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21 Posts
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.
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.



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.