I finally got tired of my '98 Buick LeSabre's problems (weird electrical gremlins, possible bad ecm) so I gave up on it and started looking for a new car. I considered a small pick-up but couldn't find a 4x4 one cheap enough, and I looked at a couple of small cars but they just weren't what I wanted. Drove a Chevy Aveo and a Scion xA but both were just blah. I guess I've been spoiled having things like passenger space and cruise control. Then I noticed how cheap minivans are. Lucky for me, nobody wants them. I found a 2005 Dodge Caravan with 49,000 miles for $8700. It's pretty basic, though the original owner's at least sprung for a package that included power windows, power locks, cruise control and rear wiper.

http://i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc219/fhrblig/Caravan3.jpg

http://i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc219/fhrblig/Caravan2.jpg

http://i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc219/fhrblig/Caravan1.jpg

So far I'm happy with it except that Chrysler's 2.4 liter four is an utter turd. It was too noisy and underpowered in the PT Cruiser I rented this summer, and in this van it is dog-slow. And the noise, oh my God!!

I've been getting 25 mpg regularly so far, and it still has 20k left on the powertrain warranty. I'll tell you though, anybody looking for one of these should instead get the 3.3 V6 version as it only gets 1 mpg less in the city, and you just might be able to pass someone.

I finally got tired of my '98 Buick LeSabre's problems (weird electrical gremlins, possible bad ecm) so I gave up on it and started looking for a new car. I considered a small pick-up but couldn't find a 4x4 one cheap enough, and I looked at a couple of small cars but they just weren't what I wanted. Drove a Chevy Aveo and a Scion xA but both were just blah. I guess I've been spoiled having things like passenger space and cruise control. Then I noticed how cheap minivans are. Lucky for me, nobody wants them. I found a 2005 Dodge Caravan with 49,000 miles for $8700. It's pretty basic, though the original owner's at least sprung for a package that included power windows, power locks, cruise control and rear wiper.

http://i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc219/fhrblig/Caravan3.jpg

http://i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc219/fhrblig/Caravan2.jpg

http://i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc219/fhrblig/Caravan1.jpg

So far I'm happy with it except that Chrysler's 2.4 liter four is an utter turd. It was too noisy and underpowered in the PT Cruiser I rented this summer, and in this van it is dog-slow. And the noise, oh my God!!

I've been getting 25 mpg regularly so far, and it still has 20k left on the powertrain warranty. I'll tell you though, anybody looking for one of these should instead get the 3.3 V6 version as it only gets 1 mpg less in the city, and you just might be able to pass someone.

congrats, my parents used to have a plymouth voyager which is same thing almost

How funny, just a month ago I bought a 2006 Chrysler Town & Country, 18,330 miles, for only $10,150 + taxes. I think I got a better deal than you. ;)

The Caravan and T&C are pretty much the same, except that mine has the 3.3 V6 and all of the basic amenities standard. I drove a lot of high-speed highway recently and averaged about 25+ mpg. Not too bad.

The V6 is wayyyyyy better than the I4 in this van. I had a 96 Caravan with the I4 so I know. It's real smooth, though low speed cold shifts can really be felt.

I wanted a "short-wheelbased" minivan, and this is by far the best one to get. Extremely low price to buy, relatively low price to run, and next to nothing to insure. Too bad all new minivans are all long-wheelbased. I dunno about long term reliability, we'll see...

I love the van so far! What value! :thumb:

How funny, just a month ago I bought a 2006 Chrysler Town & Country, 18,330 miles, for only $10,150 + taxes. I think I got a better deal than you. ;)

The Caravan and T&C are pretty much the same, except that mine has the 3.3 V6 and all of the basic amenities standard. I drove a lot of high-speed highway recently and averaged about 25+ mpg. Not too bad.

The V6 is wayyyyyy better than the I4 in this van. I had a 96 Caravan with the I4 so I know. It's real smooth, though low speed cold shifts can really be felt.

I wanted a "short-wheelbased" minivan, and this is by far the best one to get. Extremely low price to buy, relatively low price to run, and next to nothing to insure. Too bad all new minivans are all long-wheelbased. I dunno about long term reliability, we'll see...

I love the van so far! What value! :thumb:

1 main thing about these vans is that even after 11 years of this body design, these still look new and in style!

Congratulations :)
No problems? Everything is OK?

So far, so good. I really wish I had found one with the 3.3 V6, though. Same gas mileage and less noise.

The V6 is wayyyyyy better than the I4 in this van. I had a 96 Caravan with the I4 so I know.

Remember you said that the first time you gotta change those 3 rear spark plugs. My friend has a Toyota Sienna with the 3.0 V6, and you have to have double-jointed monkey arms to reach the rear plugs. ;)

Otherwise, congrats to both of you on your van purchases. Beware, though. Whenever you and 6 friends want to go somewhere, you already know who is driving.

Oh don't confuse American cars with the Japanese... Good ol American metal - you can sleep in the engine bay with the hood closed ;)
I'll take a look and see if the spark plugs are impossible to access, but since it's an OHV engine and the engine bay accommodates larger engines, I think I'll be fine.

So far so good with the van - quite and smooth ride, decent mpg: 22; though the refinement/attention to details is SEVERELY LACKING...

i (well my parents) used to have a awd one, first car i ever drove, 3.8 v6, really smooth. nice van, other than the battery its sucks. get a heavy dutie one, the dodge one would cluck out anytime.

Ahh a family car...

^^
its a family car, but still good!

good gas mileage?

Yeah,a family car for a dodge caravan.I'm a fan of different family cars as i like to buy them not just for me.We love out of towns and we need cars like this to get everyone join.