, camping and hauling people and stuff. I will drive it till it dies. They are not as nice as a honda but they cost less and parts are cheap. Plus my kids never ask to use it. Ha Ha
Dave